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Comments
If you are telling the truth then you have had 3 bad newer-model Hondas. Man don't go outside in a lightning storm because you have BAAAAD luck. And I bet you may be wondering why you haven't won the lottery yet. I'm sure the odds of getting a perfectly reliable car will be much greater with that Ford Focus. Best of luck. Looks like you need it.
More problems in first months of ownership than any other vehicle I've owned.
Glad I got rid of it when I did.
I see that many people have no issues at all with the Civic Si, and many others have same experience I did. May those who are trouble free stay that way:)
Has the insurance rates increased for Si owners? My agent told me the rating for the Si has changed and my rates would have increased. This is with State Farm.
As far as insurance goes. We insure 4 full coverage cars for right at $2000 a year. I think the Civic SI is second cheapest after the Accord. With the LS400 costing nearly $800 of the $2000.
Transmission, emissions, audio system, interior fit and finish, paint, parking brake (user error), and suspension vibrations are all reported problems. There are plenty of reports on the EP site.
There are not a large number of Si owners on Edmunds.
Would I buy another Si. Nope. Would I buy an Accord. Yes.
It is normal, it is typical to have problems with the Civic Si in my experience.
Anyone considering a Civic Si 2002- deserves to know there are problems associated with it.
I don't see on the board how far Honda quality has slipped. When you consider they have built and sold around 4 million Accords over the past 10 years, the Acord problems board is a non-issue. The same thing happened back in 1998 with the model change. No big deal. Too bad there was no Edmunds back in 1990 with that changover, I'm sure the same things would have been happening.
When you compare the 1993 Accord with the 03 you have to also consider the 1993 was the 4th year of production for that generation. By the way...Civics built in the U.S. have been shown to have HIGHER initial quality than the Japanese built ones.
As for the parking brake thing....I have never had a car roll on me before or since whether I leave it in gear or not. The 3 SI's before that one didn't roll nor does the one I currently have. Call it what you want, the brake sucked. As far as normal to have problems...I wouldn't have bought 3 of them if that were the case. I guess my experience may be more normal since I have experience with more examples.
I had the problem also, but once I learned to park the car in gear, it's never bothered me once.
I have a white 2002 Si that I picked up for $3k under list in October 2002 (rescuing me from my 2002 LX, which just wasn't doing it for me). I'm very happy with it, and I've just a few problems. Just a few minor rattles, especially in the weather stripping between the door and the roof. Any one else with this problem?
As for the insurance, I did notice that mine went up this year, so the rating change does make sense.
My last civic (a 97 LX 4-door) could hold the car when not in gear - does that make rear drums superior to rear discs? In the case of parking brake grip, I guess it does.
The driver window also rattles a tiny bit, but luckily the mechanicals are good as new after 20K+ miles.
That WAS the reason we sold that car. But since the previous one didn't roll, I desided to take a chance on the 03'. It doesn't roll. Nor did it burn any oil in the first few thousand miles like both of the previous ones did.
Our insurance rates are for 6 months
1994 LS400 $468
1995 GS300 $284
2003 Civic $211
2004 Accord $235
The Civic is the cheapest of the 4 even with the two Lexus's having $1000 deductibles. the Accord would be a little cheaper but I have $16 in gap coverage on it. The Civic is VERY reasonable for a sporty 2 door hatch. A lot of things can effect rates though. We have perfect credit(which they check now), live in the boonies, are married, and own our home with a garage.
Know what the British say about the US made Civic coupe? It aint too positive either. That's why they only sell a handful of coupes over there compared to the 3/5 door Civic sales.
A US built or branded car is viewed with caution in the UK. Of course, both views are based on a bias and not on facts.
center vent broke
clear coat peeled
water in the spare tire well, 3 visits
driver's door handle
driver's window regulator, track and weather stripping
passenger door handle
passenger window regulator, track and weatherstripping
brakes resurfaced at 7000 miles
engine burning oil, at first it was a quart every 1000 miles, now it is a quart every 1500 miles, but still burning.
Mine will be going back to honda when the 2 year, 24,000 miles lemon law limit is approached. I like driving it ans might as well get the most use out of it. I called Honda and asked for complimentary Honda care warranty on it, but was refused. Now Honda will have to buy it back.
If you visit the EPhatch website and look under "list your factory defects" there are 3 pages of defects. For a car that only sold maybe 25,000 units in two years, that is pretty high rate of defects.
Sorry, just couldn’t resist.
My 02 Civic EX has had a number of minor problems, but they are mostly due to an ill-conceived design rather than something that has broken. While there were some improvements of the 7th gen over the 6th such has added torque and better shifter placement, there's a boat load of problems where engineers probably said, how can we make this new gen. of Civic seem cheaper. Case in point: the previously perfectly damped suspension is now a horrible pillow soft floaty mess. The power windows now make the interior panels move in/out. Even Hyundais don't do THAT.
Occasionally, I'll go for a ride in a friend's 99 Civic LX and marvel at the well controlled ride - no slop there.
I have a very strong feeling that the Si was designed by the same team that designed the current VW Golf/Jetta. The problems are almost identical to VW. The driveability is identical to Golf/Jetta.
I don't know about Focus being cheaper than Civic though. My girlfriend had a choice to get a rebate or 0% financing. She chose financing, the best price we could get on the particular Focus (ZTech, power windows/locks, cruise, a/c, remote keyless entry, ABS, Am/Fm/CD, 5 spd manual, alloy wheels) was around $15K, with 0% financing it comes out to $150/month for 60 months. I paid $14,500 for the Si at 1.9% = $250/month for 60 months. But I get sunroof on top of what she has in her Focus. I do however give up 2 doors. But have never been fond of sedans. A sunroof option of the Focus is about $600.
I drove Focus a few times, and always want to go back to my Si. Had it not been so problematic I would have no problem keeping it. I am not going to sell Si, this will only make the next person aggravated. I would rather see Honda buy it back. Besides, if i sell, i will lose money on it. If honda bought it back i only lose $0.36/mile that I have put on it.
I paid 16,600 for it plus tax and tags it was like 18,100. Wher are the best sites for upgrades anyone know?..Thanks Jer
1) Search google for EP HATCH and go to the third link it shows you. I can't post it here.
2) kingmotorsports.com (aftermarket supplier)
3) showstoppersusa.com (aftermarket supplier)
Everything you need to know is under link #1.
I recently put 5 different 'mods' on my car:
1. AEM Cold Air Intake - Worth it for the sound alone
2. DC Stainless Header - Really helped the top end, I installed this last, and I can feel a real difference in 5th on the freeway. This was really loud the first week I installed it, but has quieted down a lot now.
3. Hondata (hondata.com) Intake Manifold Gasket ($65). Installed at the same time as the cat back and intake, so I can't tell how much difference there is. Supposed to be good for 3hp/3tq at the wheels. It does keep the intake manifold much cooler.
4. Magnaflow Cat-back exhaust, $305 shipped from some guy on e-bay. Sounds great, fairly deep and not too loud (once it broke in).
5. Tein Springs - about 1.5" lower on stock shocks. I had no idea that the springs would make such a difference, but the handling has changed quite a bit. If my shocks last a while, this mod is well worth the price.
My car has about 185 horsepower at the crank right now. Is there another hatchback I could buy with exactly that horsepower total, a rally-style shifter, and spend a total of $17,000 (including modifications)? No.
I wouldn't have saved any money by buying another car, but I appreciate the condescending way that you wrote your message.
One other thing: The cat-back system and "chip" do very little for additional power. It's a well known fact that Honda already runs its chips at the high end and the cat-back system doesn't address the real bottleneck which is the "cat-forward" part of the exhaust system. These mods need high revs to produce any advantage and would do better on the 99-00 Si and not so much on the slower revving current Si.
If you want a Focus buy a Focus. I wouldn't. A couple of minor problems on a SI pale in comparison to what you read in the Focus room. And there's always the dreaded resale value. I know that a low mileage 02 SVT with leather and sunroof will go for about $10,000 at an auction. A similar mileage SI will go for $13,500. Considering that they sold twice as many SI's and had to use heavy incentives to do so while the SVT sold at or near MSRP for much of the model year you will see the lack of respect that is out there for a used Focus. A Honda will always be a Honda and unfortunately a Focus will always be a Focus.
Seems like the six-speaker set-up should produce good sound, given the right receiver.
The truth is some ppl here have a Honda with problems, and they decided not to stay with Honda anymore. What's wrong with that.
1. +$1000 or SVT - I didn't want an SVT for a number of reasons. Still don't.
2. ECU chip - I don't have one, but there is at least one impressive chip out there.
3. Revoked warranty - Review warranty laws. It's highly unlikely that I would lose any more than my shock warranty for putting on aftermarket springs.
4. Untested Suspension - Actually, I was able to test drive another car with the same springs on it, so I knew what I was getting.
5. useless cat-back - There are many EP drivers on the actually useful EP website who have dyno tested my exhaust to an additional 5hp/10tq. That is with the cat-back only.
6. Useless chip - The chip lowers 0-60 times by a full second and 1/4 mile by half a second. Sounds pretty good to me.
So all of your assertions only have partial (if any) truth to them, except ECU vs. Warranty, and even that will only affect related parts (only engine internals).
We drove the SI tonight. Great car. Love the seats, shifter, engine, and even the stereo sounds pretty decent to us. No rattles, no squeaks, no peeling clearcoat, etc. Maybe a few of you just have a case of the first-year bugs or just bad luck. If you read the aforementioned forum with the 3 .. I mean 10 pages of "factory defects" they seem to mostly affect the 02 models.
Ok, I don't think people modify just to get something that wasn't there. I agree that huge wings on a front wheel drive car are useless, they not only distract, but they add weight. Body kits are heavy. There is a difference between a show car that needs to be towed or pushed onto the show room floor, and an all aout racer, with 14 inch steel wheels, gutted interior and lexane windows. The point is that people modify cars just for the sake of working on it. I know that the only reason I do anything to my car, computer, house is just for the sake of doing the work my self. Of course there will be people who pay someone to do the work. To me, that is lost cause. The satisfaction comes form doing the work your self.
Bad honda:
I think Honda really screwed up by having this moderate performance and high performance CTR built in England. Japanese workers take pride in what they do. No one in Japan would have released a car that was sloppily put together. We all know what UK cars do, they are worse that Fords. Check out under a landrover, it drips oil. Merkur's had ton of problems, Sterlings sold in US were more problematic than its sister Acura Legend.
Radio:
I think the stock radio in Si has pretty decent power and sound. You juat have to play with settings; turn the bass and treble all the way up, and turn fader slightly ro the rear. I replaced the stock radio with an in-dash MP3 player. It is a cheapo AIWA with steering wheel remote. Running off stock speakers it maxes them out 3/25 of the volume.
thanks
Coming soon...cars built in China.
DETROIT (Reuters) -- Ford Motor Co. said on Thursday that it was urging owners of about 671,000 Focus compact sedans to bring the cars into local dealerships for replacement of a component linked to chronic engine stalling problems.
The cars affected, from the 2000 and 2001 model years and sold in Canada and Mexico as well as the United States, have already been subject to an embarrassing total of 10 recalls by U.S. federal safety regulators.
I'm sorry. As bad as some people in here may try to make the SI out to be....At least it doesn't rate being called "empbarrassing" by the mainstream media. I'm sure the full article can be googled.
And what is the component? The item requiring replacement is a fuel filter.
The 2002 Si I owned had an emissions system failure within the first 5,000 miles. Required parts to be replaced and I wish it would have simply been a fuel filter.
By the way 1999-2000 Civic Si, I think is EM, is the only Si ever not to be a hatchback. To some it is not the real Si. And some value it more because it is the only Si in a coupe form.
I am glad you are enjoying it. I had a 99, and even though the 2002 has some problems, it still puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. I no longer need to wring it out to get the 160 hp out of it. It is very troquey at low RPM.
The type-S is definitely the better performance car, but it isn't worth $5000+ more to me. That said, the Si makes more power than the type-S beneath 6000rpm - where the vast majority of driving takes place. In addition, when I went to the track most recently, I ran a 15.4 in the 1/4. There are plenty of magazines that got no better than a 15.3 out of the RSX-S (although certainly, better times are possible). Top speed is irrelevant to me, but I bet the difference is less than 10mph. Is the RSX-S worth $5000 more if I'm not going to the track? Probably not.
I'll have no problem selling my car, because I will simply put back the stocks parts when I'm done, then sell the aftermarket parts and the stock car separately.
So what doesn't make sense?