10th generation long term ownership and relialibity?

jeremiah

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Honda Civic 10th gen 10th generation long term ownership and relialibity? 625728


How do you guys think the 10th generation Civic line up will hold up over time in terms of reliability?

I understand there are many factors that determine how long a car will last or not last, but lets just say the car is driven spiritedly as intended (not abused), maintained on schedule, resides in a nice environment ie. California no snow/salt or high temperature extremes such as Las Vegas.

The new motors and turbo are a step in a different direction for Honda, so am I curious to see how it all may hold up compared to previous generations with the screaming Vtec motors that are very rev happy and have proven to be overall pretty reliable.

My main concerns is the turbo failing, push button start/electronic e brake malfunctioning, etc.
Hondas and most modern cars these days come equipped with so much electronics and technology I wonder how it all will do after the 100,000 miles mark.

For those who keep their car 1-3 years, no biggie. Even at 30K miles a year, thats just 90K.

I plan to keep this car for 5-10 years, so I wanna do what I can to keep it running as reliably as possible to not break the bank.

The best things I can think of are routine oil changes, checking fluid levels, etc.

Also, after driving, do you guys idle for a minute or two before shutting off the motor? Is this necessary since the car is equipped with a turbo?
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cypress

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I kept my 2007 Civic for 10 years and finally solid in April 2017 to my friends. The AC Compressor started going back and I was just felt it was time to move on. I had 150,000 on it and I was pretty much on top of all the repairs. The extended warranty covered the big repairs but the car was extremely reliable. I think this car will do just fine .I plan on keeping this car for at least 5-7 years maybe more.

Take care of it and it will take care of you.
 

IDriveACivic

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These are purely my educated guesses:

Turbo engines
I think the technology has been around long enough for it to be reliable. Correctly if I'm wrong, but Honda is one of the late adopters to put in turbochargers in their mainstream cars. I'd say they have enough empirical data to make a durable engine. Plus, the one in the Civic is tiny, so as long as you don't tamper with it, it should last a long time.

Sure, turbo adds complexity, but the relative risk of modern turbos aren't that much greater than naturally aspirated engines. The power and fuel efficiency benefits should outweigh the relative increase in risk.

CVT
I'd worry about this over the turbo, but with preventive maintenance and non-stupid driving habits, the transmission should last a while. Time will tell.

Tech
High tech infotainment has been around is the new norm. You can't really escape it unless you opt for the most basic trims (but you'd lose a lot of convenience/safety features).

Hopefully:
  1. The electrical will last for a good 7 - 10 years
  2. By the time 1. happens, technology has advanced enough that it's cheap to replace any broken electrical equipment (OEM or aftermarket).
 

bembol

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I'll be honest if I had to worry about one thing it would have to be the Turbo, otherwise I'm good.

I had a 2002 Acura RSX Premium, I ripped the fock out of it and after 7 years the transmission started to act up. It could be my fault too because i waited 100k/km before changing the ATF.

Again, I'm conflicted because I read and been told by Nissan service not to touch ATF unless the system tells you. I didn't and my 2008 Altima Coupe 3.5SE lasted longer without any hiccups.

Including my CivicX I pretty much drive all them similar, 95% of my driving use it on S mode/Paddle Shifters/Tiptronic. I also use Castrol 0W-30 back then now switched to Amsoil Signature Series 0W-30.
 
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That’s why I purchased Honda’s extended warranty to another 8-years or 120,000 miles. With my driving distance, I’ll definitely hit the 8-year mark before the high miles.

I’m sure the new 1.5 are strong. I saw the video showcasing the new exhaust manifold cooling system, sodium filled valves, and all them goodies. Supposedly our CVT has a torque converter? Can anyone verify that? And that Honda’s the only manufacturer that does that?

But what I’m most concerned with is not the power train, but more so the electric components. All the electric power steering, drive by wire, infotainment Systems, sensors, ECU, etc. They appear to be some of the more expensive repairs and can have issues at literally anytime. That’s the main reason why I got the extended warranty.

I’m hoping Honda will live up to its reputation and for me, no buyer remorse.
 


motoguy128

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Can't be worse than the '06 BMW I traded in with 70k miles. The only problem it had was the electronic thermostat failing, which is a known failure. Water pump was probably 1 year away from death and other than a 1/2 dozen oil leaks (A BMW trait), but all the electronics still worked.
 

charleswrivers

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Honda doesn't have the best reputation for automatic transmissions associated with their J engines. Their 5 speed was relatively failure prone. I have their 6 speed on my Odyssey. I have had a 3x drain and fill performed under warranty at 40k miles, after having done a 1x drain/fill per my maintenance minder at around 30k miles. Both used the mediocre but warranty safe Honda ATF. Shifting was rough now and then with a judder. The 9 speeds used by Acura didn't receive a lot of fan fare, and are being used on the lower trims of the 5th gen Odyssey. The new 10 speed is being used on the high trim Odyssey which is still using a J35, now with DI where the Accord is getting the 2.0t. I bet the Odyssey will get the 2.0 soon, so long as they can assure the engine is durable enough to move the extra weight, which would be well over 2x the weight of a Accord when you factor in towing. We'll see how the 10s do. Despite DI and 4 more gears, fuel economy is virtually unchanged, though acceleration is somewhat better. And then you have CVTs... different than a AT... and in some ways inferior...

I like CVTs on paper, but in reality, the few I've driven had some aggressive engine management to limit torque. I've heard of them being replaced, but not rebuilding so much. God bless CVT adopters who buy them and continue to allow manufacturers to put R&D dollars in them to make them better, but I won't own one yet. The tunes that are coming out that had more moderate amounts of power to save the CVT are for a reason. I think folks w/tunes who have the CVTs are sitting on a time bomb. Just because something is working now does not mean it will continue to do so but it is their risk they have incurred and as early adopters they are developing the history on the new platform that folks who buy into it used will have access to. But... I have a MT so it is not a worry I have.

Other than the tranny, I think Honda's have a pretty poor paint job. They're not terribly durable and they are uneven with a lot more orange peel than competitors. Honda had to repaint a bunch of 8th gens. My 9th gen at 3 years was badly chipped up after a relatively easy life.

The tech should be ok, I think.

As to turbos, to replace the one baby this car has it seems very easy. On a 300zx, generally you pull the engine to replace turbos. The FSM does give a method of doing it w/the motor in... but I've always heard it's just easier to pull the motor. That may seem ridiculous, until you try to get to where the turbos are. So... a Civic? I bet you could pull a junker or get a reman and send in your old one for the core and swap in an afternoon super easy. If you were paying someone else to do it, I can't imagine the labor is more than 3-4 hours. I am (obviously) just guessing. Those 9 vane turbos look to be around $1k new. Very cheap.

Parts from salvage yards should be too expensive/hard to come by as time goes on. I don't want to swap CVTs though.... PITA.
 
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internalaudit

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^ I have an 11 Accord coupe I4 5A/T bought new and no issues with the 5-speed auto. I'm only past 65k miles though but have extended warranty until close to the end of 2018.

No judder but of course shifting will be perceivable. It's not going to be the smoothest transmission for sure.
 

xcoreflyup

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I would focus on 4 areas

CVT: I was worried at first until I read that Honda has been using CVT on cars since 1995.

Turbo Engine: for 1, 1st Gen RDX is a 2.3 K-series Turbo and they seem like doing fine. There are many ford ecoboost f150 going over 200K miles. With proper maintenance, I am sure my Honda will make it. I am planning to take this car upto 250K miles.

Electronics, I picked my HB sport for a reason. The only electric options I have are the brake hold, the backup Camera and the audio unit. I dont even have a sunroof. I have to pay over $1000 to fix the sunroof on our 13 years old BMW wagon.

Overall, everything else on the car seems to be well design, the cooling system, the suspension, the engine mounts, fuel system and so on...after 11 months and 15k miles, I think I can trust this car.
 
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CivicXI

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After 6 months and 15k miles, I too can trust this car lol.
 


thatwhiteSi

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Even if the turbo fails it is only like 700 dollars or something to buy a replacement.
 

kritz

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Clutch and some of the gizmos(parking brake, push button start) are my only worry. I'm at 10,000 miles now with no issues at all. First service was done at 9,600 miles (15% maintenance minder) for 67 bucks last week. Maintenance costs look to be low for this car like my 7th, 8th and 9th SI's.
 

charleswrivers

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^ I have an 11 Accord coupe I4 5A/T bought new and no issues with the 5-speed auto. I'm only past 65k miles though but have extended warranty until close to the end of 2018.

No judder but of course shifting will be perceivable. It's not going to be the smoothest transmission for sure.
The Accords fared much better than the Odyssey. Add 1000+ lbs and they just don't do so well. The Odyssey's got the same power train as the v6 Accords and exposed their lack of robustness (is that a word...?). I'm not sure if that 5at mated to the i4 is the same as the one that goes to the J35.

As long as you change your ATF on schedule and don't abuse it, they should last a long time. Odyssey's have a pretty short change interval at 30k. Even then, with no towing, the fluid was well used. If noticed it getting a little rougher with a judder that wasn't from the cylinder deactivation up to 30k, improved slightly, then was getting worse. Had the 3x drain and fill, a $200 service covered under warranty. That's mostly cured it, but it's left me feeling like 30k for exchanging 3-4 qts of fluid may just not hack it. Whether it's Honda's poor ATF, the power train being ill suited to the task of moving 4500 lbs regularly or what... it beats me. Lots of info on the Odyssey forums concerning it. The J35 has been a good engine but it's long in the tooth and due to be replaced. Kind of like how Nissans VQ, which was an aluminum version of the VG seems like the VR may replace it, I was hoping Honda would develop a new V6. Slapping DI and a 10 speed on the J35 seems like it's swan song.
 

internalaudit

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My Accord will be seven years old next month and although the only entry luxury car I've driven in the mid 90's was my dad's C280, I still think the Accord drives like new. Maybe it's not as fuel efficient as before (it never was anyway) or maybe there's been a 5% drop in power (got a recall on carbon deposit build up not long after we took possession in December 2010 so maybe there's not build up at all) but it's still a fantastic ride. No reason to dispose of it for $7-9k USD. I can't even buy a decent three year old car with that money.

My 02 Civic 5M/T is in a POS condition now with rusting and creaky suspensions and belt (on some cold starts) but it just won't die. Honda and Toyota are really in a class of their own and Honda in Canada is more generous when it comes to purchasing extended factory warranty.
 

motoguy128

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I previously owned an '06 BMW 325i... sigh. Every part of that car was just begging to fail. I have little concerns at all about the Civic in comparison.

But i still miss those amazing brakes and how it gripped the road, even in base model trim. Spinning that engine up to 7k was a real treat. Even if it was no faster than the Civic. Maybe even a tad slower. That car might have gotten 40mpg once with a 20mph tailwind on a downhill stretch.
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