Honda Passports, Reliable as other Hondas?

Hi all, I came to this board to ask your opinion on a vechile I'm thinking of
purchasing. It's a '98 Passport - 4 door - 5 speed - p/w - power door locks -
very, very clean. It's $3950, with 154k miles. My question is, are honda
passports are reliable as the accords and civics? I was looking into buying an
accord or civic and stumbled across this find. Any help would be insightful.
Thank you all for your time!

 

Isuzus are inferior to Hondas.

Andrew

 

Run Run Run away. It's a crappy Isuzu and it doesn't come close to
Honda quality.

 

A friend purchased a brand new '02 Passport.... been to the shop at least 10
times for numerous problems ranging from broken door handles to ABS
malfunctioning.

This is the crappiest "Honda" ever. But $4K for a '98? That's a great price.
I'd get it, if it passes a mechanic inspection.




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I do not killfile nor use do-not-call lists.

 

Don't even think about it. The Passport is really a rebadged Isuzu Rodeo.
It's piece of crap by Honda's standards. You'd be much better off buying a
used CRV. If the CRV is too small and you want a full size SUV, then I'd
recommend either a used Toyota 4-Runner or a pre-96 Nissan Pathfinder. The
older Pathfinder's were virtually invinciable but then Nissan redesigned it
to be more luxurious so it became more like a Jeep Cherokee. All show and
luxury but no quality or offroad ability. If you want a newer used Nissan,
then look at the Xterra. I think Nissan realised their mistake when they
redesigned the Pathfinder so they brought out the Xterra which is more or
less, the old Pathfinder. If you want proof of this, look at an Xterra and
look at the old Pathfinder. They are nearly identical.

 

I just did some car shopping with the 2003 Consumer Reports in hand--
and surprisingly the Passport didn't do well-- not at all like the
other Hondas... I think what the other guy is saying is that Honda
didn't actually build the Passport-- it was Isuzu-- and that's why all
the problems... I don't quite understand how one company builds
another companies cars, but whatever-- get a real honda.
-mr. speck

 

Honda and Isuzu made a swap. Honda sold the Isuzu as Passport so they
didn't have to design a truck, and Isuzu sold the first generation
Odyssey as Oasis so they didn't have to develop a car (the oddy is on a
car platform).

Ever noticed how the old Mercury Villager and the Nissan Quest look
exactly the same?

 

"Badge engineering" is as old as the car biz, and this is a perfect
example of why it doesn't work out. The Passport is a Isuzu Rodeo in drag.
(If you have your heart set on one an Isuzu may have a lower price due to
the name) The fit and finish is not up to Honda standards, the motor tends
to sound course and rough, and many of them can have oil burning issues
going through 2-3L in 5000Kms (2-3 quarts in 3000 miles for our American
friends). I can't recommend the Rodeo/Passport as a "good" vehicle, and I
used to sell them for a living.

Rob

 

Lots of others also:

Toyota Corolla / Chevrolet or Geo Prizm
Toyota Matrix / Pontiac Vibe
Mitsubishi Eclipse / Plymouth Laser / Eagle Talon
Mazda MX6 / Ford Probe
Ford Ranger / Mazda B-series
Plymouth / Dodge / Chrysler various
Ford / Mercury various
GM various

Used car buyers interested in one model can check both -- sometimes,
one badge has a much lower resale value (i.e. costs less for the used
car buyer).

 

The Passport was a relabeled Isuzu and generally is not as well regarded as
real Hondas.

 

Because they were a joint venture between Nissan and Lincoln-Mercury.
It's actually a Nissan motor inside a Mercury body (both quest and villager)

 

That they are the same vehicle was kind of my point, but thanks for
noticing.

 

The Rodeo/Passport was not a reliable vehicle until the 1999 model,
when it got a complete redesign, and also dropped 300 pounds of dead
weight.

The 1999 and newer is better than average. My wife bought a '99
despite my major protests, but it has been fairly good and now has
48,000 miles.

It is rated 16 city/20 highway. It gets 16 all the time, regardless.
The 3.2L 205-horsepower engine has a lot of zoom up to 65 mph. Then
it gives up, leading to hairy passing situations at 70-75 mph if
you're not careful.

The doors sound tinny when they close. The interior fabric wears a
bit too much. The turn radius is not very good. The transmission is
sealed, and you can't check the level or change it without a major
production. (It is GM's best unit, however, which is also used in
some BMW's.) On startup, the engine roars into life encouragingly,
not good for quiet getaways though.

The Honda dealer doesn't see many Passports, and aren't quite sure
what to do with them. Take it to your Isuzu dealer instead, if you
want "dealer" service after the warrranty expires.

It bounces down the road terribly after 10-15,000 miles, slamming into
every rut and pothole. Eventually you'll tire of this, and cure the
problem by putting on Bilstein shocks and replacing the tires.

There is a shockingly huge amount of room under the hood to work on
things like belts and hoses.

The stereo is terrible. Adding the Passport CD changer for $400 is a
terrible mistake. The speakers in the back are 4" and worthless for
bass, which the front door speakers will provide in a somewhat
obnoxiously uncontrolled way.

You can put about twice as much weight on the roof as many other
trucks' roof racks will allow.

It truly handles like a truck. Stops no better either. The brake
lines seem to be squishy -- you can almost imagine that the pressure
your foot is applying is stretching the lines first, then eventually
making the calipers press hard. This truck is a candidate for
stainless braided brake lines. It also pitches forward and back way
too much during stops, or even releasing the brake from a stop and
accelerating lightly. The body is on rubber mounts that seem to
'give' too much during these manuvers.

The ride (with Bilsteins/new tires) is okay, but handling rapidly
breaks down after you push it a little. This truck wants to go
serenely, and will not take kindly to haul-ass driving.

It's good for the interstates, if you can ignore the bad gas mileage.
For 16-17 mpg, it should weigh 4,500 pounds, not 3,700.

On city driving, half an hour of all this is exhausting.

JM

 

The Rodeo/Passport was not a reliable vehicle until the 1999 model,

Actually, it was the 1998 model. And no, it's not anymore reliable.

Not. My friend has a '02 Pissport and it's been to the dealer more than 10
times for numerous problems (broken doors, lights, mysterious check engine
flashing, rattles, etc. etc. etc. Recently, it started leaking trans oil. It
has less than 50,000 miles.

Isuzu dealers won't service it. They don't wanna offend Honda by stealing their
customers.





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I do not killfile nor use do-not-call lists.

 

JM,

You said:

"It also pitches forward and back way too much during stops, or even
releasing the brake from a stop and accelerating lightly".

And you wondered why it's called 'RODEO' ? ?

'Curly'

..

 

And you wondered why it's called 'RODEO' ? ?

It's a PASSPORT!!!!!!!




....................
I do not killfile nor use do-not-call lists.

 

Jeez, how bad was it before the complete redesign?

 

Hey, I'm only reporting my experience. Not trying to justify buying
it, that's for sure. (I've calculated that the MDX is hardly any more
expensive to own, because it doesn't depreciate like a Passport.)

I agree the redesign was actually 1998; I had forgotten that. There
were no changes at all to the 1999 model though.

Consumer Reports listed it as 'better than average' and that has been
my experience as of 48,000 miles. Of course, it could turn into a
major piece of crap at 49,000 miles like a 1984 Oldsmobile I had long
ago.

Yes, the "Rodeo" name is probably a sick joke that the marketing
department is still laughing about.

Someone commented about tranny leaks. I got that too -- the dealer
overfilled the transmission during a fluid change. After the first
long drive, we parked on a slope, several ounces came out of a vent
and made a mess in the driveway. That's one reason I said that Honda
dealers don't know there way around the Passport.

Maybe some Isuzu dealers aren't as hungry as others. I don't have a
problem with service there. Even some Saturn dealers are knocking
down the price, which doesn't make GM happy either.

JM

 

Yes, they were not really Hondas and our 1995 5-speed still had the
Isuzu tags all over the interior trim. Honda certainly were in a hurry
to enter the SUV market.

In addition to all that others have written, we had a lot of trouble
using ours on hills -- horrid smells and noises and difficulty with
the clutch. Not good if you spend time in San Francisco. Also, gas
mileage wasn't good.

Having said all that, we sold ours last year for about $6000, because
its mileage was only 28,000.

I'd suggest you look into a used CR-V or Toyota RAV instead.

Best wishes,
Cranky