transmission problem
9.1
really awfulTypical Repair Cost:
$2,299.00
Average Mileage:
92,667 miles
Number of complaints:
158 complaints
Most common solutions:
- rebuilt whole transmission (55 reports)
- replaced transmission (55 reports)
- not sure (27 reports)
- get honda to cover the cost (18 reports)
- replace the torque converter (3 reports)
2008May 08
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 660,000 miles
Had near disaster when the car plans to die on you on the freeway. nearest mechanic was quick to diagnose the problem and solution ever prompter..transmission is gone. did not believe and thought I was getting ripped. who in the sanest mind believe a Honda make to go bad in 66 K. This was just the start of series of unfortunate events....the Honda dealer has denied a claim that a problem in the transmission with 2001 civic...I have been feeding them faxes to make my claim. I don't want to spend 3K on 7K car. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks
2008May 07
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 101,000 miles
Minutes after exiting the highway, where I'd been driving 60mph, I accelerated from a red light and felt a hard shift. The car started to jerk when I tried to accelerate and I smelled something burning, but I was in heavy traffic and couldn't immediately pull over. Fortunately, I made it the remaining short distance to work, put the car in park, and left it running for the parking attendant. When the attendant put the car in drive and stepped on the gas, the car wouldn't move. It was like it was in neutral. Had the car towed and was informed the transmission was shot and a rebuild would cost about $2,300. It took me two hours to get home using public transportation. I'm fortunate the transmission didn't fail a few minutes earlier when I was driving at high speeds. All this only two weeks after the car passed inspection, had the (Honda) transmission fluid changed, and had other routine maintenance. This is an unacceptable flaw that Honda needs to address, immediately!
2008Apr 18
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 92,000 miles
After noticing a strange jerk in shifting for only about a day i was left stranded in the middle of no where with a transmission that suddenly failed completely. After walking a couple miles up the road i was able to get service on my cell phone to have my car towed. I would say i may have been luckier than many of the others on this site that could have easily been killed experiencing the say problem on a busy interstate. The dealer gave me an estimate of about $3000. After reading the posts I cant believe that Honda could possibly expect me to pay such a ridiculous amount of money for a problem that they know exists. I hope to encourage everyone that has this similar problem that they contact Honda America and tell them that if they don't fix this problem you will never buy another Honda and will tell everyone you know about you experience and insist that they do the same. To make a difference EVERYONE needs to get on Honda about this. They know this is a problem and should do something about it.
Most importantly this is an issue of safety. People could die driving this car while Honda sits around and does nothing about this problem.
I hope everyone leaves a complaint on safercar.gov. The link to this same incident is: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/results.cfm .
I hope that everyone else that experiences this problem will contact Honda America and SaferCar.gov so that Honda will do something about this poor treatment of customers and their endangering of lives with this known problem.
2006May 11
Civic
- Automatic transmission
- 89,000 miles
I think this is a Joke by Honda when i went to see Car Dealer they told me that they can't help it because it had 80,000 mile warranty. Which suck! I will rather go for Toyota because their service is great. Buying next car/van/suv from Honda will be really low on my list.
2008Apr 25
Civic LX 1.7L V4
- Automatic transmission
- 95,000 miles
another member of the Honda transmission failure club. My transmission totally failed on me and apparently I am not alone. I have it towed to a transmission specialist and still need to figure out what I can do with it.
one thing is for sure, I'll never buy a Honda again.
2008Apr 24
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 115,000 miles
Honda is always depicted as the epitome of reliability. Its quite disgraceful that such an obvious transmission error is constantly overlooked by HONDA.
2008Apr 20
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 63,100 miles
I have become yet another victim of Honda. 2 days ago I was driving with my 9 month old daughter and my grandmother in the car at night when, out of nowhere, the tranny starts to do the neutral-feeling-but-still-in-Drive problem. Well to make a VERY long night (tow and all) a short story...my transmission completely died that night! My Honda has 63K miles on it...HOW ABSURD IS THIS!?!?!?!?!!!
This needs to be taken up to a legal level in order to ensure the safety of the many others who have been lied to and told that they are driving reliable, quality cars.
I'm taking it to Robertson Honda in NOHO to see how much they own up to...
2007Dec 17
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 250,000 miles
this is the fourth transmission in this car..I have switched to Toyota's.
2008Apr 07
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 68,000 miles
I am a proud driver of the Honda Civic 2001 model, and it has only 68K miles on it. About a month ago I heard a strange noise. So I went to a small mechanic shop near my home. The mechanic checked it out and said to me "It is a transmission problem. You have to fix it.� He went on to say that the 2001 Honda Civic was notorious for having a transmission problem. He showed me another Honda Civic exactly like my model and turned on the engine. When he did, the sound that I heard was identical to that of mine.
As a result of the events, I researched this particular case on the internet and was amazed to see how many times this has happened. I found two web-site.
http://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Civic/2001/transmission/transmission_failure.shtml
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/results.cfm
With all the results of the research I sincerely believe that Honda needs to take responsibility for this problem. It is not just a mechanical problem, but more importantly a problem with safety.
Therefore, I called Honda America as I had seen advised on the board and they told me that all the cases were handled individually and that it had to be checked at the Honda Dealer. They gave me a case number, and so I took my car to the Goodson Honda dealership in Houston. The service manger ran diagnostics for about two days, and said, "Everything is OK. The noise that you hear coming from the car is normal wear and tear.� So I took his word for it.
Then three days later when I was driving on the highway, my transmission failed. It almost killed me and my mother. The situation could easily have been fatal.
I towed my car to my house and called Honda America again and reported my transmission failure. I towed my car to the same dealership under the recommendation of Honda America and had them check the car. They said that the transmission was out. So I said "I came here three days ago and you told me that nothing was wrong with my car. Now three days later my transmission went out. Don�t you have a financial responsibility to fix my car or at least meet me half way and pay 50% of the cost or at least for cost of parts. At the least recall the 2001 Honda Civic models for a faulty transmission.� I went on to say, �Will you at least pay for labor and I will pay for parts?� Unfortunately, they said "NO" because your warranty is expired, there was no warning signal. When the dealership checked your car, everything was OK. So we are no liable.�
Honda America Customer Service denied any help because of the following :
1. The car is out of warranty
2. There was no recall on the transmission on the same model of car.
3. Dealer checked everything but checked out OK.
I added a complaint about this problem with the NHTSA & Carcomplaints.com. Believe it or not there are 150, from one days research, complaints concerning the same transmission problems that I have had. I am not alone. While I was searching for information on internet I got to know that this was a known problem for the 2001 Honda Civic. It was also confirmed by some of the auto service centers. I purchased a Honda because I had thought it to be a reliable car. I still wonder why a brand like Honda refuses to do something to have this common transmission problem investigated and help their customers. I�m not asking for a new car or a cash settlement. I just want this problem investigated and resolved for the safety of my family and for the families driving a Honda Civic.
2008Apr 07
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 68,000 miles
I am a proud driver of the Honda Civic 2001 model, and it has only 68K miles on it. About a month ago I heard a strange noise. So I went to a small mechanic shop near my home. The mechanic checked it out and said to me "It is a transmission problem. You have to fix it.� He went on to say that the 2001 Honda Civic was notorious for having a transmission problem. He showed me another Honda Civic exactly like my model and turned on the engine. When he did, the sound that I heard was identical to that of mine.
As a result of the events, I researched this particular case on the internet and was amazed to see how many times this has happened. I found two web-site.
http://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Civic/2001/transmission/transmission_failure.shtml
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/results.cfm
With all the results of the research I sincerely believe that Honda needs to take responsibility for this problem. It is not just a mechanical problem, but more importantly a problem with safety.
Therefore, I called American Honda as I had seen advised on the board and they told me that all the cases were handled individually and that it had to be checked at the Honda Dealer. They gave me a case number, and so I took my car to the Goodson Honda dealership in Houston. The service manger ran diagnostics for about two days, and said, "Everything is OK. The noise that you hear coming from the car is normal wear and tear.� So I took his word for it.
Then three days later when I was driving on the highway, my transmission failed. It almost killed me and my mother. The situation could easily have been fatal.
I towed my car to my house and called Honda America again and reported my transmission failure. I towed my car to the same dealership under the recommendation of Honda America and had them check the car. They said that the transmission was out. So I said "I came here three days ago and you told me that nothing was wrong with my car. Now three days later my transmission went out. Don�t you have a financial responsibility to fix my car or at least meet me half way and pay 50% of the cost or at least for cost of parts. At the least recall the 2001 Honda Civic models for a faulty transmission.� I went on to say, �Will you at least pay for labor and I will pay for parts?� Unfortunately, they said "NO" because your warranty is expired, there was no warning signal. When the dealership checked your car, everything was OK. So we are no liable.�
Honda America Customer Service denied any help because of the following :
1. The car is out of warranty
2. There was no recall on the transmission on the same model of car.
3. Dealer checked everything but checked out OK.
I added a complaint about this problem with the NHTSA & Carcomplaints.com. Believe it or not there are 150, from one days research, complaints concerning the same transmission problems that I have had. I am not alone. While I was searching for information on internet I got to know that this was a known problem for the 2001 Honda Civic. It was also confirmed by some of the auto service centers. I purchased a Honda because I had thought it to be a reliable car. I still wonder why a brand like Honda refuses to do something to have this common transmission problem investigated and help their customers. I�m not asking for a new car or a cash settlement. I just want this problem investigated and resolved for the safety of my family and for the families driving a Honda Civic.
2008Apr 18
Civic LX 1.7L V4
- Automatic transmission
- 118,000 miles
I was under the impression that Hondas, generally speaking, would last upwards of 250,000 mi without major repair costs. Apparently, my Civic didn't even get to half of that. While driving to work one morning, I noticed that the automatic transmission would take too long in upshifting into third gear. After a few minutes, it stopped upshifting altogether and stayed in second gear only. Within another few minutes, the transmission dropped out of gear and went into neutral despite the fact that I still had it in drive on the shifter. I was forced to drift off to the side of the road and could no longer get the vehicle to move, save a few times when I shut down the engine, restarted and attempted to turn around and head home.
I had the car towed to a transmission specialist who is still in the process of working on it. So far, the problem seems to be gross failure of the transmission and the fluid pump, which the mechanic said had no longer been generating pressure. At this point, I hope it's merely an issue with the friction discs in the clutch, but after reading everything on here, my optimistic expectations are somewhat dashed.
I took care of this car and showed little advance warning of such a catastrophic mechanical failure. What the crap was Honda doing in 2001?!
2008Apr 16
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 107,000 miles
The tranny stopped working rather suddenly. It was missing a little in the morning. By evening, it no longer ran. I did not even give me time to try and investigate the issue. As with everyone else, it felt like it was in neutral when it was in drive. Honda has officially lost a customer. I will never buy another Honda. I was a faithful Honda buy for 15 years or 5 cars. Good Bye Honda.
2007Jun 01
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 80,000 miles
The transmission failed. I had to be towed to the dealer. I called American Honda and argued that it should not have failed. Eventually they agreed and gave me a new transmission. I paid the labor which seemed to be discounted too. I paid $350.00 for
the labor. I now see that many others have had the same problem. Maybe I should have held out for 100%. American Honda also wanted me to prove I had service at a dealer, but I do all my own repairs so I could only refer them to my service records that I maintain in the manual.
2008Mar 28
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 107,000 miles
I am sorry I even had to go on Internet and find whatever I can on 2001 Honda Civic. This is ridiculous .. My car is dealer maintained from the day we brouught this new baby home .. and my husband -- he takes care of the car like it is a Ferrari -- including cleaning inside out and washing couple times a month -- you can tell when people at Dealership know your name and smile as soon as your car enters -- so anyway .. on this fine rushed Friday morning ... the car transmission slipped couple of times on the busy highway -- and then Poof .. my husband took the exit somehow and it seems the car was in neutral and tried to drive (and pushed the car with three young kids help) and walked them to the school from there .... His back was already sore and all this just made it worse ... I am so angry and frustrated .. I have called American Honda and waiting on resolution. If they do not replace it .. can they be Sued .. Please advise .. now we have a rental car -- to add the cost on us .. I hope we can reach as many people as we can to advise Not to Buy Honda .. .. any help in this matter will be greatly appreciated.
2008Mar 28
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 107,000 miles
All,
Is there a class suit that we can file .. it seems that 2001 has faulty transmission. Mine died while driving at the highway in the busy traffic with three kids in car (for school drop off ..). The car is dealer maintained since the day 1 and has been treated like a baby -- clean and wash twice a month .. we are very particular with the service -- so even the dealer was surprised .. it is almost $4000 -- so can anyone please advise .. I tried to send comment to few of you but it did not work .. Did Honda got to cover the issue? I am shocked and so mad .. now we have additional cost of Car rental until we can resolve it. Has anyone file a complaint with NHTSA? When I called American Honda -- three different times -- they have no idea how long the transmission should last .. also they told me after asking How Many Miles that I should be happy that it is after 100,000 miles .. What?? Hello .. It is Honda -- it should be at least 150000 if not more ... Please tell everyone you know DO NOT BUY A HONDA ....
2007Jan 01
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 89,000 miles
I have the same gripe as everyone else! stinking transmission went out. It happened back in January 2007 and it's just been sitting in my garage. POS HONDA!
2008Mar 20
Civic EX 4 cyl.
- Automatic transmission
- 111,000 miles
I added a complaint about this problem yesterday, however I wanted to say that I did file a complaint with the NHTSA today. Believe it or not there are 70 other complaints there about the same thing. I am encouraging everyone regardless of how the repair was handled to do the same thing. This is truly a safety hazard that Honda does not want to acknowledge. I have done many internet searches of this problem and it is amazing how many times this has happened. Also lets get going on a class action law suit. Honda needs to take responsibility for this problem.
2008Mar 18
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 95,000 miles
Well, I am sorry to say I am the newest member of the Honda Auto Transmission Failure Club. The saga begins with my daughter driving what I thought to be a quality vehicle, but to my surprise turns out to be less reliable than a Kia. While she was driving the transmission had a complete terminal failure, no warning of any kind, car just stop moving. Vehicle had been owner maintained with recent work done on the brakes, no significant problems. Vehicle was towed to local dealer, in the interim I found this site and after reading several complaints, contacted the Honda corporate office hoping to get some relief. After 2 days I had to follow up with my so called case worker, who informed me that after much soul searching on their part (Corp. Honda) that due to my lack of loyalty to my dealer (not taking my car for service; translate letting them gouge me) they could not help with any of the repair cost which now totals approximately $2700 to $2800 dollars for not a BRAND NEW Transmission but an Overhaul unit. At which point I stated that since I had purchased 4 Hondas over the years didn't that show loyalty maybe not to the dealer but to Honda, at which point he agreed but said there was nothing the Corporate Office could do. I replied that there was something I could do and that is to never buy their vehicles again (maybe try Toyota) and tell everyone I come in contact with not to buy Honda products of any kind be it a car, PWC, generator, because the quality is just not there and Honda does not stand behind their products.
2008Jan 09
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 80,000 miles
I'm pretty upset because i took out a loan on a Honda so i would have a reliable car, but it is very disappointing to have a car with shitty transmission, its expensive. $2,000, and it may cost more because the replacement already has problems after the first day.
2008Mar 10
Civic EX 2.1L
- Automatic transmission
- 150,000 miles
I am a proud member of the Honda Civic failed transmission club as well. My Civic has been meticulously maintained and the mileage is due to the fact that I commute 100mi a day - all interstate with the cruise control set.
My Honda Civic began shifting hard from 2-3 recently. I checked the fluid, but it was fine. Within a week the transmission went. I called American Honda as I had seen advised on the board and they told me that all cases were handled on individually and it had to be checked at the Honda Dealer. So $90 later they determined it was a bad transmission - strange I figured that out for free when the engine rev'd but did not move, but hey I'm not a certified Honda mechanic.
The dealer quoted me $2700 to replace the tranny, On my call back to American Honda I was told that due to the mileage there was nothing that they would do. Essentially Honda America stole $90 from me - if they had been honest at the outset I never would have gone to the dealer. I asked what the design life span of the transmission was and after a few minutes of stumbling and trying to avoid the question the Honda rep said that she did not know, but that it should last at least 100k. I responded that they should change their name to Ford.
I called around to a couple shops and found at that 75k is the norm for the tranny failing. Fortunately I found a transmission shop that is going to rebuild it for $1700.
We own 2 Hondas and had plans to buy a third in 2 years when I got rid of the Civic. Not only will we not buy that car I will be getting rid of the other one as well. Honda has obviously lost sight of what made them a great car company - basic reliable cars. They have lost a class action lawsuit over their faulty transmissions and seem to have issues with the ones not covered by it.
When the Honda sales guy says "all you have to do is change the oil and the car will run forever" he is lying.
2008Feb 27
Civic EX Vtech
- Automatic transmission
- 111,000 miles
WOW! so I buy a Honda because of reliability.... NOT! It was used and not from a Honda dealership. The place I bought it from gives me a 30 day warranty. Exactly 2 months (as in purchased on 12/13/07 and on 02/13/08) my car would not budge!. But see I didn't get pissed off ( not yet at least). I took it back to the place I bought it from and they say because the 30 warranty is up they cant help!, all repairs and parts must be payed for out of pocket. (who new??). So I find this place that is supposed to be fabulous with transmission( WRONG!!). I payed $3200 for my transmission to be rebuild and I've had to take my car back 3 times since then, which doesn't include the initial problem. Since 02/27/08 I have not had my car for a week straight without the transmission giving me problems and everytime I bring it back, they say they have fixed the problem.... HOW THE HELL DO YOU FIX A PROBLEM 4 TIMES???!! I am desperate for help. please reply to this comment. IM BEGGING!!
HONDA YOU SUCK!!
2008Feb 29
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 54,000 miles
I was driving south on I-95 from Baltimore to just outside Washington, DC when my engine lost considerable power. I quickly moved to the right lane, put my automatic into 3rd gear, and hoped I could make it safely to my parents house, still about 25 minutes away from where I was on the highway. I had my twin 18 month-old daughters in their car seats in the back seat, so was trying to figure out, while barely moving what would be the best way to get them off of 95, and to my parents house, without all of us being mowed down.
Somehow we made it to the destination, very slowly... and the freaking transmission was fried! My car barely has 54K on it! After a very costly repair (thank you Montgomery County MD) and a little internet research, I see that I am not alone.
I need to find out who to contact in Honda, and how I can be reimbursed for at least a portion of this disaster. I could have sold it for more than the freaking repair. I do not find Honda to be dependable and will not purchase another one. I want my daughters and myself to be safe and do not feel safe in this vehicle.
Would love advice on how to recoup some of this expense, and to find out about any class action lawsuits to saddle up to. This is unacceptable.
2007Apr 17
(reported on)Civic LX 4cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 107,000 miles
Hey Yall, The mechanic that fixes my cars says the 2004 transmissions do not have the same problems with them.... So, I got a 2004 used tranny (had to replace all sensors, the old ones are not compatible with the new one) Gave me a 12,000 mile one year warranty..... Seems to be doing well!
2008Mar 06
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 146,000 miles
Well, as all the others have stated...my 2001 Honda Civic LX started to rev on a cold day when it tried to go into gear at 30 mi/hr. It happened in the same spot for three mornings in a row, but no other time (yet). Then on the 4th day, it was happening going into 1st and 2nd. I checked the tranny fluid and it was full. I was trying to be gentle with shifting...releasing the gas when the car tried to shift. That worked for the day. On my way home from visiting my mother, I stopped at the local Honda dealer. I told them the tranny was slipping. They ran a diagnostic test, charged me $105 and told me the tranny was slipping (I told them I already knew that!). They wrote on the paper that the car was drivable but the tranny would need to be replaced in the future at a tune of $2,600+tax. Well...on the way home from that Honda dealer, the tranny failed. I got stuck on the side of the road. After calling my sister (who was home sick with the flu to come to get me), I had turned off the car for a while. When I started the car again...I was able to move it to the parking lot of the Midas shop. They were nice enough to allow me to leave it in the lot until I could get it towed. I found a local mechanic who would put a tranny from a salvage yard into the car. The tranny cost $900...it has 42,000 miles on it. The labor was a bargin...6 hrs @ $60/hr. So I saved about $1,500 but need to keep my fingers crossed that this tranny will not fail as well. Since the car has 146,000 miles, I am hoping to get 1 more year out of it before I purchase a new car...NOT HONDA!!!
2008Mar 10
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 77,000 miles
So yesterday while driving in the lovely rain, my Civic started to go slower. I revved it up hoping I had taken my foot off the gas and not realized. It still felt the need to go slower, and shortly after it died (as in car is on, but feels the need to not move an inch). I ended up having to push my car off the road. And im only a 5'5" girl. People still had the audacity to honk and slow down to yell at me to get out of the road. Needless to say I returned their comment with some very "lovely" language. So a friend came to my rescue. We let it sit for a little and then it decided to start moving again. So on my way back home, it dies again, and this time I had to be towed home. After calling around to some friends that were mechanics, and one came over to look at my car, they all said it was my transmission that went out. So while at work yesterday, I was talking to some co-workers that are gurus when it comes to cars, they were aghast at the fact that my transmission was "dead." Everyone that I talked to estimated that it would be about $2000 for the repairs. I purchased it used no more than a year ago so the only "repairs" I've had to have done are oil changes, and changing the air filter, and just check all the liquid levels. Anyways, getting to my point. I haven't contact our Local Honda Dealer or American Honda and I wanted to know what steps I needed to take to have them cover some of the charges. Thanks a bunch.
2008Mar 06
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 106,000 miles
I could hardly believe it when I found myself in the fast lane on a major freeway, infant in the backseat and BOOM! .... nothing. My car wouldn't move. It just kept revving and wouldn't push forward. I had to coast my way to the right shoulder. I was scared out of my mind, worried for my son and so mad that my useless extended warranty was up only 6,000 miles ago! I had to have it towed to the nearest Honda dealership and they have it now overnight to diagnose it (at the cost of $105). Based on what I've been researching online, it's most likely the transmission... awesome. I'm nervous about calling American Honda because I'm a wuss in these types of situations. ugh. I'm not the original owner, but the original owner (a friend) said that they took it in for its routine check-ups at their dealership. We had the extended warranty switched over into our names for a $50 fee. bleh. We brought it in for most, if not, all of its routine check ups... I don't know. I need to call American Honda tomorrow morning if I'm going to at all, so any advice soon would be great. Thanks!
2008Feb 21
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 135,000 miles
I have had my car for four years. December of 06 my transmission went out i bought a
new one and just recently on February of 08 it went out again this will be the second time i will have to replace it and it's going to coast me $2485 i don't have money to keep fixing and fixing the same problem over and over it's an awful/annoying experience and cost a lot of money something i shouldn't have to replace again so i would like to know what Honda plans on doing for me. I feel that Honda needs to do something about it. When the recall came out for the headlights I had to put money out of my pocket for that to. I need my car fixed soon but I cannot come up with that money that fast. My car is a necessity as it is for everyone else. I see that there was recalls for other Honda vehicles in the past and maybe the Civics got over looked because I know that I am not the only one who has had this problem. What I need know is a quick response. Thank You
2008Mar 01
Civic LX V4
- Automatic transmission
- 68,350 miles
Just to let everyone know that Honda transmission may fail at low mileage too.
2008Feb 20
Civic EX 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 108,500 miles
My 2001 Honda Civic EX is now having it's entire transmission replaced at the Honda dealership as I am writing this complaint. I was absolutely astounded a few weeks ago when I was driving my Honda and the transmission began to slip after I had pulled out of my driveway and tried to put it in 'drive'. It 'slipped' a few times and finally went into drive. This was a common occurrence when the weather was very cold outside. After the car warmed up it did not seem to slip, but I decided to take to the Honda dealer to have it checked out. They had for about a day and a half and said that they could not duplicate the problem and had never seen a Honda transmission 'fail' . (HMMMM?). I had some other maintenance performed on it and went to pick it up the next day. Well when I got to the dealership to pick up the car they said that when they pulled my car out to give to me the transmission 'slipped' and they said they had taken it back inside and added some kind of 'Honda' conditioner? to the transmission fluid and said that it was ok to drive and to watch it. I have always had my maintenance performed at the Honda dealer and they also said that when they looked at my transmission fluid it was very clean and not rusted, etc. They asked if I had the timing belt replaced, and I said I had it replaced at about 98000miles, and by a Honda tech. I also had the transmission fluid changed at this time with Honda fluid, etc. They just said that they had never seen a Honda transmission fail at 108,000 miles and that I should get at least 250,000 miles out of ti.
Right, well I took the car home, didn't drive it over the weekend. Drove it a few miles to on the following Monday and Tuesday and then BOOM on Wednesday morning, I started my car, let it warm up for a while and pulled out of my driveway and it wouldn't go in drive at all. I had to end up having it towed to the Honda dealer. The verdict was that the torque converter failed and I needed a new transmission for $2837.00. OUCJ/
I was sick and like everyone else, I had bought a Honda because of its reputation for reliability and long life. I called American Honda for a goodwill repair, and got a case number and then called my dealership to tell them I had called American Honda. In the end with help from my dealership and the fact that I had purchased an extended 100,000 mile warranty when I purchased the car new in 2001, plus the fact that I had just had over a $2000.00 in maintenance done on the car in the past 10 months. American Honda agreed to pay for 60% of the entire repair and the cost of the repair (rebuilt transmission and labor) was reduced to $2000.00 as Honda bought their own transmission at wholesale price. Honda also will warranty the transmission for 3 year, or 36,000 miles. I agreed because what choice did I have. I still believe they should cover the entire cost as this is obviously a 'defect' and their should be a recall on these Civics for the transmission failure with so many complaints. This is astounding that they (Honda) is willing to risk and damage their reputation over this. I would not be surprised if their ends up being a class action lawsuit in the near future, and maybe we can all get our money back.
2008Feb 25
Civic EX 4-cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 88,000 miles
My wife was dead in the water out on the road with a failed automatic transmission on a Honda with 88,000 miles on it! Unthinkable for a Honda, but then look at the number of complaints on this site alone. Of course, the warranty had expired and no extended warranty. After the failure, I Googled it and found this site. Review of the complaints on the site lead me to call American Honda, register a complaint, and open a case number. They then worked with the Honda service department where we had the car towed. Subsequently, the service manager called me and said that American Honda would pay for the parts (about $2600?) if we would pick up the labor ($500). They declined to pick up the 5-day rental-car cost. I found that acceptable, but I think that a recall should be issued (extend the warranty to, say, 120,000 miles) to help others who will experience this failure and not find their way to a solution like I did. We don't buy Honda's expecting this kind of failure to occur.
2008Jan 29
Civic DX
- Automatic transmission
- 94,500 miles
everyone i talked to was shocked when i told them about my Honda transmission failing, including all the mechanics i talked too. and you know what i was too. but after deep introspection (and web searches, thanks) ive come to realize that Honda's are on par with fords except Hondas are thousands of dollars more expensive. i was unfortunate enough to have my Honda civic stop moving in the middle of winter on a busy road on my way to medical school during an exam week, and this happens to be my wife, and my, only car. needless to say i could have done better on my exam, but i guess its my fault because here i thought Honda's were reliable cars that wouldn't die on you on a winter morning with only 94,000 miles and a history of care and maintenance. if anyone from Honda is reading this please make a smart business move and fix this problem. in a technological age where communication is at the click of a mouse it is very important for your reputation, hence sales, that you correct the issue. the only thing that maintains your sales in many parts of the states is your "reliability" factor. if you lose that, then you've essentially become an expensive ford, with less interior comfort.
2007Dec 18
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 58,000 miles
i wrote in mid December when my trans went out . many of you responded with great answers . but unfortunately American Honda wanted no part of it and not even on goodwill terms . so i waited and got an extended warranty for $900.00 , and they covered it . even the tow hahaha .who got the last laugh Honda ? the repair alone ran $2400.00 . plus towing and diagnostic . i pay a $50.00 deductible and my car is done and back on the road . it is a common problem that Honda wont acknowledge . but there is a way around the system . and the plus side is that i get a warranty on the full powertrain . and roadside and many other perks out of it . check it out and if you need more info email me . ill help out .
2008Jan 21
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 95,000 miles
My issue is the same as the rest of the issues mentioned on this site. 2001 Honda Civic LX with 95000 miles. I couldn't accelerate between 2nd and 3rd gears and between 3rd and 4th gear. After finding this site, I called American Honda immediately to discuss. Like a few others, they gave me a case number and told me to get a diagnosis. The diagnosis was complete transmission failure and they wanted to replace with a honda certified rebuilt tranny with a 3 year warranty for $2050. The case manager from American Honda asked three questions 1)How many Honda's have I owned, 2) Am I the original owner of the car, and 3) do I get my service done at the Honda dealership. I have owned or leased 3 hondas, I am the original owner, but I do not get my service done at the dealership. She said she would get me the best deal possible hung up, called the dealership, and called me back within five minutes. Honda and the dealership agreed to pay for the entire cost of repair. Sounds like I got lucky, but I think the key is to involve Honda early. They would not have paid for the entire transmission if they didn't already know that these were a problem. Use this site as an example and reference the fact that the 2001 Accord did have a recall and that there are numerous TSB's regarding the Honda transmission.
2007Dec 26
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 105,356 miles
I noticed my car acting weird for a couple of days before the complete failure. It was cold outside and it seemed to take longer for the it to go into drive completely when it I would 1st start it in the morning. Then the day after xmas(leaving work at the hospital) approx. 11pm at night I noticed the engine was revving pretty high and didn't want to get in gear. My check engine light then came on and the car just didn't want to go very fast.I was headed for the highway and proceeded to turn around to go a different route home that I was able to maintain 30 mph. Whenever I had to stop at a light building up speed took a awhile and I was just praying to get home. Unfortunately I was not able to get home and was able to use the car's last bit of power to turn into a parking lot. The car would no longer move in drive or reverse. I automatically knew it was the transmission esp. since a coworker w/ the same car 2001 silver honda civic lx (completely identical) had her transmission suddenly fail out of the blue 2 weeks before. I had the car towed to my house the next day and started heavily researching the matter. After reading what I read on this website I contacted Honda America 1-800-999-1009 to see if help was a possibility. I spoke to someone very nice and helpful at this time and she told me help with the repair was a possibility but it would be necessary to tow the car to a Honda dealer and the diagnosis would have to come from a Honda technician for them to make a decision. So I got a case number# and had the car towed there the next week and yes of course the diagnosis indicated I needed to replace the transmission( no shit). A problem for me was not having maintenance performed at Honda and having a individual mechanic work on my car(no paper trail)...or so they make me believe.I let the case manager know all the research I had done and that I knew that the Accord and Odysseys had their transmissions recalled in 01. He said the civic transmissions were not a widespread problem and there had not been any service bulletins on any problems..I was quick to say what about service bulletin 04-0361?? After He looked it up in his database and it was in fact for th 2001 civic transmission failure (what happens when the car doesn't move in drive) indicating car needs transmission replacement. I could go on and on about this but most importantly Honda only agreed to pay 25% so my bill is $1800 + tax which is a lot better than 3k but still sucks pretty badly. I guess I'll think twice about buying a Honda the next time around.The dealership just called me to inform me I also have a cracked manifold and broken motor mount. I'll get that fixed somewhere else but I have to just say what a nightmare this has been and I am not the only one who has gone through it.
2007Nov 22
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 90,000 miles
reading all of your complaints i feel a little bit better. I had bought my 2001 honda civic ex in September 2005. In November 2005 two days after the lemon law my transmission failed. It turned out to be this big ordeal because Tony March the place where i had purchased my car was not going to fix it. I pretty much bought this car a lemon. My mom had to fight with them and make some calls and complain about their service. Finally, they ended up fixing my car and i just had to pay for the used transmission which was $500 and they would cover the labor. Well now about 2 years later and my car at 131,000 miles i am having problems with my transmission again. It is slipping gears it will jump from 3 to 4. I am not sure what to do now because i don't even know if i want to have this unreliable car anymore. But then again there is no way that i would be able to afford a new car. I was doing some research and i found a number which is 1-800-999-1009 and then you say "goodwill" if this problem seems to progress then i am going to call it and see what they can do for me. This is bull.
2008Jan 27
(reported on)Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 80,000 miles
A little over a week ago I was driving my car home from work and the transmission kept slipping. I took it into Honda the next morning and they said that I needed a new transmission. I researched online and found this website. I noticed some people said Honda paid for part or all of it, so we called Honda. They said that they want to see records of anything I have done to my car besides basic oil/filter changes, so they can make sure that I have properly maintained my vehicle. They said that when you do any transmission drain & fill that you need to use Honda genuine fluid. My problem was that I had my vehicle serviced at the Honda dealer for the first few years, and then after that I just went to an independent mechanic. They ended up looking at my dealership service records and decided that they will pay 25% of parts and labor for the transmission. I was a little mad that they didn't pay more, but I took the 25%. So if this problem happens to you, hopefully you had your car serviced at a Honda dealership. If not, they might not pay anything unless you have reciepts that show they used Honda Genuine Fluids.
2008Jan 23
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 122,000 miles
As previously stated by other complaints on here, my car started jerking a bit on acceleration. With that then came the rpm's increasing with acceleration. The first day it started I was on my way home from out of town and the car had been running for almost three and a half hours. Day number two is when its problem increased, to the point that accelerating was a pain in the ass and I didn't feel as though my car was ever going to reach appropriate speed. Towards the end of day two of the problem, my check engine light came on and at this point I'm too scared to attempt to even drive it. I contacted Honda and there recommendation was to replace the transmission fluid with their own. But before I could even do that, my car had reached a point of no return and again I'm too scared to drive it. Not to mention, I've also had to replace the alternator twice in this vehicle.
2008Jan 19
Civic
- Automatic transmission
- 115,000 miles
My husband and I bought a 2001 used Honda Civic. Same problems as everyone has mentioned. When driving home a couple nights ago the engined started to rev really high and then would not go forward, backwards, or anything. Transmission failed. We called Honda after reading all of these complaints. NOTHING! We used to be Honda promoters, but now are so frustrated. They have been so unhelpful and it is just so sickening to have to spend so much money fixing such a supposedly "reliable" and relatively new car.
:(!
2008Jan 22
Civic 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 81,000 miles
I was driving to pick up a classmate to bring to school when my gears started going back and forth, from 2000rpms to 5000rpms. Luckily I was near a friend of mine's mechanic shop. He drove the car, did some research online and told me my car transmission was terminal. He said I might be able to make it my friend's house to switch out cars. Well on my way to my friend's, the transmission went out, check engine light came on (I was on a hill) and I had to turn off my car. I am 100 lb 5'2 female and luckily some nice bystanders saw my predicament (I was next to some guard rails next to a bridge) and helped me push my car off the road to a safe spot to wait for a tow truck. A friend picked me up, brought me to a safe ride, so I can resume my day. I had two tests that day and I was such a nervous wreck from the morning, I couldn't focus. I was late to class needless to say and am now having to find transportation to and from school and work because yes I am too a full time student and work full time. I thought Honda's were reliable (thats what everyone told me). I bought it used as is with 68,000 miles on it. Now I wish I would of spent my money elsewhere or done some better research on it before I bought it. I've only had this car since March of '07, when my previous car ('86 Supra) started having multiple problems. I never had any transmission problems with this car until this morning when it spontaneously started acting out. There were no symptoms of failure, unexplainable noises, or anything to make me believe my car was in trouble. Oh, and it had just been inspected (and passed) 2 weeks ago.
2008Jan 17
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 82,000 miles
Ok so a couple weeks ago my car started making really loud "whining noises" mostly when it was in idle. I figured the belts were loose so I called my mechanic and he said to bring it in whenever. Before I had a chance to bring it in, the gears started acting funny. About when I hit 30mph the rpms would go way up and the car would jerk before changing gears.. i thought this was strange but hey at least I was going to take my car in the next day and it probably had something to do with the noise. Well every time I drove my car the problem would get worse and worse. It started doing it at 40-50 as well. When I took my car in the mechanic said that the noise and the gear problems weren't related and I will have to rebuild my transmission for $2000-$3000. WOAH! He was surprised because I have a Honda and Honda's aren't supposed to do this. But he said that I probably have a couple months to possibly a year before it goes out completely so that I can save the money. So the next day I start to go to work and its having trouble going into first gear... I drive as far as I can before I turn on a busy road with a slight incline and my car wont go forward! When I tried to accelerate the RPMs went crazy and I started rolling backwards. By now my check engine light was on... When I called the mechanic he was so surprised that he's hoping that it is something else (something less costly) however after finding this website with hundreds of people with the same complaint I think I am out of luck. This is horrible. I am a student and I work full time aboyt 20 miles away (it takes 40 mins in traffic to get here) I think I will have to take out a loan to cover costs and I am frantically looking for a used transmission. CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT COUNT ME IN!!!! My mileage is only at 82,000. Please everyone lets make this happen! The problem only started 3-4 days before it completely died. This is not OK.
2008Jan 11
Civic EX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 175,000 miles
Do I feel like a schmuck? Yes. I bought a used 2001 Civic EX for my 16 year old girl. It had all highway miles so I thought I was getting a great deal. I fixed it up and had the transmission flushed at the dealer in April 2007 and everything was fine. On Jan 11, 2008 it began slipping. Now I can't drive it. I thought I did my homework carefully but after reading these comments I really blew it. With the # of miles I doubt the Dealer will even talk to me. I could use some advice. I'm into this car $6600 and still have a $3000 loan. I would appreciate the Corporate phone number from those who had success. Please post.
2008Jan 06
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 99,450 miles
Now I would have to say that you cant get any luckier then me...It started where we had a really cold couple of days here in MD and when I would leave for work in the AM the care seemed to not be changing gears all that well, RPMs were extremely high and then it would finally change gears..I thought maybe I didn't warm it up enough first, the next day we had a warm day and it was worse than ever...I drove about 1 mile and then turned around..came home and checked the trans fluid..full and clean...took off one more time made it about 2 blocks and the whole trans went out..nothing...3rd, 2nd, reverse..nothing. But thank goodness that I bought the extended warranty because I was covered up to 100,000 miles and I had 99.450! So Honda is replacing the whole trans and gave me a loaner Accord for the mean time. But how did this happen? The car is only 6yrs old! I get all my regular services at the Honda Dealership, had the timing belt replaced at 90,000...I mean this ia a HONDA and this is NOT supposed to happen. So you can imagine my surprise when I saw all of the complaints..I just had to add mine too! If something goes down with a SUIT..I will be first in line!
2008Jan 03
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 69,000 miles
Found out 01/03/08 that the transmission on my 2001 Civic had failed and had to be replaced. I was shocked as I thought it couldn't possibly be anything major with only 69,000 miles on a Honda. Dealer came back with a price of $2,700.00 for a rebuilt transmission. They then called back and said they could do it for $1,200.00. I started researching a bit and found this website. I contacted American Honda and told the dealership to hold until I heard back from American Honda. Well, they called back this morning and they think I'm getting a great deal for $1,200.00! $1,200.00 for something that should not have happened. Great deal. He denied that there is a problem that Honda should be responsible for and said that is American Honda's stand. I told him i will get teh transmission replaced as I don't have a choice and will trade the car in and it won't be on a Honda. That's my stand. If someone starts a class action count me in.
2008Jan 04
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 85,000 miles
Like many others, I thought it was just my bad luck but after reading these
complaints I now know I'm not alone. My mechanic just told me that the torque
converter went bad on my 2001 Civic (with 85k miles). Will cost around $2300 to
fix. I was regular with my maintenance, oil change, etc. but did not use Honda only
transmission fluid or service. I will be checking the site again to see if any one has
organized some way of reclaiming our money!
2008Jan 04
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 151,000 miles
Wow, after loosing my transmission, I was pretty disappointed. 151K I suppose is actually 'not bad'.
Still I was expecting more... I've had 'lesser vehicles' (an '89 Mirage, that I beat the daylights out of for 220,000 miles--and finally gave it away after HS!!) without experiencing so major as this.
I'm a bit reluctant to spend a huge amount of money on a car with 151K---especially when the year doesn't seem to be a particularly good one for Honda.
2007Dec 21
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 138,000 miles
At first I thought, "Well I got 130,000 miles out of the transmission, and I wouldn't be complaining if I didn't expect so much from a Honda." Then the mechanic told me that he has rebuilt 3 of these in the last 2 weeks. I see the list of other complaints here, and it is obvious that Honda has a problem. I was fortunate to have mostly freeway miles, which is likely why the system lasted this long.
The big question I have is, "Did everyone follow the suggested maintenance schedule and use only the approved Honda transmission fluid? If so, Honda is going to take a big hit in the reputation. I have really enjoyed the car until now, but this could put me off buying another one. If I wanted bad parts and an unresponsive manufacturer, I would just buy another Ford.
There was also a known problem with the exhaust system on the 2001, but the Honda dealership fixed that one for me without any fuss. 2001 was the first year for this model run, and it appears that they had a few more bugs.
2007Nov 05
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 97,500 miles
Update: rms72002
Well, I finally gave in (unfortunately) to have a "rebuilt Honda
factory warrant (3yr/36000) trans" installed on Friday, 01/3/07. I guess I
really didn't have a choice, due to the fact that this is my only means
of transportation. The totally cost came out to $2,049.50 (including tax
& labor). The Honda dealership, where I purchased my Civic in Jan. 01
and have kept up with my maintenance schedule in accordance to the
owners manual, gave me a "goodwill/customer" deal that I couldn't pass up!
Out of the $2,049.50 I only had to pay the labor cost of $749.90. I
still plan to fight this with Honda's headquarters. I'm waiting for a
response from their customer service manager with regard to these
issues. I guess I'll be holding my breath for some time.
2007Nov 22
Civic LXA 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 58,000 miles
i owned this car for a few years now . it was a good car . "was" . until the trans
went out on it . i called every where and get almost the same price quote . give
or take a few dollars . but as i see here i am not the only one with this headache.
if any one here can help me please send me an email on how to do this under
3800 dollars . email is ptrican1@yahoo.com . its been stored since November .
and im driving a 02 neon wich in fact much more dependable than the civic at
the moment .
2007Oct 22
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 75,000 miles
I wrote in back in October regarding this issue with my 01 Civic. After researching here, I decided to have the car re-towed to the dealer in the event that I might be able to appeal to Honda to get them to pay for some of it. The dealership actually gave me a very competitive quote, and enabled me to contact Honda Corporate to request compensation. I faxed them all sorts of documentation to prove that the car's major service had always been performed at Honda dealers, etc. After some research, they called me back and agreed to pay for the part, $1,200 of the $1,900. If you can provide this documentation, I would strongly advise you contact Honda for a goodwill compensation.
2007Jul 10
Civic LX 1.7L I4
- Manual transmission
- 61,000 miles
I am following up from my previous posting and complaint below regarding my transmission's bearing failure. As I noted below, I bring my vehicle to an independent shop that only works on Hondas and Acuras. He only uses Honda parts. He did replace my LX transmission with an EX with only 1000 miles on it and installed a new clutch. I called American Honda and explained the situation and after a day, the manager called me back and said that he would send me a check for the cost of the transmission and the clutch. He did not cover the cost of the labor ($395) but I'm not complaining. It was not a Honda dealership that completed the work. Note that my vehicle only had 61K miles on it but Honda still did me right. Also, I am a long time Honda buyer and have financed through AHF. They probably looked that up in their database and perhaps that had an impact on their decision. I've been receiving a lot of comments and thought that this would help others in their quest to be reimbursed. Good luck.
2007Dec 10
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 127,000 miles
I don't know how I stumbled across this website but I'm sure glad I did. After getting really pissed off at yet another problem with this car, I find that I am not alone. My husband took it to work yesterday morning (60 miles away) and had to bum a ride home because the damn transmission wouldn't shift into gear. Today he had the car towed to a Honda dealership and found out that it would cost us $2500 to get it fixed! This is ridiculous!! I can't believe Honda is doing nothing to recall this issue. Obviously we are not alone. A class action lawsuit should be followed. We haven't figured out how he's going to commute back and forth to LA but he still has to go to work. And might I add for free for the next month just to cover this expense. We originally bought a Honda because of it's reliability but now I'm looking at my Ford and just loving it. Never has my truck given me any problems like this. What happened Honda? I thought your cars were built to last. I lose trust and faith easily and NEVER again will we buy a Honda.
2006Jun 30
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 90,000 miles
I just wanted to add my complaint to the long list. I also purchased a Civic due to its reputation for reliability and had the transmission fail at 90k miles. I was extremely disappointed. I also paid to get it rebuilt.
I'm now in the market for a new car and will not consider purchasing a Honda again. I'm going to give Toyota a try.
Does anyone know the requirements for a class action suit?
2007Nov 09
Civic EX 1.6L D16w7
- Automatic transmission
- 71,300 miles
Let me first off let everyone know that this precious (until it bit the dust, of course) Honda Civic EX coupe of mine was bought for me by my parents in 2001 when I was 18 years old right after I graduated high school, just like many of you, for its so called "reliability."
This car, today, only has 71,360 miles on it. It's my one and only car that I drive really, really carefully. On Nov. 9th, after attending a concert at the Masonic in San Francisco, my friends and I decided to hop back into my car to go grab some late night dessert and that's when it all happened. By the way, for those of you who have never been to SF, let me first say that this city has some pretty steep hills. You can probably already imagine what happened. While our car was driving upwards on a hill, we were just about to reach the top when our transmission slowly started slipping. Not too long afterwards, the whole transmission gave out. The gear wouldn't catch drive nor would it reverse so we were stuck with only my brakes doing the work. This is San Francisco. You can never 1) find parking here and 2) be on an empty street. Needless to say, it was very nerve racking trying to handle the situation when you're immobile right in front of a hotel with four very busy lanes. Luckily, one of my friends had AAA so we towed it to the nearby Pier 27 where she works. Long story short, I towed this car to one shop in SF so they could diagnose it. They wanted $2500 for a new transmission. That wasn't going to work into my budget so I had it towed to another mechanic in Oakland that was referred to me by a friend. The previous shop charged me $150 for the diagnosis. The shop in Oakland told me they could find me a used transmission and replace it for me at the cost of $1560 including labor and the towing from SF to Oakland. I was lucky for the decent pricing. After all the running around, I was finally able to have my car back this morning fixed and running. Overall, the total costs for this whole situation is $1,780 and over a month without my car. Nice, huh. (sense the sarcasm?) I'm bringing this up to the Honda Corp. tomorrow and they better cooperate, otherwise, I'm letting you all know here, I'M VERY INTERESTED IN FILING FOR A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. This is all too ridiculous beyond words.
2007Dec 20
Civic LX 1.7L 4 cyl.
- Automatic transmission
- 130,000 miles
Had my transmission fail right before the holidays and that was a pain in the ass. I am glad that I was able to make it home after my car stalling a few times. I took the car to my local mechanic and right away he said i know what the problem is and its the transmission. He was dead on because he had a previous 2001 civic and his had the same problem a few months back. Now its going to cost me about $3,000 to have it fixed at the dealer but from what everyone is writing I am complaining to their corporate and I definitely agree with everyone that class action needs to be done.
2007Dec 28
Civic EX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 120,000 miles
Yeah, I had the same problem as everyone else. I have kept up with the maintenance and even specifically had my transmission serviced three months ago, but on Friday the whole thing failed. I do have more miles on my Civic than most of you (120,000) but I still feel like it is a young car and is supposed to be very reliable. I am extremely upset and will probably not buy another Honda ever.
2007Mar 05
Civic EX 4DR 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 110,000 miles
Wow.... I really thought I was the only one that their transmission failed on them. I guess I'm going have to complain to Honda and get some money out of this because this is the lamest thing ever! I'm a student and have a job that barely pays for books and school. The last thing I want on my tail is a car that has problems. I'm just really sad to have seen myself work longer shifts in order to pay off this damn transmission and installation after how reputable I believed the Civics were for a "low maintenance vehicle." Bull crap.
Other problems with my car is the cloth on the roof sagging, struts leaking, cv joint or boot making weird noises, car is starting to jerk a little, plastic headlights cover are foggy.
2007Dec 30
Civic 1.7L Sohc
- Automatic transmission
- 100,000 miles
my 2001 civic transmission messed up yesterday and thats really disappointing
because they claim to have the most reliable car well not no more I really think Honda needs to look in to this matter......
2007Dec 13
Civic
- Automatic transmission
- 84,000 miles
I want to thank you for the detailed information you provided (CHANG). My 2001 Honda Civic, 84,000 miles transmission failed 2 days ago. As in all the stories here, I have had excellent upkeep of the car, am the original owner, and it failed at an intersection. I had it towed to the dealership ( new to the city with no mechanic referrals) and immediately got on line to see what I could find out even before I received a diagnosis. I used your advice, contacted Honda and had a case manager assigned to me before the dealership had even called me with the transmission failure diagnosis. When the dealer contacted me to tell me the bad news -- $3300-- I told them the case manager would contact them. The case manager told me they would pay 75% of the cost repairs. After the case manager contacted the dealer mechanic the price went down from 3300 to 2000 and i paid 450. THANK YOU AGAIN> THE trick really is to get HONDA CORP involved before the dealer TOUCHES THE CAR!!!!!
2007Dec 15
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 80,000 miles
y 2001 Honda civic transmission just fail completely today. I was checking for transmission on the net when I ran across that people are having the same problem. So far its cost me $85 dollas for for tow. What can we all do to resolve this problem?
2007Dec 30
Civic EX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 83,000 miles
My wife bought her Honda Civic new in 2001. We have kept up with the maintenance according to the requirements. So needless to say, it was a shock when I was driving down the road and suddenly my car slips into neutral. I took it to a very reputable mechanic in my area known for transmission work. He informed me that some of the inner workings of the transmission had broken. This was very unusual as he had not seen that many. However, he also informed me that he was working on the transmissions of two or three Hondas a month and that my problem was not unusual at all. I called the dealership and they informed me that my car was not under warranty even though similar accords and oddessy's (sp?) have had their powertrain warranties extended for just this circumstance. He also let me know that it would be on my own dime to replace or repair the transmission, a total cost of between $2,000 to $3,000. For anyone out there with this same problem, I am putting in a call to several attorney's offices today about a class-action defective product liability suit. There is no way a car manufacturer who touts their reliability as much as Honda does can have this kind of track record with no recalls or extended warranty and get away with it.
2007Nov 05
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 95,000 miles
Geesh, after viewing the complaints on this website, I now see that I'm not alone. I've always kept up with the maintenance on any vehicles that I'd previously owned as well as my current 2001 Honday Civic LX A/T. Prior to purchasing this vehicle I've completed extensive research on the safety and reliability of this vehicle. Nothing was mentioned on any websites (at the time) with regard to the "transmission problems" listed. On Nov 5, 2007, I'd taken my vehicle into the dealership regular maintenance service as well as to inform them that my check engine light have been intermittently flickering on and off for approx 2 weeks. The told me that after running a few test the codes (P0700, P0740) indicated that I need a new transmission installed that will cost me approx $2800 bucks. I was appalled!
I currently have 97,600K miles, I just recently had (2) reliable mechanics to inform me that this is a continuous problem with the 2001-2003 honda's, across the board. A definite "civil suit" should be administered, immediately. I'm totally pissed off, that HONDA is getting away with this cramp! Honda has not heard the last of this from me. Good luck to all!
2005Oct 21
Civic LX 1.7L L4
- Automatic transmission
- 35,000 miles
My Civic 2001 was driving great until one day started taking a long time to start - then was driving good again. the following day while driving it started to lose power until almost stopped in the middle of the way at night. I did push the car to the side and after 10 min started to move slow. I went to the Dealer that has extended service and left the car there. the following day they call me saying that there is a faulty code in the electronic system of the transmission and I have to pay for the replacement transmission and the work. It took 3 days calling the Honda dealer until the factory approved to place the refurbished part and I to pay the work.
Definitely seems to be something beefy with this specific model.
2007Dec 19
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 90,000 miles
Purchased 2001 Honda Civic from my brother, having heard such great things about these cars lasting forever. I was in complete shock last week when the transmission blew and was told that I'd need to have the whole thing replaced. I'll now be sinking a couple of thousand dollars into a car with a value of only a few times this amount. I plan on calling Honda and pointing out the significant number of complaints on this site. I noticed that this problem sticks out for the 2001 model and not other years. I want a recall and for Honda to pay for the new transmission!!!! Please continue to post similar experiences you might have had.
2007Dec 24
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 95,000 miles
I don't normally post things like this in forums, but after reading about all of the 2001 Civic problems with transmission failure, I felt I had no choice. The automatic transmission failed completely at 95,000 miles and I had to be towed on Christmas eve. Not a pleasant experience! I was left stranded on an up hill, windy road and could not go forward in any gear. I was originally thinking that I may have caused the problem by not having a regular maintenance done on the transmission but after reading MANY complaints like mine, I realized that I could have done nothing to prevent this transmission failure. I plan on having a new transmission put in to the tune of $3100! and the sell the car. Honda should be ashamed for making a product like this. I really hope that a class action suit develops from all of this information.
2007Dec 27
Civic LX V4
- Automatic transmission
- 87,400 miles
I've glanced over the other 102 "transmission failure" reports from the last 3 months on this site and found that my transmission failure complaint really is no different.
I bought my 01 Civic LX in '04 with about 34K miles, and now I'm up to 87K. I usually bike to work so the car itself does not get heavy use, and I service the vehicle regularly (the EZ Lube guy even commented how good everything looked under the hood the last time I had the oil changed).
However, just a couple of days ago, I began to feel the gear shift jerk going about 20 mph. When I started climbing a hill, the transmission made a loud, high-pitched whirring sound. Suddenly the car started rolling backwards while I was giving it gas. Fortunately, I was able to turn off the car and back it onto the side of the road without causing any accidents.
The local Honda dealer informed me later that day that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. He also informed me that my warranty, which would have covered it completely, had reached its 7-year limit 5 weeks ago. Therefore, it was gonna cost me about $3000.
I considered myself a very happy Honda customer and I looked forward to buying Hondas the rest of my life. But like many people who posted here, I am totally bummed that this particular model, noted for its reliability, has a transmission that dies before it even reaches 100K miles. It also broke my heart to learn from this very site that the '01 Civic has received the 3rd most complaints (just a little better than the Ford Explorer? Really? It's THAT BAD??).
Well, my worldview on car reliability is starting to shift. I am still waiting to hear on whether the dealer's district manager will allow some sort of "customer assistance" (whatever that means) with having my transmission repaired. I am hopeful that my '01 Civic story, along with the other hundred '01 Civic stories on CarComplaints.com alone, is enough to convince them that the fault is Honda's. But if Honda does not take responsibility for their oversight and stoops so low to actually make me pay if I want it fixed, they won't get another penny from me.
2007Dec 04
Civic LX V4
- Automatic transmission
- 65,000 miles
I am a physician at a busy metropolitan hospital. I was on my way to the Hospital at 5:45am on a three lane interstate going about 65 miles/hr in the left lane. Without any forewarning my transmission failed. I was fortunate enough to be able to get close to the shoulder. However, this created a major safety hazard, with cars zipping by me at 60-80 mi/hr. Needless to say, I was unable to be at my work on time, I was stranded in 30 degree weather on an interstate with half of my car sticking out of the shoulder, and it took about 3 hours for me to be able to get the car towed and to get to my work. Thank god for the State Police and AAA. It's taken about one week to get the car fixed, which is a major source of trouble for me given my unusual work hours. The entire transmission had to be repaired for a total cost of $2400. My car drives about 15 mi/day in highway conditions, sits in the garage about 50% of the time, has only about 65000 miles on it and is very well maintained. I think this a horrible manufacturing problem that Honda needs to address and compensate people who've suffered from it. I've missed a substantial amount of work hours, I was exposed to very unsafe driving conditions and I've had to pay a relatively large sum of money to fix a car that I purchased because of its established reputation of reliability up to, at least, 150000 miles.
2007Dec 04
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 82,000 miles
The automatic transmission on my 2001 Honda Civic LX unexpectedly failed on me, leaving me stranded in the middle of an intersection. Fortunately, my car insurance was willing to pay to have my car towed to the local Honda dealer for service. The service dept said that my transmission had "burned out" and needed to be replaced, totaling about $2700. I asked what would have caused the transmission to fail like this, and she said "normal wear." Given that I have always been good about keeping up with my service check-ups and performing the necessary maintenance, I was appalled that this happened to my 6-year-old (82,000 mile) car, especially since the name Honda is usually synonymous with reliability. (I would have expected this from, say, Kia)
After doing some internet research, I saw the complaints listed in this forum, and I also found the Honda Service Bulletin that referred to my problem (Service Bulletin 04-036). I called Honda headquarters (800-999-1009) to complain about my problem and pointed out, among other things, the service bulletin pointing out Honda's recognition of my problem, my maintenance record, and the fact that my family has usually been very satisfied w/ Honda until now. The case manager and Honda service manager eventually called back and said that they were able to bring the price of the repair/replacement down to $1000 (the amount that I had to authorize so that Honda would begin repair on my car anyway). Still a bit more than I would have liked to pay, but a decent discount anyway.
To people who want to lodge a complaint with Honda to get them to bring down the repair price, keep the following in mind:
- Honda is more willing to give you a discount if they can verify that you have kept up with the recommended maintenance check-ups. At the very least, be able to supply them with the names and addresses (at least zip code) of the dealerships you have had your car serviced at.
- A service person let it slip that you have more leverage over Honda if you have either not yet gotten the repair done, or you have not yet paid for the repair. Repair on my car was actually completed the day before I spoke with the Honda headquarters case manager, but I had the dealership keep the car for one additional day (no charge), so that I did not have to pay for the full repair, and I could keep this leverage when I was finally able to speak with the case manager.
- It probably didn't hurt that I told the manager that my family has been loyal Honda owners (which it has), but this recent event had shaken our faith in the Honda name.
2007Nov 28
Civic EX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 93,641 miles
I am the second owner of a 2001 Honda Civic EX, having purchased it from the original owner 2 years ago. Upon purchase of the vehicle, I immediately had it serviced, including changing the fluids, including the transmission fluid. Subsequent to this, I had my transmission fluid changed again when having my timing belt replaced, two changes in transmission fluid in less than 20,000 miles driven, but it's cheap and easy enough to do. So, it was a complete shock to have entered my vehicle one morning a couple weeks ago to discover that there was virtually no power when I shifted into gear, any of them. I limped it into a nearby Honda specialty repair shop who examined it and explained I'd need a new transmission at $3,200!!! I shopped around and found a nearby private transmission repair shop that was able to do it for $1,996 in full. The owner of this popular transmission shop here in San Francisco explained that this is a problem he is seeing a lot of lately with this year and make of Honda, something he attributes to an adhesive failure involving the torque converter which then causes it to grind down and fail. Well, I looked online to see if I was alone with this experience and found this Website, and the reality that I'm not alone here! So, I decided to contact Honda, received a claim number and faxed them my receipt of the repair and my canceled check for the repair, and just got off the phone with one of the most condescending SOBs I've ever spoken with who's representing a company that is clearly in the wrong here. He told me that he reviewed my claim and stated that Honda was not in a position to reimburse me, even partially for the cost of this repair!! I explained to him ad nauseum the hardship this is causing me, that I am a loyal Honda owner with this being my 4th Honda owned, that a failure of this type should not be happening to a vehicle with less than 100,000 miles, and that others on this Website are also complaining of the same problem, meaning that this in no way represents a unique problem. All I could get is his continual platitudes of, "I'm sorry you feel that way." Well, I'm sorry for ever having purchased a Honda and will now be sure to tell everyone I know to not bother as well which will cost Honda far more than the comparatively small amount I was requesting as just compensation. This company no longer represents the quality of workmanship it once did, and perhaps instead of gripping here, we need to consider possibly looking into filing a class action lawsuit!
2007Dec 07
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 70,000 miles
My daughter was driving on a 4 lane interstate hwy during Friday night rush hour. Without any warning whatsoever, the car stopped accelerating and the tachometer went wild. Fortunately
2008May 09
Civic EX
I had no idea how common a problem this was until I searched and came up with this site and saw all the other complaints. This is the 3rd Honda Civic I have owned, and I bought this one with 50K miles. I still cannot believe that a Honda's transmission would die at 70000 miles and that they totally ignore it anyway! I am in the process of figuring how much my extended warranty will cover, and then will get it repaired. Sorry to everyone that this has happened to!
Peter D.
Stratford, CT, USA
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