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.
7.4
pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
$700
Average Mileage:
105,950 miles
Total Complaints:
40 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
replace exhaust manifold (14 reports)
not sure (12 reports)
have crack in manifold welded (7 reports)
buy a new manifold from ebay, and have local mechanic fix it (5 reports)
I went to my local Honda dealership today to have my transmission fluid changed, because I recently read all of the complaints regarding the 01 Honda Civic's transmission failing.
I did this only to discover that I have a cracked exhaust manifold that also has TONS of complaints posted on the internet.
I live in California so I am unable to order any kind of aftermarket exhaust manifold, because:
1) They wont ship it here, and
2) You must have an OEM exhaust manifold to pass CA smog.
I have been researching all day and I have no idea what course of action to take. My options are to:
A) Ignore the problem until it comes time to get a smog check, and breath in fumes from my engine in the mean time.
B) Have the manifold welded, which probably will not allow me to pass smog because I'm sure that my CAT is also in need of replacement because of the flaw.
C) Pay over $1,000 for a part that I know is going to break again in the future.
or.
D) Sell the car and never buy another Honda again.
I'm leaning towards option D because it sounds like Honda is not going to take responsibility for this defect. A class-action lawsuit would be amazing if somebody can please put one together for us.
Same as the others. Can't afford to replace it. On a fixed income. Thinking about welding it. Still thinking about it....can't use the a/c much. Honda should take some responsibility for this. That is why I bought the car in the first place. Things do happen as the car gets older, but still....!!!
major design flaw with the honda exhaust manifold, failed at 58000 miles, do not want to replace with oem part and have it fail again. not sure what i am going to do, the problem is getting worse. can aford $1000 repair. Which is the best aftermarket part to use? ironic that the aftermarket part will probably be better quality than the oem
Bought the car from the dealer like this without knowing, plus the used car lot failed to tell me the car was used for RACING !!! have been driving on the crack with fixed welds for 8 months now and new cracks are developing in the tubes now. it is impossible to get a replacement part in California due to there rules. ive never had problems with a Honda before until now and i wont buy a Honda again.
I bought the car in early 2010 (previous owner apparently raced it), and every thing seemed to be alright. A few months down the road the exhaust starts to get louder. Here I come to find out the Exhaust Manifold has a huge crack. The used car dealership sold me a Honda with a cracked exhaust manifold and then did a shoddy job of welding it, and I paid as if the car was excellent condition! There is a pic of what a good manifold looks like and then the crappy cracked manifold, you can see the bright silver weld all crusted and falling off.
This problem happenned a couple of years ago, but I ignored it. Now, the catalytic converter is all clogged and I have to replace the whole thing which costs around $500. Did not think this was going to happen. Piece of crap.
In Ontario, as it may be in many other provinces / states, you need to get emission testing before your license plate can be renewed. Well. In I go to the local Honda Dealer and learn that they cannot do the emissions test as there is a crack in the exhaust manifold..... They say that it could be heard. I guess you can only hear it when they restrict the flow of exhaust as I tried and could not hear a thing. They gave me an estimate at just over $1000. ( about the same in US$). The first step will be to get a second opinion. If it's a no go then off to my welding friend. What a pain.
Don't buy a Honda. They are not all they're "cracked" up to be.
Like so many others, my manifold cracked at 198,000km. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. Fought with Honda adamantly about how widespread this design flaw is. I got nowhere. Finally, the headache wasn't worth the money and I replaced the manifold with a new one. Honda wins, Honda customers lose.
This, on top of the myriad of other complaints I have with this car, mean that I will never purchase another Honda again. The vehicles don't live up to their reputation, and in their customer service Honda seems to make very little effort to create even the faintest illusion than they do.
I just hope I can sell this piece of junk before the transmission fails like so many others already have.
Wow - the local Honda dealer's service center quoted more than $800 to fix the cracked exhaust manifold. That was AFTER they returned my car from routine service with bird poop on the window and greasy handprints on the driver's side door. Grrrrr.... NOT going back there. And NOT considering buying another Honda for my next car.
Found out my son's 2001 Civic has the infamous TCC transmission problem that will cost $2-3K to fix. The transmission shop I took it to pointed out the car also has a cracked exhaust manifold. With 115,000 miles it's out of warranty, so I now need shell out $3,700 to fix a car that is only worth $5K?
After some research, I realize that although my civic is a great high mileage vehicle... It's not built to last indefinitely. This resource is really a waste of time unless the factory WANTS to spend money on us (Right, not gonna happen). I got a foot long crack in my manifold and it just got bad enough to make a hissing snakey noise when accelerating; I live on a steep hill... Yeah! Thanks overpopulation and human neglect!
Took the car in for an oil change and was told we had a cracked exhaust manifold among some other minor things. The part doesn't look that hard to replace, but it makes me frustrated to see so many others with the same problem and to hear that Honda is not doing anything about it. I've been really happy with Honda and plan on buying a Honda Odyssey, but will definitely be more proactive on potential problems.
Ok so we bought a Honda because they are supposed to be such good cars but we have had nothing but trouble from this car. It's an '01 and in Jan. of '05 we had to replace the clutch, the struts and had a problem that took almost a year to figure out with something called the TDC sensor?, also found a crack in the exhaust manifold which at first just affected the gas mileage but now it causes the car to overheat constantly. Last summer the A/C went out as well as the transmission. This car is such a lemon and nobody believes me because its a Honda. I am so disgusted by this car. I thought that this must have just been our car but I've been reading and searching the internet and am finding out that Honda just made some really bad Civics in '01. We need to replace the manifold but I'm not sure if I am willing to pour any more money into this cash pit. I really just want to sell it and be done with it. Honda should be ashamed of this car.
Okay, I found out yesterday that my manifold is cracked as well. I went on to ebay and I found a manifold and catalytic converter combo for under $300 US! Find a local mechanic in your yellow pages who doesn't charge an arm and a leg per hour and I'm sure the job will only take an hour to complete and probably all for under $500 US!
I'm sure the aftermarket manifold will last longer then the OEM one and besides by the time the problem happens again you may not even have the car anymore or just fix it and sell it. Most parts can be found for this car on ebay and for much less! Why pay dealer or excessive big name shop hourly rates and part prices?! Support your local neighborhood mechanic!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I went to my local Honda dealership today to have my transmission fluid changed, because I recently read all of the complaints regarding the 01 Honda Civic's transmission failing.
I did this only to discover that I have a cracked exhaust manifold that also has TONS of complaints posted on the internet.
I live in California so I am unable to order any kind of aftermarket exhaust manifold, because:
1) They wont ship it here, and 2) You must have an OEM exhaust manifold to pass CA smog.
I have been researching all day and I have no idea what course of action to take. My options are to:
A) Ignore the problem until it comes time to get a smog check, and breath in fumes from my engine in the mean time.
B) Have the manifold welded, which probably will not allow me to pass smog because I'm sure that my CAT is also in need of replacement because of the flaw.
C) Pay over $1,000 for a part that I know is going to break again in the future.
or.
D) Sell the car and never buy another Honda again.
I'm leaning towards option D because it sounds like Honda is not going to take responsibility for this defect. A class-action lawsuit would be amazing if somebody can please put one together for us.
- chowderchu, San Diego, CA, US