What do you guys think? Is honda quality declining?>

[AccordEpicenter]

Hmm many things have led me to believe that hondas quality is declining. Our 3gs were very high quality, 4g-5g pretty good, 6g+ not as good and the newer civics are nice but not as good as they used to be. I seriously think that honda has been cheapening stuff up on us. For example... on my moms 98 LX V6 it has one hell of a rattle some where in the back deck... i dont drive the car or sit in the back seat much so i dont care, under the hood it has delphi parts for alternators etc (CHEAP DENSO COPIES) and ive heard quite alot about the V6 tranny longevity issues that lead me to believe this. Plus all the good suspension pieces we used to see are not around much anymore (double wishbones...) whats your guys thougts?

[A20A1]

Was the car made in Japan or US?

[AccordEpicenter]

all of my accords except for my 88 coupe were made in the usa...Marysville ohio

[accordlxi2.0]

i think they are still doing fine.
plus according to consumer report's they reconmend it.
part's may be from delco, cause the stock system is from pioneer(delco).

[Ludi Mali]

they're still 2nd on the list in initial quality, tied with hyundai

[A20A1]

I can see Honda America cutting corners, but not Honda Japan.

[Robs89LXi]

I can see Honda America cutting corners, but not Honda Japan.

You hit the nail right on the head. My V6 Coupe that I had was made here, and it had small stuff wrong with it, like fitment of the a-pillar covers etc. that would drive me nuts considering what I paid for it, and that it was a Honda. My ol' 3G is still as tight as when I first got it with no rattles or gaps anywhere. If buying a new Honda, insist on one from Japan.

[od2681]

plus some other companies are going up in quality, but i still think they are doing pretty decent

[keruhas184]

My dad had a 2002 accord. After 50k the wheel bearings started to go - he replaced one, and the other one started to grind; then the auto tranny began to grind. He traded it in and the dealer never saw the problems. Now he has a civic ex 04.

[RobT5580]

I think they are still great cars but i dont really like much of the new stuff coming out and it seems like the quality has gone down a little. After working at a dealership with multiple manufacturers and seeing all the problems with other manufacturers Honda is still on the good side. I just wish they would come out with some better looking stuff.

[87accordlxi]

They're still in good shape, but I see things that are kinda disappointing. My parents' '02 Accord has a few rattles in the dash and the tranny shifts rough, and who can forget Honda's FWD V6 tranny problems. I'd even go so far as to say that GM and Toyota make better auto trannies than Honda.

[Ludi Mali]

i thought toyota always had better trannies. In my mind it was honda with the better engines and toyota with the better tranies. My 87 camry 5spd still has all of the original transmission parts and that car has 250,000+ miles on it. But I know this honda is never gonna go bad, it still idles like a champ while the camry is a tad rough for FI

[88accordhb]

still beter than ford.

[Vanilla Sky]

the only problem i can think of is the auto tranny that they build... also, if your car was a honda built in japan, (do they import any anymore?) you have a better proabability of not having little rattles and such as they have higher quality control...

by the way, the rest of the honda build process is great... the big problem seems to be the fact that they are all pretty much sharing the same platform... look at the accord/pilot/odessey, and the civic/CRV/element... i'm not including acura in the mix, but there are even more cars built on the accord or civic platforms if you count them, too...

by the way, the acura line has uber high quality control... think of how solid the MDX is compared to the pilot (same thing, different minor details)... while the pilot is nice, the MDX is overall more solid feeling... i mean, even things like door handles feel more solid in the acura line... just like i would never buy a sony disc based ANYTHING, even though most of the disc based products use sony parts, the others have higher quality control...

quality control is everything... but apples to apples, honda is still very near the top... i would think the only company that could beat them would be toyota... i mean, honda even seems more solid than most benzes...

you really can't bash honda for low quality control, as they have a good build for the price... look at the nissan cars that are being built here... or the heavily parts-binned fords, chevys, and dodges that have what seems like NO quality control... i mean, when you can buy a civic for $14,000 that matches up in quality and features with other company's cars that cost upwards of $20,000 (again, the only real competition here is toyota...), you know honda is doing something right...

[Not like a rock]

My step mom has a 2000 camry, and that thing sounds like sh!t. All the belts are sooo loud. I don't know if they are all like that or what. I guess it's okay but I'll never forgive them for taking the camry over a 2000 accord because of a $200 difference.

I just think it's wierd that my 3G runs so much quieter than that new(er) camry. Maybe this is off topic for the thread, but why would I want "european styling" on my japanese vehicle? Kind of dissatisfied with the look of the current accord and civic.

[Docta_PhiLbeRt]

next to my akord 4dr from ohio, it is quite obvious that my moms 02 accord with 8000 miles has lesser quality materials..the front fascia has split, the drivers mirror broke loose from the motor, even the door handles feel delicate as if they could snap...

why do you think american car companies interchanging parts have a detrimental affect on quality? so if a company has parts/systems/drivetrains that have been proven in other cars over the years, are you saying they should ignore that and engineer new parts for EVERY car? every new car would have so many problems because its built with new parts that havent yet proven the test of time/consumer use. this is what keeps newly designed cars in one piece, using parts that have been proven, whatever they are.

anyone that still thinks american cars are still poor quality must be biased because obviously american cars have been improving by leaps and bounds the past few years. japanese cars homogenized the car market, and finally american designers have been using their imagination instead of mimicking boring cars

[deadlight]

still beter than ford.

Yeah well my spelling is "better" than yours, so ha!

[Civvy]

I think they must of employed a crap designer after about the 3rd gen civic 3rd gen lude and well i think the best looking accord was the 4th gen but it never had pop up lights. nsx 1st gen. Dont think honda have very many good looking cars anymore the headlights on the civics are bong-eye'd (too big!).
Bmw had style for a few years recently, I think Audi has it at the moment.
But, Honda went and slipped into the highest rank when they first came out they've got a lot of competition. In England the T.V. adverts have got BMW advertising "were cool because we stuck to rear wheel drive".
Incidentally Honda have some cool adverts at the moment. When the last Accord came out we had bill boards all over the u.k. showing a picture of a gatso and a new accord with big writting "happy braking" - cool.
My OPINION is Honda have wanted to change their image from 'an old mans car' to aiming at the younger drivers too. which would of meant they had to drop the price - hence cheaper part suppliers. I remember asking my dad why we never saw Honda advertisments on t.v. and he said son, Honda dont need to advertise....their cars advertise themselves.......

Also. i've got a movieclip on my hard drive of topgear with jeremy clarkson saying they sold 8 new style honda NSX's that year!!!

[k-roy]

Double whisbones are still alive and kickin, just not as much as before. My 87 LX had a hella rattle from teh rear deck also, that was an easy fix. Honda automatics have always sucked, some things never change. 2nd, third, 4th and fifth gen autos all can bite my nuts. The one thing that pisses me off more than anything about new Honda's is the liberal use of McPherson struts. I sould rather drive a ratty old pickup than a car with those bitches contriling the ride. Oh and if you look in the trunk of a TSX its lined with some fancy type of cardboard. Overall Honda is still above the pack, but its hard to stick at the top when you got stiff competition.

Oh and anyone that says domsetics suck are just plain stupid, yes many do but if you look and compare. Even GM is evolving. Maybe at the rate of a snail but its still progress. And take a look at DAimler Chrysler. Ever since the merger every single new domestic from them is a big imporvement. One thing Japan can not hold a candle to is the Pickup truck market. Yes Toyotas are good trucks but they get outsold 20 to 1 vs the big 3. Ok im gonna stop ranting now, I really need some sleep.

Oh and for quality take a gander at the K series. Overall I like them better than the B. I can't wait to see what the aftermarket has for them in 5 years.

[cubert]

Yeah well my spelling is "better" than yours, so ha!

Im not sure about the car side of things..but wow...on the motorcycle side of things the are about on par with slapping graphics on a big chunk of crap..putting it in a crate...and shipping it to the dealership...no cardboard over the crates for enviromental reasons..which is good if the reason is letting the enviroment rust the bikes away. Everything gets corroded even if they are left outside for a short period of time. They had to recall a bunch of goldwings so the frames could be re-welded..the cbr 1000rr's because the speedo read something like 20mph slower than you were actually going...and the cbr 600rr's brake linkages to prevent brake failure..thats just scratching the surface. Bottom line...the quality absolutely blows..if youre in the market for a bike go suzuki.

[accordlxi2.0]

i can agree with not like a rock.
well in a way, my cousin had a '90 and my friend had '99 camery's, both 4cyl.
i don't know how anyone can say the engine is quieter than a honda, or how it's better than a 3g accord.
i drove one , and for a car that has ( '90 )115hp and 124lbs of tq.
they are slow, and ( 99) 133hp and 147tq.
they are slow!!
the 99 toyota engine was louder than mines, and when you floored it you could feel the vibration.

i admit their was one time i liked ford or my cougar that lasted for a month i fixed that baby up and then next thing you know the brake system went out for no reason.

as for gm i like! my beretta was a nice car but sometime's part were expensive, i did wanna let it go.

maybe i should test drive a new accord or civic, i like how the civic look's.