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Honda Civic Hybrid Transmission Problems

487 messages,  Last post on Apr 29, 2013 at 8:38 PM

You are in the Honda Civic Hybrid Maintenance & Repair Forum.

What is this discussion about? Honda Civic, Transmission, Sedan

    
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Messages Page 22 of 49

#210 of 487 Re: You have Judder! [luvhatehybrid] by naomidabomb

Nov 13, 2008 (3:56 pm)

Replying to: luvhatehybrid (Oct 04, 2008 6:31 pm)
I had the same problem with my first gen HCH that I got in 2002. It was only about 30G's into it and I knew the tranny was bad - it had all the classic symptoms. I kept telling them to check it out - they conveniently kept telling me all was well over and over again until after my warranty was over - so I signed up for the extended warranty and said - look - I have the extended warranty so you aren't getting out of fixing it. It took about 7-8 trips there before they finally admitted it was the tranny - this is all documented there at Honda that we "had no work done". Here was a recent post I made about all the other problems i have had with it. And I SOLELY agree to the comment posted by luvhatehybird - DO NOT GET ONE IF YOU DON"T HAVE ONE!!!!!!
  
Honda should be buying me a new car by now since I have had so many problems with the engine and other parts in the car. Screw good as mileage - I have WELL paid for anything I have saved by having to pay for repairs. I am still only in the lower 90G's in mileage. They apparently only extend the warranty on the expensive stuff to an 8year/80,000 miles and then lie and say you have a 10year-100,000 mile warranty. 100K warranty was what we signed up for!!!!!! We were shocked and extremely angry when everything stopped working at 80,000 miles!!!!!!
  
Here is the post: "I have a Honda Civic Hybrid. I have the first year - 2003 and bought it in 2002. I was told how to drive it to receive the best gas mileage. (Don't take off too fast, let it coast more often, etc --things you want to already do in ANY vehicle). I received better than the sticker for the first couple years (in the lower 50's average), after the third and fourth year, it dropped to lower 40's and now from the 5th year until now is in the lower 30's. I have had MAJOR issues with the car though. I have had at least 4-5 DOZEN trips to the honda dealer for them to replace something that costs thousands of dollars to replace down to a few hundred dollars to replace. The transmission went out in the 30G's, the catalytic converter (1100 to replace) is bad now and the IMA system which is the 180 volt battery that recharges, giving it the "hybrid" name (around 3000 to replace) had to be replaced and was already bad for some time. I also had to replace the actual 12-volt battery twice. Several other things were recalled softwarewise that were done free but would have been charged labor if I didn't have the extended warranty. Also, the SRS light (seatbelt retention system) has been on for 50,000 miles and Honda has tried fixing the problem at least a dozen times itself - it still is not fixed even now. This concerns me because it means either the seatbelts won't lock when they need to or the airbags won't deploy at all (maybe even when your life depends on it). Other things have had to be replaced as well - I had to get American Honda Care involved because of so many problems. I am wondering how many others out there have had any of the problems I mentioned. And yes - Honda DOES sell the car based on the MPG here in KC, MO. They use it ONLY as the selling point since people here drive alot - most don't care about emissions - they just want good gas mileage - which is why they told us how to drive the vehicle to get the best mileage possible. Many things drop the gas mileage down on the hybrid and at a higher rate than any other type of car."

#211 of 487 03 hch owner by bbb99

Nov 13, 2008 (7:36 pm)

Replying to: naomidabomb (Nov 13, 2008 3:56 pm)
My 03 HCH (auto) is at 86,000 miles and I've replaced the egr valve. I've also replaced the front battery once and I have a creaking noise around my front left tire that a mechanic told me I don't need to fix. Here's hoping things keep going well, I got a 54 mpg tank last week.

#212 of 487 Re: You have Judder! [naomidabomb] by rikfre

Nov 14, 2008 (7:05 am)

Replying to: naomidabomb (Nov 13, 2008 3:56 pm)
Well,it seems to me that Honda of America has made it crystal clear that we would be making lots of trips to the dealerships for their benefit. They made such good reliable vehicles that were so easy to maintain that the dealerships probably complained. Now with these very complex vehicles, the dealerships get the action and the dough. I don;t know about your area, but were I live (NYC metro) the dealerships are awful. The techies do not know anything about how to maintain a HCH. I feel we have all experienced their jive. I know I have experienced their condescending ways. My family owns quite a few Hondas. I know I will not be getting another one again. They have forgotten who made them.

#213 of 487 Fly wheel Drive by szamzam

Jan 29, 2009 (10:29 am)

Replying to: rikfre (Nov 14, 2008 7:05 am)
Hi everyone,
My 2003 HCH quit on me while driving. The engine seems to run normally but drive is like neutral. WHen i change to parking, Drive blinks but the car will not move. First dealer told me it might transmission ot fly wheel drive. Second dealer says the car has no fly wheel drive and is still diagnosing it.
Does anyone know if it has a flywheel drive and/ or what the problem might be...
 
Thanks.

#214 of 487 Re: Fly wheel Drive [szamzam] by irisheyes785

Jan 29, 2009 (1:06 pm)

Replying to: szamzam (Jan 29, 2009 10:29 am)
hi.
i've made many posts on this forum about the declining quality of my 2003 HCH. Since i bought it it's been slowly breaking down. first i needed a burnish at 60k, a few weeks after i purchased the car. then again about 10 k later. and again 10k after that as well as new starter clutch, rebuild transmission. 5k later- now at 86,000- only 6k past the Honda extended warranty and my Drive light also started flashing. The manual says to take it in right away if this happens. I did and they told me they need to replace the transmission control module. this may be the only problem, maybe more, not sure yet. the only dealer that will help me is where i bought it- i guess i'm lucky since it's outside of warranty they don't HAVE to help me, but come ON- they just fixed the damn thing 5k miles ago!!! that is embarrassing to them AND honda i would think!!
 
as before, i will post an update once repairs have been made- hopefully the P.O.S. will be able to drive all the way to the original dealer before it breaks.
 
anyways, good luck to all who made the mistake of purchasing this seemingly good investment.
 
Szamzam- Please post an update as well. of the MANY MANY problems i've had w/the vehicle, i've never had the D light flash, so i am very concerned now, interested to see what is wrong with yours and if it relates- or maybe the light can flash for a few different types of trans problems. but the manual definitely says something about the D light flashing meaning the trans is going...
 
Page 166 in the 2003 HCH manual explains about the Flashing "D" indicator.
 
 

#215 of 487 Re: Fly wheel Drive [irisheyes785] by rikfre

Jan 29, 2009 (5:06 pm)

Replying to: irisheyes785 (Jan 29, 2009 1:06 pm)
Hi, the 2003 Civic HCH is a very complex vehicel. It's so complex that the dealerships have no clue how to deal with it.After all, it is the first generation vehicle. I would suggest you google the Civic CVT tranny and realize how small it is. When the "burnishment" of the clutch was done they should have upgraded the TCM (tranny control module) software. did they? They also should have done a system re-set after the TCM upgrade. did they? The software upgrade is part of the burnishment. The re-set is simple and if you are handy I can tell you how to do it or have a mechanic do it. Once the re-set is done the vehicle runs much better. I am not a technician. I have benefited from some information given to me by someone who knows the vehicle very well. By the way, when they did the "burnishment" on my car they shorted my tranny almost half a pint of tranny fluid. My regular mechanic found that. It's what caused the slippage in my tranny which I thought needed replacement. Call this dealerships bluff! Good luck!

#216 of 487 trans failing too by gerardhm

Mar 02, 2009 (1:48 pm)

I've had no luck with my my '03 HCH and repairs by Honda dealers either. Earlier this year, I had the Cat. go and I tried to have the dealer work out a deal with me to replace it, but to no avail. Now, I'm being told that my transmission is failing (it's been making a funny noise since Thanksgiving that they've just now been able to diagnose). I'm just not sure I want to put another 4-5K in the car and I'm pretty darn sure Honda's not going to help me pay for the transmission repairs. However, I think they should b/c they sure have screwed up on making cars that work well.

#217 of 487 Re: Fly wheel Drive [rikfre] by irisheyes785

Mar 02, 2009 (5:13 pm)

Replying to: rikfre (Jan 29, 2009 5:06 pm)
They didn't upgrade the TCM, i had that break separately at 86,000 and just had the replaced on "good will" since the warranty is up. i would have been pissed if they didn't cover that and they already knew it was bad and didn't fix it. but i know there's more...
they did do the software update- strangely, that was when the battery stopped charging to 100% they tried to blame it on the new software- i am just at my wits end. i have no clue who is just ignorant and who is really lying to me for their own gain. very frustrating!!
 
when you refilled/replaced the fluid, did you buy the liquid gold "Honda" fluid? If not what did you use instead?

#218 of 487 Re: trans failing too [gerardhm] by irisheyes785

Mar 02, 2009 (5:17 pm)

Replying to: gerardhm (Mar 02, 2009 1:48 pm)
gerardm-
 
we have the same vehicle... have you read my posts? there may be a lot more you can do before total replacement. what is your millage? read my posts, there are a bunch in this thread about my car and the various things i've tried. it's been 3 years since the problems really started, though i think i'm finally down to kinda thin ice. but maybe there's still a way to get a few more years out of your vehicle.
 
question for anyone:
are you guys repairing them and then selling them off to unsuspecting people? or trading them in- if so, at Honda or another dealer? Or Are you going to drive your hybrids till the wheels fall off?
 
i'm thinking i might have to be shady and sell it to someone else once i patch up the trans it makes me sad, but i can't afford to trade it in to a honda dealership for a better car since i'm not done paying for it yet...

#219 of 487 Re: Fly wheel Drive [irisheyes785] by rikfre

Mar 02, 2009 (6:59 pm)

Replying to: irisheyes785 (Mar 02, 2009 5:13 pm)
Hi there, yes , I did buy their high priced tranny fluid..I bet its Dexron III in their packaging. Funny thing is that their tranny fluid (from the dealership) was clear and the one I bought from the parts dept. was dyed red!! Sounds like your dealership is no different than the ones around here. google honda and get the presidents name. write him a letter (I did) let him know how the dealerships abuse customers.

Messages Page 22 of 49

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