Problems with 2002 Honda Civic POWER TRAIN

1. i purchased this car used, and the problem was hidden from me. 2. problem occurs everyday, the transmission slips about 1500 rpms when cold. a. seatbelts are hard to click into mechanism b. interior lights do not come on when drivers door is opened, but does when passenger door is open.. 3. nothing has been done yet, i have taken this car to many shops trying to diagnose the problem, but i cannot figure it out. *tw

Honda civic 2002 sedan; manual transmission. around 80,000 miles, my transmission began to slip out of gear, with no real warning, in the middle of a highway. this is not only weird and annoying, but extremely dangerous if you are unprepared for it., as the gear just slips back into neutral and you could start going backwards on a highway, or just slow to a halt in the middle of a high speed road... etc. i am at the point where i cannot even drive the car any longer and it has been sitting in a shop for over a month awaiting a used part from a junk car. there's really no reason i should have to replace my transmission at 80,000 miles, especially with all recommended maintenance done and no real abuse to the car on my part. honda needs to recall these transmissions and replace them as this is a common problem with '02 civics.

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. *tr

Was reentering highway 5 north in orange county ca and the car would not pick up power as i attempted to merge into traffic, then the car started losing what little power that it had and i was able to very slowly re-exit the freeway and take side streets attempting to return to the gas station i had left. in the middle of the busy road the car completely lost power in a turn lane. *tr

My daughter was driving her 2002 honda civic and the transmission basically quit working to where the vehicle could not go forward. this occurred on a very busy highway and she was barely able to cross lanes of traffic and come to a stop on the shoulder. upon searching the internet, this is an extremely common problem for the 2001/2002 honda civics where the transmission quits working when it is warmed up. i am just amazed that this hasn't caught the attention of anyone as being a safety issue. in my daughter's situation, there was a very high likelihood that she could have been stranded in one of the lanes of the highway and an inattentive driver could have rear-ended her vehicle causing life-threatening injuries. i realize that having an accident occur due to this would gain more attention, but i am thankful that was not the case in my daughter's situation. i understand that a transmission is a mechanical piece of hardware and over time it will fail, but in this situation there were no warning signs. based upon comments posted on the internet in reference to this topic, this is a common thing. the root cause points to faulty design/workmanship and someone needs to check into it. thank you for your time. *tr

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!!! *tr

My 2002 honda civic ex sedan with 130k miles on it started to exhibit a slight buzzing noise as well as a tendency to slip gears. then one night the transmission completely failed and would not shift into any gear. normally i would not think this to be an issue but after researching online, i found that there is an unusually high number of transmission failures in 2001 and 2002 honda civics. there is obviously a defect in the manufacturing of the transmission for this vehicle and is obviously a safety problem as it leads to complete loss of power to the drive wheels. *tr

2002 honda civic complete auto transmission failure in middle of freeway during 5 o'clock commuter traffic. a young woman was stranded and at mercy of aggravated freeway travelers, could have been victim of rage driver, or could have been involved in major automobile crash. *tr

My 2002 honda civic's transmission went at 95k miles. i have heard that this is a very common occurrence in these cars and this is extremely dangerous and expensive. it cost me $2,100 to get the transmission rebuilt and the part had to be driven from pennsylvania to maine leaving me without a vehicle for a week. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 honda civic. the contact stated that when driving at any speed, the transmission would disengage without warning. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance. the vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who informed the contact that the vehicle was exhibiting no pressure to the transmission and advised him to replace the transmission. the current mileage was 171,113 and the failure mileage was 130,000.

My transmission failed in my 2002 honda civic while driving. lost all gears and it would not move. *tr

I have a 2002 honda civic ex auto trans. i notice the slipping of the transmission and was wondering if this was a recall...the car currently has 130,000 on it, and it probably has been doing this since about 60k miles. the car is flawless besides that, never a lick of trouble, just put tires and brakes and oil into it. but i'm starting to wonder about this "torque converter" issue, that many others have reported. it seems like the dealer knows about the problem but says nothing is wrong till you need a 3,000$ transmission. this is by far the best car i have owned ever! are these tranny problems in the lx? the ex and lx have different engines, and transmissions as well....my sister drove a 02 ex as well, and never had any problems with it either, but hers too, has this slipping when gears shift...so its an apparent problem, that honda doesn't want to acknowledge. maybe the people having problems were peeling out, and driving it too rough...this isn't a truck, its not a car made to beat on, so if you want to beat a car, go buy a hummer! *tr

Transmission failure on way to work. *tr

My transmission blew on my 2002 honda civic. it only has 80k miles. i went to step on the gas when it stayed at 0 mph, while the rpms went up. i was stuck in the middle of a busy intersection and i had to be pushed to the side of the road, i almost got hit by 2 cars. i read on a forum to make a complaint to this website. my warranty ran out 6 months ago and i still have a year and a half to pay on the car. i don't have the money to fix it so i contacted america honda for some good will assistance. i had my car towed to a honda dealership like they requested, and i am awaiting to hear back. *tr

The transmission in my 2002 honda civic lx sedan went out at 112,300 miles on freeway with no warning. *tr

2002 honda civic is the car i own, and from reading other reports i'm not the only one lately to have this issue. the transmission was not showing any problems no problems at all until this morning, suddenly starting to slip on the way to work. upon leaving earlier today my car wasn't going into gear at all, transmission is shot! was wondering if there is a product recall in the works for this...thank you very much for your time and consideration. *tr

Driving in traffic, engine started to rev up but the vehicle would not shift into gear. parked on curb, shifted to drive and seemed to shift properly, so drove back home to avoid any further problems. noticed a burning smell from under the hood. *tr torque converter seems to be failing, need to bring it in to garage.

I own a 2002 honda civic ex with 085542 miles on it. i was driving fine on the expressway when all of sudden i had to slow due to traffic and traffic resumed normal as i drove the vehicle, the vehicle did not accelerate and was not working on the very busy expressway. the driver behind noticed that my car was not going any faster and assisted blocking car as she placed herself in two lanes. i pulled into a small space on the side of the expressway. i had the vehicle towed and found out that my transmission failed. the vehicle was inspected and the code was p0730 "incorrect gear ratio" called honda repairs will cost 2,500.. i'm very unhappy i took great care of my car. the worst part is it stopped all of sudden with no warning on the expressway. the light did not come on until it broke down. i'm eight months pregnant and had my other child in the car seat. i could have been killed due to the amount of traffic. then i called a tow truck that could not transport due to the car seat would not fit for my child. so i had to call for someone else. i spoke to honda about the transmission , i advised of all the complaints and they advised that was not alot i understand their view on the numbers of car they have made but someone could die due to the transmission and they advised to speak to my dealership so i will but thank god no one has been hurt but does someone have to die or be injured for honda to send out letters or a recall. i just don't want some to be exposed to all the dangers i was exposed to that day. *tr

Started out as a whining coming from transmission then month later transmission when out. *tr

I own 20002 honda civic auto transmission. i started driving home from work when i noticed that transmission was having problems shifting. it start revving harder and harder. i'm lucky i made it home. i checked the transmission fluid and it was full, clean and correct color. i deceived to take it to a shop. i was horrified to found out it had failed. i bought this car new and took very good care of it. i have to buy a new transmission after having it paid off less then a year. i will never buy honda again. *tr

My car's automatic transmission blew monday night without warning. it had been revving up on its own without me accelerating. it is only a 2002 honda civic lx with 87,000 miles on it. i keep it in good shape. i was driving east bound on madison ave. just passing manzinita in sacramento california when out of no where my car would not change gears and would not go over 20 miles an hour. no check engine lights came on or anything. i had no warning. i finally got it to my daycare 20 minutes after it blew and then the check engine light came on. my mom searched 2002 honda civic transmission problems online and found that many people are having the same thing happen to them. honda now wants me to pay $3111.22 to fix it and did not mention that they have fixed it for free for other people who are having the same thing happen. i found all the other complaints on www.carcomplaints.com. *tr

Transmission failure because of faulty design by manufacturer. happen crossing busy intersection. could have caused major accident. *tr

I bought my 2002 honda civic in 2004 from the original owner and it had about 55,000 miles. it now has 95,000 and the transmission has completely gone out. it will not go into any gear and left me stranded on the street needing a tow to get home. the first estimate for a replacement transmission was $2700. i may end up selling the car at a reduced price just to try and get rid of it. the car was regularly serviced and driven relatively low miles, as i live only 5 miles from my place of work. until this problem, i had no issues with the car. *tr

My 2002 honda civic has a transmission slipping problem, i've done some research and others have had the same problem. *tr

I had the check engine light came on and excessive engine oil being used. was taken to a mechanic and nothing was found wrong. 1 week later on 12/16/2008 car's transmission completely stopped working on new jersey turnpike which could have caused an accident. there was no indication the transmission was failing. it failed at 114000 miles. i have found online that a lot of other 2002 honda civic owners are experiencing the same issue around the 100k mile mark. hondas are suppose to be well known as dependable cars and market their cars that way. it is very deceitful. i've had older civic's that lasted up to 200000 miles and i traded it in and had no issues. *tr

I own a 2002 honda civic ex. the transmission was slipping a little so i took it to my honda dealer for service. they called and said the transmission fluid was black and smelled burnt. they changed it as well as giving me a timing belt service package ($635) and sparkplug change ($200). upon taking it for a test drive, it stopped working. after a restart they managed to get it back to the dealership where it gave the error code corresponding to "improper gear ratio" which in turn translated to complete and total transmission failure. i did some digging and found very similar problems with other civics and accords with models in the early 2000s. i filed a complaint with honda of america and after a week of review they called to tell me that they would discount $700 off of a new transmission...so i'm still out $2,500. *tr

I've had problems with my 2002 honda civic ex since day one. bought it new. dealer took 3mths. to fix at first. now, at about 78k mi., my transmission is not working properly. i'm having trouble shifting to 4th & 5th gear. i don't want to endanger my family in the middle of nowhere. thank you very much for your concern. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 honda civic. while driving approximately 20 mph on normal road conditions, the transmission slipped erratically when shifting between gears. the failures occurred more frequently in cold weather conditions. there were no warnings prior to the failure. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnostic tests were performed. the technician stated that the failure was related to the transmission and advised that the vehicle be taken to a specialized transmission auto shop. the vehicle was taken to a specialized transmission shop and the transmission was rebuilt. the failure mileage was 74,622 and the current mileage was unavailable.

My wife was driving in 50 mph traffic transmission completely failed. it is in the shop going to have to replace transmission. *tr

Automatic transmission slipping in dangerous traffic situations. this occurs when car shifts. honda will not recall this obvious model defect in thousands of their 02 civic. *tr

Transmission. it makes no sense how a transmission on a 2002 honda civic goes up. i take good care of my car and it's in great shape. i have read so much on the transmission issues that the hondas' have and yet nothing is being done. it's an expense and they won't recall because they claim it's not a safety issue. well it is because my transmission died. the car left me stranded. i never got a warning stating that something was wrong with my car. i don't have the kind of money to be replacing transmissions. now i am without a car. *tr

2002 honda civic transmission slips car not movable. similar to complaint under 2002 honda civic at carcomplaints.com. i was driving and suddenly the transmission went from bad to worse. *tr

I started to feel the transmission slipping little by little and it just got worst from there to the point that the transmission just gave way. it just revs and does not shift into gears it will be more or less than about $1,500 to 2,000 to fix the problem. wish they could had made a recall about this on my 2002 honda civic ex. *tr

2002 honda civic lx coupe - transmission noise between 10-40 mph. as transmission would change gears, noise would reduce. noise would get worse as car accelerated. common problem with this year/model/make - honda will not recall or repair. *tr

Transmission revs high during shifting and you have to let off the gas in order for it to go into gear and car wont always go into gear. took it to a repair shop and they said nothing was wrong, it was just a slow shift. it seems to happen more when its cold outside. *tr

I was driving on a 4 hour road trip from wisconsin to minnesota. 1 hour from the destination my car started to rev into very high rpms while i had it on cruise control. after quickly taking off the cruise control i tried to accelerate with the gas pedal but it did nothing. i pulled over on the side of a very busy freeway and found that none of the gears (2nd, 3rd, drive, or reverse) would work. i was towed and found out that my transmission failed. the car is a 2002 honda civic ex coupe and only has 60,000 miles on it! after reading many internet sites/complaints, it seems that honda civics from 2001 and 2002 have tons of transmission complaints. i do not see why honda will not recognize this and help everyone out who's transmission goes out within 100,000 miles. it is ridiculous to only get 60,000 miles out of a transmission. *tr

Car was driving fine, then started shifting hard from 2nd to 3rd. lost all power and would not shift into any gear. check engine light came on code p0730 "incorrect gear ratio" called honda repairs will cost $1,700. i searched the net and found that this problem is very common with civics 01-03. i feel honda should goodwill atleast the tranny..... *tr

2002 honda civic. within a month or so of the failure, i started to experience the trans slipping when starting. the car clicked 100,000 miles on tuesday and on thursday the transmission fails! i was driving and i wanted to pass a vehicle, i made a lane change and stepped on the gas. the car suddenly felt funny and wouldn't go any faster. i came to the next stop light. when starting again the engine revved up and the car would barely make it across the intersection. i pulled into a side street and called for a tow truck. aamco transmission told me the torque converter was part of the trans failure. $3200 later i drive my car home and now the engine is idling rough. i thought honda's were supposed to last forever?!! *tr

Transmission failure. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 honda civic. the contact stated that the transmission was slipping between second and third gears. the vehicle was not inspected or repaired for the failure. the failure mileage was unknown abd the current mileage was 200,000. updated 06/16/11*lj updated 08/18/11

Transmission failed after some intermittent slippage. would work in reverse not forward. took to garage said transmission fried. replaced tranny and now said the computer wasn't working correctly. 67,000 miles on car. go figure. *tr

After 10 minutes of driving the auto transmission in my 2002 honda civic completely stopped working. i was driving on the highway and had a very difficult time reaching a safe place. the only warning was when i first started driving the transmission shifted poorly from 2nd to 3rd gear. i noticed that shifting problem several times as i proceeded toward the highway and then suddenly the transmission stopped working. i had the car towed to a transmission repair shop and they told me it was a complete transmission failure and would cost $2,400 to fix. *tr

Automatic transmission started slipping between 2 & 3 gear you have to lift off of the throttle to lower the rpm's so the trans will shift into 3rd gear, all the other shift points are fine. i believe there is a defect in this transmission are many complaints on online forum's about these transmissions. 2001 to 2005 civic's. *tr

Complete transmission failure while driving on major highway at approximately 50 mph. 2002 honda civic lx automatic transmission. *tr

I bought a 2002 honda civic ex in 2002. the car always sort of jumped when the automatic transmission changed gears. i did tell the service people about this at the first few required services. they made off like it was just normal so i dropped complaining. the car now has 130k miles and 4 days ago the transmission broke down. i found that this could have been from a number of issues from your site. i spoke with the service mgr at leith honda in raleigh where my car was towed. he emphatically states that there is no service issue with the 2002 honda civic transmissions. my car was serviced as required in fact since i use synthetic oil more than required. i has been taken to honda dealerships for big mile check ups or other reputable service places for normal oil changes. i have had 3 other honda cars over the past 30 years and they all got way over 130k miles before i traded or sold them and none had transmission problems. there is also a problem with the compliance bushings in the front. this is very early for something of this nature. *tr

I was on my way to de from nj and i started to drive up the hill of the delaware memorial bridge...i put my foot on the gas but my car stopped accelerating, the check engine light came on and my speedometer started to decline! i was in the middle lane on the bridge so i tried my best to get over to the far right lane while i was afraid the car would stop on the bridge and someone would hit me.. i got to the top of the hill and then i was able to coast down the hill towards the toll booth where my car stopped and had to be pushed to the shoulder. i was relieved to not have stopped on the bridge where there is no shoulder. it turns out to be the transmission failed. there was no warning. no leaks, no unusual behavior. i was just driving along as normal and the transmission failed. the check engine light didn't even come on until after it happened. it was very scary b/c i t happened out of no where. something like this is a scary and unsafe type of failure b/c it could have been potentially even more dangerous if i had not been able to get to a shoulder since i was on a bridge. my car was well maintained, had its oil changes and had been serviced with honda transmission fuel at the appropriate times. after having it towed to my mechanic's shop, it needs a new transmission torque converter went bad according to my mechanic. the complete randomness and no warning is what has upset me the most. *jb

Honda civic 2002 manual trans to mckeever auto bradenton, fl check rattling sound in engine area, maybe ac? mckeever could not find problem with ac,took to bradenton honda told coming from trans,honda mech no idea why. had a trans fluid change using honda fluid . no sign of deterioration fluid,trans worked fine, but still noise. now humming under hood, took to tires plus got axle. drove 1200 miles trans starts popping out of 5 gear. took to mckeever, usa trans said needed trans. could rebuild for $2500 no guarantee.honda said no warranty extension, bulletin, out of warranty; new trans 6000 tech can not open trans must go to factory no one would fix problem, options rebuild, get another. got used trans low miles mckeever installed replaced honda seals and fluid, drove 400 miles like new suddenly at high speed engine raced trans popped out 5 gear.returned mckeever?s. found numerous bulletins,complaints honda trans, including same for 01. mckeever?s put original trans in civic, took to honda contacted to report case #n012007-10-1601112, told no bulletins on trans for my car. told honda bulletin 01-081 for the 01 civic same problem.honda told me car not part of that. told only 01, drive from mckeever found the trans same as before popping out of gear quickly got worse unable to hold. honda inspected vehicle found axle slipped out, trans fluid leaked,took pictures honda told me axle wrong, did not fit, drove in 4th gear to tires plus who talked to honda, then put axle in showed me it fit.ordered another axle installed it showed me it fit. do not know if aftermarket axles for this vehicle are safety issue or if it caused damage to trans requested another used trans. from mckeever auto waiting to confirm axle holding.contacted honda back, honda lied there r issues with these trans. honda lied that tech's can not open trans had to go to factory. original trans, new axle in honda old axle tires plus, first used trans mckeevers. *tr

Complete and sudden failure of transmission in the middle of rush hour traffic with no warning. vehicle loses ability to move and drive disengages. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 honda civic. the current and failure mileage were 116000. while driving 30 mph the vehicle turned completely off. the vehicle was moved to the side of the road. the vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated that the transmission was bad.

Transmission shifts hard and sometimes slips between the first and second gear. took it to the honda dealership for checkup. they charged a fee and said there is no problem. the problem still persists and sometimes it jerks hard when i slow down due to traffic and try to accelerate. *tr