CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2001 Civic has transmission problems, transmission problems & more transmission problems. Did we mention transmission problems? And a dangerous defect with the front airbag that didn't get recalled for 10 years.

Although eventually the defective 2001 Civic airbag inflators were fixed under recalls in 2011 & 2013, that meant for 10 to 12 years airbags were activating with excessive force where metal fragments went shooting into passengers when the airbag deployed.

As for the 2001 Civic's transmission woes? Honda conducted a major transmission recall in 2004 & settled a class action lawsuit for defective transmissions in 2006. But, neither the recall or the lawsuit included the 2001 Civic.

Last thing to consider - the 2001 Civic is the most-recalled car ever, closely followed by the 2002 Civic & the 2001 Accord. The 2001 Civic is the 4th most-recalled vehicle overall, only a Ford truck & two Ford vans have more.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
68 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
75 / 5
Average Mileage:
53,859 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2001 Honda Civic seat belts / air bags problems

seat belts / air bags problem

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2001 Honda Civic Owner Comments (Page 6 of 10)

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problem #96

Apr 302010

Civic

  • 169,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2001 Honda Civic. While driving at speeds of 40 mph, the vehicle crashed into a vehicle in front of hers. The air bags did not deploy upon impact and the vehicle sustained severe front end damage. The contact sustained unknown injuries yet a police report was not filed. The vehicle was driven to a local repair shop where she was advised the vehicle could not be repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but would not provide any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 169,000.

- Kansas City, MO, USA

problem #95

May 112010

(reported on)

Civic 4-cyl

  • miles
2001 Honda Civic. Consumer expresses discontent with dealer response to recall notice regarding a safety airbag defect the consumer stated it has been over two months since he received the first recall notice and the recall still has not been rectified. The first time the consumer inquired about the recall, the dealer informed him the parts would have to be ordered. The second time the consumer inquired about the recall, he was told he would have to bring the vehicle in to determined if there really was a defect with the air bag.

- Aiea, HI, USA

problem #94

Mar 262010

Civic

  • 120,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Honda Civic. While driving at 35 mph through an intersection, a vehicle coming from the left crashed into the vehicle. The air bags did not deploy and two people sustained minor injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was totaled. The current and failure mileages were approximately 120,000.

- Gahanna, OH, USA

problem #93

May 222008

Civic

  • 80,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2001 Honda Civic si SRS light came on, after speaking with a few Honda owners with same problem they all said there was caused by a faulty driver side belt buckle, also after researching on the internet noticed alot of complaints about same problem with SRS and faulty buckle, went on to contact Honda who also told me yes 99 % of the time the SRS light comes on that specific car it is a faulty buckle, and this problem deactivates the airbag so if there's an accident the airbags wont deploy so if there's that many defected buckles for 2001 Civic si shouldn't they consider a recall?

- Mississauga, 00, USA

problem #92

Apr 092009

Civic

  • 82,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Honda Civic. While driving approximately 3 mph in reverse, the vehicle abnormally accelerated at an unusually high rate of speed. The vehicle then crashed into an unknown object. The vehicle suffered major damage but was not destroyed. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. The vehicle was inoperable. The VIN was not available at the time of the complaint. The failure mileage was 82,000 and the current mileage was 82,000. Updated 05/13/10.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #91

Oct 152009

Civic

  • miles
This in regards to Honda's safety advisory recall, 2001-2002 Accord/Civic driver's airbag inflater (sb 08-093). I brought my car to Honda West, 7615 West sahara avenue, las vegas, nv 89117. I showed two service representatives and the service manager the letter that I received from Honda regarding the recall. They told me that I would need to leave my car there for two days so they can order the parts. That was not an option because I work and need transportation to get to work. I suggested to all of the representatives and manager to order the parts, call me when the parts are in, and I could bring my car back in for the recall. They did not want to do that because it was an inconvenience for them and insisted I leave my car for the two days. To me it sounded like they did not want to work on it because it was a free repair. I am very uncomfortable bringing my car back for this repair. How can I be confident that they will fix this issue without breaking something else and charging me. I would take my car elsewhere, but this is the only option in las vegas. Please advise.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #90

Dec 082009

Civic

  • 64,693 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The SRS light on my dashboard of Honda Civic 2001 stays on. Upon working with an authorized dealer, the diagnosis of this error is "left front seatbelt buckle switch failure" (code 09-3). I was verbally told that this means in event of a crash the airbags would not deploy. I cursory search of internet forums suggests my case is not an isolated incident. When I requested the dealership and subsequently Honda motor co to resolve this issue, which has to be considered safety related, I was told it is not covered under warranty. Given the potential of airbag non deployment, I would request urgent attention in this matter.

- Peoria, IL, USA

problem #89

Nov 162009

Civic

  • 9,000 miles
SRS warning light (supplemental restraint system) stays on. Problem started at 9400 miles while under warranty, car now has 55,000 miles.

- Torrance, CA, USA

problem #88

Jun 102009

Civic

  • 140,000 miles
I have 3 Honda Civic build on 2001 all 3 of them have the airbag light on I took to Honda dealer they said is not our responsibility to fix it and I have few friend they all have same issue with there Civic.

- Tucker, GA, USA

problem #87

Sep 102009

Civic

  • 86,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Honda Civic. The contact stated that the dealer has tampered with her passenger side air bags when the recall repair was made and it was unsafe to drive the vehicle. After the dealer repaired the passenger side air bag there was a rattling noise and the air bag was pushed outward and not in place as it should be. The dealer later advised the contact that the passenger side air bag was not repaired and that there was no noise present. The manufacturer will be notified and made aware of the air bag problem. The failure mileage was 86,000.

- Carterville, GA, USA

problem #86

Jun 202005

Civic

  • 286,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Sirs, recently the air bag warning indicator on the instrument panel, fails to go off indicating a problem with the safety air bag system.there is no routine maintenance recommended in my owners manual for this part, and since I read about recalls for this model car (Honda Civic 4 door 2001) I did not take it to the repair shop or dealer to examine. Through this website, I checked the VIN's of the vehicles affected and my vehicle is not on that list of numbers. I believe that this is a manufacturing defect, it would probably be very costly to have it repaired.I have no idea how many complaints there are about this problem, and if I should just go ahead and have it looked at and eat the costs, or wait a little to see what you advise (if you do that at all). Thank you in advance, peter P

- Greenwood Lake, NY, USA

problem #85

Sep 082009

Civic

  • miles
"airbag" light on headboard at almost all times. Received letter about airbag recall and contacted dealer (sam swope Honda, louisville, ky (502) 499-3740) yesterday, 09/08/2009. They claim the soonest they can get me in to fix this problem is 11/23/2009. That's 76 days! I guess they don't care that this is poses a safety threat toward me. I had to contact another dealer and they were able to get me in a lot sooner than that. I just think it's unacceptable that sam swope couldn't get it taken care of sooner just because they were "getting slammed." This is someone's safety we are dealing with!

- Goshen, KY, USA

problem #84

Apr 102007

Civic

  • 128,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Honda Civic purchased brand new in 2001. She stated that the SRS airbag light continued to illuminate on the warning panel. She received a recall letter pertaining to the failure. The dealer stated that the vehicle would be repaired in 5 days. She requested a rental vehicle at no cost; however, the manufacturer denied the request. The brakes had been replaced over four times in a period of 4 years which resulted in the struts being damaged. The transmission was replaced twice. The fuel pump, air conditioning system, alternator have also been repaired and the power locks were inoperable. The failure mileage was 30,000 and the current mileage was 128,000.

- Henderson, NV, USA

problem #83

Apr 102006

Civic

  • 81,000 miles
Purchased a pre-owned 2001 Honda Civic in 2005, certified inspection by Honda dealer. The SRS light went on in April 2006. Never was involved in accidents or alike. The SRS lights was reset twice but the lights went on after couple months. It has been more than a year now that the SRS light is on and I am very worried about my safety. Honda should replace the airbag and fix it for the owners safety.

- Concord, CA, USA

problem #82

Mar 012009

Civic

  • 103,000 miles
Purchased a pre-owned 2001 Honda Civic, certified inspection by the dealer. Vehicle has 2 intermittent safety issues, which did not present themselves in the test drive prior to purchase. First, SRS light is always on. Secondly there is an intermittent problem, can not reproduce on demand, where the instrument panel completely drops. So gas gauge says empty, says you are driving -0- mph, odometer goes to "8888888", etc, although you can continue to drive the car. The only way to reset is to pull over, turn off the car & restart the vehicle. One dealer quoted a gauge cluster at $800. Another dealer could not confirm this as the issue and asked for us to drive there when it is happening - when the gauges have dropped. It is dangerous to drive without gauges, and to drive it all the way to the dealer like this is unsafe. I called Honda, there are no similarly reported issues for my vehicle. This is a dangerous safety issue.

- Geneva, IL, USA

problem #81

Feb 222009

Civic

  • miles
Yesterday the SRS indicator light on my 2001 Honda Civic came on and stayed on.

- Laguna Niguel, CA, USA

problem #80

Jun 082008

Civic

  • 80,000 miles
SRS lights turned on and stayed on. In my Honda Civic 2001 the vehicle was not involved in any crash or other bodily injuries.

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #79

Aug 062008

Civic

  • 120,000 miles
My husband was in a car accident in our Honda Civic 2001 LX on August 6th. The accident occurred at approximately 9:30 am. The car in front of him stopped short to try to avoid an accident, thus my husband tried to stop but ran into the car in front of him (I'm told it was a 3 car accident). My husband hit his head on the windshield, his chest on the steering wheel and the air bags never deployed. He was going about 50 miles an hour at the time. The air bags should have gone off. We bought this car new in 2001. I was in a minor car accident with this same car a couple of years ago making a left hand turn on my way to church. At the time, I didn't think about it, but the air bags never deployed during that accident either. I thought it was just because I was going so slow that must have been the reason.

- Billerica, MA, USA

problem #78

Jul 012008

Civic

  • miles
The SRS light on the Honda Civic has been on. It has been repaired a few months ago but it is on again. Also there are a lot of similar complaint from the Honda owner. Need to investigate before fatal accident happen.

- Irvine, CA, USA

problem #77

Jun 262008

Civic

  • 80,000 miles
I was leaving my home and driving about 1 mile to my destination. My car had been functioning normally earlier in the day. I noticed that the transmission slipped as I went up a small hill. Within 1/4 mile the torque converter failed (transmission failure) and I had power to the engine but no forward power. I was stuck in the middle of the road and could only get to safety at the side of the road by coasting. Had I been on a more heavily traffic road, or on a steep hill of which there are many here, the outcome could have been many injured or deaths as I was a sitting duck in the road.

- Topanga, CA, USA

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