How reliable has your DSM been?

[NitRous242]

hey all, i just want all of your imputs on this.

what experiances have you had with your eclipse's, mainly the turbo models. im beginning to wonder if this will be a problem car....

have most of you been ok with your eclipse's reliability?

 

[EvolvingGST]

none yet..... except for the need to change spark plugs... normally we take good care of our cars and make sure nothing goes wrong so i think it would be harder to say because we do replace wear and tear.... oh yeah i need a gasket and a header soon... but that can hold off

 

[Sgt Turbo]

I would never define a 1G or 2G Turbo as "reliable". "Fast" Yes, "Fun" Yes, "Versitle" Yes "Expensive to Repair" Yes.

Most cars that are fast are NOT considered "reliable." If ya want to be fast accept the risk of an expensive repairs. If you dont want it to break, by a Honda with a big wing and pretend to be fast.

Stuff below are what has gone south on my car since 1995, current mileage is 70,000.

Crankwalk (fixed, warranty $3200)
Transfer case leaking (recall)
Fuel Tank Recall (fixed by dealer)
Ball Joint Recall (fixed by dealer)
Rattling door windows (minor pain, no big)
AC compressor failure (fixed, extended warranty $1800)
3 Clutches (One failed due to crankwalk) (1 free from dealer, 2 paid for by me, 1 replaced due to increased power levels)
Moss or Goo in headlights (fixed warranty)
Rear deck spoiler paint corrosion (big white splotches)
Weird factory alarm problems (fixed by warranty)
CD player failure (fixed by warranty)
Tuner failure (LED display wacky, not fixed)
Hatch struts weak (replaced by me)
Door panels around inside handles cracked (not fixed)
Leaking oil cap (fixed by me)
Leaking Windshield Spray Nozzles
2nd Lower ball joint failure (fixed by dealer, recall)
Sunroof is going south (not fixed)
Headliner is falling down by the windshield (fixed by me)
Horn INOP. (not fixed)

 

[95_GST_AL]

for the price you cant beat a better car for what speed, horsepower, and torque these babies throw out. my GST has been on the road about 30% since i have owned it (2 months). all cars break. if you take care of them, they will last. if you mod them, then be prepared to take care of it more often. you will break stuff when moding and you will need to upgrade when you get up to 350+. so yes they are good strong cars, but will give you some problems when reaching high hp. IMO!

 

[Tallen]

for me so far, only minor apperance problems.

 

[NitRous242]

do the gs-x's have more probs than the rest? this is what ive been reading.

 

[EvolvingGST]

first hand experience... not even hondas last forever... it depends on how one takes on their cars.... like i know a lot of people with del sols... well atleast 10... the problem is atleast 5-6 of them has replaced his engine... one has replaced his 2x.... you know our cars are meant to be going like 90 - 100 mph on a pretty constant basis.... but you just can't be doing that to a civic engine... and a lot of my honda drag friends have some problems with their cars sooner or later... so as for are we reliable... looks at how you take care of what you have... and if you are doing the abuse to a civic no its not reliable... but the high end hondas would be...

Just know what you need the car for... and remember those stickers add atleast 50 hp.

 

[NitRous242]

, you know painting your dash is an extra 30! and man one day i would like windshied led jet lights!!!! i will run 9's!!

 

[venom2097]

on my 95 GST from 58k to 79k miles, I replaced my turbo 61K(was abused)(warranty), 64K harmonic damper($90),60K radio volume knob stoped working,79K sunroof stopped closing and began to leak, sold @ 80K.

On my 99 gsx turbo died @ 38K(fin broke somehow)($600 for 16G) ,swaybar link($20),fuel pump stoped working over 45psi ($100 for a walbro 255), #2 rod broke took the block with it(maybe my fault?)($2500 used, + labor).

Some break,some don't, treat it right it should last a long time.
as for reliable, I would say Average as none of the above keep me from driving except for the rod.

 

[NitRous242]

thanks a lot venom, that helped.

yeah my car for the last year has been my red rx-7, and man u want to talk problems, but i am thankful for it because i started to fix everything myself, and soon became my own mechanic. i still have my rx7, man that thing can drive!

 

[96awd_eagle]

high power + low cubic inches= high maintanance

if u had a rx-7 then get a dsm

all wheels break stuff more(IF YOU RACE IT) because they have lots of torque and your tires don't break loose so it has no where to put it all when you dump the clutch in 1st other then the ground which is hard on it

i have a tsi awd(same as a gsx incase u didn't know) and have owned it 4 months but i also RACE ALOT(i mean i give it hell but fix stuff when it breaks, what do expect i am a teenager and the only mistu fan in my town so i gotta show the ricers whats up)

water pump and timing belt(timing belt for fun)
clutch
fuel filter(for fun)

 

[NitRous242]

yeah i understand that, the energy need to go somewhere, with fwd the wheels spin= release on that built up energy, but w/awd not enought torque to spin all wheels (would need a lot of tourqe) so it comes out by breaking something.

but i meant like sunroofs and all that. yeah i know the tsi=gsx thx anyway. but true any real car that will be able to be a street killer is gona have things break. i dont mind it, i would never sacrafice power, speed for dink reliability and 30+ gas milage,

hunda ownerz ----> "but my car will last 200,000 miles!!"

dsm ownerz ---> "but you will never get there b/c u are to slow!"

 

[soundman707]

That's funny... Have you tried looking for a gst or gsx on Ebay or autotrader or some other internet sites? You can find them in other states...

 

[NitRous242]

, trust me, i check autotrader twice a day, ebay all the time, i buy every auto sales paper, i duno why theere are none around, ive been looking for about 5 months. i gotta stay kinda local ~100miles or so, but im getting desprate!

 

[InferiorWang]

I've been looking forever. Tommorow I'm gonna go test drive this guys Laser RS Turbo. I can't wait. I want a DSM soooo bad.

 

[Nomad666]

What things do I have to change in this car to make it more reliable. I have a 92 talon TSi AWD (6 bolt) .

 

[turbolover2]

Put a Honda or Toyota engine in it.

Keep up on ALL the maintainence, and let it warm up fully before boosting. That should keep it in good shape for a while.

 

[Johnny5]

Avoid driving it.

 

[Bohrn]

oil and filter changes, timing belt at its proper interval, proper warm ups, no neglect or abuse, pray to the 3 diamond gods etc etc.

Just like any car, you get from it what you put into it.

Its not a VW, so don't expect that kind of reliablility, but also it is not a Lotus(dad has one) so you can actually drive it People with Ferraris, Lotuses, older Porsches, and other high maintenance cars would love to have our reliability.

While DSM s are not the best, if you keep em up, they go for a while. I have over 216k on mine, and it doesn't burn oil, knock,smoke or do any other wierd things.

 

[jayjay]

Looking to buy a 90-94 GSX AWD turbo... I test drove many, and they are extremely fast!! I loved them, hearing the turbo was great and nice accel... anyways, i just got a job at a pizza place for deliveries, and want to buy a car...

Here is my choices:

87-92 Supra Turbo...
84-88 Camaro.. Iroc-Z/Z-28
90-94 Eclipse GSX Turbo...


I'm looking for an honest answer as to which one will be the most reliable.


Gas mileage wise, and daily driving...

Thank you!


Jason.

 

[Rob]

Our dsms arent the greatest daily drivers and not to great on gas neither if you looking into good gas mileage and reliable then you really should get a honda......then build up your money get you GsX project going on the side. Just my opinion

Later
Rob

 

[ilikemturbo]

i was deciding between the mk3 supra and the awd DSM before i decided on the DSM. the downside to the mk3 supra is the headgasket, alot of owners on the supra board had either switch to metal gasket or retorque the bolts. if mileage is really a concern, i would say you can look at hatchback civics with B-series engines is a good combo but thats not on your list. but alot of civics posted for sale is salvaged. those suckers get stolen often

 

[jayjay]

im just asking what .. out of those 3 would be the most reliable...


ive heard about dsm's tranny problems.. and im looking for a cool dope daily driver...

 

[Rob]

im sorry to say but the supra

 

[Patt6661]

If you're gonna be driving in the snow, go with the AWD, watch how heavy your right foot is and you shouldn't do too bad with the mileage. DSM's are really reliable if they're maintained well.