Do 04 and 05 Auto Civic still have defective trannys?

[maxwinedog]

My little sis is looking to buy a civic coupe, she was going to first go with an 02 but was told by many people to avoid as apparently from what I hear and read everywhere online, Honda auto transmissions have serious failure rates after 2000. Ive been doing quite a bit of research online the last few days about this, and from what i gather the 04 and 05 ATs are built a lot better than 01,02,03. I google honda auto tranny problems and it takes me to a couple sites.

I find 700 reports on carcomplaints.com about users having an 01 auto tranny failure! Over 300 for 02 and about the same for 03. 04 and 05 was a lot less, but then again those are a lot newer so less milage on them...maybe the 04 and 05 users need more time before the reports come hailing in.

And I find this.
http://www.hondaproblems.com/problems/transmission-failure.shtml

There was a defective 2nd gear clutch pack carrier in the early 7th gen trannys but from what i read online its been 04 and 05 is a lot better but not sure if the defect has been 100% fixed in those trannys. Again this is just from reading online, so this could be bogus for all i know.

But i just want to hear from the experts on here and if anyone here drives a 7th gen Auto or know of anyone. My sister is now eyeing at 04 or 05 Civic but needs confirmation that the trannys on them have been fixed.

Anyone here work for honda or at a honda/acura dealership? I do know that Acura EL uses the same trannys.

[Thaco]

04 and 05 are the same drivetrain, just a minor facelift, still defective... but the good news is, they're cheap from the wreckers.

[AE92_TreunoSC]

All cars of every make have auto trans failures. Driving habits has a lot do to with it.

They are definitely not common or known for it.

The newer gen's had a few bad years but the early 00's are fine.

[Hage69]

I have a 02 with 80k and an 04 with 116k both auto and no complaints about the auto the tranny. But like stated above depends how you drive. If you rip the shot out of you should expect to be getting a new tranny. If you drive it like a granny you should be fine.

[maxwinedog]

Originally posted by Thaco
04 and 05 are the same drivetrain, just a minor facelift, still defective... but the good news is, they're cheap from the wreckers.

Hmm so i guess if he 04-05 are defective too then she wont be getting that either. But the 04-05s are a lot less faulty than 01-03? From what ive noticed theyre not that cheap from the wreckers - still $800 or so. Know of a place with them cheaper?


Originally posted by AE92_TreunoSC
All cars of every make have auto trans failures. Driving habits has a lot do to with it.

They are definitely not common or known for it.

The newer gen's had a few bad years but the early 00's are fine.

Honda auto trannies arent known for problems?

[G-ZUS]

^ it was mostly the v6's with the tranny problems. Change ur oil religiously andnput an aftermarket tranny cooler.

[jdmsource]

We sell quite a few transmissions for the 01-05 civics, seems all the auto ones in that range have that issue

[maxwinedog]

Originally posted by G-ZUS
^ it was mostly the v6's with the tranny problems. Change ur oil religiously andnput an aftermarket tranny cooler.

hmm not sure about that....carcomplaints has 700 reports on the 4speed lol.

[Thaco]

Originally posted by maxwinedog


hmm not sure about that....carcomplaints has 700 reports on the 4speed lol. vs several million sold, i like those odds.

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by maxwinedog


hmm not sure about that....carcomplaints has 700 reports on the 4speed lol.

:facepalm:

[Thaco]

Originally posted by G-ZUS


:facepalm: :rofl: :rofl:

i honestly didn't even read his post until i saw your response.

[Resurrected RA]

I had an 05 Civic with an automatic, never serviced the transmission. I drove the car hard, never had an issue. It had 170,000 km on it before I traded it in. Still worked well.

[05*CivicRS]

01-03 had the tranny problems.

[maxwinedog]

Originally posted by Thaco
vs several million sold, i like those odds.

Really? You do know there was almost a recall on them right? I dont know about you but the fact that its the #1 complaint on that site speaks volumes.

[Thaco]

Originally posted by maxwinedog


Really? You do know there was almost a recall on them right? I dont know about you but the fact that its the #1 complaint on that site speaks volumes. it was also the #1 selling car for that time, by a long shot, more vehicles = more complaints.

[maxwinedog]

Originally posted by Thaco
it was also the #1 selling car for that time, by a long shot, more vehicles = more complaints.

Well hmm still dont get the massive drop off from 01-03-04-05

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Civic/2001/transmission/

And TSBs from Honda

http://www.AboutAutomobile.com/TSB/2001/Honda/Civic/Automatic+Transmission

[copynpaste]

Lots of incorrect info in this thread. The 01-03 trannies are most definitely defective. They have a defective 2nd gear clutch pack carrier where it slips from 2 to 3 and the clutch packs Honda used in those years were way too thin causing them to wear out way too soon. Also horrible idea for Honda to go with an internal filter for these years so you get metal pieces of the clutch packs clogging up the internal filter, fluid cant get inside there, youre tranny starts to whine and then its shot.

And I hate to say it but how you drive it may have your tranny last a bit longer but its not going to prevent this or stop the fact that it will break eventually due ot the defective parts inside. Its not IF its going to break but WHEN. Its almost like xboxs red rings, its that bad and that common. Very few, and I mean very rare does an 01-03 tranny last past 100k miles, most are going out under 75000m!

Just go on the civic boards and one has a 450+ report thread going back from 05 all with failed trannys. All these guys will tell you the same that they are defective trannies.

As far as 04 and 05 Auto trannies, Honda did put slightly better clutch packs in them but they still suffer from the crappy interal filter.

Best thing to do is if want a honda auto to last, get a tranny shop to rebuild it with upgraded clutch packs and torque convertor. Theres guys in the states who have installed the TCI racing overhaul kit in theres and have said nothing but night and day differences because the clutch packs are much beefier and wont wear out. But the TCI kit has been discontinued. Tranny shops here Might be able to get you upgraded aftermarket clutchpacks.

[Weapon_R]

Originally posted by maxwinedog
My little sis is looking to buy a civic coupe, she was going to first go with an 02 but was told by many people to avoid as apparently from what I hear and read everywhere online, Honda auto transmissions have serious failure rates after 2000. Ive been doing quite a bit of research online the last few days about this, and from what i gather the 04 and 05 ATs are built a lot better than 01,02,03. I google honda auto tranny problems and it takes me to a couple sites.

I find 700 reports on carcomplaints.com about users having an 01 auto tranny failure! Over 300 for 02 and about the same for 03. 04 and 05 was a lot less, but then again those are a lot newer so less milage on them...maybe the 04 and 05 users need more time before the reports come hailing in.

And I find this.
http://www.hondaproblems.com/problems/transmission-failure.shtml

There was a defective 2nd gear clutch pack carrier in the early 7th gen trannys but from what i read online its been 04 and 05 is a lot better but not sure if the defect has been 100% fixed in those trannys. Again this is just from reading online, so this could be bogus for all i know.

But i just want to hear from the experts on here and if anyone here drives a 7th gen Auto or know of anyone. My sister is now eyeing at 04 or 05 Civic but needs confirmation that the trannys on them have been fixed.

Anyone here work for honda or at a honda/acura dealership? I do know that Acura EL uses the same trannys.



Originally posted by copynpaste
Lots of incorrect info in this thread. The 01-03 trannies are most definitely defective. They have a defective 2nd gear clutch pack carrier where it slips from 2 to 3 and the clutch packs Honda used in those years were way too thin causing them to wear out way too soon. Also horrible idea for Honda to go with an internal filter for these years so you get metal pieces of the clutch packs clogging up the internal filter, fluid cant get inside there, youre tranny starts to whine and then its shot.

And I hate to say it but how you drive it may have your tranny last a bit longer but its not going to prevent this or stop the fact that it will break eventually due ot the defective parts inside. Its not IF its going to break but WHEN. Its almost like xboxs red rings, its that bad and that common. Very few, and I mean very rare does an 01-03 tranny last past 100k miles, most are going out under 75000m!

Just go on the civic boards and one has a 450+ report thread going back from 05 all with failed trannys. All these guys will tell you the same that they are defective trannies.

As far as 04 and 05 Auto trannies, Honda did put slightly better clutch packs in them but they still suffer from the crappy interal filter.

Best thing to do is if want a honda auto to last, get a tranny shop to rebuild it with upgraded clutch packs and torque convertor. Theres guys in the states who have installed the TCI racing overhaul kit in theres and have said nothing but night and day differences because the clutch packs are much beefier and wont wear out. But the TCI kit has been discontinued. Tranny shops here Might be able to get you upgraded aftermarket clutchpacks.

Wait - why are you having a conversation with yourself?

[top_speed]

Originally posted by Weapon_R





Wait - why are you having a conversation with yourself?
Wtf.....:rofl: :rofl:

[Robnaldo]

228k on my 02 1.7L civic coupe - no tranny service...actually barely any service period. (I do drive like a granny for sure if that makes a difference)

[yipb]

from i remember pre97 were fine, and 07+ were also fine?
98-0x was bad
01-03 was really bad especially for v6

tell her to buy 04 sir

[hampstor]

Originally posted by Weapon_R





Wait - why are you having a conversation with yourself?

You're right... :nut: