9.2
really awfulTypical Repair Cost:
$2,291.00
Average Mileage:
95,564 miles
Total Complaints:
353 complaints
Most common solutions:
- replaced transmission (135 reports)
- rebuilt whole transmission (89 reports)
- not sure (77 reports)
- get honda to cover the cost (27 reports)
- break down the transmission and fix (8 reports)
- replace the torque converter (8 reports)
transmission problem
This problem may be covered under warranty. Ask your Honda dealer.
Helpful Websites About 2001 Honda Civic transmission failure
2009Nov 01
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 124,000 miles
I was dumbfounded today to find that I needed my transmission replaced today! I've been a Honda Gal for years and years, but seeing all these complaints for the same car, same year, I'm amazed there hasn't been a recall. I guess people will have to die for Honda to do anything about it, if they ever do.
I bought this car new and have always maintained it better than the schedule suggested by the manual.. Driving home from another city on Sunday, all of the sudden I couldn't get the accelerator to work. I had to put it in D2 and D3 in order to make it home. 40 mph was the max it would go. Thank GOD I wasn't on the interstate or a long distance away! Today I was able to get it to my trusted mechanic who's shop is only 2 miles from home. He said the transmission fluid was totally pristine but the transmission was "damaged somehow" and would have to be replaced. He's replacing it with another transmission with 71,000 miles on it and a 6 month warranty. Sheesh! So in a year is this going to happen again????????
Update from Nov 6, 2009: My exTREMEly good mechanic found out the problem! The fan in the radiator that cools the hot fluid coming from the transmission, that is supposed to send the fluid back cooled, failed. If your's hasn't failed yet, run and get that fan mechanism replaced! Do NOT use a Honda part for this or you'll be in the same shape again! Hopefully this will save SOMEone from misery and a huge expense. If you replace your transmission with another, unless you change out the defective part, it'll fail as well
I'll be contacting Honda when I retrieve my car and have my bill in front of me and let you know what, if anything, kind of help on this or response on this I get. .
2009Oct 23
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 91,000 miles
I was on a busy interstate during rush hour coming out of Atlanta...I tap the gas to accelerate, and the car just stopped going!! Next, the check engine light comes on, and I am fortunate enough to get off the four lane into the shoulder. It is a miracle that I wasn't hit averaging 20mph trying to get to the shoulder. There were no signs of a problem; I was completely shocked as I have babied the hell out of this car.
While I realize things happen, no matter what type of car or how old...I have long esteemed hondas as long lasting vehicles that will last well over 100,000-200,000 miles. In fact, I talked my dad into buying my sister a new 2009 Civic just this August because I loved mine sooo much...Rest, assured my family won't be buying another, and if I have my way, she will trade hers ASAP.
I don't feel safe driving this car after this happened and will probably only get a cheap fix to trade it. What really upsets me about this whole experience is that I had the car towed to the Honda dealer...and they actually acted shocked that this happened.
Gauging from the number of complaints on the internet, this obviously was complete BS on their part. Not cool, I will not purchase or recommend Honda in the future based on this terrible experience and that the company is completely unapologetic AND the fact that you can't have this trans. rebuilt..you have to buy a newly "rebuilt" one from Honda. So, not only was my car a rolling time bomb, but they don't care and want to stick it to us while we are already down. This should be a recall on this model! F you Honda...
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2009Oct 09
Civic DX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 146,000 miles
I called Honda to see if they would cover the cost or help. They asked for the mileage on the car, then said no. I talked to an expert mechanic and he said the reason why the 2001 Honda Civic transmissions fail is because you can't replace the filter on them. Why they sell filter kits for these piece of junk cars, I have no idea. But Honda won't recall them and as you can see the 2001 Civic made the #3 Worst Car on the list for a reason. I used to buy only Japanese cars but I'm now open to any other brand EXCEPT Honda.
2009Oct 19
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 143,000 miles
Was driving to work, about 40 miles one way, and it started slipping between 2nd and 3rd. I thought it would make it to work and back but I was wrong. I made it 30 miles and it crapped out on me. Had it towed to the nearest shop and was quoted around $2300 for a rebuilt unit from Honda. Here's the underlying story -- I was in the process of selling my supposedly reliable car to a neighbor's relative in about a week for around $3000 or so. Well that just might fall through due to this current problem. But at least my neighbor's weren't stranded on the Turnpike headed to Maryland where the car was to find a third home with an 87 yr. old woman. Hey, anyone want to buy a 2001 Civic??? It's still great on gas... Now the good news....I have a guy who is towing my car back to my home town and can probably get a used tranny put in for about 1200-1400 bucks. We also might work something out where he'll sell it and we'll split the difference.
Anyway it's just the a car and this is the reason why I like to have 3 cars in the family.
2009Oct 26
Civic DS 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 97,700 miles
while driving my grandson to the YMCA my car was driving fine. I stopped at a red light and when the light changed I pressed on the gas but it would not move at all. I tried shutting off the motor and restarting the car but again the car would not move at all. I had to be towed. Right now it is at the Honda dealership awaiting a solution.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2009Oct 11
Civic LX 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 115,000 miles
You buy a Honda civic because you have always hear that they will last forever.Bull! At 115,000 miles the tranny goes out on my son on his way from out of town. No warning ,just driving along and the rpms go up and nothing. This is after we had to replace the torque converter at 79,000 miles. I couldn't remember (torque converter)when thinking what to tell mechanic about car before I took it in,so I typed in brand,type,year,and up popped auto beef with hundreds of similar complaints! I was floored!!! I called the dealer where we bought the car new,explained what happened and what I found at auto beef to see if they might help with repair cost . He said that with age of car and mileage chances were slim to nothing but bring it in they had to check it out to be sure! I would have had to get it towed 35 miles for that! Took it to my local mechanic and they put in a used tranny with 29,000 miles on it for 1,400.00 out the door.We probably will not be buying another Honda anytime soon!!!
2009Oct 16
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 63,000 miles
I'm so mad. About three or four days before my whole transmission took a crap, I noticed that my gears were "slipping" going into third gear, obviously making driving around the town a pain. I was on the freeway in the middle of rush hour traffic when all of a sudden, my car is trying to accelerate past 30 MPH and won't go. My RPM's were shooting up to the red zone but I was not moving. It was so scary!! I had to get off at the next exit going slow and called AAA to tow the stupid car to my mechanic. $1800 and a week later, I should have my car back. But as of right now, I'm walking everywhere. :(
2009Oct 15
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 93,000 miles
For the past couple of days my 2001 Honda Civic Ex started to make a high pitched whistling sound and when i got to 25-30mph the engine would rev up, but my speed wouldn't change. I heard about the 2001 transmission issues and I was afraid that this was going to be my destiny. Surely enough today it has happened...my transmission failed. Thank goodness I was close to home, but the car had to be pushed a couple of blocks. The Check Engine light went on and not even 30 seconds later, it failed. I can't believe that Honda won't do anything about this. Why leave your customers unhappy and wanting to switch to a different company? More than likely it's a money issue. I unfortunately had to rent a car and I'll probably have to max out my high interest rate credit cards to get this thing fixed. I can assure you, that I will not buy another Honda in the future and it's sad because my family has been a Honda family for over 25 years. I will thank Honda now on behalf of other car companies for making me lose faith in a company that my family and I have been loyal to for so many years. Thank you Honda, thank you...
2009Oct 05
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 115,600 miles
This was a Honda Certified used car, we bought 3 years ago for my Son. He drove it back from college last week and reported a "check engine" light on. My diagnostic computer pulled the 0740 code, indicating the infamous transmission problem. We have had 3 other Hondas and never had any problems. Honda refuses any help, due to it being 1 year out of warranty with 115,000 miles.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2009Oct 10
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 28,000 miles
Just like everyone else on here I have a 2001 Honda Civic EX....but I'm the only one on here with the lowest mileage (28,000 miles). I hardly ever drive this damn car and the transmission went out on me last night at 2am in the "bad part of town." I was coming home from work and was at a stop sign and pressed the gas to go and it just revved. I got it to a gas station and was freaking out and crying because I keep this car in good shape. I had it towed to my house for 93 dollars!!! I have to call someone tomorrow to fix this crap. For now I'm having family drive me, which is inconvenient for them. Honda needs to realize there is a true defect in the 2001 civic transmissions. We need to get a class action lawsuit going on here. Whoever had HondaComplaints@gmail.com please update us if you got a lawyer to handle the lawsuit because I am not paying 3,000 for a new transmission. I should sell it and get a Toyota Corolla because they are more reliable. My car was just at the dealer for an oil change and a few months ago had the 30,000 mile service even though it's not even at 30,000 miles. I even had the brake fluid and power fluid changed at an independent honda place because the dealer wanted $200 and the independent wanted $150. I bought this car brand new from Scott Robinson Honda in Torrance February 6, 2001. It had 6 miles on it when I bought it. I saw another guy on here named "Mohammed" who took his car to Scott Robinson Honda in Torrance and they told him if the car had under 36,000 miles on it that they would fix it. I don't think he had a warranty on it, because warranties usually go 3 year/36,000 miles. Honda has to stop playing dumb and issue a recall for this. If Toyota can issue a recall for floor mats causing accidents after someone is killed then is Honda going to wait until someone gets hit from the back when their car stalls out on the freeway. Thank god I was on a residential street that had no traffic. My car's interior is falling apart too. Both sun visors have rips and the mirror closure is flopping/sagging. Even the rubber piece on the drivers side door trim is falling apart and there is silver metal exposed.I had to buy 2 new sun visors on ebay to replace because Honda sucks.My upholstery is sagging too. I tried to glue it but it looks worse. I'm thinking of using safety pins....and it's not just my car. I notice other 2001 Honda civics on the road and i see the sagging upholstery and I see the chipping plastic on the bottom of the door window frame! I see on here that the interior is the number 2 complaint on here. I took the car in to the dealer for the driver side airbag recall. They had to re pack my airbags because people were getting killed when the air bag deployed because shards of plastic and metal were flying out cutting people's face and damaging eyes!
Honda- Do a couple of hundred people have to die until you issue a recall for the faulty transmission!!!!!!!!!!!
Update from Nov 3, 2009: UPDATE: I had Honda of America agree to "reimburse" me for half the cost of the transmission repair. I still had to pay $1200 dollars as the total cost of the transmission was $2500. What a total rip off. Honda please listen to your customers and ISSUE A RECALL on this piece of junk. REIMBURSE everyone who had to pay for a transmission for this crappy car! I complained to Honda and only got half covered. The guy on the phone said Honda thinks "this is more than fair". Please. Give me a break. Some may think this is fair. I don't think so! If I took good care of this car and did all the scheduled maintenance then my car should still be running great. My next car is a Toyota Corolla or Toyota Camry....but, the next models of those will probably have their transmission blow up too due to a faulty design.
2009Sep 30
Civic EX 1.5L
- Automatic transmission
- 88,700 miles
I have maintained regular service at honda certified service centers, been the only owner of my Civic when at 88700 miles the transmission failed all of a sudden. Costs so much to fix- don't know how to proceed..HELP
2009Sep 18
Civic EX 1.7L I-4
- Automatic transmission
- 144,500 miles
My 2001 Honda Civic EX Sedan has been a great car, until last week. I've never had any problems. The only repairs have been normal wear and tear items like brakes, tires, oil changes, etc.. Had the timing belt service at 105,000 miles. There was never a hint of a problem. Last week driving home everything was fine. Got off the highway, went a couple blocks, stopped at a stop sign and when I went to start up again, the engine revved and that was it. None of the forward gears or reverse worked at all. Had to have it towed to Honda. Their diagnosis was internal failure. I was told that Honda does not allow the individual dealers to tear the transmissions apart to find the actual problem. They said they'd need to replace with a rebuilt one from Honda. The cost $3067. I'm still debating what to do. With absolutely no warning that something was going wrong I'm more than slightly upset. It seems like many others have had similar problems. I'm hoping something comes of all these complaints. I for one plan on calling Honda customer service directly to complain.
2007Nov 05
Civic EX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 95,544 miles
Honda of America helped me with 50% of the cost of replacing the transmission with a rebuilt transmission, they installed it and now I have 3yr 36,000 warranty.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2009Sep 19
Civic EX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 89,640 miles
I bought a 2001 Honda EX coupe for my daughter with 84,000 orig miles on it from a neighbor dirt cheap ($3000), only to have it less than a year & tranny failure. My daughter was driving & the car just stopped moving no warning, nothing. She called me we had to tow it home. On Monday, I thought that HOnda would help so I asked them to tow it to their shop BIG MISTAKE. their respomse. "YOU NEED A NEW TRANNY, & THE VALUE OF THE CAR IS WORTH NOTHING" NOW keep in mind I was told this by the svc MGR & the General MGR. I am paying for the rip off towing 15 miles & getting the car out of there because they want $3025 plus labor for a new tranny, but I know damn well it will be a re-built one. PLEASE I NEED TO KNOW WHO STARTED A CIVIL SUIT SO I CAN ADD MY NAME. Now I know why I got rid of my 06 Honda & thank GOD for that stay with CHEVY, GMC.
thank you
barb
2006Jul 05
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 82,000 miles
Back in 2006, my automatic transmission went out on my 2001 Honda Civic LX at 86,000. Car was at the dealership just a week before for brake work and no indication of trans problems. Fortunately dealership worked with me on the repair cost, and I only had to pay labor. I'm thinking because the mileage was so low and the car was just there the week before, they were going to take care of me. Probably one of the few good stories here. Paid about $500 for labor and got new transmission on Honda.
Replacement now has about 50K on it, and still going good (knock on wood).
2009Sep 03
Civic EX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 132,000 miles
My transmission died yesterday with no warning. I have had my civic for five years and never had any "major" problems with it. Little did I know that my year (2001) is notorious for transmission problems and Honda isn't doing anything about it! I'm all for a class action suit. I haven't had an estimate done on it yet.
2009Aug 01
Civic LX 1.7L 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 105,000 miles
It was awful:( The transmission showed engine light, and then i was told that it had to go.
2009Aug 13
Civic DX
- Automatic transmission
- 105,633 miles
Just got off the highway, engine light came on, rolled into a plaza parking lot and waited for the tow truck. Driver said it sounds like the transmission. I said to the driver, But it's a Honda Civic!
Aren't Honda Civics known for reliability? I guess not any more. I would have traded it in, but I just spent a bunch of money on rear brakes and suspension, so I'm sucking it up. 170,000 km (105,000 miles)
2009Aug 00
Civic DX
- Automatic transmission
- 98,000 miles
Two years ago the Honda dealer replace the torque converter at 68000 miles. Now at 98000 miles it has the same problem. The warranty on the original repair is expired. The dealer says to pay to have the work done again.
2009Apr 15
Civic DX
- Automatic transmission
- 155,000 miles
I bought my first car, my 2001 Honda Civic, new from the dealer in 2001. I chose Honda thinking that it would be the best buy for my young buck. I was obviously wrong. Like everyone else describes here, after maintaining her perfectly, upon starting her up one morning in April 2009 she ran weak and slow, revving between 2nd & 3rd with no acceleration and jerking, she has 150,000 miles on her. I took her to the dealer and was informed that she needed a new tranny! That would cost us 2-5,000$!! Huh? I accepted this and she's been sitting in the side yard ever since (we cannot afford that expense right now). After researching this site and the NHTSA ODI, I realized that hundreds, if not thousands have experienced this trans failure! In fact, A lot of other Honda Models from 2001 have had bonafide recalls based on tranny failure! I called Honda and the gentleman informed that "my particular VIN" didn't qualify for any help from Honda on replacement. So I made a report thru ODI, so should you! We have to get a class action lawsuit like the owners of the 2001 Accura, Odyssey, Passport and others have done to fix their tranny failure problems! I am extremely displeased and will not be purchasing Honda vehicles for myself, my children and will deter my friends from doing so also. Thank you
2009Aug 15
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 110,000 miles
I think it is programed at exactly 110,000 miles for the transmission to break.
2009Aug 14
Civic
- Automatic transmission
- 84,000 miles
While driving down the interstate the check engine light came on, and within seconds the transmission began slipping. I took the next exit, and while I was driving up the hill the car stopped completely in the middle of an 8 lane road. Luckily it was me, and not my wife and 11 month old son. My repair shop said it would cost $2,900. They have replaced over 30 of these. NO RECALL!!! NOT A SAFETY ISSUE!!! BS!!!
2009Jun 30
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 150,000 miles
The same tranny problem as everybody.
This was the first car I ever bought, how lucky for me! I got it used for $4800 and the transmission fails about three months later. I've saved up money for a long time to buy a car and I get this piece of crap. I took it to the dealership and they wanted $3100 to fix it. That's more than half of what I spent for the entire car, and I don't have that kind of money :|. I'm furious. I'm about to call Honda and complain, probably to no avail. Class action law suit? I'm in.
2002Oct 29
Civic LX V4
- Automatic transmission
- 16,000 miles
I was driving with my Aunt when the car wouldn't move from a stop light. She was already having problems with the transmission, but the dealer "couldn't reproduce" the transmission slippage, so they never did anything about it until the whole transmission failed.
2009Aug 09
Civic LX V4
- Automatic transmission
- 108,000 miles
I didn't notice any particular problems with my transmission until yesterday when the "maintenance required" light came on. My car stopped moving forward (it still worked in reverse, which was good because that's how I got to the side of the road).
I had my toddler in the car and was very, very lucky that my husband was just ahead of me, so he was able to drive us all home (and verify that the car indeed had a major problem, not some stupid little thing). I had the car towed to my trusty local repair shop, which said the transmission was gone and will cost me $3,000 to replace. The local Honda dealer quoted me $5,500, so I'm going with my usual repair shop. We also called Honda Customer Service, which said they couldn't do anything for us. Grrr.
2009Jan 30
Civic LX 1.8L
- Automatic transmission
- 84,978 miles
Check engine light came on. Transmission was working fine-no slips, no noise. Honda dealer said the torque converter needed replacing. Just after the warranty ran out.
2009Jul 30
Civic LX Non Vtec I4
- Automatic transmission
- 118,000 miles
Before you all read my story - I'd like to get a group together and protest in front of a Honda dealership in Chicago. Something along the lines of writing messages on our cars and just leaving them parked in front of the dealership. THEY WILL DO SOMETHING. I have complained about this car several times on this board. This is UNACCEPTABLE. I could have bought a GTI or a used BMW and would had at least enjoyed driving the car. This damn car gave me back problems, no armrest, seats as flat as German humor....screw this piece of JUNK.
It happened.. I've been waiting for this day. I first found this site a couple years ago when I was shocked to realize my transmission was slipping really bad. I have since feathered the throttle, adjusting my throttle input in anticipation of a shift (like a stick) and it seemed to be doing OK....I thought that as long as I warm it up for a while every time, give it a proper couple seconds after shifting into gear to apply the throttle, drive it very very very smooth, I'd be able to get away with it. So the other day I'm sitting in traffic and upon accelerating it slips hard, jerks into gear and then just keeps on driving...ok weird...I get a couple blocks down with no drama, stop at another intersection, green light....nothing. dead. I pushed the car out of the way with the help of some friendly Chicagoans and just accepted it. I wasn't even that mad. I just looked at the car and thought "F you".
2009Jul 20
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 58,000 miles
Been a decent vehicle, until trans trouble! Car would not move and engine revved. Towed to autoshop and told-Nothing wrong-car was running fine. Picked it up, drove for 1/2 day and same problem. Towed to Honda, they just informed me $2,900 to replace! Help-who has that laying around to replace a transmission with 58,000 miles on it.
2007Jan 09
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 141,000 miles
I too had a similar issue with my 2001 Honda Civic LX in January of 2007 when the tcc suddenly went out on my Honda. What is ironic is that the check engine light came on literally as I was driving away from the smog station! I thought it was a mistake at first because I had just had my vehicle serviced 2 days earlier so I thought the smog station did not put the gas cap on right when finished so I turned around and went back, with the transmission slipping and asked them to check it and I got the error code PO740. If it had happened during the smog it would not have passed. I took it to 2 transmission shops to confirm the diagnosis and found the same error code. Nearly $2000 later I got my car running again. At the time the repair shop told me that Honda builds their cars so the transmissions fail much sooner than the engine which I thought was odd but now I see that there is a difinite issue with the way the transmissions are built.
2009Jul 22
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 114,000 miles
I too had a 2001 Honda Civic transmission fail at 114,000 miles. No warning or any problems with the transmission before it failed. Being unemployed for the past eight months, this really sucks. I am currently trying to raise the cash to get the transmission replaced. I had the fluids replaced at the intervals recommended in the manual (in fact I was coming home just after a oil change and they check the transmission fluid level).
If anyone goes after Honda in a class action lawsuit sign me up. My first Honda, a 1989 Accord had over 200,000 miles on it when I traded it in.
2009Jul 08
Civic 4 cyl
- CVT transmission
- 51,000 miles
seem like hondas are over rated especially by consumers reports. I'm finding a lot of failures. Honda knows this, they may pay part of the cost to fix but I just don't know how much yet.
2008Dec 31
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 121,000 miles
ok so I bought this car for the reason why most people bought them... the reputation spoke for itself.. but now I was compliling a group of people to file a class action law suit. last year there was only 200 people on here,, now there is another 100 plus.. everyone email me and let me know if you want to join the Class action suit and if I can find a lawyer to handle this I will get back to you.. I have contacted the first 200 people who signed on to this list,, just email or message me and let me know you want to join in the group and I will send you an outline email of formated questions to answer in order to find a lawyer to handle this case.. and Pray we can make Honda Bend Over..I have since ran into another major function problem with this car the car wont start ... fuel pump? who knows I am so pissed about this car.. HONDA needs to step up to own this mess,
2009Apr 06
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 123,000 miles
My daughter's 2001 Honda Civic LX Coupe's transmission died a quick and painful death.
It left her stranded on the way to work, slipping and eventually it quit. The unit had to be replaced ( rebuilt of course, since she could not afford one from the dealer). The car has only had this problem, everything else has just been wear and tear maintenance. I take prestine care of her car, like any good Dad would for his little girl. But boy, did it hurt.
My mechanic told me that most Hondas are prone to this problem, Civics the most.
2009Mar 20
Civic Honda Civic EX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 104,000 miles
I chose Honda to be my first brand new car because I though it would last way beyond the 100K mark as long as I took care of it. I did my part but unfortunately I was unaware Honda sold me a defective product that would soon brakdown and render me stranded. What really bothers me the most is that Honda has received complaints regarding this vehicle and never issued a recall. I am seriously looking into a class action lawsuit for Honda's failure to issue a recall with all the complaints I keep hearing about it's just not fair and in this economy it's just not possible for Honda to expect people to pay for their manufacturing defects. My transmission came to a complete halt with no warning signals. I took my car to the dealer two weeks prior because the AC was not working properly. They ran a diagnostic test could not find anything and sent me on my way.
I will never buy another Honda not becuase I had problems (most cars have problems) but because Honda put a defective product on the road and chose to do nothing about it. I called Honda about 5 times explaining my case of how 1) I bought my car new 2) I was the only owner 3) Had all of my regular maintenance and records to show and 4) The only reason the transmission failed is because it was faulty and of need be I can have a Honda dealer confirm this. I spoke to Brian Perez at Honda and the bottom line is Honda could careless and is not going to help me regardless of the fact they sold me a defective product.
I encourage everyone to call/write American Honda and voice your concerns. I am contacting Consumer Affairs and the Attorney General and Howard on my side if I can; they were and are aware of this problem and ignored their responsibility to the consumers.
2009Jul 08
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 120,000 miles
I was driving from Albany to Boston, had just taken the exit from the interstate when the transmission completely failed. I had to push the car to a parking spot and then got it towed. The transmission shop asked for about $2000 and there was nothing else to do but rebuilt. It was extremely inconvenient to do all this in a city where I don't even live, rent a car to come back home and have to go back again to pick up the car.
I maintained the car very well, had taken it to the dealer when it was under the extended warranty until the end of 2008. I had all the regular maintenance done as well as all regular oil changes. It was really a shock that this happened with Honda. I thought it was the most reliable car I could get and was planning to buy another Civic this year for my wife. After the failure I realized that this was a common issue with 2001 Honda Civics called Honda but they didn't do anything to help. I will NEVER buy another Honda in my life and I am only 31 years old. I am sure they have smart guys to calculate my worth as a customer over my lifetime and that's the amount of money they will be losing. When everybody else is trying to retain their loyal customers and give them incentives, losing them will not help Honda especially in this tough economy. I will also get rid of my current car as soon as possible, before the 1-year warranty on the transmission expires.
2009Jul 09
Civic
- Automatic transmission
- 78,000 miles
I have had exactly the same problem as everyone on this website. Bought my car in 2004 and it was VERY well maintained. It basically got no use the first year I had it because I was in college and only used it when I was home. The remaining three years of college it was used only to drive from college to home for breaks (about 5 hours). It has only had one year of daily use since i've been working this year. I had taken it to a mechanic to have it looked at since it was making a funny noise and he said it was the tranny. On the way back from the mechanic, the car STOPPED IN AN INTERSECTION. I finally got it running enough to get it to an off-ramp of an exit a half a block away. From there, two cops had to push me to the shoulder and I had to be towed home. I could have easily been hit and injured. The car was paid off less than 6 months ago and my warranty expired less than TWO months ago. I called Honda to ask them what I could do about this and all they could tell me was that I needed to have it diagnosed by a Honda dealer to even have my case reviewed. I said so wait - you want me to tow my car which is NOT moving for 100$ to your dealer and pay 100$ to have them tell me what I already know? And then you probably won't even pay for it? Yes. They were ZERO help. Absolutely disgraceful.
Honestly before today the car has been wonderful and I was planning on driving it till it died and then getting a Honda Civic Hybrid. Unfortunately after this car I will never drive a Honda again. Unfortunately I, being a recent college grad, do not have the money to buy a new car right now. So instead, I have to have it towed 4 hours home to New York where a friend of my dad's is fixing it for $2000. I am absolutely disgusted with Honda. Please let me know if there is a recall or a lawsuit I will be there with bells on. THANKS HONDA!
2009Jun 20
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 119,000 miles
Was 50 miles from home and the car suddenly lost a lot of power. I parked it in a parking lot to get away from the freeway, and let it cool down for a bit while I went shopping. When I tried it again about 2 hours later, the car would skip and lurch forward, and I could feel the tranny slipping. Finally got to a point maybe 100 yards down and it stopped altogether. The engine would still rev, but the drivetrain was getting 0 power. Had to get the car towed back home. $$$$ The money I'm spending stops with the tow, however, as I am going to eat the value hit and sell the car as-is since it's not economically feasible to spend $2500 replacing the transmission on a car valued at around $5000. Thanks for the claims of reliability and resale value, Honda. I love what you do for me!
2003Oct 17
Civic LX 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 29,000 miles
I was driving when the car just made a big boom noise and jerked hard. I had to keep putting my car in neutral then drive for it to shift to the next gear. I drove it up there and they said that my transmission had died. I was one month away from being out of warranty. They said that it would be a few days till my new transmission would be in the dealership. They were going to pay for a rental but then the rental company they use wouldn't rent a car to a 22 year old. So I had to drive the civic home(which was across town) putting it in neutral and then drive every time I had to shift. Then when my transmission was in they had the nerve to ask me to drive it back to the dealership! I told them about how I had to shift it and that I almost got in a couple of accidents on the way home. So they paid for a tow truck to come and get it. After a couple of days my car was fixed and I went to pick it up. I then found out that they put a refurbished transmission in it instead of a brand new one. I was pretty mad about that so I threw a fit and told them they better put it under a warranty and they finally did.
2009Jun 20
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 126,000 miles
My Honda civic LX transmisssion has failed for the second time, this car must be the worse car Honda ever made, I have a old nissan with 270k miles and transmission still fine..... The first failure occurred at 95k, the cost is astronomical......I will not buy another Honda....
Shameful Honda......
2007Apr 13
Civic LX 2.8L
- Automatic transmission
- 10,000 miles
This was the first of 3 transmission failures for my Honda Civic. It had been an old ladies car, she died, and I bought it. Within a year, the transmission had to be replaced. Honda paid for it, after I asked them why their supposedly reliable Honda Civic's transmission was failing with so few miles.
They repaired it, and sent me on my way. If it hadn't happened so many more times, I'd have been really happy with the service.
2008Jan 21
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 68,000 miles
Yeah don't get a automatic, i had this car for 4 mouths before the car stopped moving. I was in the middle of no where when the it gave out. it was like it was in neutral, i had it towed and brought to a transmission place. it cost $2,600 to fix, lucky I wasn't living out on my own, i pretty sure i would of been done for.
yeah f*ck honda,
p.s. when selling this heap, make sure to put in the ad the key word "V-tech", those essays will go Loco!!! lol
2008Oct 15
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 106,000 miles
My first big purchase! I bought into the name for a reason not so it would die on me 100,00+miles in.
It began to jerk and accelerate and change gears on me when i was going 10 to 20 miles an hour for about 2 to 3 weeks. I called and made an appointment to get it checked because it didn't feel right, especially since 6 months before i had just changed the timing belt, water pump, transmission flush and oil change.
Sadly it didn't make the appointment and crapped out on me when i got off the highway. As I slowed down the car began to accelerate and slow down even more, then when it stopped the engine light came on. WTF! My poor dog was with me and not happy.
I ended up getting the car towed to the Honda dealership and that's when the bigger headaches began.
I was told it would cost $2,600 dollars and because my car wasn't under warranty Honda would not cover any cost. I was stuck thinking I had no choice, my car was my livelihood, how am i going to get to work? I thought it was better to pay $2,600 than get into payments again since my car had been paid off for three years.
Then my stepdad who knows a few mechanics told me about the hardship complaints and to check with the Honda Co. about what can be done because apparently there have been complaints with the cars just not enough noise or recalls but enough that even though my car was out of warranty Honda may be able to help.
As for the dealership they stood by the $2,600 until i asked them if they knew there were issues and complaints regarding the Honda Civics transmission. Of course the person i was dealing with played dumb.
I called the Honda Co. put in my complaint and was basically told not to hold my breath because chances are i wasn't going to see a dime from them because of no warranty.
I had the dealership and the Honda Co. go back and forth for about 2 weeks and the dealership guy was real secretive about the whole thing acting like he was hooking me up some how and then told me the Honda would pay $600, then it went up to $1,000. WTF!!!!
Anyway long story longer, Honda Co. ended up paying a little over half ($1,400) out of the mess with a 3 years/30,000 mile warranty on the transmission because I could prove with receipts that I maintained my car and it wasn't my fault. I didn't realize how much they would cover until i went to pay and pick up my car because the dealership guy kept giving me the run around.
It took that long because they had to order another transmission because it fell under a different category. I was called by the Honda Co. throughout with the information and then asked questions regarding how the overall service was.
I must say aside from the initial call to the Honda Co. they were pretty fair in how they handle my situation and boy was I glad they paid more than half. As for the dealership guy he was nowhere to be found. Turns out he was fired but they never told me why.
The car has been running ok but I keep thinking somethings going to happen and I don't feel safe anymore. I remember telling the Honda Co. and dealership if I knew my Honda was going to crap out on me $100,000 miles in I would have bought into a Kia or Hyundai with the 10 year/100,00 mile warranty. I hope i can get a few more years out of this car.
Thank you for your website it was the proof I needed and I've been sharing it with every Honda owner I know.
2009May 23
Civic LX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 107,382 miles
Like all too many on this site, complete transmission failure. Unlike most, discount on service. I made the drive from suburban New Jersey to Houston St. in New York city on a Saturday night. Somewhere on Houston St., in the middle of traffic, after 50 miles without issue on the highways, revving the engine would move the RPM needle, but the car wouldn't go. Changing gears after the car was at stand still (D, D3, R) didn't help. Luckily, as a AAA Plus member, they were able to tow me back home for free. Unfortunately, it took nearly 40 minutes for the tow truck to arrive. Memorial day weekend is a pretty awful time to lose your car away from home.
Two days later, the dealership reopened. It quoted $119 for an analysis, which would be credited towards a $3040 transmission replacement. Armed with stats from this site, I did not agree until I could get Honda Corporate to consider a good will service. I called Honda Corporate at 1-800-999-1009. It took about 24 hours for first contact with corporate (during which the dealership was a bit antsy). It took another 3 or 4 days to verify I've ever used a dealership for service (last was a 60K service at odometer 67K; I haven't used a dealer in 40K miles because: (1) the oil low light came on about a mile after I left the dealership for the 60K service, and I found part of the glove compartment housing on the floor (no more David Michael Honda of Freehold); (2) after a strut replacement, Academy Honda couldn't figure out the caster on my wheel alignment was out of spec by nearly a degree. While I waited, I called several AAMCO. One was unwilling to give a quote; another was hesitant, insisting on a $50 tow to the center, but said the upper bound would be $2700-$2800. The third told me that there had been two similar cases in the last month, inc'l one Odyssey, and that the range for those was $1700 to $2300. This guy was trustworthy - told me I could use AAA to tow from the dealership to his shop FOR FREE by telling AAA I was not satisfied with the work the dealership was offering. Also told me what a lot here suspect - having no serviceable transmission fluid filter is what caused the Torque Converter to fail. It took a while, but Honda Corporate eventually came back with a quote of $2030, and I opted for them since it split the range that AAMCO charged, but for a full replacement transmission.
Would I buy another Honda? Probably. Would I buy the first year of a new generation? Probably not.
2008Oct 10
Civic EX D17a2
- Automatic transmission
- 74,000 miles
the civic i have now was my mother's and she is a safe driver and upkeep her vehicle well.she got a new 2006 altima so i took the civic it was really kool gettin my own car for free,after a few months i drop in a cool air intake and a custom exhaust and the civic was really movin nice till last year October my transmission just fail on me while driving to work.i did not think much of it till i get the bill and now again this new tranny i got fail on me.i love my car but come on honda sucks now it costin me another 1200 for it to be fixed i think is best i bought my own car a Mazda i kno i would not have this problem wit them.i would have paid 2400 and get me a better car
2009May 23
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 123,250 miles
2001 Honda Civic LX with 125,000 miles = When leaving from a dead stop the transmission slipped between gear changes. I am calling Honda tomorrow, to complain, it's a $2,800 fix! Within 65 miles of the first slip the car died! The car had always been properly maintained, as recommended and now this bombshell.
2009Feb 02
Civic LX 1.8L V4
- Automatic transmission
- 120,000 miles
Same story as many unfortunate Honda owners on this site...
at 120k miles had to fully rebuild my automatic transmission on my well-maintained 2001 Honda CivicLX. No sense in complaining more, this sad story has been played-out by many others across the country. Honda was ABSOLUTELY no help.
So...lesson learned. Will not purchased another Honda !!! I will do my best to dissuade
all others within my sphere on influence to stay away from Honda. Go with Toyota, Mazda, or Ford; all vehicles of which I've had good experiences.
Honda should be embarrassed and ashamed of not owning-up to a serious engineering design flaw. I admit: I was fooled into believing Honda was a cut above all the rest. No more. Honda be dammed!
2009May 23
Civic EX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 109,000 miles
the transmission has failed for the second time with 109,000 miles, the first in 2006 with 79000 miles, was rebuilt by aamco. of course I did not buy the extended warranty. Don't know what I am going to do with it, hate to spend any more money on this thing. I bought it new because I wanted a reliable car, but have had nothing but problems; wheel bearings, steering rack, ac, fuel pump, ball joints, power windows.
2006Jul 06
Civic EX 1.7L
- Automatic transmission
- 79,053 miles
My 2001 Honda civic experienced auto transmission failure, and was rebuilt including torque converter buy AAMCO
2009May 15
Civic EX
- Automatic transmission
- 112,000 miles
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!
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2008Jun 11
Civic LX 1.7L
I bought My Honda Civic 2001 Lx When it was 34K and I drove it for a few years, and my Transmission just went bad with no resent warning, I had it always maintained on time, but in 2008 I had the first Transmission Failure I tried to re-built it but it was Cheaper to buy an other one. at that time my car was about 95K, Well guess what after about 20K more or less I got the same Problem Transmission Failure contacted Honda Customer service they said they can't help the warranty has expired and they can't cover someone Else's work, what if Honda has a decent pricing to fix these kind of Problems that it well known about that particular year. now my car is about 120K. and I had to fix it again. MY ADVICE TO ALL PEOPLE IF YOU HAVE A 2001 HONDA CIVIC PLEAAAAAAAAAASE GO RETURN IT AND GET AN OTHER CAR, NISSAN TOYOTA SCION CHEVY ANYTHING BUT THE HONDA, NO HELP NO UNDERSTANDING. I REFUSE TO BUY ANOTHER HONDA. by the way the transmission controller ( solenoid ) will fail as well. be careful coast from Honda Dealer $350 ridicules.
ytamine
Orlando, FL, USA
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