2020 Honda Civic: transmission slipping

Filed Nov 2, 2026 · Transmission · MD

My 2020 Honda Civic Sport Hatchback, 1.5L turbo, 6-speed manual, has experienced repeat premature clutch-system failure. The original clutch/flywheel assembly failed at about 34,000 miles. Honda repaired it under TSB 22-017, which addresses supplier production issues causing premature friction-disc wear. Honda advised that updated components were installed. Significant clutch slipping began again in early June 2026. At about 61,500 total miles, only about 27,500 miles after the first repair, transmission removal and clutch-component replacement were required. The onset date entered is approximate. The dealer documented: "Clutch shows sign of Heat Buildup on flywheel and pressure plate with debris inside bellhousing on release bearing. Recommend replacing Pressure plate, Friction Disc, and release bearing." Inspection photos show substantial heat discoloration of the pressure plate/flywheel and heat/glazing of the friction disc. The servicing Honda dealer did not identify driver abuse or improper clutch operation as the cause. No significant fluid contamination or catastrophic transmission damage was identified to me. I have substantial manual-transmission driving experience without comparable repeated failures. Clutch slipping allows RPM to rise without corresponding acceleration, creating a potential unexpected inability to accelerate when merging, entering traffic, crossing intersections or climbing grades. Honda classified this as out-of-warranty wear and tear. I request that the federal safety agency retain and compare this repeat premature failure, including failure of Honda's updated replacement, with other Civic manual-transmission complaints. Repair orders, photos, mileage documentation and the TSB can be provided upon request.

Filed Oct 26, 2026 · Transmission · AL

I own a 2020 Civic Si. At about 29,000 the clutch started slipping in higher heats and going up hills. Once I noticed this the clutch degraded very quickly to the point it was unsafe to drive. By very quickly I mean in about 100 miles worth of travel. I notified Honda Corporate and opened a case with them. There is a TSB 22-017 out about the faulty clutches stating the friction material was faulty in some 19-20 models and to replace the clutch and included all parts associated to be replaced. However my car was just one year outside of the warranty even tho it was within the mileage. Since they were going to replace with the same parts that failed, I decided to do the replacement myself with an OEM clutch made for the Type R which is more appropriately matched to the torque of the vehicle and a different flywheel as the factory one increases the wear due to being dual mass. I took pictures of the process for documentation. When the transmission was opened up the friction material had basically disintegrated into chuncks. The pressure plate also seemed to be putting unnecessary amount of pressure on the bearing. Almost like the clamping force was far too much for the hydrolic system to counter and thus caused excessive slippage. Honda was going to charge $2000 to diagnose the clutch and the clutch replacement would have cost $6,000. That is an absurd amount to charge for a known faulty part. Tho the new clutch also required an upgraded CMC, I was about to install a far superior OEM part for 1/3 of the price. I wanted to submit a report in hopes that with enough complaints Honda will do a proper recall before someone in the future loses function of their clutch and potentially has an accident.

Filed Feb 22, 2026 · Transmission · CA

Clutch started slipping all of a sudden. Check to see if it was under warranty said the warranty had expired because the car was over 36,000 MI did not know about the extended clutch warranty at the time that Honda was extending it due to defective parts so we replaced it ourselves. Upon tear down it was discovered that the clutch disc was only about 30% worn down there were no hot spots in the flywheel or the clutch cover so the problem was related to the holding force of the clutch cover have we continued to drive the car the way it was it would have burnt it up because it would barely move. I've been in Autotech for 50 years never seen a clutch slipping with this much material left on it and the parts in this condition it is obviously a defect with the part and I submitted a claim to Honda and they denied it had I had known Honda would have taken care of it I would have brought it to them.

Filed Oct 20, 2024 · Transmission · MN

Clutch has begun slipping very badly at 40,000 miles, sometimes to the point of not being able to accelerate. It is worse at highway speeds. There is a known service bulletin 22-017 outlining this issue. According to the VIN, this vehicle was assembled in the Alliston, Ontario, Canada plant and further online research has found multiple others having the same issue on vehicles from the same plant.

Filed May 1, 2023 · Transmission · MN

I purchased a brand new 2020 Honda Civic SI in April 2020. Around 24,000 miles, the clutch started slipping. I took the vehicle into a Honda dealership where I purchased the vehicle and was informed the clutch assembly failed and the cost of the repair was $4,400. The dealership told me it was due to abuse of the clutch and clutches are considered wear and tear items so I would be responsible for the entire repair. I have owned 10 manual transmission vehicles prior to this Civic and I have never burned out a clutch--I was able to get more than 125,000 miles from one of my cars before the clutch had to be replaced. There are 15 complaints on this site regarding clutches wearing out on 2020 Honda Civics so could this be a problem on Honda's end. I placed several calls to American Honda customer service and their response is always the same, they don't see a problem with their clutches so they are not going to reimburse me for the repair. After many calls to the dealer, they finally agreed to cover 50% of the repair so ended up paying around $2,300.

Filed Oct 16, 2022 · Transmission · PA

Manual transmission slipping when Turbo kicks in and you are unable to accelerate. We are contacting dealer tomorrow as they are closed. No warning lights on Just started happening .

Filed Apr 7, 2022 · Transmission · FL

With my car just reached over 19k miles the clutch started slipping when driving on highway, problem continued to become more noticeable overtime. Many drivers with the same car have experienced the same issue with clutch slipping.

Filed Jun 2, 2021 · Transmission · MA

The clutch in my 2020 Honda Civic si started slipping at 8k miles. Please look into defects related to clutch/flywheel/CMC/transmission

Filed Apr 26, 2021 · Driver assistance, Transmission · 26,000 miles · OH

This 2020 honda civic si has been nothing but trouble. From the start I had the windshield crack on me from what honda said was a tiny chip. I went in to work with my windshield seemingly fine only to come out to a spider web split all the way across the windshield. Honda would not cover citing it to be just an 'accident' and I would have to get it fixed. The windshield absolutely had to be replaced with factory oem glass due to safety features which was on back order so I was forced to drive around with a broken windshield for close to 2 months. Company that installed glass said this is becoming more 'normal' so to say as the glass they are using is paper thin in his words. On top of that from day one of owning the car it has the 'safety' feature of lane keep assist and this feature will literally pick up heavy shadows on the road from power lines and try to correct you as if you are driving out of a lane! Countless times I have had to hurry and over ride the assistance just to keep it from making me run off the road! Honda severely needs to look into this on top of their unsafe thin windshields which crack from the tiniest of pebbles hitting them. Also, I just had to replace the clutch and components in this vehicle after just 20k miles and less than a year of owning the vehicle. Honda offered nothing but a one time good will assist in paying for partial labor and parts. This started happening after a normal drive to work one day while going up a hill the clutch started slipping. Made an appointment and took the car in and was told to put another 100 miles on the car and bring back to them although they said they found a transmission leak and needed to find the source . This was certainly very unsafe as while doing those 100 miles the clutch completely burnt out and I was left stranded on the side of the highway and I was put in a dangerous situation.