I'm in the military, and a classmate of mine in A-School warned me about the particular model of Honda I bought, saying that he owned the same type of vehicle before, and had to replace the whole transmission at about 120,000mi. Well, I sort of shrugged it off, because my car was running great. I bought my car used, at 88,000mi, and no more than 7,000mi later, I'm told I'm going to have to replace the transmission.

As I left Pensacola, FL for San Diego, CA, my check engine light came on no more than 500mi into the trip. I had it checked out at a dealership in TX, but they couldn't find anything wrong. The light went off and on the rest of the trip. Car was running great, and so I thought maybe the computer chip was glitchy.

So when I went in to get an oil change yesterday, I decided to get the light checked out, as it was now staying on. The service member told me that I had metal shavings building up in my transmission fluid, and that it was due to a disintegrating torque converter. Total cost for repair approx. $2500. This is absolutely ridiculous. My parents always drove a Honda, and friends drive Hondas, because they're reliable. Well, after reading this page, that definitely seems to not be the case. It seems to be a particular problem with this model, and I'm amazed Honda has not had a recall. Instead, they have a recall for some stupid headlight problem.

Being in the military, I pretty much make nothing. I am constantly living paycheck to paycheck. I cannot afford this kind of problem. I bought a Honda because it will get me good mileage, and last a long time. Great for a military member who frequently needs to cross the country. This problem is just absolutely ridiculous, and I will not resort to paying out of pocket until I have exhausted all other means.

My wife and I purchased this Honda used one year ago from a private party. This vehicle looked to be in very good condition (actually, it still looked new inside and out). We bought this car with 106,000 miles on it. Just as many others that have sent in a complaint , I thought that Honda were very reliable with few problems. With Hind sight, I see way there are many 2001 - 2003 Honda Civics up for sale. My son and I decided to drive his vehicle to my wife's mother's house (about 70 miles away) on Sunday for a crawfish boil where my wife came down later. He had to leave early to go to work. He left by himself (16 yrs old) and made it home, to work, and back home with no problems. The next morning, (Memorial Day) he went to run on his High School track about 1.5 miles from home. On his way home, he called me and advised that all-of-a-sudden the car would not shift past second gear (automatic transmission) were he could not go faster than 15 miles per hour. I told him to pull over and check the transmission fluid to make sure that it wasn't low and call me back. He called me back and advised that the car would not move in drive or reverse, that the engine just revs up. The transmission fluid was fine. Since we bought this vehicle, there was 12,000 miles put on it. We towed the vehicle to a repair shop and I decided to research Honda transmission problems and came across this website to which I was very shocked that there were so many people having the same problems which ended in rebuilding or replacing the transmission. I thank God that this happened less than a mile from home and not while he was traveling alone from his grandparent's home. I, just as everyone els complaints, wanted to take time to let you know the problems that we are having with the Honda Civics to which mine happens to be a 2001. I will have the transmission rebuilt and updated. Thank you AutoBeef for giving us an avenue to let others know what the dealerships are not telling us.

If only my research had brought me to this site earlier. My circumstances have been very similar to those described here. Several weeks ago I brought my '01 Civic in because it was shifting gears erratically, or not at all. The dealership told me it was due to the transmission fluid, which was replaced. Two weeks later, the tranny dies completely.

After arguing with Honda Corporate and Miller Honda for a week, the best they offered was a 25% "goodwill gesture" toward the transmission, which excluding labor is $2800.

My first car was a 1994 Civic, and it had 170,000 before I traded it in, with never a repair aside from basic maintenance needed. I'm sorely, sorely disappointed with Honda, as I used to be a very loyal and outspoken praiser of the company, and would tell anyone with car trouble to just "get a Civic."

Never again.

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

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!

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.

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...

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.

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.

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?!

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.

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.

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 ....