Japanese cars are very popular for two main reasons. Firstly, they are among the cheapest vehicles you can buy in the market, and secondly, their reliability is legendary. However, that low price doesn’t mean you’re getting junk from a showroom. JDM cars are known to be some of the most powerful you can get at the price. That means you can get to enjoy a German-like sports car performance, at the price of an entry-level wagon for a Japanese make.
But what truly makes these Japanese creations a gearhead favorite is the great reliability they come with. Historically, Japanese cars have been known to be one of the most reliable in the market. That’s why most of their groundbreaking sports cars and SUVs have stood the test of time.
But that hasn’t always been the case. Japan has created a bunch of lemons that most gearheads don’t want to remember. And in this piece, we’ll look at 9 JDM sports cars that were nowhere near reliable, and 1 that was built like an armored tank.
10 Least Reliable: Honda Del Sol CRX
Given that this marque was built under the CRX nameplate, it had huge shoes to fill. The CRX Del Sol served as the replacement of a JDM icon that was still fresh in gearhead’s minds. Sadly, this 1992 convertible ended up being a lukewarm creation.
There was very little sportiness with this marque. The biggest letdown was with the reliability and build quality. The Targa roof occasionally leaked and the cabin also tended to be a bit noisy. What made things worse for the Honda CRX Del Sol was the fact that its direct competitor was the formidable Mazda Miata. It stood no chance.
9 Least Reliable: 1996 Honda Prelude
The 1996 Honda Prelude was launched into the market with a lot of hype. So many gearheads had a lot of expectations for this ride, and Honda had already made a promise for a powerful machine. Sadly, this promise was never met.
The 1996 Honda Prelude was instead plagued with a ton of engine and transmission problems. Those issues made it a painful sports car to own, which did no good in building Honda’s reputation in the JDM market. It also didn’t perform to the level of a true sports car for its class, which further tainted the car’s image.
8 Least Reliable: 1990-1998 Eagle Talon
This is what happened when Chrysler and Mitsubishi teamed up to create a “JDM killer”. This marque was finally owned by Chrysler after the company took over AMC. Their partnership with Mitsubishi also happened at a time when the company was owned by Diamond Star Motors.
The 1990 – 1998 Eagle Talon was sold as the formidable Mitsubishi Eclipse in Japan. That marque performed well for the four generations it was sold. That, however, cannot be said of the Talon. This car was produced at a time when Chrysler was going through its worst production days. The car was thus a reliability disaster right from the first model year, until the end of its problematic run in 1998.
7 Least Reliable: 1981-1999 Subaru XT
Nothing was going on right for this car, straight from its looks. The 1981 – 1999 Subaru XT had a strange wedge design that didn’t inspire that much confidence paying for it in the showroom. But if you had the guts to, you would immediately regret your decision once the car hit the road.
The 1981 – 1999 Subaru XT packed a measly 1.8L four-cylinder engine that could barely produce 100 hp. This wannabe sports car also bragged of a bullet-shaped steering wheel that in all ways made driving it a terrible experience. The final nail on the coffin was a myriad of reliability issues that forced drivers to have breakdown services on their speed dial.
6 Least Reliable: 1991-1997 Toyota Paseo
The Toyota Paseo was built to be the sporty version of the iconic Toyota Corolla. The Paseo was thus based on the family saloon’s platform and shared a ton of features with it, save for reliability.
But even before the car coughed to death, the Toyota Paseo would painfully accelerate to highway speeds, thanks to a highly underperforming engine. What powered this mediocre sports car was a 1.3L engine capable of producing only 93 hp. It at times struggled even more than the Toyota Corolla it is based on, to get up to speed.
5 Least Reliable: 2003-2012 Mazda RX-8
The 2003 – 2012 Mazda RX8 was the successor of the formidable Mazda RX7. The latter was Mazda’s best sports car offering in the company’s history. That was not just because the RX7 was a fast, mad, and aggressive sports car. Rather, this was the most unique sports car you could get in the market, sporting a rotary engine that sounded like a spiced parade of angels.
The RX8 thus had huge shoes to fill. But the pressure got into the company and they ended up producing the worst successor anyone could have imagined for the RX7. That’s because they messed up with the engine and transmission. Yes, the Mazda RX8 was blessed with a Wankel rotary engine, but that cursed power unit was nowhere near reliable. And when it failed, it took the transmission out with it.
4 Least Reliable: 1999-2006 Honda Insight
It’s unimaginable the Honda Insight has managed to survive to date. What Honda produced between 1999 and 2006 was not a car many wanted to drive.
The Honda Insight was launched as Honda’s flagship hybrid car and the first-ever hybrid car in America. It sported technology that was unheard of at the time, albeit in a package that was disgusting to look at. No effort was put in by Honda to make this car look appealing. The power unit also got nothing impressive. The Honda Insight could only cough up 96 horses. However, what made this car a complete lemon was the poor handling and completely unreliable mechanical bits that were very expensive to fix.
3 Least Reliable: 1991-1999 Subaru SVX
When the Subaru XT failed spectacularly, Subaru tried launching the 1991 – 1999 Subaru SVX as the nameplate’s savior. Sadly, the troubles of the XT were simply transferred to the SVX to create yet another unreliable and struggling JDM car.
In Japan, the SVX was sold as the Subaru Alcyone SVX. The lofty name pointed to the brightest star in the Pleiades constellation, signifying Subaru’s vision with this marque. Well, nothing bright came off this marque once it hit the showrooms. Apart from having a very weird window-within-a-window design and looks that were more Italian than Japanese, the four-speed automatic transmission tended to die quicker than a kid would pronounce SVX.
2 Least Reliable: 1990-1995 Toyota Sera
The only thing that was cool with this car was the gullwing doors. Move on from the doors, and the barrage of issues that rocked this JDM marque made it an unpleasing ride to own.
The first infuriating fact about this Japanese sports car was the underperforming power unit. The 1990-1995 Toyota Sera could only cough 110 hp when pushed hard. And even when not being pushed to the edge, the ride in this marque tended to be quite bumpy apart from also being painfully slow. These, coupled with a regular visit to the mechanic, made this Toyota creation one of the worst ever made by the company.
1 Built Like a Tank: Honda S2000
Apart from the numerous failures that Japan managed to produce, one of their best creations, built at a time when several lemons were being squeezed out of the production line, was the Honda S2000. To date, this is one of the best sports cars you can get from the East.
The Honda S2000 is not only a fast sports car but also a very reliable one. On top of that, this marque is incredibly fun to drive, giving it one of the highest value for money you can get off a sports car in its class. The Honda S2000 also enjoys a ton of aftermarket support that makes it easy to switch things up and curate your own driving experience.
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