1997 Honda Civic transmission problems

Filed Jun 7, 2012 · Transmission · 224,000 miles · GA

Driving at a speed of 40 MPH, then the car went into limp mode and check engine light came on with codes po700 and po715, took to transmission business, could not find the cause of the problem. This problem is still present. Recently found a service bulletin from honda about this defect on the transmission.

Filed May 9, 2011 · Electrical, Transmission · 15,000 miles · WV · crash

The vtec-e on my 1997 honda civic hx is not engaging at the proper times which is not only an annoyance when driving, but also a safety hazard when it engages at low speeds (which it should not do) in traffic launching you forward into the back ends of other vehicles. Has caused (2) rearenders.

Filed Nov 21, 2008 · Transmission · 80,000 miles · NJ

I own a 1997 civic hx. I did research and there are so many defective CVT transmissions. The transmission was only available for this model. People just don't put the complaints on this site. I was told to do so by honda. 90% of this model on the road have all had their transmissions rebuilt and fail in the early stages of the cars life. Why hasn't honda resolved this issue? It fails to go into reverse and fails to sometimes go into drive. If the percentage were low, then I'd understand that it isn't a wide spread issue. But the number of cars is staggering when I go onto forums and even google the problem. And the ones that have been rebuilt sometimes have a problem with the speed sensor in the transmission and the speedometer fails to read the speed of the car. If I'm the only person who's going to complain about this, I'll make sure to post the link in forums.

Filed Apr 20, 2004 · Transmission · DE

After the r & r main shaft was replaced, the check engine light illuminated again. *ph months after the vehicle was purchased the check engine light illuminated. It was determined by the computer diagnostic test that the r & r main shaft cam sensor needed to be replaced. The sensor failed three more times after it was initially replaced. Upon further inspection the technician found that the oem drum had a crack in it and that was what caused the sensor to fail.

Filed Jan 15, 2004 · Transmission, Visibility · 50,000 miles · CA

This vehicle is a lemon -- defective throughout. Major problem is a transmission that has failed twice -- once being replaced by the manufacturer only after two years of complaining about the problem, being unable to drive any distances, and after numerous times I paid to have the problem unresolved. Since it was replaced in july 2001, I began complaining again about problems in may of 2002, only to get the same run around again. Costing me money out of my pocket for their defective CVT transmission for which they refuse to acknowledge their defect. Finally got it fixed and the warranty extended for the second time, but in the meantime, check out the VIN numbers on the federal safety agency website and you'll many other honda owners with transmission problems and very similar VIN numbers. Late fall 2002 to winter 2003 driver side door lock failed and almost immediately after that was fixed the driver side window failed. I had to drive down the freeway in the rain to get home with a window I could only pull up half way. But to top things off, I have to replace the alternator this month. Worse of all, my car was experience symptoms that were apparently attributed to the alternator back in march 31, 1999 service bulletin 98-029. However, honda never notified the vehicle owners. They just played the odds that the majority would fail outside of warranty and they wouldn't have to pay a dime. It amazes me that our government allows auto manufacturers to get away with this type of business practice. Just because a part failure may not cause an accident doesn't mean it's not dangerous. If I'm commuting 100 miles a day, as I have been for the past several months, and my car broke down who knows where, I could very well be in danger as a single women traveling a lone. I need to be able to count on my vehicle, which I have gone out of my way to insure was always properly serviced. I can not trust honda and will never buy another one.

Filed Oct 12, 2003 · Transmission · 95,890 miles · CA

I have a 1997 honda civic ex coupe automatic transmission with 95,900 miles when the transmission problem started. One day I noticed my car was hesitating when I pressed the accelerator but did not put a lot of attention to it. Then soon after I noticed the check engine light turn on. So I decided to take my car to my local honda dealer (rock honda). They reset the check engine light, then told me that the problem was the transmission and if it turns on again that I would need to replace the transmission. The light turned on went back to rock honda , they recommended me replace the transmission and mentioned to me there is no recall on the a/t or warranty , the estimate was $2900 for the repair. So I decided to get a second opinion, and they told me the same thing the a/t needs to be repaired! I ended up repairing it costing me $2608.11 ouch. I believe honda should have taken responsibility and notify the millions of customers that own honda civics and tell them about this major repair by issuing a recall. I feel honda should reimburse all their customers who unknowingly have had to fix their automatic transmission just like I have. Now I'm wondering if I should ever buy a honda again! Please help. Thank you.

Filed Oct 10, 2003 · Transmission · 48,000 miles · OH

Transmission failure at less than 50,000 mi. Honda says too bad, the consumer was offered a new transmission for 4,000 dollars by dealership. The transmission was rebuilt, however the consumer was responsible for the bill. *ak *scc

Filed Aug 7, 2003 · Transmission · 20,000 miles · CA

I fought for 2 years about a bad ctv transmission in a 1997 honda civic hx which I purchased new. I was in and out of the dealership at my expense on a continual basis. They finally agreed to replace the transmission after many visits and much money out of my pocket for rental cars and unnecessary services that never corrected the problem. Honda did agree to give me an extended warranty of 7 years or 75,000 miles. The transmission was replaced with a remanufactured transmission in july 2001. I did not want a remanufactured transmission or a ctv transmission. I believe the design of the transmission is defective, but I was given no choice. In may 2002 I started reporting problems with this replacement transmission -- less then a year after it was installed. Like the first transmission, the problem is intermittent, the dealers could not reproduce the problem. I just had to drive the car until it got so bad there was no way they could miss the problem -- just like with the first transmission. Well, finally as of august 1, 2003, they confirmed the transmission was the problem and that several parts have to be replaced. In the meantime, while waiting for the parts, I'm stuck driving a car over 100 miles a day to commute to work. Ultimately the problem I have is the transmission is bad. Period! It's a bad design or I would not have had two of the same transmission type failing in the same car. When I was looking at this car to purchase the salesman told me this ctv transmission was so great that it was going to be in all of the honda accords starting the next model year. That never happened, I wonder why! I feel very strongly after reading many similar complaints filed with the federal safety agency this model year transmission should be under defect investigation. It won't take much to show that the design itself is defective and honda has hung owners out to dry and refuses to admit their error.

Filed Aug 6, 2003 · Transmission · 62,500 miles · VT

Not even thirty days ago I purchased a new/used vehicle from a used car dealership in brattleboro, vt. My 30 day/1,000 mile warranty just ended a few days ago, and I am now having transmission problems with my automatic honda civic ex. I have read several other complaints on this same item in the 97 civics. My whole family owns hondas and they are usually reliable cars. This problem should not be occurring with only 62,000 miles on this car. This is rediculous and I am very upset. I have just started to deal with the problem, but assume I will end up paying for it myself. Honda really needs to take care of this issue with this type of car. Since it holds it's value I paid a good amount for this car and it's trade in is pretty high, too. This is a problem that needs to be addressed!

Filed Apr 7, 2003 · Transmission · 70,000 miles · CA

While exiting the freeway the consumer stopped at a light. When the consumer depressed the accelerator pedal to proceed the vehicle jerked forward. *nlm the problem continued to occur until the transmission was replaced with a re-manufactured transmission.