Throttle cable sticks at low speeds - when pressed, it "snaps lose" going to 1/2 throttle, jerking car forward, snapping necks of driver and passengers. Is a severe safety problem - could cause an accident by slamming vehicle into back of lead vehicle. Ref: campaign id 99i002000. Honda dealer says this is not a warranty or product improvement campaign item.
1997 Honda Civic: jerking or lurching
9 of the 373 complaints about the 1997 Honda Civic describe jerking or lurching.
- owner complaints
- 9
- of this car's complaints
- 2%
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 20 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
Jerking or lurching by model year
What owners say
My newly acquired 1997 honda civic has a problem with the gas pedal. It is impossible for me to smoothly accelerate, the pedal has a choppy feeling and is very jerky at slow speeds. When I go to press on the pedal it wont move and then when it does move it moves too far. I looked up the problem and found there was a recall for the problem, however the dealer I talked to and the honda company stated that my car did not qualify. The federal safety agency campaign number is 99i002000. The problem is very dangerous in traffic, and I have nearly rear ended people on numerous occasions. I hope there is some way I can get this problem fixed. The problem happens every time I drive the car so the incident date I am going to put is generally when we acquired the car. Thank you.
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.
Transmission problem detected and confirmed by gresham honda. Seems to be a major problem for 1997 honda civic owners. Honda acknowleged premature tranny failure and offered to pay half for replacement. Car was given back to me while part is being ordered and while driving today from a stop light on a hill car would not go into gear and started to slip backwards. Luckily by flooring it I was able to prevent backwards slide into vehilce behind me but feel someone needs to contact honda and start a recall on this model for a complete transmission replacement. In my case they have agreed to cover half of the repair cost to install a remanufactured transmission but I am not satisfied with this offer and feel you could be looking at many more accidents and possible injuries by the sudden jerking from stop while car tries to go into gear. Please research this immediately and prevent thousands of people from being injured by this known defect that is not being addressed correctly.
Transmission failure. Transmission slipped/jerked when taking off from a stop. Auto had major service at approx 64,402 mi. Check engine light came on at 71,911 miles. St checked and stated computer needed to be changed. St changed computer. Check engine light came on again at 80,241 miles, st states transmission failed and must be replaced.
Throttle cable sticks at low speeds - when pressed, it "snaps lose" going to 1/2 throttle, jerking car forward, snapping necks of driver and passengers. Is a severe safety problem - could cause an accident by slamming vehicle into back of lead vehicle. Ref: campaign id 99i002000. Honda dealer says this is not a warranty or product improvement campaign item.
Each time I am stopped and the car is in drive the idle fluctuates rapidly between 0 and 1000 RPM. When the gas is pressed the car will jerk into drive and while driving the transmission will slip.
Repeated warping of brake rotor with severe vibration at highway speed whenever brakes applied. Turning (resurfacing) rotor only solves problem for 10,000 miles. Dealer wouldn't cover under warranty & insists vibration does not affect safety. I do not believe this, as steering wheel jerks violently at higher speeds.
When the vehicle is in low speed and upon accelerating vehicle jerks. Vehicle was not included in recall 99i002000 due to VIN. *ak
Service bulletins that may apply
- Service news article
- Stalling in reverse or drive after doing service bulletin 02-003
- Don't test-drive with the malfunction indicator lamp or d indicator on
- 2ND to 5TH or 3RD to 5TH gear upshift
- Manual transmission hard to shift into 1ST gear, grinds into reverse
- Hard to engage 1ST gear, grinds into reverse
- Grade logic control information
- Check (ATF) automatic transmission fluid condition to diagnose (a/t) automatic transmissions
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 1997 Honda Civic jerking
Is jerking or lurching a common problem on the 1997 Honda Civic?
9 of 373 owner complaints about the 1997 Honda Civic (2%) mention jerking or lurching. The model year with the most reports is 2022.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1997 Honda Civic?
There are 0 recalls and 20 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1997 Honda Civic
Airbag light 70No deployment 22Check engine light 20Sudden acceleration 11Tire blowout 11Headlights 9Transmission failure 8Seat belt 7Power windows 6Brake failure 5Slipping 5
VIN decoder
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