Quality of 2008 Civics

[08civlx]

Originally Posted by natedog_37

Do you even read the Mazda boards?

They have rattles wear issue, sounds from the windows etc etc.

Same issue on both cars.

The Mazdaspeed "which is what I had order" has turbo blowing oil for no reason, the radio buts out "POS BOSE system"

THe front window rattles when cold, creeks and popping sounds from the wheels I could keep going but you get the idea.

Only issue I have had with my 08 is the sun roof make a sounds when open and going over big bumps.

i agree. Ive owned a 2004 mazda 3 SPORT 2.3 LITER. it was pure SHIT! it was fun to drive, and the tiptronic was more inteligent than some other cars (i.e. my freinds 2004 audi a4, which is also pure garbage. lol)

But the mazda 3 handles amazing but thats all. The interior is CHEAP. Carpets were ripping, RUST all over the wheel wells (poor paint, lol you think hondas paint is bad? mazda is even worse), car didnt start in park ever!!, car stalled a few times for no reason (ITS A ******* AUTOMATIC) id be driving for 20 mins, come to alight and the engine turns off....wtf??, wheel bearings blew at 50,000 KM...NOT MILES, KM. and i went through 4 pairs of rear brakes, and never had to change the front. Bad brake design much?? lol Mazda is complete SHIT.

I have a 2008 and 2005 civic. On the 2005 civic, NOTHING WRONG. one time i went over a speed bump way to fast (didnt see it) and the impact prolly loosened the connection to the radiator...anyways the engine overheated but was fixed. Other than that NOTHING. i drive the 2005 hard never repleaced brakes yet, or any mech problems. its at 65,000 km.

So i say **** mazda. Get a honda! lol

[R_sinist]

Originally Posted by 08civlx

i agree. Ive owned a 2004 mazda 3 SPORT 2.3 LITER. it was pure SHIT! it was fun to drive, and the tiptronic was more inteligent than some other cars (i.e. my freinds 2004 audi a4, which is also pure garbage. lol)

But the mazda 3 handles amazing but thats all. The interior is CHEAP. Carpets were ripping, RUST all over the wheel wells (poor paint, lol you think hondas paint is bad? mazda is even worse), car didnt start in park ever!!, car stalled a few times for no reason (ITS A ******* AUTOMATIC) id be driving for 20 mins, come to alight and the engine turns off....wtf??, wheel bearings blew at 50,000 KM...NOT MILES, KM. and i went through 4 pairs of rear brakes, and never had to change the front. Bad brake design much?? lol Mazda is complete SHIT.

I have a 2008 and 2005 civic. On the 2005 civic, NOTHING WRONG. one time i went over a speed bump way to fast (didnt see it) and the impact prolly loosened the connection to the radiator...anyways the engine overheated but was fixed. Other than that NOTHING. i drive the 2005 hard never repleaced brakes yet, or any mech problems. its at 65,000 km.

So i say **** mazda. Get a honda! lol

In terms of reliability and initial quality, Honda has Mazda beat hands down.

My previous car was a mazda6 and after about 6 months of ownership I was in the dealer about 5-6 times for problems, which were not all resolved. After 3 different dealerships and 2 years later the mass amount of problems ultimately made me decide to trade the car in the for the Civic Coupe LX..

About 9 Months now and I haven't been to the dealer once with the Honda for any problems.


http://www.marketingcharts.com/wp/wp...nking-2008.jpg

[IDriveAHondaCivic]

Originally Posted by electricute

I Pros:
Average of 27 MPG at 3k Miles (or is this a con? I did expect more but I am giving it time)
Acceleartion is Good enough (I have previously driven V8, Large V6, and Turbo V6)

It's your driving. It sounds like you've come from fast cars (V8, Turbo V6, etc) and you accelerate fast. Two of my early tanks in my '08 Sedan LX 5spd yielded a little over 25mpg...now, my last three tanks have all been over 37.5mpg. It's the indian...not the arrow. Change your driving habits and you'll see a large jump.

[eliteconcept]

If you are going to talk about getting good MPG then the word acceleration should not be used in the same sentence.
Acceleration is synonomus with POWER which does not go hand in hand with economy or MPG.

I agree with IDriveAHondaCivic you need to change your driving habits.
I get over 400 miles per tank with about 35% city 65% highway driving.

[FlyingBrickyard]

My experience with Mazda (both personal and those of friends who have had them), is that they're nice, fun cars that will serve you well.

For about 5 years.

At which point they'll pretty much self destruct with alarming speed. Doing all of the required preventative maintenance on schedule doesn't appear to stop it from happening either. Unless skipping the maintenance simply means the car will spontaneously explode at some point in year 5 instead of just going to pieces over a matter of months.

It seems Mazdas are really prone to breaking engine mounts, even on the economy models that don't produce much power or torque to begin with. Electrical problems also start cropping up, and are nearly impossible to track down.

In fairness, the Mazdas I've had experience with have been early-mid 90s models. Maybe they've improved significantly since. But I know I wouldn't seriously consider one unless I got an absolutely killer deal on it, and then I'd be looking to dump it for something else within 4 years, tops (assuming I got it brand new).

As for 2008 Civic build quality - I have to say I'm extremely impressed with my 08 EX Sedan (AT) so far. It has no rattles, buzzes, squeaks or any other noise it shouldn't have. Not a one.

I'm pretty shocked by it, actually. I expected something, but really, it's completely solid and silent so far under all conditions I've subjected it to.

That's more than I can say for the 91 Accord, which rattled while stopped and in gear (AT), or the 05 Civic (MT), which had a recurrent passenger side door squeak/rattle while driving that I could never quite nail down and eliminate.

The only other Honda I've seen or driven that was this well put together (again, so far) was the 1982 Civic (MT) that was assembled in Japan.

The only complaint I have about the 08 at this point is the current mileage. I got 22 mpg on my first tank, and it is not my driving that is the cause of it (I don't think I ever got above 2.5k rpm on the tach during acceleration at any point, and never took it faster than 57mph).

For the second tank I'm upping my rate of acceleration a bit, in the hopes of spending more time at cruise speeds which will, I hope, make things a bit better, but I'm making sure not to go over about 3.2k rpm in the process.

I asked at the service department last night, and the tech told me I wouldn't really see the higher numbers until I have about 5k-10k miles on the car.

Since I'm still breaking it in and am currently doing 100% city driving, I expect the numbers will be a bit lower, but I'm not sure I buy the whole "5k miles" bit. The 05 had 1,011 miles on it when I got it, and was clocking in at around 40mpg within a tank or two of owning it.

I should have a better idea of the numbers I can really expect by the end of August, as I'll be back to my normal driving patterns by then. If I can get at least 33 mpg combined, I'll be happy, as that's about what I was getting with the 05, and the 08 is quite honestly a lot more car in every sense.

[eBovine]

Originally Posted by IDriveAHondaCivic

It's your driving. It sounds like you've come from fast cars (V8, Turbo V6, etc) and you accelerate fast. Two of my early tanks in my '08 Sedan LX 5spd yielded a little over 25mpg...now, my last three tanks have all been over 37.5mpg. It's the indian...not the arrow. Change your driving habits and you'll see a large jump.

Yep. I get around 40mpg in the same car. I work with a guy who also owns one and is one of these "I take it easy and still only get 25mpg" guys. I drove for lunch one day and he had no freaking idea what it actually meant to be taking it easy. Now he's getting mid 30's.

For the thread opener:

I just bought my Civic LX 3 months ago. I researched the crap out of every car in it's price range. It came down to the three you're considering. Of those three:

Toyota Corolla: They were giving it away, but Toyota's reliability has been slipping.

Mazda: The gas mileage was s**t. If I'm going to drive a small car it better get really good mileage.

Honda: Slightly edged the other two in historical mechanical reliability and resale value.

I own my car as a means to get from my house to my office and back. If I hear a squeak or rattle, screw it. If it gets too loud I'll fix it. But it starts every morning and I drive past more gas stations than a Mazda owner. To me that is what was important.

[L7jr]

I have an 06 EX Coupe and in that time:

-Rear suspension noise at 1200 miles that the dealer denied and was told it would correct itself by 2000 miles - they were right

-Recall 06-070 was done on my car - passenger seat airbag sensor

-Air conditioning didn't work right for the summer of 06 and 07 - now it works freezing cold - took to two different dealerships and was told nothing wrong - it was blowing hot humid air and was idling extremely rough almost to the point of stalling out

-Right engine mount broke@17000 miles - replaced for free

-Recall 07-055 was done on my car - wheel bearing abs sensor issue - wheel possible to fall off

-TSB #06-059 done on my car - new belt kit was installed@25000 miles and it was like having a new car and still is - world of difference

I've had my share of issues with the car and that is not including the two car accidents that weren't my fault and the car being broken into. That is also not including each side of my car being keyed so bad that I had to fix it, once by my job and the other time by my house.

Would I buy another Honda?? I honestly don't know if I would purchase another. I know it's a first year car and I will never buy another first year car regardless of manufacturer, but I've had my share of issues as I've stated but my dad said to be thankful it wasn't anything mechanical. I know Honda's are great cars and I think I just got the one with issues.

[mito]

The Civics sold in the US are built in Alliston Ontario?

[K3vY]

If your looking in looks, IMO the Corolla is not going to be pleasing..

[Special Ringpop]

Originally Posted by mito

The Civics sold in the US are built in Alliston Ontario?

All coupe models and Si models (sedan and coupe) are built in Alliston, Ontario, Canada.

Some sedans and all Hybrids are build in Japan. The majority of sedans are built in Ohio.

[Braniff]

Originally Posted by spinner

I hope you're kidding. Money doesn't buy reliability.

Absolutely! I've had family members who owned: BMW's, Lexus', Acura's, Mercedes' and none of them were perfect. All had issues at one time or another. (BMW's are bad at A/C)

I've even known Rolls-Royce's to break down, and don't get me started about Jaguar.