The 2014 Honda Civic was the first of the ninth generation, so it had a few first-year bugs to work out, but not as many as you’d think. The biggest problem you’re likely to have simply comes down to the 2014 model’s age.
Key Points
- The 2014 Honda Civic was the first non-hybrid Civic to come equipped with CVT instead of a conventional automatic transmission.
- A number of drivers have reported vibrating and rattling at highway speeds, likely owing to the ECON button.
- The car was recalled a year in for a transmission software issue which could potentially damage the CVT pulley system.
- While the 2014 Civic is not without issue, the biggest problem facing the transmission is typically going to be poor maintenance on the previous owner’s part.
- Transmission problems are, overall, fairly sparse for the 2014 Civic, with just 67 complaints and one recall on file with the NHTSA, and few issues to be found among Honda owner forums.
Drivers Have Been Reporting Vibrating at Highway Speeds Since Year One, and it May Have to Do With Eco Mode
A number of 2014 Civic drivers have reported a rattling noise coming from the transmission. In a video from late 2021, we can hear a vibrating noise emanating from the serpentine belt tensioner, and if you check various car forums or Reddit, you can find reports of shaky 2014 Civics dating all the way back to when the car was brand-new.
In instances where a Civic is in good condition, it’s had all its recalls addressed, and it’s still rattling, a likely culprit may be the ECON button. This switches your car into Eco mode, which attempts to save you fuel by working its magic in the background, doing things like, for instance, limiting how long the air conditioner stays on.
Eco mode totally switches up the way your CVT shifts its speed and reduces fuel injection, forcing you to push the engine a little harder if you want to get up to highway speeds. This makes for more efficient city driving, but get it over 45 miles per hour and you’re probably going to get some rattling, according to some owners in the 9th Gen Civic forums.
Not that this explains each and every instance of transmission rattle in the 2014 Civic, but it has helped to clear the issue up for many drivers.
The 2014 Honda Civic Was Recalled in 2015 for Faulty Transmission Software That Could Lead to Early Transmission Failure
The 2014 Honda Civic was still fairly new to the market when it got hit with its first major recall in September of 2015. Over 140,000 units, both 2014 and 2015 models, plus a few Honda Fits, were called back into the shop regarding an issue with the transmission software that could wind up damaging the transmission drive pulley shaft.
The issue was easy enough to fix, requiring a simple software update. But, that might not be the end of it.
In the most recent NHTSA powertrain complaint for the car, it is reported that the manufacturer “declined the transmission replacement” when the software issue resulted in severe damages to their CVT.
To some extent, this is to be expected. If you are sent a recall notification and you don’t get the problem taken care of before it compounds into something worse, you can only ask so much of the manufacturer.
All the same, this is something to look into when buying used. If you check the VIN and the car has some outstanding recalls on file, it may be that the damage has already been done.
2014 Civic’s Transmission Worries are Mostly Overblown, but Poor Maintenance Will Wreak Havoc on a CVT
When the 2014 Honda Civic came out, it was the first non-hybrid Civic equipped with a one-speed CVT instead of a conventional automatic transmission. Remember that this is back in the early 2010s when CVTs were still seen as a novel technology, so drivers were worried.
Generally speaking, there are going to be some first-year kinks to iron out when an automaker is trying out new technology. In the case of the ninth-generation Civic, however, almost any issue you’re going to have with it will likely be down to poor maintenance on the previous owner’s part.
In a one-speed, you want to change the CVT fluid every 50,000 miles or so. Nissan recommends a little sooner than that, at around 30,000, but 50,000 should be safe for a Honda. In a typical automatic, you’d be changing your transmission fluid every 60,000-100,000 miles.
The Honda Civic tends to attract the type of driver who takes extra care of their vehicle, so many 2014 Civics are still in great condition today. All the same, if you’re buying an eight-year-old CVT, don’t put in a down payment until you’ve taken a test drive.
A 2014 Honda Civic Owner’s Biggest Transmission Problem: Eight Years of Wear and Tear
The 2014 Honda Civic launched with a few minor issues relating to the car’s transmission. Eco mode was perhaps not adequately explained to the first bunch of drivers, and there was that software hangup. But, if you’re driving a 2014 Civic today, any problems it’s going to have will mostly come down to simple wear and tear.
If you can find a 2014 Civic with relatively low mileage, and if the previous owner did their part in maintaining the car, there’s no reason you can’t top a quarter-million miles with the original transmission. Hondas are built to last, and their CVT models have become the gold standard for one-speed transmissions.
Photos: Honda
