I HAD PURCHASED A USED 2001 HONDA CIVIC EX FROM STEVENS CREEK TOYOTA IN SAN JOSE. I NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR UNTIL THE END OF LAST YEAR IN DECEMBER 2008. THE CAR STARTED FEELING LIKE IT WOULD ACCELERATE AND THE PROBLEM JUST GOT WORSE. IT WOULD START TO JERK,WOULD NOT SWITCH FROM FIRST TO SECOND GEAR. THEN EVENTUALLY IT WOULD NOT GO OVER 10 MPH. I TOOK IT TO A SHOP WHO REPAIRED IT FOR A TOTAL COST OF $2007.35! I AM SHOCKED SINCE I'VE OWNED HONDA'S BEFORE AND HAD ONE PREVIOUSLY FOR 10 YEARS AND NEVER HAD A PROBLEM LIKE THIS. I ONLY DRIVE TO AND FROM WORK A TOTAL OF 13 MILES A DAY. WHEN I PURCHASE THE CAR IT HAD 67,000 MILES, NOW AFTER DRIVING ONLY APPROX. 13,000 MILES THE TRANSMISSION GOES OUT RIGHT WHEN THE 2 YEAR WARRANTY EXPIRED!

My wife has had this car since new and never had any complaints. Now reading about my problem on the web I find that we are not the only ones with this issue. My father has never taken his Ford Explorer and had the tranny fluids changed in over 200k miles and has no trouble. Honda's are supposed to be the better car. We have done everything by the book on this car and now every time it shifts from 2 to 3 it revs real high and slams into 3 until the tranny heats up.. all we can afford to do is drive it gently till she blows and hope for the best since i cant afford to fix a $2200 tranny now.

Add me to the list of failed transmission victims. I purchased the car new, it has 200,000 miles and has never seen the inside of a dealership. The car has however seen better than average service because I'm an ex Honda dealership technician with years and years of Honda training. I'm not going to try to get Honda help because I know that their "goodwill" is based on the fact that you've done regular services with a dealership (meaning they've made more money on you beyond the purchase of the vehicle) and can afford to give some of it back.

I'm going to install a re manufactured unit and hope it doesn't die again before I have to junk the car ..... :>(

Ok so check this out.....

I was on the I-440 belt line coming around, just past North Raleigh, NC, in a long line of traffic, about to get off at the next exit to look at apartments....when my car popped out of gear, and the RPM's went flying up, but I was going nowhere.

I have been driving this car since my sophomore year in college, so about 2.5 years. I went to college at Appalachian State University, so I had to drive up and down a mountain every time I wanted to come home. AND I live an hour away from my job now, so I have to drive it 2 hours a day at least. My car made it to almost 120,000 miles and then it just quit on me with no warning....in the middle of the INTERSTATE!!! Luckily my neighbor owns a car auto shop and said he'd put in a new tranny for $1100...the bad part about it is, I live about an hour from where my car broke down, and now gas is like $4/gallon, I had to pay out the wazoo to get it towed to the local honda dealership in my area!!! UGH, what a start to my week!!!

P0740 TCC code- causing tranny to jump and jerk. issue got worse with time. eventually transmission wouldn't engage to highest gear (4th), therefore i couldn't go over 60-65 mph. the car was redlining in high 3rd gear. I got a tranny flush and was told it would fix the problem and was the first step. if that failed and the code came back- then a new tranny/ rebuilt tranny would be required ($2300 min to play). i was surprised at 120k miles to find this issue. i ended up just getting a new car because it wasn't worth fixing or dumping $$ to fix.

My story is alarmingly close to those described elsewhere on this site for the Civic. I am the original owner of this car, it has had a perfect maintenance record entirely at authorized Honda dealerships, and I drive it responsibly (no high speeds, no off-roading, no carrying heavy loads, etc.) Yet on Friday, with no warning warning, my transmission starts slipping as I pull it out of my driveway. The car ran, but never left second and slipped repeatedly as I dragged to my dealer, who fortunately is nearby. The diagnosis: the transmission is toast. Honda has agreed to pay 25% of the repair, but I am currently negotiating for more.

My sister has it even worse. She drives a 1999 Civic EX that is on its fourth transmission in 85,000 miles. From her experience I knew that Hondas have transmission issues, but it still infuriated me when mine went. The sole reason I bought a Honda was to avoid excessive maintenance costs like this and for reliability. I planned to replace this car in a few years with another Honda, but there isn't a snowball's chance in hell I will do that now. My sister's model has proven so unreliable that Honda has extended the warranty on all similar transmissions to 109,000. They really need to do the same with the '01 Civic, which this website shows has a terrible record.

They clearly have a major problem and I am amazed that there has been no class-action lawsuit. If one happens, I'd love to know about it.

okay my original complaint was # 83. I finally got a hold of Honda America and they gave me "good will" since they said the warranty ran out at 100,000 miles. Cost me $1,500.00.

I know that does not sound like a lot to most people but I am disabled I knew my ability to function in life was getting limited and bought a Honda based on the fact they have a GREAT reputation for getting the most miles with the least repairs>>> HUH! They claimed that they knew the Honda Accord had transmission problems but they stated that the civic was not part of that problem.. I told them to research a little more online and they will find a great deal of people who will beg to differ with them and they are liable to have a class action law suit filed which I was polling emails off here to get one together... I am still contemplating whether that is a course of action to take or not. If enough people email me about this since the complaints have doubled since I was last on here.. I certainly will look into it in depth.I am a disabled paralegal not a lawyer but I know if you have enough people with the same complaint that a class action suit will not right the wrong but it will make them accountable for what they have done and it will hurt them financially..

When servicing they also found I also had a crack manifold due to some defect in manufacturing. they supplied the parts but I had to shell out for labor.. seems they put another sh*tty transmission in it cause guess what!

They replaced the transmission and manifold for labor only! but only a couple thousand miles after that it has slipped already!

I am keeping track of when the slippage is occurring. it is becoming more frequent at 6,000 miles into the warranty of 12 months / 12,000 miles. I will certainly have it back in there and if they tell me they are going to charge me any money to replace another transmission, this baby is going to the damn auction.

My friend will unload this nightmare for me and I will have no regrets anymore I will take the money that I wasted in this Honda and buy some car that has no track record or complaints and hope my luck runs better thanks to this website... I will never buy another car NEW off the lot again after this mess. and I will research my new found used vehicle from people who have come to complain online.. so that my next purchase being a used vehicle will not have been found to have a nightmare of a history behind it. I can not believe that Honda has dropped the ball on this mess..as it is I owe my mother for the repair and have a car that is bound to leave me sit again in little to no time...

Oh Gods!!! I'm not sure to complain about my civic and the local Honda dealership in San Jose CA. i bought this car back in the year 2001 and driving first couple month i had couple issues with the transmission making noise and the engine stop(neutral) while driving on the freeway. I took it back to the dealership and they said there is no problem found. This happen to me alot of time especially on freeway driving to work. AND THEY SAID, THERE IS NO PROBLEM FOUND.

Today, i just brought the car to the repair shop try to tune up the car, changing the oil and the transmissions fuel. On the way back to work place, suddenly the car quickly not accelerate and it felt like my car was in neutral. i had to stop on the side of the freeway and called the towing truck...:( THIS WAS THE SAME ISSUES WHEN I JUST GOT THE CIVIC IN 2001. and now i don't know what to do with it. Please help....i was really disappointed with the car and especially the Honda Dealership in my area.

SHOULD I BUY ANOTHER HONDA? HELL NO!

I was driving to work today,then suddenly and luckily when i exited off the freeway, it felt like my car was in neutral, i got really scared because my work is about 3 miles drive from when i exit the freeway. So i press on the gas, my car moves slow, it was the same scenario til i got to work, thank god, and it took about 20 mins. When igot to work i called my mechanic and had him come to my work, which was cool,cause how many mechanics do you know who comes to you in time of need. Anyway, his diagnosis was tranny problem, his estimate was $1600 for rebuilding the problem. He advised also to bring up the problem to the dealership, haven't yet but reading these complaints,and knowing i'm not alone,i will definitely do so. I had so much confidence with Hondas ,but now mmmmmm?????? idont know.

I've been wanting to rant about this problem of mine for a few months now. Here is the whole story -

I bought my 2001 Honda civic, auto 4dr from a private party. He always maintained it at the dealership that he bought it from - he provided me proof. And I loved the car, its a beautiful machine.

5 months later, i was driving on the freeway when my car started to "glide" while my engine revved up as if it was on neutral and i almost got killed because the truck behind me couldn't slow down fast enough. I took it to the Honda dealership and they told me that the transmission is gone and that it'll cost me $4000. I called Honda and fought for a month. They offered to pay 25%. That brings it to $3000. Yechh. I tried to trade it in for a new car but the dealerships asked me to donate it to charity. I can't do that because its under a loan.

I bought a Honda for peace of mind. Now my mind is in pieces. We SHOULD do something.... and soon!

Well, well, well...I never thought I'd be the one writing on this board. I've been aware of this site for some time. As i watched the same posts multiply and noticed a pattern emerging I became very concerned about my transmission. It's always felt kind of "slippy" to me but as the Honda techs said to me verbatim "it slips like all good Hondas do". It seemed like a reasonable explanation to me especially since the '04 CR-V in our family feels similar. I considered getting rid of the car but somehow convinced myself that it wouldn't happen. Why? Perhaps because I maintain this car as if it were a classic and the last Civic on Earth. I take it to the dealership for everything, they greet me with big bright eyes every time. We're on a first name basis, as I mentioned in a different complaint post, they really helped me out during my last scheduled visit during which i replaced the timing belt per the maintenance schedule, flushed my trans, and much more. It included a full inspection and not only did they tell me the car was in fantastic shape but I specifically asked how the trans looked since I've been so concerned about it as of late.

So, what we have established is that the car, A MODERN HONDA CIVIC, that was bought brand new and financed at the same dealership i get ALL of my work done, on time, and under the "severe" maintenance intervals, has just failed me as if I have done nothing but intentionally abuse the car. Is this Irony? A Honda that eats maintenance dollars all day long then breaks out of nowhere at 100k? If I wanted that, I would have bought a 330i BMW that comes with FREE MAINTENANCE and at least I'd be driving a real car whose designers were considerate enough to add a damn arm-rest. Simply put, Honda built itself a reputation, won over millions, initial quality allowed all these cars to rank well with the press, and ignorant consumers like us ATE IT UP. I don't want to call anyone ignorant here but we were sold an "idea" and not a CAR. We relied on Honda's reputation, on collected accolades, testimonials, I mean everyone knows a Honda is the car to buy if you don't like throwing money away. I hear the same about new Toyotas, they are just not what they used to be.

Hyundai = The New Honda

I may be overreacting, considering I haven't had the car officially checked out but the car is showing signs and I don't think it's just because it's cold. Everyone says it happens out of nowhere and also has a higher chance of happening in cold weather, so that's whats happening now. When I took the car out of park the other day, i gave it the usual second to actual find it's drive position ( as opposed to depressing the throttle immediately which always felt very violent) but when i pressed on the throttle it had felt like my hand break was still up ( another good maintenance point by the way which I will elaborate on) so as I checked it, I depressed the throttle a bit more and BAM! it slammed into gear....it did not feel good. I drove it slow, easing into the gears, each shift feeling very forced and violent. I drove around for a bit to warm it up and it improved but you could tell there was still hesitation. So, my car has not blown up - yet. I think If i I give it a longer than usual warm up period then ease it to the dealer I will be fine. Right now it's idle in a garage.

About the handbrake - a tow truck driver taught me once a long time ago to always put the handbrake up before you put it in park, especially if you're on a hill. Not because it's a preventative method of keeping your car from rolling away but rather because it disables the car from "resting" on the transmission. For anyone that's ever parked on a hill, small or large, if the handbrake was not put up before the car was put into park, upon taking it out of park it SLAMS into gear. So I thought that I had always been gentle to my car's precious little transmission by being aware and making efforts to keep it in good order. That's the worst part about this...

I have every maintenance receipt from day one, even things like auto cleaners and bulbs, car wash receipts. It's all organized and chronological and complete. The maintenance records ad up to an astronomical amount and almost all of it was preventative procedures. I will have the dealer diagnose it and if it's the "problem" (the dealer, of course, claims that he's only seen one or two Civics in for it) then I will be contacting Honda NA and presenting them with my case regarding my belief that they should cover this as a good faith repair. No car, a Hyundai or a Fiat or a Ford, should breakdown like this whilst being taken care of so well. And as a reputable car company that pretty much solely relies on it's reputation as a builder of RELIABLE, trouble free transportation, I feel it would benefit Honda's image to step up to the plate and recognize a loyal customer who got stuck with a faulty product. Is it possible that Honda is willing to accept losing loyal customers over this?? We've had 5 Hondas over the years, still have 3! If this is not rectified there is NO WAY I'd get another Honda.

At the VERY LEAST, Honda should have acknowledged this problem and sent out a service bulletin! Some sources say the culprit is a sh*tty two sent o-ring. I wouldn't be surprised...whatever it is though, Honda knew about it. Too bad for us their algorithm for figuring out the importance of a recall or a retrofit wasn't in our favor. I guess they're just going to wait until some poor person will get trapped in a motionless car in the middle of the highway to even mention it. Just look at the complaints, it's ranked as the 5th worst car. Wow

Honda, good news may travel fast but bad news will get there first. People committed to your company and protected their investment, they expected a return.