The transmission started slipping when shifting from 2nd to 3rd and 2 days later it failed altogether in traffic. I was able to pull to the side, but it could have been much worse if I had been unable to pull over.
2002 Honda Civic transmission complaints
Page 4 of 7: complaints 71 to 100 of 185, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Car would not accelerate when gas pedal is pressed and would basically "coast" making it very scary when you're on the freeway onramp with cars behind you. Have thankfully not had an accident but obviously has the potential for one. Was told transmission is slipping and would cost $1800 for a rebuild. Happens everytime I drive. Internet search shows other similar complaints and is common to this vehicle.
2002 honda civic ex automatic trans 88k miles. Trans started making noise, after reviewing this site I realized that it was not safe for my 18 year old daughter to drive the vehicle reading how quickly the trans appear to give way and break down. I brought the vehicle into a transmission center where it was taken on a test drive (the transmission failed) talk about good timing and a good call... Honda must recall for safety reason and repay those of us having to foot thousands of dollars on an obvious faulty transmission.
I just took off for work and my car wouldn't accelerate and made a terrible whining sound. It would not go above 4. I try to take good care of my car and since hondas supposedly last a long time I did not think something like this would happen around 143,500 miles. I could have been hit since I live right on a road where people are constantly speeding by, but was lucky it was not a busy time of day. I have even brought the car into honda to look at the transmission for slipping. They said there was nothing they could do about it I just need to warm the car up before I drive it. Clearly that wasn't helpful at all.
Owner of a 2002 honda civic with 57,471 miles on it. Maintenance schedule is followed regularly. The transmission went out with no prior warning on a busy boulevard. Stopped one lane of traffic until some citizens got out of their cars, ran across 4 lanes of traffic, and helped me push it to where it was safe. Refurbished the transmission and paid a total of $2,100.00. Contacted honda customer service and was told nothing would be done to fix it because I didn't have it diagnosed at the dealership.
My car started revving while I was driving. Transmission was slipping. Checked fluid, was brown. Changed fluid. Lasted about 1000 miles more and then transmission failed.
My honda 2002 civic transmission died at 98,000 no warning stopped on a busy street almost got killed called police to help.
Daughter driving 2002 honda civic when suddenly car lost ability to accelerate, leaving her alone and stranded late at night about 40 miles from home. Car towed to local garage where assumption is transmission failure (pending). Dealer told me I could (at my expense) have car towed to honda and pay for diagnosis, but unlikely any responsibility assumed by honda since car was not serviced there since warranty expired.
Transmission on my 2002 honda civic started to make a loud whinny noise. A few days later transmission started to slip between second and third gear. (engine would rev up prior to upshift, lag in shifting). Had the transmission flushed in an effort to alleviate the problem. Four days later put the car in gear depressed accelerator but the transmission did not engage. Car would not move. Could not move in any forward gear or reverse. Transmission was totally ineffective (dead). Transmission had 141,860 miles. Flushed approximately 141,775 miles. Prior to that had the transmission serviced at approximately 110,000 miles. Researched similar complaints and discovered that this has been an ongoing problem with early 2000 transmissions. It appears that this is an acute problem with transmissions during this time period. Very little if any warning of a serious problem. This is a safety hazard due to the fact that a vehicle encountering this problem can be collide into by other vehicles due to the loss of acceleration.
I was driving this 2002 civic I bought with 120,000 miles on it and without warning the transmission started slipping and not shifting. After stopping and praying the car did engage the first gear and I brought it home.
While driving on surface streets my transmission failed and I was unable to use my car. I was almost hit my multiple cars behind me as my car had suddenly failed. I could hear my engine rev to high RPM, but the car was not in motion. Thereafter 5 minutes later, the "check engine" light came on. I went to a mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be rebuilt. I've found numerous problems occur on this vehicle after researching it online further.
2002 honda civic ex transmission failure while driving on a busy chicago city street. Could not get car to accelerate. Could only go up to 15 MPH in rush hour traffic. Able to get back to my job. Called the dealership (community honda) where car was purchased. Advised not to attempt to drive the vehicle. It was towed to the dealership. They could only get it to move by putting it in reverse as it had completed quit going forward, couldn't use any drive features.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 honda civic. While driving approximately 30 MPH the vehicle stopped accelerating. The vehicle was pulled over and stopped, but when he attempted to shift it into park the vehicle continued to roll forward. He had to apply the emergency brake in order to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where he was informed that the transmission failed. He was also informed that this was a common failure amongst these vehicles. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 99,000. The VIN was unavailable.
2002 honda civic (automatic) transmission failed in 2009 with 72k miles. The car stopped in the middle of the road all of a sudden and would not go into any gear. There were no indicators prior to this which is why it was very dangerous. Transmission was rebuilt and seemed ok for a few months. The transmission light came on again and for taking in to be repaired. It is now 2010, 99k miles and the transmission light is on yet again and the car sounds rough when its idling or moving. Honda refuses to assist with any of the cost. This will be the 3rd time in less than 2 years.
2002 honda civic gx began losing power, threw engine code 1890 and the transmission was slipping badly in 3rd gear. Independent repair shop determined the transmission needed to be replaced, but could not locate either a new or rebuilt transmission. The honda dealer said an extended warranty only covered up to 105,000 miles or 7 years, whichever was less. They have not gotten back to me on any other extended warranties available.
The engine in my 2002 honda civic le stopped running... There was heavy traffic and this was definitely dangerous. The cause was transmission failure.... The car was towed to the local dealership and the price to retrieve it was over $5,900. The mileage was 100,505... Too soon for this kind of problem and absurdly expensive. It is my only car, and I felt captive, for sure. Not a good report for honda of america.
My transmission went out of my 2002 honda civic with just 83,000 miles on it. I was pulling out of a gas station onto a busy street. Was held way out into the street and transmission just bound up stopping by car in the middle of traffic. A car had to slam on its brakes to avoid hitting me and honked excessively at me as if it were my fault.
Transmission would not shift properly then would jerk into gear. Well the transmission gave out while crossing a busy intersection and I was lucky the car made it across. Needless to say $2600 and a new transmission later, it now works fine (of course). The torque converter failed causing the front pump to fail. Personally I know 3 people with the same problem, gee you would think that honda would realize the parts they used were crap and recall the cars to replace the torque converters. Never again!!!
I had my 2002 honda civic lx serviced within the last month. Oil changed, fluids checked. A few weeks later, the engine light went on and the drive button began blinking all in one day. After taking it back into the shop, I discovered that the transmission was going out. My vehicle only has 95,000 miles on it. So much for hondas "lasting forever"! I am still trying to figure out what to do with my car since I cannot afford to have a new or rebuilt transmission put in. I drive about 20-30 miles each day to work and I am afraid that the transmission is going to go out while I am on the highway or interstate. I wish that I would have found this website before I purchased my car 3 years ago because I never would have even considered buying it. Honda needs to recall the transmissions in the early 2000 hondas. Fix our problems!
On a busy interstate, just exited and in a turn when the car would not go any further; only the engine would rev when gas pressed. Had to push the car onto the side of the busy road. We could have been injured even fatally if the car had stopped in the middle of the interstate or intersection of the road. Tried to change the gear to reverse, drive, and d3 with no success. The transmission failed with the entire family in the car! We've owned the car for three years and never had a problem or sign of a problem. We have maintained the car as recommended by manufacture. Now, we have only one car for a working family. We do not know anyone due to just moving into the state. The dealership does not offer a loaner car and does not cover rental car expenses. Come to find out with research, this year and model of car is notorious for this problem and has not been addressed or corrected by honda. This needs to be a recall; it's only a mater of time before fatalities result from these transmission failures.
I was driving down a busy, 6-lane road when my transmission went out on my 2002 honda civic. I slowed down as I was getting close to an intersection and when the light turned green and I went to accelerate, the engine revved up but the car didn't move. The cars behind me were anticipating my movement, but then had to hit the brakes and swerve around me so they wouldn't hit me.
I was driving home from work during rush hour in july and about 10 minutes into my drive my car started doing these little jerking movements about every couple minutes or so' this has never happened before so I figured I'd go home and take it somewhere to be looked at the next day' about 30 minutes into my drive, I was going up a hill on a 2 lane road and all of a sudden my car stopped accelerating' I had my foot all the way down the gas and my car stayed at 15 MPH, but the RPM's shot up' cars start honking at me and swerving around me and I realized immediately that I needed to pull over before my car gave out completely and started rolling backwards down the hill' I ended up having my car towed to a local garage where they told me the transmission had failed' I just had my car inspected in the spring at the same garage and it passed with no transmission problems at all' I haven't had the transmission fixed yet but as I was looking into I started reading about how 2002 honda civic transmissions were one of their worst years for transmissions and on occasion will break with little or no warning'
On the way to work, my 2002 honda civic suddenly stopped shifting gears, then stopped running altogether without any warning. It stopped shifting while I was on the interstate and I had to pull onto the shoulder to keep from getting hit by other cars passing me as my car would not accelerate. I had never had any problems or engine damage to the car prior to this point and it was very sudden. When I towed it to the repair shop they told me I would need a whole new transmission and would cost me $4200!!! I am looking around to get a 2nd opinion and price as that seems awfully high for a transmission replacement.
My daughter bought this car a 2002 honda civic in nov of 2009 ,this july while driving from north carolina to ohio the car just stopped going ,the engine was running ok but the transmission wouldn't go. She was on a busy highway when this happened ,she was lucky to get the car to coastr over to the side . I was reading on the internet where this is a common but the federal safety agency has not recommended a recall cause of a safety factor. I think when there is any chance or an accident happening that should be cause enough for alarm.
Car was slow to shift gears for about a month. Had transmission flushed. 4 days prior car would accelerate when in third or fourth gear while I was driving. Car slowed while driving and engine light came on. Had car diagnosed at aamco and was told that the shift control is going bad causing me to lose 2nd and 3rd gear and since the shift control is in the transmission the transmission must be replaced. 2002 honda civic ex with 109,000 miles.
2002 honda civic transmission failure, transmission went out with no warning, when I bought the car new we had the first transmission go out within months, honda replaced it for a large discount. Had I know about the issues with these transmissions I would have told them to take the car back. Know at 130,000 lost the second transmission and I was lucky I didn't get hurt or killed by other traffic.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 honda civic. While driving 5 MPH making a turn, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was unable to turn the vehicle back on. The vehicle was towed to a honda dealer who stated that the transmission failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 60,000. Updated 10/05/10 *bf the consumer stated the vehicle would not move forward or in reverse.
Although this defect has not LED to a failure of a major drivetrain component (the transmission to be exact), the defect allows excessive wearing of the second gear and synchronizer hub, if the second gear did fail it could result in a crash. The reverse idler gear will contact the second gear while in second gear and making a right turn, this kind of contact will wear the teeth on the reverse idler gear and second gear and could eventually cause one or both to fail.
I would like to file a complaint about the 2002 honda civic lx model. The car started to speed up/slow down and then stopped. It was the torque converter'2nd gear coming off and 3rd gear not coming in. I did some research and I've read the numerous complaints online about the 2002 honda civic and the transmission issues. I also found many technical service bulletins regarding transmission problems. I only copied the few that I think are specific to the issue that I had: # tsb #11012004 -- manual transmission grinds shifting to 3rd gear. Honda servicenews. *tt (the federal safety agency id #10013656, november 01 2004) # tsb #204 -- 2nd to 5th or 3rd to 5th gear upshift. *nm (the federal safety agency id #10014230, february 16 2004) # tsb #02012004 -- service manual fix. Manual transmission mainshaft reassembly. Correction to january '04 issue. Honda servicenews. *tt (the federal safety agency id #10009134, february 01 2004) # tsb #01012004 -- manual transmission mainshaft reassembly. Service manual fix. Honda. Servicenews. *tt (the federal safety agency id #10009080, january 01 2004) # tsb #10162004 -- grinds at 2-3 upshift. *eh (the federal safety agency id #10014470, october 16 2004) if honda knows of the issues why won't they recall and make necessary repairs? Turns out this is a very well known problem in honda civic 2002 models but honda is not doing anything about it. A complete new transmission necessary at 48,375 miles! Well, we need the car. There is no bus transportation to the city. The work was done on 04/12/2010. The cost to have the transmission rebuilt: parts and accessories: $1913.54 labor: $951.44 tax: $68.33 for a grand total of: $2933.31. This does not include the $350.00 to remove the transmission and diagnose the problem. And I'm not the only one to experience this? How is it possible that honda does not recognize this as an issue.
Transmission failure, had to be rebuilt.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2002 Honda Civic?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history