Consumer Reports 2016 Reliability Rating

[gwaps]

Did the previous Civic had adjustable lumbar support? Was this an expected feature on this car?

I don't think I have driven a car with some kind of special lumbar support before, I wouldn't even look for that while buying a car.

I test drove a Civic recently and didn't notice anything uncomfortable as I drove it. Maybe I've driven such small cars before that it seemed like a step up , don't know?

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[nathanzachary]

This report was referenced by Bloomberg yesterday:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...rst-u-s-brand-to-crack-consumer-reports-top-3

I am a little shocked to see the results, especially since they seem to be based solely off the InfoTainment system.

 

[adastra57]

This report was referenced by Bloomberg yesterday:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...rst-u-s-brand-to-crack-consumer-reports-top-3

I am a little shocked to see the results, especially since they seem to be based solely off the InfoTainment system.

Lose their gauges while driving? Has anyone experienced that?

 

[adastra57]

Should also note that Consumer Reports asks about owner satisfaction in their survey too.

 

[Civic Fan 2016]

I find the seats fairly comfortable and supportive but I haven't driven it for a long drive (over an hour) yet. In my old '00 civic, I used one of those small bean bag cushions for lumbar support because that car didn't have any support. Isn't lumbar support typically a luxury car feature?
I am glad it has the sliding sun visor which dh's '16 Prius is lacking and makes those visors useless. For all the tech and gauges that car has, you would think they would have put in sliding sun visors.

 

[EADGBE]

This is from the publication that rated a Jeep Wrangler as "not recommended" due to a "stiff, uncomfortable ride". It's a great service they provide, because I'm sure many readers might have otherwise expected a Wrangler to ride like a Lexus.

 

[dtccivic]

I support Consumer Report's assessment 100%. My 2016 Civic was in the shop for 40+ days in the first 6 months of owning it.

• Misaligned trunk
• Parking brakes that don't stay engaged (I thought I was going crazy until I saw that recall)
• Doors that don't unlock
• Endless streams of errors that tell you top stop driving the car
• Scratches on interior door panels
• A head unit that requires rebooting 50% of the time I use Siri
• The cap-less gas system that causes Costco pumps to spill out 50% of the time (before I remove the pump)
• Fender liner that was torn out of the gate.
• ... and this doesn't even include the shit show that it is dealing with Honda corporate.

I thought my wife's 2014 BMW would be a reliability nightmare when she first got it - it's been smooth sailing.

 

[dtccivic]

Lose their gauges while driving? Has anyone experienced that?

If you search around, you'll find posts on here about the dash going blank while driving. Basically the app that runs that crashes.

 

[Markdog]

What does this have to do with reliability??? Are you sure this isn't initial quality??

I took my touring into dealer, got loaner, came back no more sub rattle. The car has been flawless otherwise going on 7 weeks. Audio system works great.

CR says Civic won't be reliable now because they don't like audio system. Meat heads.

 

[dtccivic]

The infotainment system isn't reliable when:

1. 50% of the time I use siri, it gets stuck in Voice mode - and then I have to reboot the head unit to go back to listening to radio. (And sometimes that doesn't work)
2. When it periodically crashes and cause the dashboard to disappear while driving.
3. When it throws up errors randomly telling you to pull over and stop using your car because the brakes have failed. (They haven't.)

And some of these still aren't fixed.

 

[PS3]

The Wall Street Journal stated the reason for the ranking was due to electronics failures to entire dashboard consoles needing replacement.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/consume...recommendation-on-poor-reliability-1477331492

 

[gwaps]

The infotainment system isn't reliable when:

1. 50% of the time I use siri, it gets stuck in Voice mode - and then I have to reboot the head unit to go back to listening to radio. (And sometimes that doesn't work)
2. When it periodically crashes and cause the dashboard to disappear while driving.
3. When it throws up errors randomly telling you to pull over and stop using your car because the brakes have failed. (They haven't.)

And some of these still aren't fixed.

Thanks for your Input, I've now decided against buying a Honda of any sort. Going back to Toyota for a boring camry but at least no troubles. I've had Camry , Tercel and Matrix in the past with no issues. I'll play it safe this time.

 

[mno86]

The gauge cluster interface on upper trim levels is flawless.

The center stack- not so much. Clearly two different teams worked on this.

I have to restart my head unit multiple times a week for any number of reasons -frozen green blinking screen, stuck on warning screen in start up, wonky GPS in navigation.

While annoying, 8 wouldn't care about this as much if the HVAC weren't impacted. The second that screen goes, so does your HVAC control.

I can live with a bug or two that happen infrequently. Honda needs to get its ass in gear and fix this head unit- not "replace" for 2017 as been speculated.

 

[shammgod126]

I believe Honda has fixed most of the infotainment issues in the 2017 model and the later 2016 models. I bought my Civic In July and have not had any issues with the car. There are definitely more happy customers than there are disgruntled ones.

 

[gtman]

I was a Honda owner back in the 80's and 90's (yeah I'm old) and back then the cars were built like little jewels. No huge panel gaps, and all systems worked first time every time. All three cars I owned (A CRX, Civic and Integra were all first year models, btw). It's undeniable that Honda build quality has gone downhill somewhat and it seems like it almost depends on where your car was built as to quality control. For example, Honda Fits built in Mexico have been fairly awful compared to the Japanese built ones. I realize that these days cars have many more complicated electronic systems compared to the old days. Yet, think about it, all the robotic technology we have and all the advancement in electronic technology should make a more reliable, better built product.

This is the only reason I've hesitated on making the Civic my next car. I want a good looking, fun to drive and reliable car. The Civic is certainly good looking and fun to drive. The build quality and electronic glitches bother me because it seems to be so hit and miss. My last two cars have been a Hyundai and a Kia and they have treated me well. So for now, I'm still deciding between an Elantra, a Forte 5, a Civic and a Mazda3 hatch. And the most shocking thing of all is that Kia and Hyundai are now considered more reliable (by CR, JD Power etc.) than Honda. Now before you say "CR sucks" (which I mostly agree with), know that I've run a Hyundai based forum for over 14 years and the reports of reliability problems from our members has been extremely low.

I love the new Civic and it's still number one on my buy list but I can't afford to buy a car that will spend a bunch of time at the dealer.

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