Jazz Reliability ......Good or Bad?

[culzean]

It is surprising how many engine manufacturers (not Honda through) make the schoolboy error of using same belt for camshaft and water pump - this is probably the number one cause of cambelt breakage (also not replacing cambelt on proper mileage / years of service)  and major engine damage.   It is when the water pump has problems and goes stiff / seizes that it puts extra strain on cambelt.

Honda has done recalls on the Jazz,  which is the sign of a responsible manufacturer.  Just look at what the recalls are for though, and then look why other makes of cars have had recalls 

[Century21]

I think mine was the Friday car... it's a 2004 1.4 SE manual and in the last 4 months it has needed...

. new rear wiper
. rear door lock repaired
. new clutch
. new light switch
. exhaust has just blown

oh and it constantly steams up in the rain, or the cold, or whatever and the heater takes around 5 mins to clear the windscreen.  Looks nice, but the probs are sending my stress levels all over the place.

It's my very first car... not the best way to get into car ownership.

Looking at the service history it's had two exhausts, 2 sets of brakes and (I'm assuming) a slight crash as the bumper was replaced and there are cracks on the black area in front of the windscreen.
I think a new exhaust will double the value of the car, lol  (If I don't laugh I'll cry    )

[guest1521]

How many miles has it done?

I've made some comments below on how the car is 'driven'. Forgive me if they seem 'pointed' at you but I also fully realise it may all be down to the owner(s)/driver(s) before you.

Either way, it's intended to help.

New wiper? Do you mean new 'mechanism' or a new blade because of a torn/worn rubber? If the latter, it's normal wear and tear.

Clutch... can depend so much on how the clutch is used or the car is driven. By you and/or previous owners... Rapid/fast starts, foot resting on the clutch, riding the clutch, clutch pedal depressed while waiting to move off all destroy clutches very prematurely. Lots of gear changing (normal round town running) wears a clutch sooner than loads of motorway miles. Properly driven, a clutch on a petrol car should last 150,000 miles, easy. (Unlike many diesel car clutches with their dual-mass flywheel failures.)

Brakes... almost always depend on how the car is driven. Not much observation and/or anticipation leads to lots of unnecessary braking/pads wear. (Fast driving is not the same as hard driving...)

Exhaust... rear box or mid-section, too? If loads of short runs, never dries out properly inside and so corrodes through sooner. Though a 2004 'short-runs' car can be getting near first change of rear exhaust box, if not mid-section, too.

Cabin moisture... presume it doesn't have air con which is the best way of drying it out. Winter, wet soles of shoes transfers moisture to carpets/mats. Car warms up/heater on=steamed up windows. Presume ventilation controls are set to screen, not on recirculate, and/or you open front window(s) a crack...

Otherwise it could be a leaky heater matrix so you need to check if your coolant level is down/dropping, then feel the carpet under the heater matrix. (Not likely, but worth a check.)

Check your boot carpet (and thoroughly under the carpet, into the spare wheel well, too) for water/moisture as it could be you have a tiny rainwater leak into it. If so, get back to this Forum so people can point you in the right direction. (May not be a big deal.)

Good luck and all the best.

[guest2662]

10yr old car you expect things to wear out, I had a car 2yr old had to have a new boot lock, and new wiper, some cars 10yrs old are in the scrap yard.

[guest1521]

Boatman... you are so right. Unfortunately lots of cars die prematurely.

'Couldn't care less' drivers - many who don't 'own' their cars; 'don't know any better' drivers...

There's quite a lot to know about driving 'with care for the car'... but most don't give it a thought. (Me too, at times.) And then, having learned, it has to become a habit.

Poor driving habits and/or poor servicing=expensive problems very often passed on to the next owner.

Fast driving and hard driving are not the same.


 

[davegreen55]

Quite right IvyTek. I used to work in a car spares shop and it was almost a daily occurrence that someone would come in for some oil "because the light has come on"  . If you leave it till then, the engine is probably well on its way to being scrap. And as for checking the tyre pressures and water level .............!!

[guest4283]

Hi, My Name is Jonathan, I'm thinking seriously about buying a Honda Jazz Mk1, I hear there very reliable, but apparently servicing can be costly.
Can anyone share there view of the car and how I might find I will cope with it. Cheers. 

You could do worse then buy a Honda Jazz. Japan has a lot of the world's best engineers. Take someone who knows about cars / or get it checked over by a mechanic before buying to make sure you get a good one. Also Haynes do a Honda Jazz 2002 to 2008 (51 to 08 reg): Owners Workshop Manual, which kinda swayed my decision to buy. This Haynes manual whilst not perfect is better than nothing.