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 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
83,681 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.
Check engine light came on at 110000 in 2005, at the dealership they said it was transmission and catalytic converter. The car drove fine until October 2008, same problem was diagnosed. It has 163000 now, it still drives but barely. If I stop, the car wouldn't pick up speed, just revs up. Mechanics say transmission failure is a common problem on 2001 Civics. Honda needs to issue a recall, there are hundreds of complaints here and other sites. I've had 2 Honda before and none of them had any problems. This is not a maintenance issue, but a manufacturing defect. Honda surely lost its quality and reliability.
Vehicle started slipping its transmission. Initially vehicle was not moving more than 20 mph even at 3000 RPM on expressway with 45 mph speed limit. Finally vehicle stopped on the road. It was not moving on drive or reverse mode. There was no difficulty to turn on or off engine. Vehicle has only 71100 miles. Transmission oil was flushed and refilled when 60K service was performed at dealership.
The contact owns a 2001 Honda Civic. While driving at any speed, the vehicle hesitates and the engine performs as if it will shut off. When the contact places the gear into neutral, the engine revs. When he places the gear back into drive, the vehicle will either continue to hesitate or drive normally. The failure occurs between 30-45 seconds and once every two to three months. A mechanic inspected the vehicle, but was unable to find any failures. The vehicle has not yet been repaired. The failure mileage was 38,000 and current mileage was 45,000. Updated 3/16/09 updated 03/19/09.
Check engine light on in '01 Civic LX with 66K miles. Error code P0740 (torque clutch converter). Honda recommended replacing the transmission. My opinion is that no modern car should have a transmission repair at 66K miles. After much research, my conclusion is that there is a problem with the transmission on most '01 Civics and Honda is doing nothing to rectify the situation.
On 3/21/07 my 2001 Honda Civic ex with 109K miles displayed on engine light reporting a P0740 torque converter failure. This was diagnosed by willet Honda in morrow, ga and two other independent shops. A transmission repair/replacement of $2400 was the recommendation. The car was running fine then and now, 35K miles and two yrs later, the car is still running fine with the engine light on. American Honda has offered no help. I cannot pass an emission test with the light on and I am very confident something else is wrong like a sensor. A research of this problem shows it is quite common among Civics and other may have paid for unnecessary transmission repairs.
The contact owns a 2001 Honda Civic. While driving between 5-10 mph on normal road conditions, there was unexpected gear failure. The driver was unable to move the shift lever out of gear. Immediately, the check engine warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel and remained lit until the engine was turned off. The vehicle was inoperable and manually pushed to a nearby authorized dealer for diagnostic testing and they stated that the transmission and gear ratio failed. The vehicle is currently inoperative and has not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 76,000.
The check engine light came on 2 days ago on my 2001 Honda Civic LX. My dealer said it is a transmission problem (needs torque converter) and will cost over $1700. I suspect that Honda has premature transmission failure on this model and do not think I should pay for this repair even though the warranty expired on this 4,000 miles ago. I currently have 84,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2001 Honda Civic LX. The vehicle was purchased in October 2003. The gears failed to shift normally. While driving at speeds of less than 15 mph, he depressed the accelerator and the vehicle hesitated as if it were stuck in neutral. An independent mechanic replaced the transmission to correct the failure. Less than a year later, he noticed in between 2nd and 3rd gear, the vehicle would not shift smoothly and would remain stuck in gear. An authorized Honda dealer replaced the transmission a second time. The failure mileage was 105,000 and the current was 116,941. Updated 2/23/09 updated 02/25/09.
Transmission suddenly blew while driving the car. The car would not accelerate past 20 mph. Almost rear-ended as a result. Pulled along side of road and called my mechanic (who gave it a once over the month before and said all looked ok) to come take a look at it. Confirmed the transmission was at fault. There was no previous indication (light, slippage) that there was anything wrong with the car.
The contact owns a 2001 Honda Civic. While driving 30 mph, the vehicle failed to move forward when the accelerator pedal was depressed. When the contact stopped the vehicle to make a left turn, the engine continued to run, but the vehicle would not accelerate. The vehicle was towed to a dealer and they stated that the transmission failed and needed to be repaired at the cost of $4,000. The failure was not covered under warranty; therefore, the contact would be responsible for the repair costs. There were no warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel prior to the failure; however, immediately after the failure, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The failure mileage was 72,000.
Transmission on 01 Honda Civic failed at 120000 mi. Because the dipstick on top of the transmission became loose and let water and dirt enter the trans. And contaminate the oil, causing failure of the automatic transmission. Honda service rep. Said the oil should be replaced at 120000 mi. The oil in this transmission was replaced at 115000 mi. ( we do have tickets to that fact) Honda says because I sold this car to my 17 year old grandson, they will not help at all with the repair. This is not right because the dipstick is a bad design.
One day my automatic transmission had some issues shifting gears and there was a noise coming from the front end when starting the car. After the car was warm, it didn't seem to be as big of an issue. This happened for a few days and one day driving home, it just died. I had it towed to a local transmission shop and before the mechanic took a look at it he mentioned the torque converters going bad in the 2001 Civics. Same in my case and oil leaked into the transmission. Only a few parts were able to be saved so he is rebuilding the rest for $2300. I filed a complaint with Honda but from what others have said it does no good. Something needs to be done. There are so many similar stories out there. Carcomplaints.com is loaded with them.
I have a 2001 Honda Civic LX with standard transmission. Over the past week, the transmission seemed to take a little longer to engage, especially in the mornings. Throughout the day, the transmission shifted into gears better, so I thought I had some time to get it serviced. Yesterday, the problem got significantly worse. It took several seconds for the for the transmission to shift gears. After about 20 minutes of driving, the transmission wouldn't shift at all. Fortunately, I was in a friend's apartment parking lot when this happened. After that, I was only able to drive the car in reverse. The gears would not engage in D, D2, and D3. I just called the Honda dealership that sold me this auto, and they told me that a 7-year, 100K extended warranty was issued for Honda 2001 Accord, but that this warranty does not apply to Honda Civics.
I own a 2001 Civic LX with approx 120K miles. Recently the transmission, over the course of one week, stopped functioning. I had the car towed to a mechanic and the transmission need to be replaced. Sounds like a very common problem on Civics. If you also have had a similar problem.
My 2001 Honda Civic was purchased new by my husband and I. we have not had mechanical issues with it until now. It has 106,000 miles on and just suddenly stopped running on the side of the road. The transmission is out. The cost of repair is approx. $2000, that's with a rebuild transmission. I have read multiply complaints about this same problem and wonder if it is a trend. Can anything be done by Honda to help with the cost of repair? the car is in the process of being repaired now. We have had it in the shop for two weeks. It has taken that long to come up with the money.
2001 Honda Civic; transmission issues that caused the car to loose power and stop. If this happened on the highway at 55mph my wife would have been in a dangerous situation. Honda knows about this issue and refuse to take responsibility.
With no warning at all and luckily after exiting interstate 10, my Honda Civics transmission started slipping out of gear, feeling like it was going into neutral, until it finally could not move. I coasted to the side of the road and called a tow truck to take me home. Prior to writing this complaint I did some research and came across multiple sites (including Honda) that states that these Honda Civics have known problems with their transmissions. This is obviously a manufacturer defect and a recall should be requested before someone dies unnecessarily. I am appalled that Honda (who is fully aware of this defect) does not initiate a recall to correct this obvious defect in these transmissions. Is there a certain number of people that have to die in order for them to do something" I think the NHTSA has an obligation to the people of the usa to force a recall since it's obvious a problem exists here! until now, I had a different impression of Honda...built to last" except for your transmission!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Apex, NC, USA