Gas cap cover release cable - quit working. Had to remove cable at the gas cap cover by way of the trunk. Now the cover stays open and won't shut. Honda dealership wants $225 to fix. There should be a secondary way to open and close the cover that bypasses the cable. The cable should not be the only way to open and close the cover for the gas cap.

- Lexington, KY, USA

I would drive on the freeway and my temperature gauge would fluctuate and return to normal. I investigated the matter online and found other owners of the same car had the same problems with the thermostat needing to be replaced so I intended to buy a new one. Then when I would hit bumps in the road my electronics would malfunction. The radio (not cd) would turn off. I would have to turn in back on. Then on 10/23/2011 I merged onto the freeway traveling at approximately 45 mph and accelerating normally. There was traffic so I could not accelerate very fast. That is when my electrical components began to completely fail. The dash alarms would blink on and off, my check engine light never came on. The car jerked forward a few times. I felt clicking in the peddles and steering column. At once all the electrical and engine shut off. I had no gauges, no electrical, and no power of any kind. That's when I pulled over to the shoulder of the freeway. I noticed smoke rising from the hood. Then it grew into a fire. I immediately tried to escape the cabin of the car. I couldn't exit from the driver side because of traffic. I climbed over to the passenger side. At this time the fire had engulfed the engine area and was coming into the cabin. I exited the passenger side door and ran from the vehicle as it was burning. The entire car became engulfed with fire. Nothing was left of it when the fire department came. It was completely consumed by the fire. I'm really at a loss as to why it would do this? I took really good care of my car. I have papers that prove I just recently had the necessary maintenance on it. This never should have happened.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

2005 Honda Civic ex automatic choke comes on every time you start the car --even if you don't need it. After it comes on, you can't shut it off manually. Not only does the choke needlessly come on, but it comes on at an RPM that is too high. It needlessly burns fuel, but also presents a safety problem and causes you to loose control of the car. Honda is refusing to fix the problem. The solution is that the choke needs to be modified in three ways: 1) manually choke shut off (with handle, accelerator pedal, or button), 2) 5th gear doesn't drop RPM sufficiently and car doesn't get good gas mileage, 3) vtech engine needs to be made into a vtech-E, so that the engine gets better fuel economy at the slower speeds and meet both the public's and federal mileage expectations. Honda offers vtech-E, but they only provide this engine series to those who choose to buy the double overhead cam, such as that found in the Civic si or in some Accord. The seats in the 2005 Honda Civic ex are dangerously uncomfortable and poorly designed. Honda gives you nothing more than a block of rubber to sit on, which causes skin irritation due to a lack of heat dissipation within 20 minutes of driving. In addition, the front seats are too far forward and someone over 5'9" is going to have difficulty controlling the car -- particularly with a manual transmission. The lack of springs in the front and rear seats potentially causes spinal injuries, due to road shocks not being absorbed, for people that drive the vehicle on a daily basis. A custom upholstery shop advises me they can't unbolt the seats because the airbags will go off because the airbags have distance sensing. Not only is this ludicrous, but offers no consumer safety. A quick review of the 2001 Honda Civic ex with the 2005 Honda Civic ex SE reveals that the 2001 is significantly safer to operate than the 2005 Civic. The 2001 Civic has four air bags in the front, including side airbags in both doors.

- Renton, WA, USA

Plastic gas tank fractured leaking fuel resuling in fire.

- San Diego, CA, USA

2005 Honda Civic hybrid had recall repair done to the fuel injector. After repairs vehicle significantly lowered in gas mileage. The consumer received notification from Honda that through a mistake in manufacturing, the vehicle's computer had been programmed with a fuel injector fuel flow rate that caused it to run too lean. After the repairs were made the consumer noticed a 10-15% drop in fuel economy.

- Seattle, WA, USA

2005 Honda Civic LX has problems with fuel efficiency causing vehicle's idle to be low. ** answer required***. the consumer stated when she was stopped on an incline the vehicle would roll backwards as soon as she let foot off of the brake. The dealer told the consumer that was the way the vehicle was designed.

- Upper Darby, PA, USA