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.

9.3

really awful
Typical Repair Cost:
$2,320
Average Mileage:
104,800 miles
Total Complaints:
682 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. replaced transmission (261 reports)
  2. rebuilt whole transmission (154 reports)
  3. not sure (142 reports)
  4. get Honda to cover the cost (54 reports)
  5. buy a different car...can't afford the repair (24 reports)
  6. break down the transmission and fix (15 reports)
2001 Honda Civic transmission problems

transmission problem

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2001 Honda Civic Owner Comments (Page 6 of 35)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #582

Jul 182011

Civic

  • Automatic transmission
  • 92,000 miles

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

My story sounds a lot like the other ones I've been reading on this site. Out of the blue, with no advanced warning, the transmission failed on my way home. Fortunately, I was not on a busy road and very close to home. Called AAA & my car was towed to the nearest Honda dealership. I was shocked that this happened since I had always heard that hondas lasted much longer than this (My Civic is a 2001, but only has @90,000 miles).I was quoted a price of $3200 to replace the transmission. I called the Honda hotline to request assistance through their Goodwill program. A customer service representative took my information & said someone would get back to me. I received a call back the next morning, but I was at work when the call came in. For the next 2 days I made repeated calls back (left over a dozen messages) and no one returned my calls. Finally, I called the customer service number & was told I need to speak to the case worker assigned, but she was not available at this time, but I could leave her a message. This is when I lost it & eventually started crying. Amazingly, the representative suddenly became available. She was very rude to me & told me that she had reviewed my case & there was nothing they could do, since my car was no longer under warranty. I replied, very politely, "I know it's not under warranty. If it were still under warranty, I wouldn't need your Goodwill program, would I?" She just kept repeating the same thing to me & she was very rude. I have a call into her supervisor, to report her behavior. Doubt if it will do any good, but I will feel better. Very frustrated with Honda right now.

- Sue W., Emmaus, PA, US

problem #581

Jul 082011

Civic LX

  • Automatic transmission
  • 111,555 miles

I had done all maintenance on this 2001 Honda Civic(111k) as per schedule and all of a sudden the reverse didn't work.I took it to a Honda dealer and they said it's internal transmission failure and estimated $3500 to replace it. Are you kidding me...Some other repair shops are asking from $ 2100-2500. I called Honda costumer service and they said it's an old car.So I have decided to sell it as I have another one.Really bad from Honda.They should have some recall for these transmission problems.

No more Honda for life time.

- aachary, EAST HARTFORD, CT, US

problem #580

Oct 022011

Civic 1.7L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 160,000 miles

So, I'm not feeling alone that this happened to my lil Civic! I'm glad mine made it to 160,000, it seems most on this sight it happened way b4. I'm just deciding what to do, if I should spend $2500, or just scrap the car. So if anyone had the tranny fixed and has been driving it awhile, please let me know if you experienced any more problems with it. I know it's been hard to find one in the junk yard and now I know why!!!! I'm not too upset because I paid $7500 for the car 5 yrs ago and I've had nothing wrong except this. I know this is a major repair, but I hope it's not wishful thinking that if I fix it nothing else will go wrong. Please email me your feedback!!!

- kford, South Bend, IN, US

problem #579

Oct 092011

Civic LX 1.7L L4

  • Automatic transmission
  • 82,000 miles

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

I was driving back from a friend's house and my car just stopped moving, well transmission stopped. Getting it towed over 30 miles was terrible. Especially on my birthday weekend. I have no car and no rides. Work is close to impossible and school is becoming very hard just because i cannot find any rides. I need to get the car fixed since i have put so much into it. It will be costly and i hope that others do not have to suffer with Honda's mistake in the 2001 Honda civic.

- Hanna P., Traverse City, MI, US

problem #578

Oct 032011

Civic LX 1.7L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 96,504 miles

On the way to school while driving on the freeway my Civic decided that it didn't want to continue working anymore. There was traffic luckily (never thought I would say that), so when the transmission failed I tried my best to pull over to the side. I had to get it towed. When starting it, it'll rev extremely high and unable to go into any forward gear. I'm a college student with the odd notion that somehow Honda built reliable cars and would stand by them in order to protect that idea. I see now that "Honda quality" is just a joke.

- Ethan E., Houston, TX, US

problem #577

Oct 032011

Civic LX

  • Automatic transmission
  • 98,101 miles

My 2001 Honda Civic, was purchase for my son, a senior in HS on 23 Jun 11. I drove the car, both, on the interstate and in the city before I purchased the vehicle. There were no noticeable fallacies noted during my test drive so I brought the vehicle. About one month and a half after I purchased the vehicle, my son was driving home without any warning; the car wouldn’t shift to the higher gears and lost all forward power. I took the vehicle AAMCO and AAMCO recommend the following repairs: New Torque Converter, Front Mount, Banner Kit, Filter and a new transmission. $2,580.65 later, two weeks after the repairs were completed, my son experienced yet another “Total” Transmission failure again. Luckily AAMCO, stands by their product so I only had to pay an additional $200.00 dollars for a regulator. The repairs were the exact same problem, over 200,000 customers were experiencing with the 2001 Honda Civic. Honda is and has been aware of this problem but never recalled this vehicle. I will NEVER purchase a Honda again, and I will tell all that I come in contact with as well.

- Kenneth D., Newport News, VA, US

problem #576

Jul 202011

Civic LX D17a1

  • Automatic transmission
  • 111,847 miles

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

Second-Third Clutch Pack wore, slipped for years. Started car one day and it wouldn't move at all. Put in neutral and brought temperature up, shut off, restarted car, put in gear, moved like a charm. Shut car off (hot), restarted, wouldn't move.

Replaced trans with 100,000 km salvaged transmission. Cost - $650 + Labour

Drove car for a week and noticed familiar problems.

Put 15000 km on trans since. Getting worse every day.

K20A2 fits nicely with an A/M passenger side mount, RSX rad, clutch master/slave (and lines), cv's, shifter cables, and shifter box installed..

Honda laughed and hung up when I called their 1-800 complaint line. Local dealer showed no sympathy and said a REMANUFACTURED trans from honda is 2500, or 5000 if you choose to keep your old one. If they want 2500 for a core charge, they obviously are in desperate need for these transmission cases since they are trying to supply 1.5 million (stat from 2004) users with remanufactured garbage.

If 750 complaints are actually filled out on this website, by people that take the time to complain, how many people do you think actually have had this issue by 2011? I recently read on a site that by 2004 there were 1.5 mil complaints about the 2001 alone..

Subaru here I come.. Thanks Honda for letting me down. What changed between now and the mid 90's? Stop caring? Can't afford to make a good product? Look at your ATV lineup for example. You stopped making the sportrax lineup in 09 and I'm only hearing now rumors of a release in 2013.. Maybe you should discontinue your vehicle line and your quad line, keep making O/B engines, lawn mowers, you know.. things that the chinese can make in smaller sweatshops that you'll soon be downgrading to.

Love,

Derek

- Derek T., Saskatoon, SK - Saskatchewan, canada

problem #575

Dec 042010

Civic DX OR LX

  • Automatic transmission
  • 91,000 miles

Had just had significant amount of repairs/work done to this car in the summer of 2010 to get it up to snuff and running well. Timing belt, new tires, and more. Then the transmission went up in December 2010....That's what the consensus seems to be. Had it "looked" at, but not diagnosed and in a shop. Several mechanic friends stopped by and said it was the transmission. When you start the engine it revs up. When you put the car in gear you can move it. Finally getting it towed to dealer and then Honda will decide if they will compensate partial because there seems to be a highly uncommon amount of transmission problems/failure with Honda models made from 1999-2004. We'll see....but the transmission to go out in a Honda with just over 90,000??

- Teresa S., Owings Mills, MD, US

problem #574

Jun 152011

Civic EX

  • Automatic transmission
  • 70,000 miles

Too bad Honda won't help with this very expensive repair. They will lose a fan with a very loud mouth.NOBODY WITHIN A 5 HUNDRED MILE RADIUS OF ME WILL BE BUYING HONDAS.

- Marnie W., Lynchburg, VA, US

problem #573

Aug 142011

Civic LX I.7L 4 cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 153,000 miles

FIXING THE TRANSMISSION, THE FIX IS MORE THAN THE CAR IS WORTH.

- Bianca O., Washington, DC, US

problem #572

Aug 262011

Civic DX

  • Automatic transmission
  • 133,663 miles

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

My transmission originally went out in 1996, five years after I purchased my Honda. The gas tank had been cracked, so I'm still not sure why the transmission, but I was one month away from being out of warranty so I went with what the dealership told me needed to be done.

Fast forward five years later. I'm at a gas station, getting gas. I finish, get back into the car, turn it on, put it in gear and pull out. The check engine light comes on. As I have had an issue in the past with the gas tank cap not creating an air-tight seal, I thought this was the case once again. I took it into the dealership to get it inspected as well as another issue (the door sensor broke, so the warning chime for when I would forget to remove the keys or turn the keys off was no longer chiming). They told me about the torque converter problem, gave me an estimate of $4,000, making the transmission cost even more than my car is currently worth!

I'm taking the car to my local mechanic, who has quoted me $2,500. It has yet to be fixed or inspected. After finding out that this is a known issue, an issue that Honda has known about for six years and have NEVER done anything to compensate their customers or recall the vehicle, I am beyond angry. This is uncalled for. While this was my first Honda, this was the first vehicle I personally bought. This has been only my second car since graduating from high school, 18 years ago. My first car was a previously wrecked fleet car that was a wonderful car for 8 years. The only reason I got rid of it is because the car door couldn't be locked. Well, guess what!. When Honda fixed my door sensor, they broke my freaking door lock! I can only lock it now by locking it with the key. I loved the service I previously got from Honda, but TWO transmissions and a busted door lock has pushed me over the edge. I will buy a car from Chevrolet before I buy another Honda.

- Melissa S., Forney, TX, US

problem #571

Aug 252011

Civic EX 1.7L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 172,000 miles

I bought my Honda from Auburn Honda in Northern CA back in 2004 as a used car that had 61,500m on it. It lasted me a good while without any problems off the lot - I don't race my car around, I have taken it on some dirt roads and may have hit a couple pot holes. But I don't run it hard other than driving it a lot as of late. Prior to the transmission going I had just recently done all of the belts and had the head resurfaced and valves checked and replaced the head gaskets and all the others that come in the kit. The water pump and tensioner were also replaced.

Then a week before my transmission went I saw that my radiator had a crack in it and was shooting coolant through it, I shaved it and jb welded it overnight and didn't drive it for a couple days. I don't really think that had anything big to do with it but probably didn't help. But I had noticed a gradual fade in power over the course of 6 months in my car... The TCC Circuit malfunction light had been coming on and off - and after asking my friend who works for a trans shop let me know that it was probably going to go out.

Well last Thursday - it sure did go.. just quit putting out torque.. the converter went.. in El Dorado Hills.... Was sure fun getting towed home!

Luckily I have a great friend who works on a ton of Honda's who helped me out immediately - found a rebuild trans and new torque converter from Attarco in Sac! Great place to go if your in the area! $1131.00 out the door (not counting the $100core). Also bought a new radiator and hoses - new gaskets all around for thermostat housing and EGR Valve. Still have to get two gaskets for the Transmission from Honda - then putting it all back together tomorrow.

I'll keep you posted on how everything goes, the trans comes with a year / unlimited miles warranty; I'm glad someone stands by their work. Thanks for half assing this one Honda.

- Ron G., Marysville, CA, US

problem #570

Aug 142011

Civic ES 3.2L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 160,000 miles

I thought Honda made a car that if you took care of it and kept it maintained it would last a good long time. I noticed that honda had an problem with the transmissions with the 2001 models. just want help to get this fixed.

- kevinwoodall, Angier, NC, US

problem #569

Aug 152011

Civic DX 1.7L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 128,158 miles

Of course it would fail on a remote road 45 km past the last gas station and far past cell phone coverage. I had been thinking I had been clever buying such a reliable car. I didn't know about the ticking time bomb that was disguised as an automatic transmission.

- Ed H., Victoria, BC, canada

problem #568

Jan 262011

Civic LX 4 cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 136,100 miles

We are the owners of a 2001 Honda Civic LX and we had torque converter failure diagnosed on January 26, 2011. It took just over 7 days to have this transmission problem fixed and the car back in our possession. I have just recently filed a complaint with the State's Attorney General's office in Michigan. It was a financial hardship for us to have to replace this transmission and we were totally blind-sided by its failure. We, like so many others on this site, have taken good care of our car, with routine maintenance performed, timely oil changes and we truly believed in Honda quality. We contacted the Honda Corporation to let them know what happened and we really got little sympathy from them and no offer of any assistance financially for the repair. We now look at the Honda Corporation as extremely untrustworthy, shady and as long as they can get away with something, they will.

- bydentyme, Jenison, MI, US

problem #567

Jul 112011

Civic LX 1.4L 4 cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 85,000 miles

I have a 01 Honda Civic LX with 85,000 miles and needs a new (rebuilt) transmission. I'm actually dropping off the vehicle today at Aamco Transmission. They quoted me $1800. I just spoke to Honda and requested Goodwill Assistance and they told me the vehicle did not fall within the parameters being 10 years old. I told them I have had 6 or 7 Toyotas in a row and this was my first and probably last Honda. I asked them to pass along my case with that comment and contact me if they want to retain my business.

- duffyb, Buffalo, NY, US

problem #566

May 202011

Civic EX

  • Automatic transmission
  • 119,000 miles

Have A 2001 honda civic, The transmission failed at about 119,000. After researching on internet, it's become obvious to me how common of a problem this is. I have bought two used accords. This is my second brand new honda vehicle. It's a shame the transmission did not go out before I bought the second one. I definatly would have shopped around at other makes seeing that honda is not standing behind their faulty transmissions. My total cost of repair is $2000.00. Shame on you Honda. If I have anything to say about this you will lose generations and generations of honda buyer's

- buffaloburr, Erie, PA, US

problem #565

May 242011

Civic EX 4 cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 107,000 miles

I have a 2001 Civic EX which has given me no trouble for all the years I have had it. The only repairs I have had to have were the timing belt replaced and the brakes which is to be expected. ALL OF A SUDDEN, in the middle of a very dangerous road during morning commute, the transmission just died. (I have brought the car, faithfully, to the dealer every 5,000 miles for service ever since I bought it new.)

I learned that since this is a model and year car which has had many transmission problems that in many cases Honda will reimburse the customer for from 50 - 75% of the cost of replacing the transmission. I talked with Honda national headquarters customer assistance for about an hour and they wouldn't budge. They wouldn't even HEAR what I was saying. I kept repeating that many customers with cars that are out of warranty had been partially reimbursed for transmission replacement on this model, but they just kept repeating, like a parrot, "sorry, the car is out of warranty." FINALLY I got a supervisor who agreed that they MIGHT consider a partial warranty IF I brought it to a Honda dealer and IF the dealer agreed that it was, in fact, the transmission. Well, that had already been established by the independent mechanic I had had the car towed to. The catch is this. The dealer quoted me such a high price for the transmission replacement, that even if they did reimburse me 50% (which they would NOT guarantee), I would still be paying the same amount as the independent mechanic.

You can't win with car companies. I have owned about 11 cars in my life, and have NEVER gotten a satisfactory, or even respectful response from any different make car companies. Anyway...that is my story.

- kazunas, Swampscott, MA, US

problem #564

May 202011

Civic 1.7L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 97,000 miles

2001 Civic... Bought from a friend for 500 dollars with a bad engine due to an overheat which i believe was caused by a faulty thermostat. I guess that would be a nother complaint for this site. Anyway. I replaced the engine and all was good. I noticed a whining sound coming from the trans when the car was cold. A few weeks later (yesterday) the trans completely failed. I haven't fixed it yet but Honda wants 2500 for a rebuilt trans, aamco wants 1700 to fix the problem and the junk yard wants 900 for a used trans. I think i am going to get a 2004 trans as they seem to be the most reliable for the 7th gen and put it in my car.

- gratrthnjake, Columbus, OH, US

problem #563

May 092011

Civic EX

  • Automatic transmission
  • 146,000 miles

I've always felt that Hondas were reliable cars, but when my transmission suddenly failed while driving my 6 month old to daycare leaving us in harm's way...well, my view is drastically different. I contacted American Honda on two different occassions, spoke with a manager the second time in addition to the representative who answered the phone. They flat out refuse to do anything since it is no longer under warranty. I understand that they wouldn't just repair every car that had an issue, but with the transmission on the 2001 Civic being such an issue for what seems like a ton of people, you would think they would look into things further or offer at least a few bucks to help with my $3,500 repair bill! I used to say that I would only ever buy Hondas. Not anymore.

- flubbly, Owings Mills, MD, US

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