Consumer Reports 2016 Reliability Rating

kirkhilles

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Well, it looks like Consumer Reports has released their Reliability Rating for the 2016 Civic (they had previously established an early rating of "good") which is still one of the best sources to get balanced Reliability since they use massive surveys:

Rating: Poor

Blah. The Scoring goes from 0-100%. The prius is probably 90% and the Corolla is probably 82% while the Civic is just above the Fiat 500L and Ford Escort at the very bottom with about an 18%. Yes, 18%.

Now if you dig into it, it scores "Excellent" in all categories except for:
- Paint/Trim: Very good
- Body Hardware: Very good
- Power Equipment: Good
- Audio System: Poor

Based on that, I have to wonder how the problems of Android Auto for Samsung devices + Subwoofer rattle affected the overall reliability rating.

Well, there you have it.
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Newflyer3

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This is why consumer reports is a load of shit. It counts every fault regardless of severity equally. No volume knob or the infotainment system is buggy? The ding from that issue has the same weighting as an catastrophic engine failure you might see in something much less 'reliable'
 
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kirkhilles

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This is why consumer reports is a load of shit. It counts every fault regardless of severity equally. No volume knob or the infotainment system is buggy? The ding from that issue has the same weighting as an catastrophic engine failure you might see in something much less 'reliable'
I have to wonder the same thing. I know people have had numerous fit-and-finish type issues, but I don't consider those to be anything CLOSE to the issues I've read in the past with the Ford's and their Transmission Issues. I'd also severely object to the implication that Android Auto is less reliable on my Nexus 6 (ie: NON samsung phone) compared with one of those manufacturer created systems that barely works.

I'd have to see their data and how they came to that conclusion before judging too much, although I haven't heard of critical problems where people got in accidents or got stranded or anything like that.
 

xjoshuax89

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Yeah CR does not seem to be reliable as we all once knew it to be. A good chunk of AA issues were phone and software issues rather than really a car issue. I will admit though I think the paint "reliability" is something I am curious about. I think that the paint on the new Civics are super cheap compared to previous years. However, I never had a Civic per say in the past to really compare it to. However, if compared to other paints I have had on my other Hondas... the civic paint is by far the least durable and reliable.
 
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kirkhilles

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Yeah CR does not seem to be reliable as we all once knew it to be. A good chunk of AA issues were phone and software issues rather than really a car issue. I will admit though I think the paint "reliability" is something I am curious about. I think that the paint on the new Civics are super cheap compared to previous years. However, I never had a Civic per say in the past to really compare it to. However, if compared to other paints I have had on my other Hondas... the civic paint is by far the least durable and reliable.
I haven't noticed any paint issues on mine yet. What is the symptoms? Chipping paint? Discoloration?
 


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Well paint has gone downhill steadily since the 90s so that's a given. The issue is CR is still a magazine. Old people read magazines and old people have no clue or the resolve to learn anything about the new technologies in cars. So when you got a full touch screen interface where there's a slight learning curve, old people start trashing it and saying it's a rat piece of shit. Then they proceed to send these scores to Consumer Reports when they yank the recommendation.

I remember like 5 years ago, Ford and Lincoln got slammed with the MyFordTouch thing. Sure it was buggy at times but it wasn't a dealbreaker nor did it make your car undrivable. CR is based on consumer surveys and the likes too. Nothing wrong with your car? You just didn't do anything because you were content. Something was bad? You voiced it out like there was no tomorrow.

I bet the guy at CR who published this report is shaking his head to himself. The guy probably knows that the Civic is fine and is better than the previous ones when the 13-15 models were 'recommended'
 

xjoshuax89

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I haven't noticed any paint issues on mine yet. What is the symptoms? Chipping paint? Discoloration?
Paint chips super easily. It seems like the paint has like one or two less coats on it. Even compared to my '12 CR-V, the paint on the Civic looks pretty poor.
 

fazekas

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Yes, the audio system poor, actually, on the Touring edition it's pretty much garbage until Honda gets all the bugs out of the infotainment unit and a real fix for sub-woofer rattle. Many quality problems overall - my first and last Honda.
 

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This is why consumer reports is a load of shit. It counts every fault regardless of severity equally. No volume knob or the infotainment system is buggy? The ding from that issue has the same weighting as an catastrophic engine failure you might see in something much less 'reliable'
Completely agree. Problems should always be properly categorized and weighed. If a car has one frequently reported issue and it is leaking engine oil, that is far worse than a car having 10 problems frequently reported but all with the infotainment software.

I think their use of the word "reliability" is very misleading. I'm sure most folks here would agree an unreliable car is one that has problems with actual drivability, not annoyances with the electronics.
 
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kirkhilles

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Well paint has gone downhill steadily since the 90s so that's a given. The issue is CR is still a magazine. Old people read magazines and old people have no clue or the resolve to learn anything about the new technologies in cars. So when you got a full touch screen interface where there's a slight learning curve, old people start trashing it and saying it's a rat piece of shit. Then they proceed to send these scores to Consumer Reports when they yank the recommendation.

I remember like 5 years ago, Ford and Lincoln got slammed with the MyFordTouch thing. Sure it was buggy at times but it wasn't a dealbreaker nor did it make your car undrivable. CR is based on consumer surveys and the likes too. Nothing wrong with your car? You just didn't do anything because you were content. Something was bad? You voiced it out like there was no tomorrow.

I bet the guy at CR who published this report is shaking his head to himself. The guy probably knows that the Civic is fine and is better than the previous ones when the 13-15 models were 'recommended'
Paint quality has declined since the 90s? I'm curious about this statement. I didn't own a large number of cars in the 90s, but I know that our Red 1991 Protege didn't have a clearcoat and so required many hours of rubbing compound to keep it looking okay. My wife's 1991 626 wasn't particularly shiny. Certainly paint jobs from the 80's were god-awful. I've always thought that starting from the 2000's that paint jobs had gotten to the point to where they could look pretty close to brand new even after 15+ years.
 


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Paint quality has declined since the 90s? I'm curious about this statement. I didn't own a large number of cars in the 90s, but I know that our Red 1991 Protege didn't have a clearcoat and so required many hours of rubbing compound to keep it looking okay. My wife's 1991 626 wasn't particularly shiny. Certainly paint jobs from the 80's were god-awful. I've always thought that starting from the 2000's that paint jobs had gotten to the point to where they could look pretty close to brand new even after 15+ years.
I have a 2011 Mazda 3 hatchback. The paint does still look pretty shiny, even though I have don't have it in a garage (and this is in the Northeast US)... BUT, as I mentioned in another thread, the paint on it chips if you dare even look at it the wrong way. It's a red car, and the chips go down to the white primer - and they don't seem to go far to get there. I've heard the Hondas are the same. So, to me, it seems that the manufacturers are getting really stingy on how much paint they apply.
 

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Paint chips super easily. It seems like the paint has like one or two less coats on it. Even compared to my '12 CR-V, the paint on the Civic looks pretty poor.
That's going to be the exact case as there have been plenty of discussions over the years as to the ethics of using oil-based paint and also of the benefits of using water-based paints. One of the benefits would be more thorough coverage with far less coats applied.
 

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The thing I don't get is it seems like the Civic is getting singled out for the headunit issues. Unless I'm mistaken, all other Hondas have pretty much the same style headunits, and yet they are recommended? I urge everyone to fill out CR's survey about their recent changes so that hopefully they'll change their minds on this excellent car and people won't be turned off by CR's undeserved rating. Here's what I wrote them:

"Overall, changes are for the better. I must point out today's announcement of the Honda Civic no longer being recommended as an issue. It seems like it is due to the infotainment issues this car has had, but such an issue should not have as much weight as actual drivability issues, ie. engine, transmission, safety issues. It seems like every rating category is weighted the same when it shouldn't be so. I, along with plenty of other people I'm sure, would always take a car that is reliable and excellent to drive vs one that is reliable to listen to music."

http://www.consumerreports.org/consumer-reports/we-put-ourselves-to-the-test/
 
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kirkhilles

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Yeah, traditionally the black-circle-Poor rating was only used for the crappiest of vehicles that had SERIOUS mechanical problems like your classic Mitsubishi Eclipse or Chevy Corvette. Cars have come a long way, but I'd still find it hard to believe that this belongs with the Fiat and Eclipse.
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