1.8 EX 6 months in - very dissapointing

[Chris_J]

My Merc clunk coming to a stop under braking. I've been told the most likely thing is the control arm. I had a clunk when backing off my drive a few months ago, and apparently that was the camber bushes had split.

The C Class just gone out is terrible for suspension, with a lot of people coming to 40,000 miles and needing suspension parts replaced. I hope my Civic doesn't do this

[GHGH]

Mine "clunks" maybe once a week, maybe not. Dealer doesn't find anything wrong. I'm afraid I will forget about the whole thing if nobody reminds me.....

[tongie]

Thanks for all your replies. Sounds like there are plenty of people happy with their vehicles but some in my position as well.

Since the post I've had the following replaced:

Microphone fix
New shocks all round
New bushings
New steering rack

I have to say that the ride seems much better and the steering is much improved. My advice to anyone with a poor ride is to insist that the dealer changes the key parts.

[Nexxo]

Originally Posted by tongie

I'm not sure if others agree with me but I think the EX model (and civic generally) has many faults. My observations are:

• The ride is awful especially cornering at any kind of speed

I must disagree. Having gone from a Vauxhall Nova 1.5 TDI (now that had poor cornering and suspension! Great fun with the power though) to a Volvo 480 (cornered like a train) to a Skoda Fabia (very respectable, but definitely a bit bouncy at high speeds in corners), my Civic has the best cornering so far. It is a Type S, mind you. The suspension is a bit harder, but that's the price you pay for solid road holding.

• The dash rattles in many places

I have noticed no rattles in mine; it is 1 year old.

• The HID lights are rubbish

I have halogens so no comment.

• The hands free/voice activation is a joke even after mods

It's OK really. Gets confused with a few numbers sometimes, but you have to know how to talk to voice recognition systems. They don't do intonation. You. Have. To. Dictate. Each. Word. As. If. Pronounced. On. Its. Own. for best results. But you can do it at normal speed.

• Soundproofing is really poor

Fine here.

• Auto wipers take ages to come on

Nope. You have to set them to the right sensitivity (one notch before maximum), but then they come on when you need them, going as fast as you need them. It's almost telepathy.

• Cruise control is not smooth especially when it backs off

Works fine for me.

• Ipod connection is a rip off

Don't buy one then! I've got one because it saves me messing with CDs. If you can't be bothered with playlists, set it to "shuffle" before you connect it. Works really well for long trips and you can simply skip the tracks you don't want to listen to with the channel +/- button.

• Computer overstates speed & MPG

All cars do.

• Suspension is noisy

I disagree.

• Stereo poor

I disagree. Turn up Treble and Bass for a bit more depth. It ain't my old Skoda's Grundig, but I find the quality very decent. I get no radio reception problems at all where my Skoda did.

It feels like they had to compromise the quality to keep the cost down.

I certainly will not buy another Honda and will be getting rid of it within 6 months.

If you want an Audi, buy an Audi and pay for an Audi. The Honda Civic is a good price/performance balance.

I feel it is a bit like this: some people get narked with their Satnav for instance, if it does not function 100%. They forget that it is essentially trying to pinpoint its exact position in the whole *******' world by trying to spot three satellites in the sky, and superimpose that to a map of Europe, and work out from that when you need to take the next left turn. I'm not that old, but I remember that if we could make a home computer print "[your name] is cool!" 100 times, we thought that was *******' awesome.

I certainly remember driving a Vauxhall Nova 1.5TDI. It had no Bluetooth or Satnav, no power steering, no electric anything; no HID, no AC, no remote buttons on the steering wheel. Most of the time it felt like it had no suspension either. And taking even mild corners at anything above 40mph made it lift its rear wheel as if it was a dog about to mark its territory.

I come from a Skoda Fabia. It was a very good car, and reliable, and comfortable --Volkswagen/Audi built, after all. And yet my Type S is still a significant improvement in all areas. I do suspect that the earlier cars had some teething problems, which is inevitable with what is a fairly radical new design. Even the Mercedes A-class flipped over once.

[GHGH]

Originally Posted by Nexxo

Even the Mercedes A-class flipped over once.

And thank God and Swedes for that - that's why the ESP was developed
I'm with you in most comments - but I think the stereo is (was) not good.

[FWH]

Originally Posted by GHGH

And thank God and Swedes for that

You are welcome.