22nd Mar 2010, 15:19

I just bought a 2001 Civic HX 1 month ago as a commuter car, and after 500 miles the transmission died. I hate this car!

23rd Mar 2010, 15:07

Improper maintenance or abuse from previous owners can cause that. You never stated how many miles your car has. If you've only got 50,000 miles then go ahead and complain. But most of the time I see people complaining of failures when their car has well over 100,000 miles (usually 200,000 if it's a Honda).

It's not a joke. I've seen people go on and on about how they just can't believe there transmission died or this failed or that failed when their car "only had 300,000 miles".

By the way, when it comes to commuter cars, going with the manual transmission is the best thing you can do. They give you much better mileage anyways.

Or is your transmission a manual and you just fried the clutch or something? Which would be YOUR fault, not the car's.

27th Apr 2010, 14:57

Got a 1997 Honda Civic HX, wait for it, 240,000 miles on its CVT! Only problems I've had with is a check engine light go on, and the alternator changed. I change the CVT fluid like I change the oil. (lots) Now there IS just one problem; when I brake really fast from a high rate of speed, it makes a whiny sound. I'm guessing the CVT clipping a bit. It's getting old but still running, looking at a new car soon but want to see how far I can go with it.

I've owned Honda's all my life and love em. My first car was a 1982 Honda Civic hatchback! (yes it was an awesome classic car) I got that think up to 260,000 miles and actually drove it to the junk yard to it's death. It's brakes were just done for, and too costly. Plus I hit a tree and it was rusting a bit.

Honda's are just like every car; they need to be maintained and checked on to make em last. Plus unless you're a car guy souping it up to make it faster, you shouldn't beat on the car speeding around, that only breaks things.

4th May 2010, 18:05

This seems to be the most Civic thread with the most current comments, so I'll try asking my question here.

I'm 16 years old, and I'm currently looking at buying a 1994 Honda Civic DX. It's a 5-speed manual, and it has 181,000 miles. The body is in decent shape, a few dings and scratches here and there, but no rust. The engine runs smooth and quiet, and it shifts quite nicely. It costs $1450. Is this a fair price?

I've always liked Honda's, and my family has owned many, all of them being very reliable. That being said, I can't afford to have any serious problems. I'm wondering what problems are most common on the '94 Civic. I've heard great things about them, but I've also heard about problems like head gasket failure (I do not want to go through that again. My first car, a '95 Neon, had that problem along with numerous others.)

My biggest concern is the clutch. The clutch doesn't engage until the pedal is about 2 inches from being completely released. Not sure if it has a hydraulic or mechanical linkage clutch. If it's mechanical, could this simply mean it needs adjustment? Or is the clutch in need of replacement. Replacing the clutch is no big deal for me, I'm in the Automotive program at my tech high school, I'm just wondering what the most likely problem is or if this is just normal for Civics.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

6th May 2010, 18:34

Hi, same 16 year old from the above comment. I'd like to thank anybody in advance for any information that would've been provided. I looked over the Civic I was considering buying again today. Did seem nice, but upon starting it up this time, it blew thick black smoke and ran rough. Discovered it wasn't firing on cylinder 3 and compression was extremely low on it as well. It's weird that it didn't do this the first time. Oh well, I'm glad it did happen when it did so I didn't end up with another car I can't afford to fix. Guess I'll just keep my Neon now that it is completely fixed (got tired of the automatic transmission, and was afraid of more issues arising. I may be able to fix the problems, but I still gotta pay for the parts it needs.)

1st Sep 2010, 21:03

Hi, I have 98 HX manual with 134k. Bought it with 116k. The check engine light has been on constantly. I've changed the rear O2 twice and front once. I need to get emissions tested, and I am unable to. The mechanic is looking at wiring right now.

This is worst car I have owned. Any insights into my problem?

28th Dec 2010, 21:56

My wife bought a 2000 Civic HX automatic new in 2000, and we are now on the 3rd trans. The last trans was put in by the dealer free of charge, even though the warranty was up, because they knew that we had problems since the car was new. If this trans goes out, and I think it will, because it is now making a grinding noise, I will junk this turd and never ever buy another Honda, ever!!!

19th Feb 2011, 21:20

You people in these automatic and CVT transmissions. Drive a manual transmission, they are about 10000 times better, and have no problems.

I have a 98 Civic HX. Bought it with 82,000 miles, I now have 127,000 and have only replaced an axle and a battery in 45,000 miles. Excellent car, great gas mileage, extremely reliable. They should have made more 5 spd Civic HX's, very hard find.

30th Mar 2011, 14:34

The engine light stays on because you have to change the catalytic converter for your exhaust after a certain number of miles, following the California rules of emission. That's why the light stays on - it has nothing to do with your core engine per se!

9th Jan 2012, 12:27

I've changed the converter, but it was 'used'. The light remains.

22nd Jun 2012, 00:55

@27th Apr 2010, 14:57,

How many miles on your Civic HX with the CVT transmission now? Still have the C.E.L. on? I think this car has 2 catalytic converters, so that it can still have low emissions, even though it is a lean-burn engine. One or both of them may need to be replaced. Got to have the computer scanned so you know the exact error codes.

22nd Jun 2012, 19:42

This thread is a good example of why black-or-white thinking applied to any brand of car can be a mistake. One could have read the original review and surmised, as some did, that all Honda Civic HX's are crap. However, we see that one difference in an otherwise identical car can make a huge difference. It also illustrates that all car brands can have both very reliable cars and very problematic cars. Just because it has the big H badge, doesn't mean it will be trouble-free.