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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  Nothing but trouble - GONE FROM BAD TO WORSE - 2015 Honda Accord Hybrid
  By Rajkumar Swamy - July 9 - 4:49 pm

  It is for 2+ YRS own this car. recently found out that it does not have a SPARE tire and has been nothing but trouble all this time and still facing issues. 1. In the first 60 days, twice the vehicle abruptly stopped on the road with multiple error messages related to battery overheating and engine overheating. On both occasions, the dealership could not offer much resolution. In an oil change exercise, the software was patched and the issue went away. 2. The gas mileage: Occasionally my vehicle has given me 43+ mileage in the first 6 months and started dropping to 40 miles. However, since my oil change and a couple of filter change service the mileage has dropped to 35-36 miles/gallon. Have discussed with dealership with very little resolution 3. ACC(Adaptive Cruise Control) & FCW(Forward Collision Warning): On multiple occasions, in the last 12 months both these features use to malfunction based on ‘Radar obstruction’ and in the last 10 days they have stopped working including the disabling of regular cruise control operations. This has made my long drive to work a manual exhausting effort. The dealership that inspected has advised of expensive diagnostics and recalibration which I am not sure if I truly should pay for. Overall, though I love Honda and owned a Civic for 16 years that ran trouble free for ~200K miles would highly discourage anyone looking to buy a Honda Hybrid car based on above experience.

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  AVOID - Transmission Fails - 2005 Honda Pilot
  By Christopher Mason - July 8 - 10:03 pm

  Bought a 2005 Pilot with 150k on the engine. Ran great and girlfriend loved it (her car) until the transmission just went out. This is a know issue and I really wish Id caught it before dumping $10k plus over $1k for new tires and breaks. Car didnt last a year. Bought Honda because like most we thought they ran forever. Never again.

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  Its a Gimmick - 2005 Honda Element
  By Bryan - June 26 - 1:10 pm

  For an SUV the Element is incredibly under powered and the AWD is no help at all with out ABS,which is not available on the LX model. The suicide doors are just a hassle especially if you are in a car pool. The person in the front seat needs to take off his/her seat belt and open the door just to let someone in the back.

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  What a shame! - 2015 Honda Accord
  By Rafal - June 21 - 8:35 pm

  What supposed to be great purchase turned into nightmare.Great engine and great acceleration.Terrible ride comfort.After week of riding I started having headaches and my back starting to hurt.While driving you feel all the bumps on the road and driver seat is very uncomfortable.I will never buy Honda again.

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  HONDA VCM SUCKS ! - 2016 Honda Odyssey
  By Dave - June 20 - 12:20 am

  Hondas Variable Cylinder Management is total CRAP, had no idea Honda Odyssey engine had VCM. Would not have bought if had known there were law suits. The engine suffers plus the associated issues related to VCM are completely unacceptable. Honda you should be ASHAMED.

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  Never buy a honda, NEVER!!!!!!!! - 2008 Honda Accord
  By James - June 19 - 11:20 pm

  I have always been a gm person, but I gave Honda a try, which was a gigantic mistake. It wouldnt even start on the second day, it had Major airbag problems and transmission problems. The build quality is also terrible, the front fender fell off at 4,500 miles (I didnt even go over any bumps) I need my car for work driving on the highway, and this Honda has broken down on me twice while cruising at 65 mph. This all happened in about a 5 month period, I ended filing a lemon law suit, got my money back and bought a better car since the end of February, Ive been driving a new Chevy impala ls (base model) and it has not given me a single problem please, if your buying a car, dont buy a Honda!

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  Horrible Car with worst experience ever - 2016 Honda Accord
  By Mohamed Ismail Nounou - April 21 - 2:40 am

  Dear all potential Honda Buyers and Honda Victims, I am speechless, disappointed and sad. I will tell my whole story in here, hoping to protect other customers and hopefully to seek help, not for any financial compensation, but to alert others with the kind of mistake they could do to themselves and their families buying a BRAND NEW Honda and trusting them with your money and your safety. On December 30st 2015, I bought TWO brand new Hondas from Hoffman Honda in Connecticut (40 Albany Turnpike, West Simsbury, CT 06092). The Sales guy was Alan Katz. I bought a Honda CRV EX edition and a Honda Accord Coupe Touring Edition ($37,000). The CRV was for my wife and the Accord was for me (VIN: 1HGCT2B00GA001393). I work in Southwest VA. It’s a rural area. I used my Accord there for 5 months from January 2016 till May 2016 without any problem. The closest Honda dealer to me is Bill Cole Honda (http://www.billcoleautomall.com/, Big Laruel Highway, Princeton WV 24739, UnitedStates). I did oil change there. Suddenly in May 2016 the horror started. First, the check engine lights start showing. It showed for 10-15 minutes and disappear. This kept happening for two months. In July, it showed for three full days. I drove for 3 hours to go to the Bill Cole Honda. Then it disappeared. They told me the car is perfect. Two weeks later, it happened again and it was consistent. It was on when I went to the dealership. They tried everything to figure out what is going on. Everything showed ok, oxygen sensor, Vacuum lines, etc were perfect. They finally told me It could be the engine plastic cover (As the error showed at this time “Air Flow Problem”). They told me that it could have been the loose engine cover. They reset the software and let me go. I really wondered how a brand new car has a loose engine cover, but I let it go. Then in a month, it started to show again, and it was consistent. Again, I had the three hour trip to the dealership. At this time they claimed it could be the gas, although I use premium gas (I even have a proof for this via my credit crd statements). They charged me “$700” to drain the tanks and lines (Out of pocket) as it is my fault. I told them I have no problem paying it, if they think it is my fault and it is a gas problem. They reset the software and billed me the $700. I immediately filled a claim against Food City Gas Station for this bad gas according to Honda (All claims, and bills are available as PDF files upon request). Two days later, the check engine light appeared again with NO NEW GAS at all. At this point, I filled a claim with Honda Headquarters (Case ID: 05223195, Ext. 117754, Agent: Sharon). They recommended me to go to the dealership. I went in there, and they reset the software, claiming it could be trace gas trapped in the system. Again, after two days, the engine check light showed again. Sharon from Honda Headquarters dealt with me in the most insulting and horrible way. First, she closed the case without resolving the issue and reopened it after multiple calls and many days of avoiding me and filling lots of complains against her. Finally, they answered me, claiming that the phone conversation is recorded and asked me to drop the car again to the dealership. I drove three hours again and dropped the car to the dealership, where they claimed they can not do anything except waiting for a Honda Accord expert from California to come and check. They offered me a rental car free of charge. On the second day they called me to come and pick up the car, claiming that Honda declined sending an expert and claimed the car is perfect and they have no clue what to do. The maintenance guy (27 years of experience with Honda) took me on the side and told me “a small loss now is way better than a big loss later, and he shared with me how he has never seen something like this before). I immediately went to a Chevrolet Dealership and exchanged my car with another brand new one. I lost already huge amount of money. Food City sent me a report of how good their gas was at my gas station claiming it was not the gas problem. It clearly Honda quality problem. Every one in the dealership called my car the bad lemon. Guys, be aware, this is what I got from Honda, money loss, time loss, feeling unsafe and worst treatment ever. I have all this documented in paperwork. I am here to protect all of you. I also feel so bad for my Honda next buyer, If you are buying this Honda with this VIN number “1HGCT2B00GA001393”, GO AWAY, RUN. I do not know what to do really. I just feel so bad and disappointed. As an American buyer, how this can happen? Why no one is protecting us? I have all paperwork with me upon request. Aside from the problems, the car features (Touring Edition) are practically a joke. The Honda Sensing Technology is a JOKE. First it rarely works ant totally unreliable. It detects the road hardly 10% of the time. The Moving Lights is a BIG joke. Apple CarPlay is practically a PAIN.

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  An Odyssey in Disappointment - 2006 Honda Odyssey
  By Karl Roembke - April 4 - 11:55 pm

  In general, I have found a lot of the plastic parts on the car to be total garbage-- broken cup holders, broken vents, broken shade holders, broken cupholder doors, etc. The under engine compartment splash shield (made of plastic of course) fell off (because of unreliable plastic fasteners). Door mouldings fell off. The power sliding doors are finicky and have been in for service multiple times. The drivers side windows safety stops the window from rolling up after ordering at the drive thru. The dashboard lights behind the overly complicated HVAC panel stopped working at about 5000 miles. The flip down seats in the back fail to reconnect to the floor when flipped back up, leading to dangerous situations where a person sitting in them can be thrown backwards during hard acceleration or a rear end impact. The rear wheel bearings went out on both sides of the car at 50,000 miles-- $300 each. The power steering pump growled from day one and would fail to power assist at inopportune times. It finally began leaking and had to be replaced. Im not a big fan of the plastic lenses over the headlights that film over and have to be restored. We ordered a cassette player a honda accessory that was installed by the dealer, but it has always looked like it didnt belong-- it works fine however when weve used it. The luggage rack didnt come with crossbars-- for the price it should have installed itself. And last but not least my beautiful blue minivan has paint flaking off all over it making it look as pathetic as it has been all of its life. I know there are a lot of satisfied Odyssey owners out there-- we must have bought the lemon. Ive owned 3 different Accords and never had these kinds of issues with them.

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  Whimpy "Pretend SUV" - 2004 Honda Pilot
  By Stuck in a Snow Bank - April 3 - 2:00 am

  Honda cars are pretty good...but their SUVs are pretentious Wannabes!! I traded my 2000 Civic on this pilot and quickly found myself stuck in small snow bank. A passing by Jeep Liberty had to pull me out and tore the front end of my pilot clean off and commented how Whimpy my Honda is!! At anyrate, I traded my pilot on a liberty and the difference is like comparing a coke can to a bank vault!

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  Excited by the Pilot?? NOPE! - 2006 Honda Pilot
  By Honda Pilot - April 1 - 1:53 am

  My husband insisted on the Pilot 06. I am NOT impressed and a bit disappointed. The car gets nowhere near the reported mileage... poor at best. The controls are awkward, the seat on passenger side is uncomfortable and non electric. The seat belt alarm never stops. The nav system is impossible to use and has no return feature... very inconvenient and overpriced. I would never encourage anyone to purchase the vehicle. I think Honda missed the mark. I will get out of this car ASAP. I want to know why the gas mileage is so poor and the A/C takes too long to cool down and the wipers are difficult to trun off or change speed. Do not buy!