Always thought Honda was supposed to be a great car. I just figured something may be wrong, didn't mention it. Had something else fixed and my mechanic asked if I'd been having any transmission problems. He had taken car for drive and noticed the same thing I had in the past. Not sure if I should try to save up for a new one or just save for a new car (haha in hopes the transmission doesn't go). After searching 2002 honda civic transmission I was floored to see how many complaints there are. Way to go Honda!!

So, out of the blue one day I'm driving on the highway and the car just suddenly slows down. I'm like freaking out because their are several cars behind me and I was almost in an accident. The car behind me almost crashed right into the back of me. I had no warnings, no light flashing to say there's something wrong with the car or anything.. so car drops down to 15 miles per hour and it starts to rev when it goes to 20 miles per hour..So not knowing what to do.. I brought my car into the Honda dealership and they told me I had to replace the whole transmission and it would cost $3,200. I never had any problems with the vehicle until this.. the funny thing is when I brought the car to the service place, the light finally came on and went off... so they told me i have to replace my sensor as well because it doesn't work. I am so frustrated and I don't know why Honda Civic wont do a recall on the transmission because I was almost injured. I researched online and found plenty of sites that complains about the transmission failure. I'm just glad I wasn't hurt! If there is any petition i could sign or this let me know. because this came to me at no warning!!

We have always owned Honda and this is the first one we have ever had problems with. So one day I get back home from school, everything seemed normal , although the day before I did notice an abnormal sound between shifts. I get back in the car 2 days later and start the car and try to shift, the car did not move. I did some research and found out this is common among 2002 civics. I called honda and they told me they knew nothing of the problem.. strange. I am waiting on some to file a law suite against them, I would be more than happy to sign that petition.

Adding to complaint list for the 2002 Honda Civic transmission. Transmission gave out in the middle of a busy road on a hill. My car stopped and started rolling backwards before I realized what was going on and could hit the breaks and throw it in park.

I called the Honda and they appear to be willing to reimburse some cost if the car is fixed at a Honda dealership and they can verify all maintenace records. They won't divulge how much until the car is towed and diagnosed, so those expenses plus higher fees at a dealership may offset any savings.

I will not buy a Honda again unless they're very willing to help compensate me as this is clearly a wide spread problem.

I have owned two Civics. The first was a 2001 and at around 120,000 miles I had to have the transmission rebuilt. About a year later I totaled that car. I bought another Civic which was a 2002 with about 123,000 miles on it a WEEK ago and the transmission started going out on my way back home from Atlanta. I am fed up with Honda!!! That makes two civics for me in addition to hundreds and hundreds of other complaints I've read. Honda obviously made a defective model and they need to do something about it!!!!!!!!

I am the only owner of this car, and I religiously maintain this car at my local shop with oil changes both motor and transmission, fuel injections, filters, water pump, motor seal, timing belts, fluids and everything that might be needed. It all started with a non working odometer and a check engine light. I immediately took it to my mechanic to get it fixed. The mechanic said that normally this is fixed by getting a diagnosis from a computer and replacing the part. After the computer gave the code " Vehicle Speed Sensor" P00021, I had my mechanic purchase the speed sensor. When the new speed sensor was installed happens to be that the transmission rejected the new speed sensor. Thinking we had purchased the wrong speed senor, we bought another OEM part matching the VIN number and again it rejected as soon as the car was place in Drive. I had it done with another mechanic, and again the same thing. Mind you, I kept spending $120 per sensor plus the labor cost which totaled about $500. Both mechanics just concluded i had a problem with my transmission. The weird thing is that my transmission was still running. But little that I know it was the beginning stages of a bad transmission, just like the 2,773+ complains here. At this point is either i get a new transmission or i rebuild it, but either one equates to 3/4 of the value of my car. I used to brag about how reliable my car was and now i dont want anyone to buy these junks beacuse they are purposely made to last you a while. I am switching to Toyota.

I love Hondas....But.....driving home in the middle of rush hour traffic...Engine sounds fine etc...but I give the car gas, car will not move...it stopped right in the middle of the road...engine sounds fine but car won't move. I get pushed around the corner to stop blocking traffic. Turn off the car and wait for son to come get me. I bit later. I turn on car and it won't turn on. I wait a while, turn on car and it starts and car moves. I get out on street again to drive home and car wont' move. Engine sounds fine..but car won't move. Again I have to get pushed around the corner and park and leave it this time. People tell me, maybe it is transmission...never had a problem before! Have it towed to Transmission shop. They do diagnostic say it needs a new transmission. Cost will be $2500plus tax....I am a senior citizen on fixed income. And do not know what to do...Is car even worth that much at this time but I cannot afford a new car. I had had the transmission serviced just 2 years back...Why now. They put new transmission in. Then drive around the block...and something is wrong. They now say computer problems. It will be fixed in a week. Now they call me and say it will be another $900.00 plus tax for computer. Now the bill is almost $4,000. is car worth that much. I don't know I have to pick it up Friday, Jan 27th. I have to sign a paper for a payment plan plus put $1,000 up front to get the car. My son will help me with the $1,000. but how will I make the payments...What do I do?????

Transmission went completely out as I got to work. It started to rev high than engaged in gear. Come to find out there were massive tranny problems in the 01 and 02 year civics. I was able to locate a tranny out of a 04 civic and after doing research the 04 had hardly any complaints. I had my choice of a 02 or the aforementioned 04. They gave me a 10% discount on the 04 because it had been there the longest (80 days). This tranny only had 79,400 miles on it. My tranny gave out at 77,500 miles. Tranny cost (after 10% dis)=$945 and to have it installed=$515. In total the used tranny and installation cost me a total of $1,460. I've put 1,000 miles on it so far and it runs and shifts like I just bought it from the showroom. This is the 1st problem of any kind on this vehicle since we bought it new back in Feb. 02. Most Honda dealerships want anywhere from 2k to 3k to replace with a new tranny with a 3 yr warranty. My used tranny came with a 1 yr warranty. My suggestion to anyone who has or is about to go thru this is to call around to some auto salvage yards and see if they have any trannys from either 04 or 05 civics. These 2 years on this generation have had the fewest problems and with the 01 and 02 years being junk they've had problems on the 03 but not as bad as the previous 2 years. They will ask you if your car was made in Japan or in the US/Canada. Mine was made in Canada and lucky for me the trannys they had were of the US/Canada models..This won't deter me from buying a Honda in the future. My other vehicle is a 07 CRV and it has been a dream...By going this route you'll save a chunk of change and have a car that will last you for a while longer....

This is my 16 year old daughter's car, given to her by her mother, as a "reliable, foreign-built car that will last her through college". The car was purchased new, with all service done on a regular basis.

She called to say that the car was "running like a race car" but would not go more than 20 miles per hour, so I left work to rescue her and her buddy, who were both intent on holiday shopping.

I did a brief visual inspection and hopped in to get the vehicle home, while she followed me in my reliable, F150. I noticed that the car drove fine, except when changing from gear 2 to 3, when the RPM gauge rose an extra 1000 RPM before shifting gears, so I started to reduce the accelerator pressure from that point on as the car shifted.The problem got progressively worse over the next 15 minutes as I stopped at various stop lights until it barely drove when I parked it in her driveway.

My dilema is this, after calling America Honda Motor Co 800-999-1009, they informed me that I would have to take it to a dealer for inspection and based on the many complaints I have read on this website, consumers have had various responses for out-of-warranty complaints. I am taking the car to a transmission shop which I have confidence in, as he is quoting me $1000 for repairs instead of $3000 from the dealer. I have also made a complaint to www.nhtsa.dot.gov, which I advise everyone to do.

Refer to TSB #10162004, NHTSA #10014470 dated 10/16/2004 and TSB 010402, NHTSA #636755 dated 04/01/2002 for similar issues.

This is my second Honda, and both have had transmission failure. First was a '94 accord, transmission died around 120k miles. Both cars were purchased from the original owner who I knew well, and had all records. Oil changes regularly.

Obviously I have lost all faith that a Honda stands for quality. I specifically bought a Civic because I thought they would last for years. I have owned Infiniti and Volvo, and may go back to Volvo, or, dare I say, buy an American car: a FORD

Update from Dec 15, 2011: I was quoted a repair of $3,615 from the dealership. I faxed American Honda records of the transmission fluid replacement at 58,000 miles. Honda offered to discount the cost of the repair to $2,500 plus tax. I decided to go this route since it is a re-manufactured transmission with all new parts (only the shell is old) and comes with a 3 year 36,000 mile warranty, vs 1 year 10,000 mile warranty at Aamco. Aamco would have cost roughly $2,500 anyways.

I have mixed feelings about the result of my claim. I feel like Honda should have paid for half the repair, but at least I got something.

Will I purchase a Honda again? Maybe....but only with a warranty.

My story is the same as the other complaints listed. I am the second owner of this car, well maintained only 122,000 miles. Started as the transmission slipping when driving between gears. I pushed the gas but the car didn't go, very dangerous. No way of detecting when your transmission is going to give on you. This is wrong of Honda to not fix a problem with all the vehicle. This is my third Honda I have owned and if Honda would like to keep my business, they need to right their wrong. Please inform me of any class action lawsuit.

* if so many people are having this same issue, which there is. Honda should be responsible business people stand by there so called reliability and have a recall on the failure of the tranny.*

I never thought my HONDA CIVIC 2002 LX transmission would die at only 68,000 miles. My wife was driving it with our 2 kids and it just stopped in the middle of a very busy intersection. It was a very horrifying and life or death situation. Fortunately another motorist was helpful enough to help push the car to the side.

Honda said it was out of warranty and after giving them the "Loyal Honda Customer" routine (having another Honda with a similar problem- another story), they agreed to shoulder the labor and I ended paying $$$ 2,500 for a rebuilt transmission! What a car company!!!! I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER HONDA EVER AGAIN!!! I'd rather buy a Kia or a Hyundai with 100,000 mile trans warranty!

Everyone said "get a Honda Civic"! I bought my 2002 Honda Civic LX "new"! The first thing that went was the ceiling liner! Then the SRS light came on (my VIN# not part of the recall)! Then a new catalytic converter followed by having to replace the transmission 6 months later with less than 100,000 miles! Let me share here also that you can expect frequent brake work! Word is out that Honda has known about the transmission failure problem for many years! Why hasn't the "transmission failure problem" been subject to recall???

MY NEXT NEW VEHICLE WILL NOT BE A HONDA! MOVE OVER HONDA! I AM LOOKING TO PURCHASE A TOYOTA!!!