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Honda Civic Type R - READ ONLY

44 messages,  Last post on Jul 18, 2001 at 7:32 PM

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Messages Page 2 of 5

#5 of 44 leomort by lngtonge18

Feb 14, 2001 (10:02 pm)

The answer to both of your questions is yes. Honda's generally are reliable, but when they do break, expect to pay higher prices than you would for any American automaker and even some imports. They also design certain parts so that they can not be substituted for cheaper alternatives. Example: Power steering fluid is unique to Honda cars, making it impossible to top off with the cheap noname brand fluid or risk damaging expensive parts. The distributor can only be bought as an entire unit costing $400-up instead of being offered with rebuild kits (bearing failure was a common problem on early 90 Hondas). As for maintenance, if you plan on taking it to the dealer, expect to encounter ridiculously high prices. Honda has always been one of the more expensive cars to maintain, as shown by long term tests in car magazines and also family experience. If you do your own maintenance, than it's not so bad as parts are readily available. My dad does all the work on my mom's 92 Accord and it is still running strong at 188,000 miles.

#6 of 44 Ingtonge18 by leomort

Feb 15, 2001 (6:42 am)

Thank for your candid response. For some reason I was never able to get a straight answer on this question.
 
Thank you for the tipe on Honda's power steering fluid. Did not know that. Just like I didn't know that Toyota has special antifreeze for their radiators. And it does make a difference.
 
I haven't bought a car for 7 years and propably not for another year, so make that 8 years. So I've been out of the loop researching cars for a looong time. I thought that these new cars are now direct ingnition and have done away with distributor, yes? Has Honda fix the bearing replacement problem or are they still needed? If so at what mileage? Do Honda's still require valve adjustments? If so, how much does that cost? Lastly, would you recommend Hondas? Either Accords or Civics? If so, any particual model of each make?
 
Thank you for your response.
 
                     Leo

#7 of 44 Ingtonge18 by leomort

Feb 15, 2001 (6:46 am)

Thank for your candid response. For some reason I was never able to get a straight answer on this question.
 
Thank you for the tipe on Honda's power steering fluid. Did not know that. Just like I didn't know that Toyota has special antifreeze for their radiators. And it does make a difference.
 
I haven't bought a car for 7 years and propably not for another year, so make that 8 years. So I've been out of the loop researching cars for a looong time. I thought that these new cars are now direct ingnition and have done away with distributor, yes? Has Honda fix the bearing replacement problem or are they still needed? If so at what mileage? Do Honda's still require valve adjustments? If so, how much does that cost? Lastly, would you recommend Hondas? Either Accords or Civics? If so, any particual model of each make?
 
Thank you for your response.
 
                     Leo

#8 of 44 sorry Melissa by only1harry

Feb 15, 2001 (3:58 pm)

Your "future telling" section leaves a lot to be desired. There are many wrong statements in there and some of the cars have already been announced with specs, but your section is still trying to guess about these cars and they 're way off! I guess it hasn't been updated in a while.

#9 of 44 Closest thing to a Civic Type-R in the states by sentra20ser

Feb 16, 2001 (7:09 am)

http://www.urbanracer.com/features/focussvt.shtml

#10 of 44 only1harry by melissa

Feb 16, 2001 (5:39 pm)

Thanks for the feedback. I'll pass it along.

#11 of 44 leomort by lngtonge18

Feb 17, 2001 (6:15 am)

Honda still uses a distributor. Only some cars are using the direct ignition, like Hyundai, GM, and Toyota. As far as I know, Honda has fixed the bearing failure problem. My mom's distributor failed at 80,000 miles. Her car happened to be recalled after the fact for the exact problem, but Civics and Vigors weren't so lucky. My dad was able to replace the distributor bearing himself with some ingenuity, but anyone else would have had to fork over the $400 or so to have the whole unit replaced. I believe Honda still requires valve adjustments every 30,000 miles. Normally it just needs the clearance to be checked and than adjusted if necessary. My dad has only had to actually adjust the valves maybe twice. Since he did it himself, I can't say for sure how much it would cost, but I estimate it to be around $150.
  As far as whether I would recommend Honda, that is a bit hard for me to answer. My sister currently owns a 2000 Honda Odyssey that has been nothing but trouble. She is trying to claim the lemon law on it and has run into bad customer service on Honda's part. Honda is not a company you want to deal with if you run into problems. Due to her bad experiences, I have been discouraged with Honda's quality. In recent years, there also seems to be more complaints about problems and more recalls as well. I still feel they are reliable cars mechanically, but overall, their quality seems to have dropped. It's either that or other companies have dramatically improved their quality. The other problem I have with Honda is the fact that their cars are so boring and lack personality, but are still ridiculously high-priced. Their looks are bland and they no longer perform at the top of the class. The Civic has fallen way behind the competition with its wimpy 1.7 liter, when everyone else has standard 1.8-2.0 liter engines with more horsepower and torque. Example: For 15K, the Civic LX will get you 115 hp. The same price will buy you 125 hp in the Corolla, 130 hp in the Protege and Focus, 140 hp in the Elantra, and 145 hp in the Sentra. Even if you ante up the 17K for the Civic EX, the power is still only 127 hp. That # is deceiving though, as it doesn't show how lacking it is in torque. 114 pound feet of torque just can't compete with 133 in the Elantra, 135 in the Focus, and 136 in the Sentra. The Accord doesn't have the same power deficit problems, but it does lack personality. Neither car is something that would stand out in the crowd. It's kind of like driving your reliable refrigerator around. Now these are just my subjective opinions. You may not care too much about power or style. At any rate, I'm a bit more reserved about recommending Honda than I used to be. Sorry for long post. Hope my insight helps you in your search. Would be happy to try to answer any questions about other cars as well, as I'm very knowledgeable in this area.

#12 of 44 I agree by only1harry

Feb 17, 2001 (4:41 pm)

with most of your points but people seem to buy Hondas more for the gas mileage which is better than most of the models you mentioned, and the reliability. No doubt the Sentra SE is the best bang for the money right now. I couln't see my self paying $14-15K for an LX or even $16K for an EX when you can get the Sentra with 145hp, 4 wheel disc brakes, 15" alloys, better suspension/handling, etc. There are other choices out there of course other than Honda, but I 've had such good luck with my '97 Civic HB at 122k mi., that I have no reason not to recommend Honda. Gas mileage and reliability were my only reasons for buying a Civic since my commute is 160mi/day. Corollas can get expensive too. A guy at work paid almost $17K for an auto and I think it has a very boring interior and exterior. Another guy has a 5-sp '00 Corolla. We raced down the street from from my company and I passed him with my 106hp Civic. Then we went all out on the highway going home and I destroyed him. I was pulling away from him every time and we got up to speeds of over 100mph (I had it up to 110mph and he couldn't keep up). So much for that extra 19hp..
It's the power to weight ratio that counts, gearing and other things. My car weighs 2258lbs, his probably 2600-2700lbs. Anyway, Toyota & Mazda are good alternates to a Civic and should be fairly reliable too (Toyota more than Protege).

#13 of 44 only1harry by lngtonge18

Feb 17, 2001 (11:15 pm)

Either you are one great driver or your friend can't drive a stick worth a crap. You sure the car did not have an automatic? The numbers prove that your feat would be utterly impossible. The Civic LX with a stick and the same 106 hp engine takes 9.5 sec to go from 0-60 and 36.7 from 0-100. The Chevy Prizm with a stick takes only 8.3 sec to go from 0-60 and 27.2 from 0-100. The Prizm only weighs 2403 compared to the Civic's 2385, a very slim difference. These numbers suggest that you should have been the one eating his dust. He must not have been too serious about racing you or, like I said, can't drive.

#14 of 44 Ingtone18 by leomort

Feb 19, 2001 (8:10 am)

Thank you for your response. No it wasn't too long. I'd prefer a long detail explaination than a brief yes or no without an explaination.
 
I heard Toyota is revamping their Corolla to improve hp/torque as well as interior room. My one complaint with the Corolla has been rear legroom when compared to Protege, Civic and Hundai. Yes, the Corolla can get expensive. But if Toyota improves the Corolla than it may merit consideration.
 
I am also considering the Protege and Elantra. Appreciate any advise you can give on any of these cars.
 
     Leo

Messages Page 2 of 5

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