In over two decades and now with five generations, the Honda City has proven itself to be the quintessential C segment sedan through all these years and all the iterations we got to see. It is safe to say that you can never go wrong with placing your bets on a Honda City. Its performance from the petrol variants is unbeatable in the segment, the comfort levels are top-notch and the car is known for its reliability factor.
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But as they say “Nobody’s perfect”, Same is the case with the Honda City. You have probably read a lot about Honda City’s glory. But there are a handful of things in the car which the brand isn’t particularly proud of. So today we bring to you some of the common problems that Honda City owners have faced over the years in different generation models.
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Underbody Scraping (Low Ground Clearance)
Honda City Low Ground Clearance This is the most popular Honda City problem concerned with the City(s) from the first three generations. This was more prominent especially with the third generation Honda City. These particular model year Honda City(s) had a low ground clearance and damping setup which made them scrape their belly every time it passed over a nasty speed bump. In the country like India where the roads are not at all as seamless as in other countries probably, a higher-ground clearance is a must, even for a sedan.
4th generation onwards, Honda did respond to this concern and increased the ground clearance for the City.
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Massive Body Roll (Soft Suspension Setup)
Honda City Rear Suspension The Honda City is considered to be a drivers car. With the performance it has on offer, a true driving enthusiast is ought to take it for a leisure spin. But there is just one hindrance, the Honda City comes with a soft suspension setup which causes a hint of body roll if you attempt to swift past a tight corner. Hence it does provide the confidence required for agile driving and doesn’t make the City as sharp as it probably is supposed to be.
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Door Channel Rusting (Drain Blockage)
Water Drainage Channel Another common Honda City problem which is most prevalent with the Honda City of people living in areas where it rains heavily. Due to some obstruction in the drainage passage, the doors tend to fill with water and you actually hear the stagnated water moving in the doors while you open/close them. It takes longer than usual for the water to clear out and in some cases, the water makes its way into the cabin.
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Sunroof Clattering (Top Variant)
Honda City ZX Sunroof The sunroof available in the top-spec variants of the City has been witnessed to have this problem. Going through a bumpy section of the road, the Glass for the sunroof of the Honda City has been observed to make a noticeable clattering sound as the car goes through bumps or potholes.
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Double-Horn Problems
Dual Horn Problem The positioning of the Horn in the Honda City(despite being behind the front bumper) is in such a manner that it is exposed to a lot of factors which cause the horn to go bad. Many customers have observed corrosion on the horn and too very frequently.
A horn is a very essential auxiliary while driving a car. Driving a car without a fully functional horn can even have serious repercussions. So the frequent horn repairs and changes can a bit of a hassle and is definitely an issue with the City.
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Ineffective-AC during Summers
Honda City AC Vent Especially in the Indian climate conditions, this particular problem can get very annoying. The Honda City has a lot of “Best in Class” features. But when it comes to cooling from the AC, the City doesn’t set any benchmarks there. The air conditioning in the City takes a lot of time to cool the cabin especially when the car has been parked directly under the sunlight for a long time.
Also, the gas for the AC also tends to deplete very often and requires top-ups every now and then.
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Un-Refined Diesel Engine
Honda City i-DTEC Diesel Engine The i-DTEC variants of the Honda City aren’t as refined as its other diesel engine powered rivals. Owners of the Honda City Diesel are familiar with the Noisy attributes of the engine which makes its way into the cabin as you try to rev the engine hard.
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The petrol i-VTEC has been known for its refinement over the years, hence such attributes from its diesel counterpart aren’t very satisfying.
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CVT and the Rubber-Band Effect
Honda City CVT The legend of the Rubber-Band effect from the CVT transmission on the Automatic variants of Honda City is very popular amongst the Honda Fanboys. The CVT is slow to react to the shifts and does not put down the power delivered by the 1.5 L, i-VTEC petrol engine as efficiently as the Manual does. Hence, taking away all the fun from the Peppy 1.5 i-VTEC mil.
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Clunking Noise from the Alternator Belt
Honda City Drive Belt This has been reported many a time by various Honda City car owners in India. The noise is very prominent in petrol models of the Honda City where users have reported hearing metal screeching noise when cruising or at a standstill. This issue eventually comes down a faulty alternator belt. Top tip! if you are out there looking for a second hand Honda City, make sure you look out for this very common problems before putting down your money.
Launched! 2020 Honda City Launched; Prices start @ ₹10.89 Lakh
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Unresponsive Infotainment System (DigiPad)
2017 Honda City DigiPad The 7-inch “DigiPad” Infotainment made its debut into the facelifted Honda City in 2017. It featured Bluetooth hands-free and telephony, GPS Navigation from iGO, MirrorLink (no Android Auto or Apple CarPlay), USB and HDMI support, Voice recognition and steering-mounted controls.
Honda wanted to integrate a smart infotainment system to keep up with the latest trend. However, this went terribly wrong as various users have reported screen freezing, glitching, lag, long load time and total unresponsiveness while operating the DigiPad. On top of that, Honda used an obsolete version of Android for the interface of the DigiPad. However, Honda did try to make up for it by providing software updates to existing owners. If you are a Honda City owner and facing DigiPad related issues, make sure you reach out to Honda to avail a software update.
When you are planning to buy any branded car in india , first of all check every problems are repairable. Otherwise it is expensive for your pocket. Be careful.
I have 2005 honda city cvt transmission when im on a sortie the transmission takes from 3rd to 2nd gear then 3rd then 2nd what the problem could be?
Hi Rawad,
We’d love to resolve the problem with your gearbox, but for that, we’d like to examine the car in person. Do give us your credentials so that we could reach you. Stay Pinned! 🙂
Very poor customer service and after sales..once the product is sold…even if it’s in warranty, the replacement will take ages!!
Think twice before going with Honda. Gone are the days when Honda was considered as the best.
DIGIPAD replacement pending from 6+ months
Old news
I am driving a 17 year old honda city only the engine is reliable, rest of all the problems noted in this article have been faced by me and still facing.
These days better to shift to SUV rather than sedans.
This is my second honda city and also there are many honda cities in my family too. Currently I’m having the same model shown in the photo the 2018 model , but mine is the V petrol manual , I can’t say about the diesel, cvt and sunroof problems ,I mean if they are true or not , but if u leave these three problems except the rusting issue all are fake.
Maybe 1-2 guys would have got the other issues due to reasons like not maintaining properly or something like that. But that is not the case always.
I’m a honda city owner from more than a decade now , with my first honda city ZX petrol manual in 2008 and then the next one in 2018. I can blindly say if ur planning for a honda city (petrol manual) go for it . I can’t really say on the diesel and automatic as I haven’t used them for a long time.
ThankYou
Why are you replacing your Digipad? Is it a water seepage issue? I am having one?
My 2018 Honda City V Petrol faced an issue of DIGIPAD frozen & no response by Touchpad nor Voice command/Steering Control button.
I reported during my 4th year(40k Km odo) ownership to Honda Service center. But they denied for replacement under warranty (As i have extended warranty of 5yrs/1Lac Km) & the reason they gave is Infotainment system got only 1 Year warranty & after that its paid replacement i.e worth of around 40k+. Its a huge money & even after i get the paid replacement that doesn’t get a warranty at all for next time failure & replacement. What the heck by Honda, even they doesn’t able to give a reliable & durable infotainment system. Maruti Suzuki is way far better giving these durable system.
Mileage is very poor
Hi Pushpinder
Honda City is indeed great when it comes to mileage. If your City is delivering low, please get it checked and maintain a proper service schedule
In city it gives 8 on road 12 or 13 . 2013 model
I have been gone through honda city 5th showroom and bought the zx model
All the problems faced in previous generations are being removed and would suggest 5th gen as it has a lot of new features including safety as well as technical
I have been an owner of Honda cars since the first model was launched in India. (In fact I still have this car and we use it for guests). Being a Fanboy my entire family has owned only Honda cars. The last Honda I bought in 2018 was the automatic 4th generation Honda City. I am very sad to write this in an open forum that I am completely disgraced with my last Honda. First problem occurred within six months of buying the car – the electronic fuel pump failed to work. It was replaced in a recall and also since the car was in warranty. Now, the LCD screen in the Digipad has started leaking and is behaving very funnily. I went to the Honda service centre here in Baroda and they told me that electronic parts are not in warranty and a new one costs 75,000/- Rupees. Isn’t this ridiculous. I am buying a new car in April and it will definitely not be a Honda anymore! Honda 5th generation or Hybrid or whatever!!
Hi Rahul, while the recall is an issue at a manufacturing level and shouldn’t be the case, especially with brands like Honda, the issue of the screen is specific to your car. Yes, it is by no means justified and Honda should help you out, however, it is not something that would put a red flag on all future Honda cars. In the end, a car is a product and there are bound to be some issues, but we do believe that companies should be 100% supportive in such cases.
Yes, I’ve changed my horn, and it still sounds squeaky ! When going even a meter down, the underbody does grate.
What’s worse, I’ve had to change my Infotainment as the Phone initially did not connect properly, it would take ages to sync and then the Radio Channels would jump, eventually opening Settings or repeatedly auto dialing the last phone call number. Later on, the Touch Screen stopped responding.
I then found that Honda does not have any inhouse arrangement for this. They procure their systems locally that are not standardized, and the Local vendor then charges through the Roof, knowing you need to replace.
Dents on roof very low quatily
I need rear shock absorber for honda city 2016
Hey Mark, GoMechanic can help you with this for sure. Please visit the nearest outlet!
my honda city 2009,. Im hearing like an electrical sound and then losing power a little bit for just like 2 seconds ,. what can I do? I dont like the service of honda here in my country… I saw my car being used as service .
Hi There
For this, you will have to get your car checked at a workshop near you.
Am a user of 2015 Honda Vx(O) am experiencing a lot of noise while driving on a Rough Surface which disappears on a smooth surface road .Not sure if the shock absorbers is a issue ..
Hi Ashish, we recommend you visit your nearest GoMechanic Workshop to get the issue checked and resolved as soon as possible.
I always wanted a Honda, mot knowing muvh about the city but the Accord was always stellar in reviews and griends who owned one. So when I came to Philippines 2 years ago I purchased a 2016 with only 24k kilometers on it. Body was in great shape and price was decent. I have never been more disappointed in a vehicle in my life.
Im master mechanic but older and not into rolling around on the ground anymore. This car was lowered(idiotic) by previous kid. So the bottom was getting destroyed on speed bumps.
I reinstalled factory springs and then the overheating isdues started. I have done everything possible to relieve this but cannot get totally gone. Its hot in P.I. like India so its a real pain. Next is the turning, it turns/corners like a bulldozer and parking in a lot it just terrible.
AC is good nice and cold and mpg/kpl are very good with eco 91 gas. Plenty of power and handles decently. But trying to get parts is a nightmare. I will keep it a few more years but then gone.
Maybe an Accura or Lexus. Or even a Accord.
Done with city, only made in three countries.
So parts a limited.
Shop it carefully.
I give it a no
Accord much better option.
My Honda city 2008 have a problem of, offing on motion please what do I need to do?