How reliable has your DSM been?

[my dreamt dsm]

I KNOW, IT'S AN OLD THREAD!!!
i dont' mean to hate, but i have my 94 civic for 5 years, modded, but not raced weekly. i hardly do any maint. car runs great. i can basically say, honda's are not cry babies. if your a lazy owner, honda is the way to go.
i'm about to get a 98 gst and already im scared and having doubts. almost everything breaks down on these cars from what i've read and what my dsm friends tell me. for hondas u just have a bad iacv or bent valves. not a big problem.
MANY MAY SAY IT'S A TEN YEAR OLD CAR. BUT PLEASE. MY CIVIC IS 14 YRS OLD + 215k MILES AND THE ONLY MAJOR PROBLEM I HAD WAS IACV IDLING BAD.
MANY GST OWNERS I KNOW HAD WISHED THEY NEVER BOUGHT THE CAR. THEY HAD IT IN THE SHOP MORE THEN THEY EVER DROVE IT
don't get me wrong, a gst is my dream car. but maybe i had a wrong dream!

 

[boostedjess]

They are reliable, depending on the owner and how you take care of it. Maintenance and small mods. 1g's are almost 20 years old.. So I'd like to see an Evo almost 20 years down the road in America..

It's just little things that go wrong in most cases anyhow, just things that need replaced or patched up..

 

[RiceKiller_TSi]

I KNOW, IT'S AN OLD THREAD!!!
i dont' mean to hate, but i have my 94 civic for 5 years, modded, but not raced weekly. i hardly do any maint. car runs great. i can basically say, honda's are not cry babies. if your a lazy owner, honda is the way to go.
i'm about to get a 98 gst and already im scared and having doubts. almost everything breaks down on these cars from what i've read and what my dsm friends tell me. for hondas u just have a bad iacv or bent valves. not a big problem.
MANY MAY SAY IT'S A TEN YEAR OLD CAR. BUT PLEASE. MY CIVIC IS 14 YRS OLD + 215k MILES AND THE ONLY MAJOR PROBLEM I HAD WAS IACV IDLING BAD.
MANY GST OWNERS I KNOW HAD WISHED THEY NEVER BOUGHT THE CAR. THEY HAD IT IN THE SHOP MORE THEN THEY EVER DROVE IT
don't get me wrong, a gst is my dream car. but maybe i had a wrong dream!

As a previous Honda owner let me say that most modded Hondas dont make enough power to burst a grape. Compared to a modded DSM that can easily kill v8s and even v10's I think they are pretty reliable. There are probably only a small handful of modded Hondas that can run with the average run of the mill full weight mildly modded street driven DSM's. I run 25psi daily on my Talon and I havent had any major problems that neglect didn't earn me. To date I have never been owned by a Honda and to me thats worth a little bit of unreliability. When I want reliability I drive my truck. When I want to murder another motorist I take out my Talon.

 

[d32a]

I have been really curious about the reliability of 2g eclipses generally non turbo to turbo awd to ff etc. I googled searched and I wanna know first hand from the people who actually own them. I myself have a n/t 99 rs personally I have been having problems with it as of lately it shut off on me when I brake and the temp just goes high maybe a pulley don't know now have to go to the dealer I wanna know what you guys have to say honestly is it reliable? From your experience. I might just sell mine already even though I love 1gs and 2gs so much and bought some parts already.. Might get a impreza rs now or a is300

 

[mini zilo]

This question is unanswerable.


It all depends on who owned the car before you, and how they treated it.

I have a 96 GSX with 125,000 miles. It was owned by a middle aged woman who drove it to work. My car has NEVER broken down, and even if it has, it would be something that was totally my fault.

You can take a car with 40,000 miles on it, beat the hell out of it, and it will suck more than mine does.

 

[king_of_HTX]

^ What he said. I have a 95 GSX and since I've owned it the only problem I have had was my shift linkage coming loose @ the transmission on the way home from work. A simple 30 second fix. Be good to your car and your car will be good to you.

 

[95talongirl]

Agreed. this is a question that is rather unanswerable. You must remember that these cars are, for the most part, 10+ years old. Any car in that age range would start to experience problems.

As for me, I have a 95 Talon Tsi AWD. This car has been awesome for me. Of course, it has had alot of work done to it since it has 155,000 miles on the body. However, I have about $4000 total into the car, including what I bought it for. Starts up everyday (even in subzero temps)!

 

[browning]

I hate argue this but it is still none the less a DSM due through their partnership. I am at least hearing good things for the most part no problems.

i was giving an honest answer.dsm diamond star motors being the 4g63 engine.But the 420a had some serious problems with their heads and prone to cracking issues.You saying something about high tempetures would have me worried.The non turbo and turbo are two totaly different creatures.you could do some searches in the 420a section that could help you out.

 

[d32a]

i was giving an honest answer.dsm diamond star motors being the 4g63 engine.But the 420a had some serious problems with their heads and prone to cracking issues.You saying something about high tempetures would have me worried.The non turbo and turbo are two totaly different creatures.you could do some searches in the 420a section that could help you out.

Yea its all good. I hope I did not sound mad or anything ,if so I apologize. Yes I am, brining it to the dealer. Might sell it after that.

 

[Flash]

My DSM has been reliable for me, but I can't speak for the thousands of other DSMer's out there. I have taken care of my car, bought all the best parts and OEM parts when I needed something and it's been great. If you stick with quality parts and avoiding being cheap when you're parts-picking then everything will be peachy.
There are times that you do get stranded on the road, but sometimes its beyond your control. Couplers pop off, batteries die, you hit a deer etc... You are also modifying a car. Shit happens.

 

[nfernotalon]

Theyre like any other car, if its taken care of it will be fine, do the maintenance. That reminds me gotta change that timing belt.

 

[DGajre777]

They are as reliable as the maintenance you do to them. AWD or Turbo cars have more parts and stuff that can break or go wrong, hence the cost of maintenance is higher. Drivers who have turbo and AWDs also drive their car harder.

The question you asked is in the FAQ. Please search prior to starting a new thread.

FAQ - http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/frequently-answered-dsm-questions/275925-dsms-reliable.html

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/hangout/4211-dsms-reliable-merged-12-7-a.html

 

[19gale2gGST]

I myself have a 96 GST Spyder. The only problem I have had that wasnt a regular issue with any car is the tranny going out, twice. the first was because the previous owner didnt keep up withthe tranny for some reason he only did the engine upkeep. The second time was because the shop that rebuilt it did it wrong. Any car (as already stated) will be reliable if taken care ofproperly and people dont cheap out on the upkeep. That is until age takes ahold of it.

 

[mitsocruiser]

I own a 97 RS I love my car it is very reliable you get what you give .As for as every body saying it isn't a real DSM thats funny DSM stands for diamond star motors which is a mix of dime and crysler and mitubishi so you can admit it or not the 420A is part of the DSM family. If not they would have just all been called mitsubishi's. not DSM's thats why after 99 they quit calling them DSM

 

[noonan98turbo]

well i had a 98 eclipse rs and basically the car shit the bed on me cause i didnt have enough oil in the car and i didnt take much car of it. I sold it and then bought a 98 eclipse gst. ive had it for only 3 months but i havnt had a problem with it all. hopefully it stays that way. as far as your question is concered, it all depends on how you take car of your car. i didnt take car of my old car and i payed the consiquences. but now i make sure my gst is maintained properly and its done me well so far.

 

[d32a]

I am now having second thoughts on my dsm.

 

[mitsocruiser]

it doesn't matter what you buy you have to take care of it be it a DSM are a chevy you still have to take care of it

 

[braceyoself777]

A car is only as reliable as the owners ability to keep it reliable. I know people that have Honda and Toyota's and they hate them cause they are not reliable. Then again, they don't even do routine maintence on the car so it falls apart.

 

[noonan98turbo]

i wouldnt second guess buying a dsm if i were you. I absolutely love mine.

 

[19gale2gGST]

^+1 I agree. I lve mine, I will be selling it and buying a coupe though. I would never much care what people say about a cars reliability because I have seen some people drive notoriously bad cars without a problem because they made sure the maintencewas done on time or early and keep an eye on everything to spot a small problem before it became big.

 

[ranger2339]

Ok guys I bought a 95 Talon TSi for a daily, so I dont have to drive my truck and my "race/fun car" on the street. It has 103k on it, only mod is an aftermarket BOV that was on when I bought it. I wanted a car with boost for fun and awd for the winter, I got what I wanted there. Now ive been reading over this site for a week or two and I see that these cars have some major issues with big stuff and small stuff.
Ive already had a few issues and ill go over them.
I guess I want to know what I should replace to make the car more reliable for a daily driver. I dont want stuff breaking on me and having to sit on the side of the road.
Like what breaks firts,what sensors go bad,gaskets etc?
Any known problems also.
I know about some of the known issues, but would like to hear what people with these cars have to say.

Problem 1.

I bought the car with a bad tranny, so I got a new/used low mileage "JDM" tranny and swaped it, new clutch,fluids etc. Swaped the speed sensor, from my old tranny to the new.
Drove it for about 200 mi and the speedo died on me. I will look at that when I get time.

Problem 2.

Driving it to work today, going about 25mph on a city street, when the driverside rear wheel/brakes,e brake locked up,im not sure what it was. I put it in gear, both reverse and forward, to try and milk it off the side of the road, then it unlocked itself and so far so good. I just dont want this happeneing when I am doing 70 on the hwy.
I guess it could be the ebrake cable or a seized up caliper?
Ill have to look at it.


What else can I expect to have happen, what should I change. Any secrect issues that happen with these cars? I know they have them. The more I search issues on this car, the more I wanna sell it and get another daily.

I dont want big power or anything besides bolt on mods and maintenece.

Thanks
Josh

 

[Boost92awd]

Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance. Thats the key to keeping these cars on the road.


http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/frequently-answered-dsm-questions/239375-maintenance-schedule.html

 

[bane3d]

Well, definitely do all of the maintenance. Next would be to do a boost leak test and a compression test. Then for the locked up brake, I'd look into replacing the caliper and checking tension on the e-brake. You sound like you know what you are doing. As for the BOV, make sure it's recirculating like you've probably already read many times over. With 103k miles on it, it's due for a timing belt change. You might as well change the autotensioner and everything else you can while you are at it. Check your seals while you are there and make sure nothing is leaking. Other than that, good luck with a tsi awd as a daily driver. They are fun but I wouldn't say that the turbo line is a reliable DD when you start to mod it. Welcome to the addiction.

d

 

[totaleclipse3]

I would also recommend getting a reliable boost gauge, a friend of mine was running a stock car and his boost was all out of wack.

 

[ranger2339]

Thanks guys.
Im off to the shop now, to get her up on the lift and see what the issue is with the brakes. I think its just the ebrake cable, because it sticks sometimes and doesnt work real well when used for parking.
The car is fun to drive and gets through snow great, just have to keep my eye on it.
Its hard to not want to mod it though, 2Gs look real sweet when lowered with some nice wheels.

The turbo on the car is old and there are exhaust leaks around the manifold and turbo flange. I might just upgrade it all to a small 16g and a turbo back exhaust, since I will have it all apart to replace the gaskets. Do the 2G install kits come with new gaskets for the manifold to turbo flange. Or were can I get a new T25 from?

Thanks
Josh