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.

8.4

pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
$1,850
Average Mileage:
116,950 miles
Total Complaints:
15 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. not sure (9 reports)
  2. transmission replacement (6 reports)
2001 Honda Civic transmission problems

transmission problem

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2001 Honda Civic Owner Comments

problem #15

Aug 062019

Civic LX

  • Automatic transmission
  • 166,378 miles

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

The car started giving me sudden jerk and after a couple of days suddenly it stopped. And once I started it was not picking up the speed more than 10 mph. And it keeps repeating this. I was afraid in the middle of the highway. Somehow took the car to a gas station and towed it to the nearest local service station. It came out as transmission failure. The new one will cost over $3000 and the used one will cost around $2000.

The question is

1. If Honda knows about the problem why the partial recall. It might cause serious injuries.

2. The new transmission comes with 300,000 miles warranty , Why Honda it is not with the original one?

3. How to get it reimbursed?

- Subhadeep D., Taylorsville, UT, US

problem #14

Oct 232017

Civic LX

  • Automatic transmission
  • 195,000 miles

My mom bought me a 01 Civic automatic after I was in a bad rear end collision and my 98 Civic was totaled. We bought the car off of Craigslist for $2100. It had 194k. The last owner said that is was a 'point a to point b car" which was exactly what I needed at the time.

3 days after driving, the check engine light comes on. We contact the last owner he says "gas cap". Two months later, my car is over heating everyday, even though I am dumping coolant every 24 hours. I decide to take it to Autozone to test engine light. Gas cap, Cylinder 2,3,4 misfire, evap leak, tc clutch failure was on the summary of diagnosis. All around 4k to fix everything.

A few weeks ago while turning my wheel, water leaks to the bottom of my passenger floor, and its soaking wet. Has something to do with evap system...not worth any of my time to fix

I am over Honda and its lack of owning up to selling faulty cars!

- Clark B., Dallas, US

problem #13

Aug 122015

Civic EX 1.7L 4 cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 138,934 miles

My brother bought the car 2 years ago and did no research on the car. This summer I had no car so I was borrowing this car, then he found out the transmission had issues. He decides that I should get it and take over payments. The issue continues to get worse and has caused me to receive a ticket. Soon I am going to be making payments on 2 cars and a speeding ticket caused by this trans because my brother didn't do his research!

- Charles H., Kansas City, MO, US

problem #12

Dec 012010

Civic 4 cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 120,000 miles

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

First of two transmission problems with this piece of crap. And, apparently Honda knows there is a problem by the number of complaints on this board only to ignore it's responsibility. Check the number of complaints for this model, make and year. Think there is a problem Honda?!?!?

- John S., Birmingham, AL, US

problem #11

Sep 042013

Civic

  • Automatic transmission
  • 126,000 miles

Posted about my original total transmission repair that I did last year and am now seeing the early signs of transmission failure again.

Trouble shifting gears, driving rougher than normal, louder engine.

Really over having these problems. Hondas should not breakdown this much!

- alstn, Nashville, TN, US

problem #10

Mar 012013

Civic LS

  • Automatic transmission
  • 113,300 miles

I bought my civic new in 2001, never had any problems with the transmission until recently. I have over 113,300 miles on the car. I called Honda to register a complaint and to inquire why I never received a recall notice when I have read that so many other Civics were being recalled for transmission problems. After giving them my VIN I was told that my car was not manufactured where the "faulty" transmissions were made. So I guess I don't count??? I was told that my transmission was no longer under warranty, duh no kidding!!!

I am very annoyed that they would do nothing to help me at all! I have no money to fix this car and no money to replace it. I am a 60 yr old woman with a husband in a nursing home, I work every day, and can not afford to have my car fixed! I was very happy with the car until recently as I mentioned. Why won't Honda admit they they may have more vehicles out there that were never repaired by them for bad transmissions!!!!!

- Charlene D., Johnston, RI, US

problem #9

Aug 172011

Civic LX 4 Cyclinder

  • Automatic transmission
  • 148,000 miles

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

I purchased this vehicle brand new in 2001. I always keep the Honda recommended service schedule and in 2008 I had transmission problems with the vehicle and it only had about 80k miles. Now that my 3 year warranty is up I am having the same transmission problems & the honda dealer refuses to fix it. I should not have to replace a transmission every 3years! They are refusing to repair my transmission. HONDA SUCKS!!!

- mpetion, Irvington, NJ, US

problem #8

Dec 132010

Civic LX 4 cyl 1.7L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 144,397 miles

The car takes its time to move into gear. Going uphill first thing on a cold day is very trying. I had it serviced and the trans fluid was not a problem so I took it to a trans specialist and he will open it up and fix it. He says to open and replace filter or do a whole repair is about the same dollar amount. Somewhere near 1,300.00. The car may not be new but it has always been great. I am a careful driver and can't imagine such a cost at this time. My last Honda lasted 276,000 miles and was still fine when I sold it. It was a 1996 so of course I bought another Honda.

- lorraineillinois, Lena, IL, US

problem #7

Mar 102007

Civic EX 2.2L 4 cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 80,000 miles

Bought a civic for the "reliability" in summer 2001, and have had nothing but a stream of consistent problems. The dealership service dept in Indiana (where I bought the car) still recognizes my car by sight 7 years later, even though I've moved out of state and hardly go there anymore because of all the problems I've had with it. The worst, though, was in March of '07, when out of nowhere the transmission went out. I had just had transmission service done on it about six months prior, with no warning signs of a problem until that morning. Driving home from the office, the car started jerking wildly, and all the warning lights went on. I barely made it off the street into a restaurant parking lot. The transmission had to be completely rebuilt, and the original bill was $3300. I was able to get Honda to cover half of that, so that it was on par with prices I would have paid at a regular mechanic shop, but $1700 was still really painful, especially when the mechanic at Honda mentioned to me that there were no signs of anything I could have done to cause the problem.

Since then, I've also dumped about $1200 into it for random other things that have 'mysteriously' quit before their typical lifespan. Next time, I'm going with a different make.

- Jennifer C., Norman, OK, US

problem #6

Mar 092009

Civic EX 1.6L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 1 miles

The funny thing about all these complaints, hardly anyone mentions having the transmission service regularly (every 30,000 miles) by a qualified technician, like at the dealer. Most have high mileage, (100,000+) and those that don't have no extended warranty. C'mon people, a vehicle is a man-made machine that will breakdown over time. No matter if its a "HONDA" or a space shuttle built by NASA case in point remember the Challenger. I had Civic break down on me and had to have it towed and the transmission replaced. The vehicle had 98,000 miles BUT I bought extended warranty which covered it all. So people stop crying and take some damn accountability for things that happen in your life and stop looking for a hand out. Freaking crybabies. Oh and in case your wandering I was on this site look for a repair tip on valve clearance.

- Ryan P., Arlington, TX, US

problem #5

Jan 212009

Civic LX

  • Automatic transmission
  • 58,000 miles

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

I bought my brand new Honda Civic LX in 2001 and really took care of it. The interior looked great. I purchased a Honda because I assumed it would run way past 100,000 miles before it had any major issues. I had 58,000 miles. WRONG!!! In January 2009, it started jumping while driving and it turned out to be the transmission. I had to have it replaced. Thankfully, the car was paid off, but the cost of the work was over $2,000 and that was a huge chunk. The warranty for the replaced transmission was for six months so I decided to sell it and went out and bought a new Toyota Corolla S. I was amazed to find on this site that the 2001 Honda Civic has had major transmission issues. Sad, when durability is the main reason people buy Honda. I doubt I will buy another Civic.

- traditionalgal, Columbus, GA, US

problem #4

Jul 182008

Civic LX 1.7L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 126,987 miles

I HAD PURCHASED A USED 2001 HONDA CIVIC FROM A USED DEALERSHIP IN CORPUS CHRISTI. AFTER A COUPLE OF MONTHS I NOTICE THAT THE CAR WOULD SOMETIMES HAVE ACCELERATION PROBLEMS AND THE GEARS SEEM AS IF THEY WERE STICKING. A YEAR LATER THE CAR STARTED HAVENING PROBLEMS. I WOULD JERK WHEN IT WAS SWITCHING FROM FIRST TO SECOND GEAR. THE WHEN I WOULD GO UNDER AN OVER PASS TO MAKE A TURN IT WOULD JERK EVEN WORSE THAN TAKE A WHILE TO ACCELERATE AND TODAY ON MY WAY HOME IT MADE A MAJOR JERK AND THEN JUST DIDN'T WANT TO DRIVE I WOULD HAVE TO FORCE IT AND IT WOULD CAUSE THE CAR TO OVER HEAT. THE CAR WOULD NOT GO FASTER THAN 3MILES WITHOUT MAKING A LOUD VERY LOUD WEIRD NOISE...... IM NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT THAT IT IS THE TRANSMISSION BUT IT SEEMS LIKE IT.

- Megan L., Harlingen, TX, US

problem #3

Jul 052008

Civic EX 1.7L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 145,000 miles

My Tranny began to slip I took it to a tranny shop they said 2001 Civic tranny's are know for this your transmission is on it's way out and gave me a estimate for almost $2500 dollars I checked the blue book value on my car and it's only worth $4000 dollars. I might just trade it in at a Toyota dealer cause I,m never buying a HONDA again.

- Ezequiel Trujillo 1., Bellflower, CA, US

problem #2

Mar 212007

(reported on)

Civic HX

  • CVT transmission
  • 53,675 miles

So transmission number two worked for a while until those same symptoms returned once again. Still nobody had any answers, so at 53,675 my Honda went in for lucky transmission number three. Same sh*tty service. After this point I had spoken to all of the managers, and none of them acted like this was unusual.

- Molly L., Rhinelander, WI, US

problem #1

Mar 012006

(reported on)

Civic EX Coupe

  • 138,000 miles

I noticed at first the car will jerk when switching from Park to Drive but it didn't always occur only when cold, etc. When I took it in to get checked because I heard about the transmission problems they were having they said nothing was wrong with my car. Now the car jerks and pauses when accelerating. They recommended a transmision service and state it is pausible that I may need a new transmission. They said while they extended the warranty for 100K I have far exceeded the warranty extension. Hopefully, servicing the transmission and replacing the fluid will help my problem if not I have a decision to make about paying for a new one estimated at dealer between 3 - 4K or buying a new car.

- saskia, Tarzana, CA, US

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