Honda quality sorely lacking

saz468

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I'm old. Let me get that out of the way first. Way back when, when most people were driving Detroit iron, I was driving a first year Honda CRX, first year Acura Integra and a 5th gen Honda Civic. Clearly, was a huge Honda fan. They had the best manual transmission and engines for the money. They handled well and the fit and finish was great for the price.

After that, due to financial reasons, I owned a first gen Hyundai Elantra GT hatch and first gen Kia Forte SX. Both of those cars were better than expected to drive and reliable.

In 2017, I was ready for a new car. It was down to three vehicles... a 10th gen Civic, the Elantra GT Sport turbo or a GTI. Ultimately, I chose a EX-L Civic sedan and I love the car. But, these Civics have some definite areas were quality has gone down.

The paint chips way too easily. The sheetmetal is incredibly thin in spots. The body panel gaps are huge. The stock headlights are dim. No glovebox light. "Carpet" that is thinner than thin.

Also, not a quality issue but what is with the horn that sounds like it belongs on a tricycle?

The engineering and driveability are great, although the stock Firestones are a far cry from the Michelins that came on my other Hondas.
I test drove a 2018 Hyundai Elantra GT sport turbo and I’ll be honest my 2014 Elantra coupe was better quality the turn single were flimsy knobs lose feeing plus when I opened the sunroof it made a grinding noise the salesperson said they will look into that when you buy the car. Hyundai does make a good car . I was just bored of my Elantra . this is my first civic and I’m sure quality has gone down since past generation civic but after looking at a few cars before the civic. The civic is better quality than most for the money. Plus the civic is the only car you can get in a coupe in its class
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skshrews

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"The paint chips way too easily. The sheetmetal is incredibly thin in spots. The body panel gaps are huge. The stock headlights are dim. No glovebox light. "Carpet" that is thinner than thin.

Also, not a quality issue but what is with the horn that sounds like it belongs on a tricycle? "

No paint chip issues after 2 years, 25k miles/year-in horrible NE winters with salt/sand everywhere.
Sheetmetal? Huh? So what? Heavy, thick body panels are a sign of "quality"?
Panel gaps? Seem very unremarkable to me for a car of this price.
Glovebox light-1st world problem.
Carpet is thin-true. But floor mats make this issue irrelevant. Get "thick" floor mats.
The horn is ridiculous.
 

gtman

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Have you ever waxed the hood of your car? Press on the upper center area of the hood. It pops like an aluminum foil pan. There are places on the sedan where if you lean too heavily your hand can cause a small dent (C pillar area). I have more chips on this car than any I've owned in 35 years driving the same roads. Maybe it's the Cosmic Blue paint but it's bad. I can stick my fingers through the large gap between the rear decklid edge and rear fender. Those are lack of quality/design/cost cutting issues IMO.

I'm glad you apparently don't have those issues but many here over the course of my almost 4 years as a member have had the same complaints.

Edit: I see you own the UK built hatchback. Maybe that's the variable here. I don't know.
 
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Charley-TX

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Mine has the "every safety features warning light come on one after another" problem.
Mostly comes on when on the hwy but once it did when I was backing out of my garage. It happens about once per month.
It always resets when the ignition is turned off.
Took it to the dealer, they could not duplicate the problem. I told them -it is random and you may have to drive it for a month to duplicate it. I showed them pictures of all the light ON the dash while the vehicle is being driven.
Again they could not duplicate the problem and there are no codes stored.
They said it is most likely a battery voltage issue. ? They installed anew battery.
Two weeks later the problem returned. Dealer said "drive it to any Honda dealer when the light comes on and don't turn the car off.... right.. :(
 


Lifesabeach

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Another to avoid Fix It Agian Tommorow, not sure how many FIAT,'s they sell in the States thats if they are even sold over there but here in Europe a few years ago you could see the sheet metal disolve in the rain. The reason the sheet metal on the Civic is thin in places is beacuse its a light car, all to do with being more fuel effecient I would assume. As for the paint, these days the paint is water based so probably not as robust as a few years ago but why Honda cannot apply it a little thicker is beyond me :dunno:
 

saz468

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Another to avoid Fix It Agian Tommorow, not sure how many FIAT,'s they sell in the States thats if they are even sold over there but here in Europe a few years ago you could see the sheet metal disolve in the rain. The reason the sheet metal on the Civic is thin in places is beacuse its a light car, all to do with being more fuel effecient I would assume. As for the paint, these days the paint is water based so probably not as robust as a few years ago but why Honda cannot apply it a little thicker is beyond me :dunno:
Fiats are sold via Chrysler which is a not so great car company
 

Hondaman_MI

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The panels gaps are annoying, but if you google other brands, they deal with the same issues. Tesla owners spend a lot of money, and they deal with uneven panels and gaps. At least our gaps only cost us $20,000 and not $80,000 :D
 

VarmintCong

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Have to say that Honda quality is not what it use to be. I was thinking of buying my 2016 Civic ex l when the lease ends in April , but highly doubtful now. Driving from NY to Florida last month the AC was blowing warm air. I bring it to Honda of St Augustine . They find it's low on freon but cannot find any leak. They evacuate & recharge it and add a dye to it. They also did the oil dilution update (I didn't ask them to) Changing the ac control unit is part of that campaign. I notice the next day that my dual climate control is not working. On my second trip back to the dealership they realize that it's the wrong ac controller. Of course they have to order the part. On my third trip they install the correct one. All is good until a few days later when the AC is blowing warm again. On my 4th trip back they replace the condenser. ( I told them that it is a common part failure , but of course they never believe you.) It seems all service writers are trained to never admit that they have ever seen any particular issue. When the service manager tells me it is a bad condenser, I responded that they just happen to have that & the compressor in stock. ( Even though they claim they've never seen any fail) It's shameful that a common part like a condenser & compressor that normally give you many years of service are failing in large numbers in 16 civics. Now my Civic is at a dealership in Daytona Beach & I have a loaner car. The latest problem is that every conceivable malfunction light in the dashboard is lit up. It took them almost two hours to tell me that the vehicle speed sensor is bad. ( I think it may be the vehicle stability assist module) There are numerous complaints online about these malfunction lights coming on for no reason. Of course they have to overnight the part, that's why I took the loaner. In 3 months the warranty ends ,& I'd be stuck paying these parts changers to repair this vehicle. Pretty sure I'm done with Honda. If I wanted a relationship with the service manager I'd buy a Ford , Chrysler or Chevy.
I was concerned when my new 2017 needed a new controller when the dash lights shut off while driving, and when a shock failed at like 15k miles. But it's been flawless since then at 55k miles.

Cars are getting very complicated now, and these failed parts are probably not made by Honda, keep that in mind. If the engine fails, you know it's Honda's fault.
 

Vmac

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I've been a staunch Honda proponent since a 1981 Honda Civic. Then another Civic, a couple Accords, an Acura CL-S, a Pilot, and an Element. All exceeded my expectations. This 2018 SI is no different. I will admit that the nature of my elation this time is mostly due to the unbeatable 3-way balance of price, performance, and mpg. And less about fit and finish. I have NO complaints about quality, but I do suspect that Honda might not have the clear lead in this area that they enjoyed for so long in the past. Others have certainly closed the (panel) gap.
 


Gruber

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Have you ever waxed the hood of your car? Press on the upper center area of the hood. It pops like an aluminum foil pan. There are places on the sedan where if you lean too heavily your hand can cause a small dent (C pillar area). I have more chips on this car than any I've owned in 35 years driving the same roads. Maybe it's the Cosmic Blue paint but it's bad. I can stick my fingers through the large gap between the rear decklid edge and rear fender. Those are lack of quality/design/cost cutting issues IMO.

I'm glad you apparently don't have those issues but many here over the course of my almost 4 years as a member have had the same complaints.

Edit: I see you own the UK built hatchback. Maybe that's the variable here. I don't know.
I don't know if my hood bends less that yours; it certainly does bend a bit but it doesn't particularly appall me. It is thinner than my CR-V's. It probably saves some pounds.
The largest gap is around the hatch. It is not extremely precise - I can slide in my phone between the hatch and the roof on one side, but not on the other. But this is not detectable visually. It is not detectable, because the gap is wide. Would I pay more money to have a narrower gap? No. First, the gap shows it's a hatchback, second, regardless of the factory assembly, if there is a need of some body work later, it will be easier and cheaper to fit then too. I had a slightly misaligned rear passenger door in my CR-V which I didn't notice when buying. The dealer's body shop fixed it free, but it wasn't easy (at least for what they wanted to pay for it). The narrower the gap, the harder it is to fit it.

Also, for example, the front doors will give quite a bit if pushed at the center just below the window. In other cars it may be much more rigid at this spot.

It used to be that several people could sit on the hood of some classic American cars. Now you would need a large SUV or a large luxury car maybe.
Or get a BMW:*

Honda Civic 10th gen Honda quality sorely lacking CQNEjaTc6L4uV4Ff1RvP9VGC5t7Ta6VxzCNSVWlz2Ie38pFuOt6mvsxre5JAw?width=600&height=399&cropmode=none



Btw. can your CTR do this (I didn't think so):

Honda Civic 10th gen Honda quality sorely lacking qBDcM25u_4iDmoJBK6GJCqMaxGfg5UeY9AeFP43h7oytVcJfn36mwQKCBFjpQ?width=683&height=800&cropmode=none


* the BMW picture is fake
 
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frontlinegeek

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The paint chips way too easily. The sheetmetal is incredibly thin in spots. The body panel gaps are huge. The stock headlights are dim. No glovebox light. "Carpet" that is thinner than thin.

Also, not a quality issue but what is with the horn that sounds like it belongs on a tricycle?

The engineering and driveability are great, although the stock Firestones are a far cry from the Michelins that came on my other Hondas.
I find that the areas where it does chip is on the leading edge of the hood and really, they could paint that thicker and that issue would go away.

Never noticed any issues with carpet. I just know the cloth on the Canadian EX doors and center console dirty up WAY too easy from just rubbing your skin.

Oh and Honda horns have always sounded wimpy.

I would say that as much as I have quite enjoyed the now 18 months with my 2017 EX Sensing Sedan (Canadian), I know that if I want a more appointed/quality interior car, I need to either get the Accord Sport 2.0 or get an Acura T or R model sedan.

Comically, the only thing I really don't like about my Civic is the insanely low ground clearance. 125mm dry weight is ridiculously low. It is an inch lower than my old Gen7. It is only 4 mm higher than an Aston Martin DBS Superleggera. I catch it on things all the damned time and the approach angles off the bumper are just as cringey. I know I am not a small man (245 lbs) but me and my gas can't drop the ride height that much more. But hey, if this is one of the bigger elements to getting the insane fuel economy on the highway, then leave it. I love seeing 5.4 liters/100km on the dash! With 3 people, luggage and a roof box on it!
 

Ldk812

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'16 Civic with 50k miles. Zero issues with the air conditioning. A handful of complaints online for literally the bestselling car in its class doesn't make an issue "common". If it was common then there'd be a recall, or at the very least it would be listed under "common problems with this vehicle" on websites that aggregate consumer reports and list such things (according to carcomplaints.com, there have been only 15 complaints encompassing both the AC and heat; of these, about half are only noise-related).

I personally have nothing to gain or lose from anyone joining or leaving the Honda 'family', and your choices are up to you, but I don't like general misinformation being spread just because someone is bitter about their atypical experience. There's nothing wrong with venting your frustrations or deciding to stop driving Hondas, but if you're going to assert that the 2016 Civic has the AC compressors & condensers going out all the time, please provide sources (other than the aforementioned handful of forum posts somewhere) to back it up. Give us a consumer reports site that lists it as a common issue, or at least tell us how you arrived at this conclusion.

As for the other issues you listed, it sounds like you had a problem with the AC, took it to a dealer who didn't address the actual problem, and then you started having other problems. Sounds to me like the dealer messed up your car. You had the unfortunate atypical experience of a bad AC unit, and the dealer not only didn't fix it, they also probably either messed up flashing the computer's firmware, or they shorted something in your electrical system or messed up your ground. Take it to a different dealer, one that knows what they're doing, because that dealer clearly doesn't.


Here is your source, there is a law firm investigating a class action lawsuit against Honda for the enormous amount of people that have lost AC...

Honda Civic 10th gen Honda quality sorely lacking 5B6C2EA1-7946-4A02-BFFD-9C328C6A44E8
 

skshrews

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Here is your source, there is a law firm investigating a class action lawsuit against Honda for the enormous amount of people that have lost AC...

5B6C2EA1-7946-4A02-BFFD-9C328C6A44E8.jpg
A bunch of class action lawyers puts together a suit and that proves what?!!
I'm sure there is a class action suit saying "2+2=5".
Too funny
 

stingray

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Here is your source, there is a law firm investigating a class action lawsuit against Honda for the enormous amount of people that have lost AC...

5B6C2EA1-7946-4A02-BFFD-9C328C6A44E8.jpg
To a class action lawyer, 2 people complaining creates an enormous group. Don’t forget, the lawyer gets the vast majority of the settlement in a class action suit. The owners get a pittance.
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