The Honda Civic has long been a popular car in both the used and new markets. In fact, Motor Trend picked the 2019 Civic as the Best Compact Sedan made that year. Before that, it won a big head-to-head comparison in 2014 with the Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra, and Kia Forte.
The 2019 Civic beat out a formidable contender in the Mazda3 in practically every high priority category. Much of the reason the Honda Civic won that award is because of its enviable package of safety features.
It doesn’t hurt that the 2019 Honda Civic Touring cost over $1000 less than the Mazda3 Premium.
- Overcoming a legacy of transmission problems
- Most common occurrence averages at 102,000 miles
- Model years for most transmission problems – 2001, 2002, and 2003
- Average repair cost – $2,291
- Abnormally high dealership repair bills average $5,000
What makes the Honda Civic’s current favored status most impressive is that the 2001 Civic was named worst model year by Motor Biscuit and the most recalled ever by Car Complaints.
To make matters worse for potential car buyers, Honda had other year models recalled between 2002 and 2006, but the 2001 was left untouched.
Understanding the Problem
For the majority of Honda owners, the problem has been a defective torque converter. Unlike with manual transmissions, drivers with an automatic transmission have to rely on the torque converter to perform the task of disconnecting the transmission from the engine.
Karmi Nice explains:
“A torque converter is a type of fluid coupling, which allows the engine to spin somewhat independently of the transmission. If the engine is turning slowly, such as when the car is idling at a stoplight, the amount of torque passed through the torque converter is very small, so keeping the car still requires only light pressure on the brake pedal.”
When a torque converter fails, you might as well not have an engine. When that happens, your car isn’t going anywhere.
- Common signs an automatic transmission is about to fail
- Leaking transmission fluid – If considering a 2001-2006 Civic, be sure and have your mechanic check the transmission fluid before buying. Clean fluid is red and a brownish color means the fluid has been burned.
- Transmission won’t engage or slips
- Car jerks and/or stutters while accelerating
- Transmission pops in and out of gear
- Check engine light stays on
- Car starts but won’t move
- Leverage the price
Not every 2001 Honda Civic transmission is bad. Plus, you can leverage this information to gain a much better asking price.
The average independent repair shop will replace that transmission for an average of $2500 or less. Remember, even if Honda offers to cover half the repair cost, a dealership still will charge double that $250o for the same repair.
Ready to Buy a Honda Civic?
Learning about the long history of complaints Civic owners have had about its transmission problems is a good place to start. However, you also will need to invest some time to find out about incidents with each specific year model before making a final decision.
Some model years had far fewer problems, and there are some great Honda Civics out there that might make an excellent choice for you.
Fortunately, we’ve done a lot of that work for you. All you have to do is grab a Vehicle History report so you can dig deep into the Civic’s past and discover any major issues that would otherwise catch you by surprise.
