CarComplaints.com Notes: Yes, the Honda Civic receives a lot of complaints because so many were sold. And sure, car parts only last so long and things eventually break. But it's never good to see this many transmission complaints, especially when the average mileage at failure is just north of 100,000 miles.

Especially when you consider that it's predecessor also has a nasty history with transmission complaints.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
21,582 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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

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

2002 Honda Civic engine problems

engine problem

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2002 Honda Civic Owner Comments

problem #11

Jun 262002

Civic

  • miles

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

The contact owns a 2002 Honda Civic. The contact took the vehicle into the dealer for routine maintenance and was told that the air cleaner assembly could cause problems with the throttle body and prevent the vehicle from slowing down. The dealer stated NHTSA recall campaign number: 01V329000 (engine and engine cooling:engine), which was related to the failure, but the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was unknown, but the current mileage was 135,000. Updated 06/03/11 updated 07/08/11

- Monument, CO, USA

problem #10

Jun 102010

Civic

  • 80,000 miles
I own a 2002 Honda Civic si and was checking on the valve adjustment in my engine today. I noticed one of the cam lobes (cylinder #3 on the exhaust side) had some severe galling and pitting. All of the other cam lobes were in perfect condition. After doing some searching on the internet (search for "cam galling" or "Honda galling" or something similar) I have found this seems to be a known issue to many who own this year Civic si. I also found some sites stating it is also a problem in other K series engines (my car has a K20A3 engine) and possibly a problem in other Honda cars/SUVS. My fear is that the lobe could disintegrate while driving at high speeds and cause total engine failure and possibly injury or an accident. I plan on taking pictures tomorrow and seeing what Honda recommends. Since the maintenance interval on adjusting valves is 110,000 miles on my Honda, it's difficult to catch a problem like this before the warranty is up since removing a valve cover is not a standard procedure...although I would Venture to guess the problem had begun during the warranty period. And, looking at the number of posts on the issue, something Honda should be recalling or helping with.

- West Fargo, ND, USA

problem #9

Jan 052007

Civic 4-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 50,000 miles
Motor mount failure prior to 60,000 miles; timing belt side/left motor mount broken causing engine vibration at speed and idle; cause was determined during timing belt change.

- Peoria, AZ, USA

problem #8

Feb 282005

Civic 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 35,000 miles

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

2002, Honda Civic LX, was involved in a accident when slowing for traffic. The consumer rear ended another motorist when he attempted to slow down. The consumer hit the median, then, went across 4 lanes of traffic and hit a mountain. This resulted in a major car crash. Owner sustained 2 broken bones in the lower right leg, air bag burned. After the car went hood first into the mountain the car was revving, and gas was still flowing, then, vehicle caught on fire. The vehicle was recalled prior to the wreck. It was taken to the dealership, and they were the only ones to work on the vehicle. It was always regularly maintained, and the owner saw no record of any work done concerning a recall. The accident was on the freeway instead of surface road. The consumer believed that recall 01V329000 may have been the cause of his accident.

- Plano, TX, USA

problem #7

Jun 142004

Civic 4-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 16,000 miles
I bought a 2002 Civic si brand new. The shift linkage was grinding at 3000 mi. I went to the dealer but never had it fixed. At about 16000 miles it was running funny so I took it to burne Honda and they said it was over-revved. The 2002-2005 Honda Civic si and 2002-2005 Acura rsx K series engine is seriously defected. The rsx was 6th on the lemon law list. Honda has thus far refused to repair the damage. There are cases of the connecting rods blowing through the motor and spilling oil on the exhaust resulting in fires. This is a serious issue this is happening to a lot of the owners of K-series powered vehicles and is dangerous if a rod bends on the highway and there is no place to pull over. Honda is covering up a defective engine design.

- Scranton, PA, USA

problem #6

Sep 102004

Civic 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
While driving vehicle stalled. Consumer was unable to restart vehicle, and had it towed to dealer for inspection. Mechanic determined that engine and transmission needed to be replaced.

- Bullhead City, AZ, USA

problem #5

Apr 132004

Civic

  • Automatic transmission
  • 6,400 miles

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

The consumer had the oil changed by the dealer, she drove the vehicle home, parked the vehicle in the garage and later smelled smoke coming from the garage. Upon entering the garage the consumer noticed fire coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was destroyed and there was a substantial amount of damage to the home.

- Old Greenwich, CT, USA

problem #4

Jul 202001

Civic 4-cyl

  • Manual transmission
  • 10,000 miles
Car leaks oil.

- Bethesda, MD, USA

problem #3

Jan 202003

Civic

  • 20,000 miles
The vehicle lost power when a slow turn was made.

- E. Windsor, NJ, USA

problem #2

Jan 202003

Civic

  • 20,000 miles
The vehicle lost power when a slow turn was made.

- E. Windsor, NJ, USA

problem #1

Jun 012002

Civic

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
There was a crack in the engine's lower block, which resulted in an oil leak. Dealer has been notified. Consumer stateed the repair was finaaly made after 3rd visit.

- Pacific Grove, CA, USA

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