Civic VI 1.7L

• Automatic transmission
• 49,710 miles

Living in Australia, i don't have an American built civic, rather a Japanese one (or maybe Thailand) but the problems are shared between both. My first issue, rather an annoying one, is the fuel gauge. When i fill my car up to full, the needle will stay at the top of the gauge for about 100km ( 4 days), it wont even drop a millimeter. It fools you to think you have the most economical car in the country. One moment the hand is at the top, you glance away and suddenly, it drops to half! and it will keep dropping at large intervals until you run out of fuel. I hardly use this car, having a mere 80,000km, (probably about 50,000miles) and i cant even rely on my fuel gauge to provide me with accurate information, instead i have to approximately judge how many liters i have left through the mileage. Ive had the car checked out at Honda and they said it was the fuel sender unit malfunctioning and that it would cost a total $660 for a factory part as the whole unit needed replacing. Absolutely ridiculous. Im also experiencing the famous civic transmission problems. Even though the car shifts impeccably smooth, i don't like the way it works, i find its always in the wrong gear, is very reluctant to shift to 2nd and downshifts too late or at an inappropriate time. I have a 94 accord (Japanese built) with over 320,000km on the clock and i prefer it to the civic in every way, its transmission may shift harder, but its operation and ratios are spot on. Its also more comfortable and didn't require a $660 part when it was at 80,000km, nor does it need one now at 320,000km.