8.3
pretty bad- Typical Repair Cost:
- $2,290
- Average Mileage:
- 111,450 miles
- Total Complaints:
- 77 complaints
Most common solutions:
- not sure (45 reports)
- replaced transmission (17 reports)
- replace transmission & torque converter (8 reports)
- drive it off a cliff.. (5 reports)
- get a few friends together to help push it off of a cliff.. (2 reports)
« Read the previous 20 complaints
Ok, so if I would have read this before I BOUGHT that damn 2001 Honda Civic, it would still be sitting on the car lot. I bought this car literally less than a week ago. When we test drove it, there wasn't anything wrong with the transmission that we felt. The next day, I noticed that when the car is going to 3rd gear, it will rev up a few rpms and then change to 3rd. At first we thought this was normal because in the manual it says some bullshit about the transmission having a shift lock or something like that. But I took the car to one of my mechanic friends and he said something needed to be looked at for sure. We checked the transmission fluid, and it looks pretty low...so i'm hoping that will fix the problem for now.
I have had 2 other Honda Civics that got well over 200,000 miles and I never had one problem with it, but I totalled bot of them (bad driver, lol). So I figured I would go with something newer that was in my price range. I only paid $3750 for the car and I by reading all the complaints on this model, NO WONDER IT WAS SO CHEAP. I have a warranty on the car for 3 months so maybe I can get all this replaced for a decent price before it goes out. Or maybe I should just sell this car before it gets any worse....i'm really pissed now because I think my car may end up being another transmission-less ride soon. Maybe i'll call Honda and bitch at them.
- Erica G., Concord, NC, US
same thing as everyone else my transmission making noises that sounded very annoying. am a first time for Honda and am very disappointed with this issue.
- momo357, Alpharetta, GA, US
I own a 2001 Honda Civic purchased brand new and only owner. I have had my car serviced whenever it was required. I was told the last time I took my car into the Honda dealer that I needed 2 motor mounts and one week later my would not move out of first gear and I coasted home from work. I then dropped it off to the Honda dealer and was told I needed a new transmission cost 3200.00 granted my car is only work 4200.00 to a private seller. I then called American Honda and sent a letter to the corporate office in Torrance California and was told being the age of car they can not help me. I am so bitter because there were no warning signs and I had just put a new timing belt and water pump which cost me an arm and a leg and now this. I have owned 4 Honda Civics and this is the first one to give me problems. Where is the Loyalty on Hondas part when they know there is alot more competition out there. Right now my car sits at another mechanical garage hoping to get a rebuilt or used transmission. Im glad I found this website because I was not aware of how many people out there were having the same problems. Thank you.
- gracer, Lodi, CA, US
I own a Honda crv 2000. I never had any problems with this car and bought all of the warranties for this vehicle. I never used one of them. so when I bought this Honda civic, I thought I am not going to do that again, so I did not buy any of the warranties for the civic vehicle. boy was I wrong. Now I learned my lesson. I bought the vehicle from Honda serramonte dealership as is. So I dont know if they are going to help me pay for this transmission problem or not. If there is any lawsuit, I would like to be a part of it.
- theodoridis, San Francisco, CA, US
HONDA CIVIC IS THE WORST CAR EVER MADE!!!! MY TRANS FAILED TWICE!!!! And Honda does not care.. They don't consider this a issue.. This is bull crap.. I think we all need to sue honda!!!!! This is not fair...
- disgusted w/ honda, Parkesburg, PA, US
I have a 2001 Honda Civic Ex automatic. It now has 134,426 miles on it. In 2005, when I pressed the gas, the engined revved up but the car only did like 3mph. Thank goodness I was only leaving out of my driveway. I just knew it was my transmission. It turned out to be an electronic positioning sensor, which cost me about $600 because the warranty wouldn't cover the sensor. Now, for the past 2 weeks, it's been making a whistling noise. It's not every single time, but when I press the gas, it hesitates, the engine revs up, and then finally, it JERKS into gear. Eventually I'm going to get whiplash! My husband's cousin has the same year car and she had to get a new transmission last year. I figured I would see how many people are having this problem and, I see there are a lot of people.
- tabbyg, Columbia, SC, US
tranny just started slipping no warning when shifting in between gears engine revs then into gear taking to Honda to check out then find this web site with problems Honda should stand behind their product
- jeffcalifornia, Apple Valley, CA, US
Pretty much the same as everyone...thought Honda Civic would be a great investment & go 200K miles...instead stuck with a LEMON!
- napdaddy, Garland, TX, US
At 28,457 miles the tranny is going out on her well maintained civic ex. This is unbelievable! The car just revs up, and won't go anywhere! The check engine light is on. Does Honda really design their transmissions to only last 28000 miles? We bought the car brand new from Scott Robinson Honda in Torrance. I hope the dealership will help us with the repair. I will also be calling american honda and filing a complaint. Why is there no recall? Unbelievable!
- bobs4byerb, Harbor City, CA, US
Hi, I'm having transmission issues as well with my 2001 Civic. I get a sharp noise when I accelerate and an independent mechanic that has examined it said it would probably fail in due time. Unfortunately, I live in Canada and after talking to Honda Canada, they said that even if I brought it back to my Honda Dealer and verify that it is the transmission, they would do NOTHING about it.
I can't believe this. This is becoming a widespread problem with early 2000 Civic transmissions:
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=2001&make=Honda&model=Civic&trimid=-1
It looks like early 2000 Accords also have this same issue. Honda has extended the warranty on the Automatic Transmission and torque converter to 7 years or 100,000 miles for 2001 Accord:
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=2001&make=Honda&model=Accord
My gripe is there appears to be a widespread manufacturing/design defect with their product and Honda refuses to acknowledge this issue and is leaving owners on their own.
I can understand if the transmission is not a widespread issue, that they owe nothing to owners who have exceeded their warranty period but this appears to be a widespread issue and Honda is dumping the problem on the owner's lap and this is how they treat Honda owners.
I will never buy a Honda or Acura again and I would recommend to my friends and relatives to stay away from any Honda products if this is how they plan to treat their long term customers.
- Unhappy U., Vancouver, BC, Canada
I am so friken annoyed, I changed the transmission fluid as per the manual recommendation and guess what? my transmission started to slip in in 2 gear i think. I thought this car is suppose to last hundred's of thousands of miles. I want to joint a class action law suit. I was going to buy a new one but forget it.
- Martin R., El Paso, TX, US
Just like others on this site, I can't believe the transmission went out. What a pain! We're looking at a Prius.
- P L., Bellevue, WA, US
I bought my 01 civic last November from a private seller. It had about 24000 miles on it and no noticeable problems(clean carfax). About a month later I noticed a small "jump" between 3rd and OD. It jumps about 200-700 rpm then comes back in to gear and shifts to OD. It does not jump the same amount every time and also does not jump every time it shifts 3 to OD(I would say about half of the time it at least slips some and every now and then jumps up 700 rpm). After having this car for about 8 months it has about 32,000 miles on it. I have also noticed that it seems to act up more when it is colder.
Enter.....my local Honda dealership. About February, I decided to pay the $80 to have it looked at. I was told that I needed to flush the trans, so I did, it did nothing. Then they told me I needed to replace the trans, so I did. I came to pick the car up after the trans was replace and I asked if it was good, "oh yea, its good". I pulled out of the parking lot and it slipped the first time it shifted though the gears.
Overall I have had the car in there about 10 times. After the trans was replaced they told me they took snapshots of the transmission slipping while driving the car and sent them to Honda. Honda's reply was "this is a characteristic of the trans". They also changed the PCM(ECM) with no help. There final answer was that they have checked everything and they don't know what the problem is. They cant even fix a Honda, its not like I am asking them to work on a Tank.
So I am in hole for a lot of money I don't have and the problem still is not fixed. I worry about this problem the most because my wife drives this car long distances to work while at night. The last thing I want is for her to get stranded.
Honda did a 50/50 on the trans replacement. After this ordeal I got the dealership to refund some of the cost. However, I still spent alot of money and still dont have the problem fixed. I will never own a Honda again.
- tvp, Greenville, NC, US
This POS Honda Civic is a nightmare! Why are Americans so brainwashed to think that Honda's are so damn reliable? I will NEVER buy one again! The car was purchased brand new in 2001. I had all the scheduled maintenance done on time at every interval. Transmission flushes and fluid changes on time etc. Trans started whining when cold and slipping between 2nd and 3rd gear then I took it in... $2200 bucks. Screw that! I will not put any more money into this piece of crap! I would advise that you change your way of thinking about Honda's as well. Don't just buy it cause it says Honda on the back! Get real!
Update from May 19, 2009: Called Honda.. (1-800-999-1009) Don't bother. "its way out of warranty" is what you will get! Honda seems to have the American public brainwashed into thinking that they're cars are so damn reliable.... They even think that people in America will keep buying them in spite of the overall horrific build quality of their torque converters and automatic transmissions. You say "its an 8 year old car" well then whats the 2009 Civic going to be like with 112000 miles? GARBAGE! BUYER BEWARE!
- Ryan D., Ann Arbor, MI, US
Transmission slipped and failed as people described in previous posts. My mechanic just put used transmission from recycled car. Hope this one will last for a while. Do not buy 2001 Honda Civic!
- civiclx2001, Phoenx, AZ, US
I am the 1st owner of this car which has only 98,594 miles. Last week coming from work to my house I felt some slipping between the gears and suddenly my transmission just died. I never even thought about it, that my Honda will have this transmission problem SO EARLY!
I will never buy another Honda.
- Mary S., Hollywood, FL, US
I am a native to San Diego, so it was very unfortunate when my car broke down in the middle of downtown LA on Friday. I had gotten a little lost and was getting off the freeway to turn around, but as I was exiting the off ramp my car started revving up...my transmission began to slip. The car was only going 20 mph but the tachometer was jumping between the 2nd and 5th gear. The check engine light went on after that. The car became progressively worse during the next few minutes until it would not move forward or reverse. I had no prior warning, it just died suddenly. Now how can Honda claim that this is not a safety issue???? The LA Honda dealer told me that the ECU was out and they needed to replace that before they could even determine if the transmission had failed. All the repairs would total $4,000 (new ECU and Transmission)...money I definitely don't have.
I purchased the car less than six months ago for $7,650 and i still owe $2,000 on a loan for it. I have two jobs which have me working anywhere from 40-50 hours a week plus I'm a full time student transferring from Junior College to UCSD. I am about to start my first quarter in less than a week, and now I have no vehicle to get to school or work. This is a truly upsetting and frustrating situation. What is even more frustrating is that a company like Honda that claims to be reliable and have customer service in mind is going to let such a huge and obvious problem be completely ignored. I hope Honda's consumers will have their voices heard about this dangerous and extremely inconvenient issue that has clearly effect hundreds of their so called "valued customers". I had a Toyota before this headache, 120k and no problems.
NEXT TIME GET A TOYOTA!!!!!!
- Myriah M., El Cajon, CA, US
Piece of crap torque converter failed and spit sh*t into my transmission causing a complete rebuild. Bought a honda because they are suppose to last forever. I did all the required maintenance , even a tranny flush . Tranny started to whine when it was cold . Two weeks later it was slipping so I brough it in to be checked and you know the rest of the story. I will never by another.
HONDA NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS PGROWING PROBLEM
- Timothy J., Putnam, CT, Pacific Islands (US)
Guess what?! yes! another tranny failure! Thanks to Soichiro! Good Job!
- lamnapoy, Norwalk, CA, US
I just purchased this 2001 honda dx car, i did know the transmission was slipping, i found most shops only give a 12000 - 36000 mile warranty and up to 3 yrs. and wanted about 2000 to rebuild my transmission, i found a place called streetsmarttrans.com or street smarts in GA that they give you 3 yrs unlimited miles and they gave me a quote for around 1400 plus labor to install it and they update alot of the old parts and not getting the same design of the old parts alot of new modifications , I am going this route verses paying 700 - 1000 at a junk yard and who knows the condition of it with 1 -2 month warranty. I have done the computer check on the car , so i am satisfied on everything else on the car. There is a airbag issue on my car that honda will do for free all i need to do is take it to any Honda dealer. i would advise everyone to call Honda and see what recalls they have on their car.................. thankyou
- Ritchie M., Richmond, KY, US