Overview & Reviews

Why are Honda vehicles so highly regarded by American drivers? Certainly, their excellent reputation for reliability and quality is a major factor. But it also has to do with the overall driving and owning experience. Read any Honda review and you'll likely notice common themes such as thoughtful design, a friendly nature, better-than-average fuel economy and attention to safety.

Japan-based Honda Motor Company was founded in 1948 by Soichiro Honda. The company got its start making motorbikes. Japan had been rendered cash poor and fuel-starved after World War II, and its citizens were hurting for an inexpensive, fuel-efficient mode of transportation. Honda's first motorcycles mated engines with bicycles to create a motorbike that was cheap to make and operate.

Honda's bikes quickly evolved into vehicles far more sophisticated than small engines stuck into bicycle frames. The manufacturer's 1949 D-Type could reach speeds of up to 50 mph, and offered front and rear suspension. The 1950s saw the launch of the successful Juno scooter, built to steal market share from the Vespa knockoffs that were popular in Japan at that time. In the latter part of that decade, Honda introduced the ultra-successful C100 Super Cub. The motorbike was remarkably easy to operate and featured a crossbar-free frame that made it popular with women. It went on to become the first Honda motorbike sold in the U.S. via then-new American Honda Co. in 1959.

By the early 1960s, Honda had built its first automobiles for the Japanese home market and entered Formula One racing. But it wasn't until 1970 that it exported its first car, the diminutive N600, to the U.S. The automaker initially had a hard time sparking interest among American buyers, but that all changed in 1973 with the introduction of the Civic. The car was larger than Honda's previous models even though it was still very petite compared to compact American cars. The Civic's high fuel efficiency (an important selling point given that decade's energy crisis) and affordability made it Honda's first American success story. By 1976, the Civic had been joined by the Accord, which quickly became a favorite with U.S. consumers as well.

By the 1980s, Honda's success and its reputation as a maker of well-built reliable cars and motorcycles continued to grow. It began building Accords in the U.S. in 1982 and by 1989 had earned the distinction of making America's most popular car. This was also the decade in which Honda created the Acura brand as a way to sell more upscale and luxurious vehicles. Throughout this decade and into the 1990s, the Civic and Accord were huge sellers and considered class benchmarks. Also during this time, Honda continued to innovate through such technologies as variable valve timing, aluminum body construction and improved safety features.

Today, Honda's lineup runs the gamut. Included are fuel-sipping hybrids, a spacious minivan, reliable family sedans, practical SUVs and even a pickup. Although the latest Civic and Accord aren't quite the benchmarks they once were for their respective classes, Honda's brand as a whole continues to be one of the most well respected in the industry, with millions of loyal and satisfied customers.

User Reviews:

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  Worst harmonics roaring noise EVER!!!!! - 2016 Honda Pilot
  By Natalie McMahan - March 3 - 4:25 pm

  I was excited to get my new pilot! Then I started hearing a harmonics noise that is not pleasing to the ears when driving down the road. It is bad all over the vehicle. You can hear it at high and low speeds and also when turning. Hendricks Honda of Hickory told me it was the tires which were the oem bridgestones. So I assumed it was the problem because I believe the dealership. I took the tires off around 36,000 miles and put on a highly rated michelin tire. I still have the noise. So I took it back to the dealership and left it with them and they did not offer me a car to drive. I got it back still have the noise and they told me it is the new tires I bought!!!!!!! How do you have the same noise with 2 different brands of tires???? The dealership said I bought a tire with to ruff of tread? What? However I am not happy with the dealership or my car!!! It is annoying to buy a high end car with a big price tag! Then you end up with problems no one wants to fix or even try to help you with!!!!!! Dear Honda you need to stand behind your product and if you choose not to you will have customers like me that will never purchase one again. It is unacceptable that I paid for a new car and I feel like I am driving a piece of junk. I am driving a 2005 ford freestyle awd with 327,000k miles with michelin tires with no harmonics roaring noise and with that mileage it should be not my 2016 Honda Pilot with 37,000k miles??????/

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  Weird Engine noise Honda Pilot EXL - 2016 Honda Pilot
  By Vipul Joshi - March 22 - 2:31 pm

  I am an Honda lover but... My affection on Pilot 2016 EXL is slowly reducing 😒 Purchased Pilot EXL 2016 model in last March 2016 . Less than one year time some abnormal noise started from the engine ( under hood) ! It can be heard clearly when vehicle starts and slowly accelerate ( sound like helicopter !) It can not be heard while vehicle in speed above 100 kms / hour . Pilot given to Honda agency for the repair 4 days before ( got replacement rent a car from Honda) They confirmed that there is abnormal noise coming either from engine or timing belt or tensioner ( they are not sure as vehicle still under inspection/ investigation stage) As per Honda Most probably they have to order parts from Japan and will take more than two weeks time! ( also they have to get approval to order such parts) I wouldnt expect such problems in very first year from Honda Pilot !!! Am I alone to have such noise issue on Pilot 2016 or my other Piloters friends also experienced the same ? Need your feedback friends 🙏🏽 Thanks Vipul ( Honda lover) 😒

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  great car bad to fix - 1997 Honda Prelude
  By chris - January 10 - 1:38 pm

  Ive had this car for 3 years, a 97 with some rust picked it up for $1900 bucks. No Honda is worth more than that in my opinion. Im the second owner and got it at 206000 km. reliable yes, horrible to fix, the motor mounts for it are garbage and your flex pipe rips. everything is tight. sporty and fun to drive, my friends love it and are surprised with its performance. Just make sure you buy one that has had the timing belt and clutch replaced. dont get an sh they are more of a problem especially with that bulky ATTS. i love the car its clean quick makes me happy and pisses me off.... Watch out for electrical issues with the driver side door speaker and heated seat. Over the years the car turns into a money pit no matter what so take care of it. Hard to find jdm car and i wouldnt recommend getting one unless you pay the right amount of coin. cheers.

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  Lost my favorite aspects of car - 2014 Honda CR-V
  By Rmrand - January 23 - 11:08 pm

  Happy with reliability of CRV. However, there were 3 things I loved about my 2010 CRV that are now gone. Floor to roof cargo height reduced by 8" (have to put bike on slant now). Open floor area between front seats (great for computer bag) now filled with a useless console. Middle folding rear seat good for putting skiies through and 2 passengers - gone to 2/3, 1/3 split - now skiied and only 1 passenger. Plastic grey trim on top level trim - ugly and cheap. So my favorite things about car gone and I am in work around mode. Probably will look at other alternatives. Hoping the tires on this car last longer than the 30K on 2010 model. "Sport utility" is a completely different concept than "family" vehicle. Keep it in mind Honda.

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  Alternator Issue - 2012 Honda Civic
  By Kiran Mehta - January 18 - 11:16 am

  I had to replace the battery because it went dead. When I got replaced the battery at battery + I was told that I need to get Alternator checked out because it not charging the battery the way it should. So I called dealer they wanted $80 to run diagnostic on vehicle instead of spending $80 I went to my mechanic who is working on foreign cars for a while. He checked to see if battery is being charge while car is running and it wasnt, it was showing battery was holding at 12.4 V and it should have been 14 V. He tried various method to see if it charges the battery and finally when he turn the head lights on while car is running battery started charging and showing 14 v. He told me that it is weird and never saw anything like this. He thought probably the alternator was made that way. So I called to confirm with Honda company to see if they have any thing on this issue I was told they dont have information or recall on it. Rep at Honda company was pushing me to take it to dealer and pay $80 for diagnostic.

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  DISAPPOINTED IN THE CRV-OVERRATED - 2015 Honda CR-V
  By steve hubbard - January 14 - 10:12 am

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  Great car, terrible dealers. - 2015 Honda Accord
  By Leonard M. - January 14 - 6:00 am

  I would say that the vehicle itself is probably one of the finest vehicles ever built in the US. Having purchased the exceedingly rare V6/manual combination, I was fortunate enough to find a car that met every criteria I was looking for. The vehicle itself is amply powered, well laid out, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing. Build quality overall is good with only a few very minor fit/finish issues. On the road, the vehicle is rather fun to drive on the aggressive side due to the copious power and torque available throughout the operating range. Passing and highway merges are effortless...in fact the most difficult part of driving the car is maintaining legal speeds! Speaking to the manual transmission variant specifically, the vehicle has a satisfying shift action, but the clutch is very light and far less forgiving than other vehicles Ive driven. Sloppy technique is not tolerated by this drivetrain especially with its highly sensitive throttle response. A few months with this car will hone your manual driving skills with certainty. Ride is fairly firm but not jarring and handling is great with good stability in cornering and maneuvering. Steering feel is lacking as with most cars in this day and age. All in all, if youre looking for a V6 and manual transmission at a reasonable price, this vehicle is probably the best option available at this time. My only complaint lies with the sales process itself. Honda dealers are from my experience terrible. Never before have I had to endure as ultra high pressure and scummy a sales process as I went through for this vehicle. It seems to be that the only goal in the process is to inviscerate every buyer with aggressive and ridiculously over priced up sells to maximize profit. I had to literally walk out twice to get them to drop the sales pitch and execute the sale as I wanted. Service is also an issue...Honda dealers seem to have a system of harshly punishing those who do not use the original dealers service dept for service. In my case, I had to purchase the vehicle 2 hrs from my home due to a lack of inventory in my area in the configuration I wanted. Despite having no other place to buy the vehicle, I am subject to being gouged by my local dealer for routine maintenance/inspections since I didnt buy it from them. Overall, Id recommend this vehicle so long as you can avoid the sales process as much as possible. Use an Internet based car buying service and outright refuse to speak with any "finance manager" character in the midst of the process...find your own financing before you walk in. If the sales rep or Internet sales desk cant handle the sale themselves, terminate the process and find another dealer. Do not purchase any upsells as you can get everything they offer for 1/4 of the price from 3Rd parties. Any claims they make to the contrary are lies. Also, using a local dealer you intend to use for service will help improve your service experience.

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  Beware of posted fuel mileage. - 2014 Honda CR-V
  By Jim - January 13 - 12:21 pm

  We purchased our CRV in November and love the vehicle with one exception. The fuel mileage isnt anywhere close to what it was sold as being. My wife has a daily commute of 30 miles each way to work, so fuel economy was a major factor in our decision. Although with 90% of our driving being interstate, the vehicle is only averaging 23.5 mpg even with the eco turned on. If you are looking at the CRV for the fuel economy, I would recommend looking at another vehicle.

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  Eh - Couldve done more with my money - 2010 Honda Civic
  By Urme - January 13 - 9:02 am

  I bought the 2010 Civic LX - 4 door sedan new off the lot in July 2010. It was my first car purchase and, to be honest, Im regretting purchasing this (or any) car brand new. I paid $16,500 for it. Over five years later its valued around $7500-$9000, which is not bad. I was attracted to this car because its sleek body style. It looks just great in Taffeta White! As a 59" woman, the interior is a tad cramped. Its not the easiest to get in and out of and the drivers side door does not stay open/in place. When youre toting belongings, its quite annoying. The car handles well in the city, though Im not thrilled about the gas tank capacity (13.5) - I feel like Im constantly fueling up! The interior dash is as sleek looking as the body, which was a major bonus for me. The only real issue Ive had is that I had replace the brake pads (~$400) about 2.5-3 years into purchase. About a year later I was notified of a recall, but for some reason my vehicle did not qualify. Another annoying, but not insignificant issue I had immediately was the quality of the factory windshield wipers. Useless, actually dangerous, in any sort of precipitation. Even after having Honda give me new ones immediately after my purchase, I had to fork over $50 at AutoTire to get some decent ones. Highway driving is atrocious in this car. Acceleration is not great and you can feel too much of the highway. Also, the seats just arent comfortable enough for long trips. This is a good starter car, no doubt, but I would not recommend it for much else. After 5 years with this car, I cant wait to upgrade.

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  car will not start-faulty igniton switch - 2014 Honda Accord
  By Frances - January 12 - 9:23 am

  I am really dissatisfied with my 2014 Honda Accord Sport. It is a nice looking car but totally unreliable. I am the first owner and I decided I needed a new car so I wouldnt have any trouble with repairs are being stranded. A year after my purchase, I noticed that the ignition switch would not engage and start the car. I figured I was "doing" something wrong and tried a couple of times to start the car. My husband brought it into the dealership and they said it was probably the battery (small battery came with car) and that the ignition switch was not the problem and not covered under warranty. The car stranded us and we had the battery replaced. This did not solve the problem. Now it takes me a 5-10 times of trying to start the car. The panel and headlights come on, so does the radio but the car will not start. It has gotten to the point, that I leave my teenager in the car with it running so I dont have to sit there wondering if the car will no longer start. The car refuses to start warm or cold. It is frustrating the heck out of me and Honda Customer Service was of no help. They "apologized" and recommended a new dealer service and then wanted to know if I owned other Hondas. (?) I asked her what does that have to do with my new Honda problems. This will be my last Honda purchase.