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

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

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

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

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 5
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
86,485 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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

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

2001 Honda Civic electrical problems

electrical problem

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2001 Honda Civic Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #33

Nov 242023

Civic

  • miles

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

The car set on fire causing by airbags explosion and electrical issues and I got myself burned trying to stop the fire

- Bayville , NY, USA

problem #32

Oct 012021

Civic

  • miles
Problems with the electrical part of the ignition, causing my car to cut off, or it leaves me and my kids stranded!!! even the SRS light is on, and when I looked up the recall information, theres recalls on both and the dealership is declining to service my vehicle. This is a major saftey issue, I cant afford to put my kids life in jeopardy, nor can I afford another car right now. Please help me !!!

- Webster, TX, USA

problem #31

Jul 012020

Civic 4-cyl

  • 17,467 miles
When I turn our hit a bump it pops and feels like it's going to fall apart when I drive as well as makes the car hard to steer and the car trys to turn off

- Tulare, CA, USA

problem #30

Jun 012020

Civic 4-cyl

  • 0 miles

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

It has a kill switch and caught fire

- Santa Ana, CA, USA

problem #29

Jul 022019

Civic

  • 225,000 miles
Stalls out / loses power while driving, cannot maintain speed even when floored, worse on hot days, doesn't happen in the winter, the main fuel relay gets real hot and car will not run until it sits for about 5 or 10 minutes, then sometimes (when 90+ degrees out) will only run for a few minutes before it happens again, I have already replaced the relay and its still happening.

- Bolingbrook, IL, USA

problem #28

Apr 252018

Civic

  • 245,000 miles
I received a 2001 Honda Civic LX from my dad as a gift around the end of April, 2018. Which he had spent about 2000 in the motor before giving it to me. The issues occurred with the car over heating right when we landed into las vegas which we were coming from san dimas California, it took about 3-4 hours to get back home. I had issues with my car over heating a lot which had to do with the sensors at first which had gotten replaced. Than after the fan to cool down the radiator wasn't working properly to where only one fan would kick in. Now out of no where my car had issues accelerating which should be investigated before somebody really gets hurt. From all the reviews thank god in the long run everybody is okay but in order for this to be recalled it's like people need to be injured or deaths need to really occur before when things like this should be fixed so serious problems don't occur in leads to death. I almost got side swiped when I had no choice but to try to move to saftey really slow which I didn't have control of the car moving at that paste when it wouldn't move any faster than what it wwas.since I found out my car having issues on accelerating and being able to move around I find out there is the air bag recall which I receive a paper in mail to fix but how when I can't even get there. It's the end of July 2018 in which my car is officially unable to be moved. So many problems within 3 months and so much money wasted it's ridiculous.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #27

May 192018

Civic

  • 200,000 miles

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

Takata recall. My 2001 Honda Civic has been sitting my my drive for about a month and is not being used as my primary vehicle. Yesterday the car seemed fine; windows clear, no smell, etc. However, when returning today the car had the smell of burnt plastic which was overpowering and went to see why it smelled and then noticed that the windows were covered in soot. The driver side door was opened and the smell was 100% stronger and you could see that the plastic on the passenger side dash was burnt and melting right around where the airbag; I will send pictures. It looked like the dash had melted from the inside out and besides the car covered in soot the damage is located specifically on the passenger side around the airbag and glove compartment. In working to complete this report I noticed how it asks how many miles are on the car, but the only way to see the number of miles is by turning the car on. I am hesitiant to turn the car on since I don't know what happened and don't think it is safe. However, I know the car has over 200,000 miles but I am not sure as the exact number of miles.

- Davis Junction, IL, USA

problem #26

Jun 112017

Civic

  • 165,000 miles
An electrical burning smell while driving approx 45 mph turned out to be the master power window regulator and the fuse. I have read several forums online stating the same issues, but no one knows the cause. Very scary.

- La Pine, OR, USA

problem #25

Apr 082015

Civic

  • 135,000 miles
On April 8 2015 while I was driving to my house, I saw smoke coming out of the dashboard so I had to desperately stop the car I run. My car was call for recall and I when to Honda services in hillside, New Jersey where they told me that they had to fix something from the air bag in the dash board they told me they have to order some parts and they will call me to comeback so I waiedt for one month and two month and they never call me I called to find out about those parts and I was told the same thing, that they are going to call me I believe my car was total destroy in fire because they did not fix my car on time.

- Elizabeth, NJ, USA

problem #24

Dec 282014

Civic

  • 124,000 miles
The contact owns a 2001 Honda Civic. The contact stated that there was an electrical short that caused the low beam headlights to fail. The contact had to apply the high beams due to the failure, which was progressing. The vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign number: 04V086000 (exterior lighting). Prior to the contact owning the vehicle, it was repaired according to the recall, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 124,000.

- Honolulu, HI, USA

problem #23

Nov 092014

Civic

  • 131,000 miles

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

Started car drove it to work, about a mile into drive engine stalled, car started to sputter, then stall again. Took to mechanic, it was a faulty ignition switch. 1997-2000 Honda Civic models were involved in a faulty ignition switch recall, I wonder if 2001 should have been included as well.

- Wallingford, CT, USA

problem #22

Apr 142014

Civic 4-cyl

  • 118 miles
Own a 2001 Honda Civic LX check engine light once up with code P0740. Had the code read at autozone went out. Now it has come back.

- Perry Hall, MD, USA

problem #21

Jul 162012

Civic

  • 91,500 miles
The vehicle gauge cluster reads the wrong information. It caused me to stall on the freeway driving 65 mph. I completely ran out of fuel and the gauge read that I had 1/4 of a tank left. Others have complained about this issue on the internet. The fuel, mph, and temperature readings are all off.

- Claremont, CA, USA

problem #20

Jun 092012

Civic 4-cyl

  • 170,000 miles
I purchased this car used, and you cannot see the speedometer or any gauge when the sun hits the plastic covering them. It is a serious issue. I cannot believe Honda hasn't recalled the plastic or at least put something on it. This has to be addressed. I owned a 2002 Honda Civic before this and it did not have the same angle on the dash so there was never an issue.

- Olathe, KS, USA

problem #19

Apr 092011

Civic

  • 249,000 miles
We were driving around running errands on a 75 degree weather. We were on the road when the car just all of a sudden downshifted. The engine light came on. So, we went to mcdonalds to let the car cool down, lifting the hood. An advanced auto zone was right across the street. After a bit, we took it over, there. They tested it and said it wasn't the engine at all; battery, alternator, etc. They then told us to take it the auto parts store and have them test it with their tools because they didn't have the correct tool needed to do the particular test needed done. So, we limped the car down the road. We explained the problem, they got their computer tester out and came up with several different codes. The funny thing is, after about 1/2 an hour, after the codes were tested, the engine light went off. We called our mechanic and got an appointment for him to test it and see what was going on. He found a used emc computer chip/component and replaced the old one. When we got the car back, we heard this awful noise that we hadn't heard. We were told it was the exhaust manifold, that it would be noisy and would get worse over time. Now, we can't drive it too far without it downshifting. The hot air just gets to it. We are on a very fixed income. This is my husband's car. He is disabled. All we have is his disability. We also have 3 1/2 year old son. I don't feel safe driving it with my son in the car because it has been hot over the summer we can't run the A/C because that just exacerbates the situation. I think there should be a recall because my husband bought this car because he thought it was a reliable car. We have spoken to the Honda dealer about it. They don't seem to care. We have had to use my '97 Pontiac Grand Am. It has had issues too. Our mechanic said there has been no recall as of yet. We have called junk yards and looked on line. Who can afford something like this? well, his sister had the same issue with hers.

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #18

Aug 032011

Civic 4-cyl

  • 84,814 miles
SRS light on my 2001 Honda Civic is on and the problem, according to the dealer is a code 15-3 for opds unit failure. With this light on the air bags in my car will not function in a crash. Honda had extended the coverage for this repair for 10 years or 150,000 miles. The problem is that I missed the cut off for a covered repair by 11 months. The car currently has less than 85,000 miles on it. The dealership, valley Honda of monroville pa, wants to charge 325 dollars for the repair that I feel should be covered by the car company because I believe the problem is in their equipment.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

problem #17

Jan 302009

Civic

  • 107,000 miles
Left front headlight first failed on 01/30/2009. Electrical wiring to front low beam headlight overheated causing melting of headlight connector to electrical harnesst.. a succession of another 4 headlight connectors have melted between O8/08/2009 to December 14, 2010. First 4 headlight connector replacements completed by Honda dealer. Prior to Jan 30th 2009 headlight connector failure, a different Honda dealer completed NHTSA 304V86000 recall work for headlight electrical overheating recall in 2006 during regular maintenance appointment. Failure #5 happened on dec14, 2010 just 6 days after melted connector #4 was replaced on December 8th 2010. Dealer found cruise control unit inoperable due to electrical melt down. Original air conditioner compressor replaced in 2009 due to melt down. Safety and possible fire hazard due to chronic overheating of original electrical harness & multi-plex unit. Honda dealer unable solve problem of repeated melting headlight connectors. All connectors are Honda dealer parts. Total of 4 left headlight connectors and 1 right headlight connector have melted. 5th melted headlight connector has not been replaced. Using the high-beams to drive at night since 4 previous Honda dealer replacement connectors have melted. Time intervals between connector failure keeps getting shorter and shorter. Due to chronic unsolved electrical overheating problem, the safety of electrical system is compromised.

- Lomita, CA, USA

problem #16

Nov 212010

Civic

  • miles
My mother is a victim of sudden acceleration incident from a Honda Civic 2001. She was driving the vehicle on a small street and had placed it in park. Then, she placed the gear back into drive and before tapping the gas pedal the car surged forward in high acceleration and went out of control. She applied the brakes a few times but it failed to stop the car. The steering was also out of control and the car continued to accelerate about 30-40 mph for an entire block and finally, crashed into a tree totaling the vehicle. She was taken away by ambulance. As a result of the crash, she suffered from a broken ankle and heel, deep gash to the knee, severe chest pain (from airbag) and heart contusion. She spent over a week in the hospital and is still in the process of recovering.

- Toronto, 00, USA

problem #15

Apr 272010

Civic

  • 162,690 miles
Parked the vehicle driveway, exited the vehicle with keys in hand. Walked behind the vehicle to speak to neighbor, the neighbor noticed car rolling, we both jump out of way. Vehicle rolls down hill across street onto neighbor property and flips on the neighbor's retaining wall. Ignition key was removed from the ignition switch with the vehicle in the drive position.

- Pinson, AL, USA

problem #14

Mar 192010

Civic

  • 71,000 miles
Windows regulator burnt out while driving car. No sign of moisture or anything. Low quality switch.

- Falls Church, VA, USA

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