2003 HONDA CIVIC Complaints

I FEEL A BIG JERK WHEN DECELERATE MY CAR FROM 70MILES/HOUR WITH MY FOOT OFF THE GAS PEDAL. THERE HAS BEEN NO ACCIDENT BUT I FEEL THAT IF THE CAR BREAKS DOWN AS A RESULT OF THIS JERK OR IF THE JERK IS STRONG ENOUGH, THEN I MAY RUN INTO SOME ACCIDENT. THE PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT. I TOOK THE CARE TO HONDA DEALER, BUT THE PROBLEM DIDN'T HAPPEN DURING TEST DRIVE. A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE WITH THIS MODEL. IT LOOKS LIKE A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. CAR DETAIL: HONDA CIVIC HYBRID 2003. IT'S AN ONGOING PROBLEM. *TR

I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF A 2003 HONDA CIVIC SI THAT HAS APPROXIMATELY 58,000 MILES. THE CAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN GARAGED AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN MAINTAINED BY HONDA DEALERS. I HAVE ALWAYS MET AND IN SOME CASES EXCEEDED THE RECOMMENDED MAINTENANCE INTERVALS. IN NOVEMBER OF 2009, THE SRS LIGHT APPEARED ON MY DASH AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE ONE MORNING. THIS OCCURRED ABOUT 2 WEEKS AFTER A ROUTINE OIL/FILTER SERVICE VISIT AT MY LOCAL HONDA DEALER. I RETURNED TO THE DEALER AND PAID APPROXIMATELY $85 FOR THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT TO EVALUATE WHY THIS SRS INDICATOR LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. I WAS TOLD MY VEHICLE HAD A "BAD INFLATER" THAT "WOULD NOT INFLATE THE AIR BAGS DURING A [COLLISION]" AND THAT I NEEDED TO ORDER/PURCHASE A NEW CABLE REEL ASSEMBLY. THE ESTIMATED PARTS AND LABOR CHARGES WOULD BE $540. THE SERVICE PERSONNEL TOLD ME THAT THEY WEREN'T SURE IF THE NEW CABLE REEL ASSEMBLY WOULD RESOLVE THE SRS ISSUE BUT THEY BELIEVED THAT IT WAS AT LEAST PARTLY TO BLAME FOR THE SRS LIGHT BEING ILLUMINATED ON THE DASH. I AM PRESENTLY AWARE OF THE RECALL OF A NUMBER OF MANY 2003 HONDA CIVICS BUT MINE HAS NOT BEEN INCLUDED. THE ISSUE WITH MY VEHICLE REPRESENTS AN UNEXPLAINED FAILURE OF A CRITICAL SAFETY SYSTEM THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE GIVEN THE AGE AND USAGE OF THIS VEHICLE. I AM CONCERNED THAT THE CURRENT RECALL ANNOUNCED ON FEBRUARY 9TH DOES NOT REACH FAR ENOUGH. *TR

I PURCHASED THE CAR USED IN 2006 WITH 21,000 MILES. THE TRANSMISSION FAILED AT 56,000 MILES (1/27/08). TOLD NEEDED TRANSMISSION OVERHAUL. THE TRANSMISSION ALSO FAILED AGAIN AT 89,000 (2/4/09) MILES, REQUIRING ANOTHER TRANSMISSION OVERHAUL. 6 MONTHS LATER EXPERIENCING SIMILAR SYMPTOMS (SHUDDERING/SHAKE/VIBRATION BETWEEN 30-50 MPH) AS BEFORE TOOK IT TO AAMCO TO GET AN OUTSIDE OPINION AND I AM TOLD THE TORQUE CONVERTER IS FAILING AND IF NOT REPLACED WILL CAUSE TRANSMISSION FAILURE ONCE AGAIN. THE CAR CURRENTLY HAS 124,000 MILES ON IT. SO MUCH FOR HONDA RELIABILITY. *TR

I WISH TO MAKE NOTICE TO NHTSA THAT THE ISSUE IN BRAKING FOR PRIUS VEHICLES WOULD SEEM TO ME TO BE RELATED, IN GENERAL, TO HYBRIDS, BUILT IN JAPAN, AND NOT JUST TOYOTA. I HAVE AN '03 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID, AND IT HAS ISSUES. IT HAS BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT BACK IN '05 AND WHAT WAS THE ISSUE? BRAKING! THE CAR WENT OUT OF CONTROL UNDER HEAVY BRAKING (THOUGH ALL THESE VEHICLES HAVE 4 WHL ABS) IN AN "ANIMAL-AVOIDANCE" ATTEMPT. I ENDED UP CAREENING SIDE-WISE SLIDING UNTIL COLLIDING WITH A UTILITY POLE, AT THE PASSGR SIDE "A" PILLAR. RACCOON DIDN'T SURVIVE. I HAD NOTICED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THAT THE ABS, UPON ENCOUNTERING BUMPS OR JOLTS OF ANY SIGNIFICANT DEGREE, WILL "CUT-OUT" MOMENTARILY, AND FURTHER, THE "ENGINE-BRAKING' ASSOCIATED WITH THE HYBRID MOTOR-GENERATOR ALSO CUTS OUT AND DOES NOT RETURN (UNTIL AFTER THE STOP HAS BEEN CONCLUDED USING ONLY THE AVAILABLE BRAKING METHODS LEFT)(NO ABS "CHATTER" IS TO BE OBSERVED IN THESE SCENARIOS). THE PHENOMENON IS DEFINITELY REPRODUCIBLE; I HAVE OFTEN FOUND THAT SUCH BUMPS ARE VIRTUALLY UNAVOIDABLE ON CERTAIN PLACES I COMMONLY DRIVE NEAR MY HOME. IT IS SUCH AN ISSUE THAT I HAVE LEARNED TO TRY TO COMPENSATE FOR THAT WHEN DRIVING OVER THESE BUMPY PLACES, BUT ONE CAN'T COMPENSATE WHEN ENCOUNTERING SAME IN A NEW, UNFAMILIAR AREA/SITUATION. PLEASE DO LOOK INTO THE CONCEPT THAT IT COULD BE MORE OF A JAPANESE MADE ABS SYSTEM-FAULT , (POSSIBLY INCLUDING ENGINE-REGENERATIVE BRAKING SYSTEM) RATHER THAN A TOYOTA-ONLY THING. I WOULD REQUEST THAT MY NOTE BE ACKNOWLEDGED, MYSELF BE CONTACTED SO AS TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFO NEEDED, AND MY CONTACT INFO BE RETAINED SO AS TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING SUBSEQUENT RESOLUTIONS, IE RECALLS/LEGAL CASES/SETTLEMENTS. BY THE WAY, I HAD NOT "COLLISION" INSURANCE, THUS I PAID TO REPAIR MY HCH POST THAT ACCIDENT. I STILL DRIVE THE CAR TODAY, THOUGH ANYONE WOULD HAVE CALLED IT "TOTALLED".TIRES- WERE THE SAME SET INSTALLED AS OEM, WERE AT LEAST 60% EVEN AT 51K, THEY READILY WOREOUT AFTERWARDS-POST-ACC ALIGNMT ISSUES *CN

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING 75 MPH ON THE INTERSTATE WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL EXTENDED TO THE FLOOR WITHOUT THE CONTACT APPLYING PRESSURE TO IT, THEN THE RPMS INCREASED. HE THEN FIRMLY PRESSED ON THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE VEHICLE STARTED TO SLOW DOWN. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE DRIVING. THE FAILURE HAS OCCURRED APPROXIMATELY 7 TO 8 TIMES. HONDA WAS CONTACTED AND STATED THAT THEY WERE NOT GOING TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE SINCE THE FAILURE WAS RELATED TO THE CRUISE CONTROL. THEY ALSO ADVISED THE CONTACT TO HAVE THE VEHICLE DIAGNOSED BY THE DEALER. NO REPAIRS WERE MADE TO THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 130,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 207,496. THE CONSUMER ALSO STATED THE BRAKES DID NOT WORK WELL ON A ROUGH ROAD WHEN GOING DOWN A HILL. UPDATED 05/13/10.*JB

HONDA CIVIC HYBRIDS WITH THE CVT TRANSMISSION DEVELOP WHAT HONDA REFERS TO AS A JUDDER. WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING IS THE "START CLUTCH" IN THE TRANSMISSION SLIPS DURING TAKE OFF FROM A STOP AND CAUSES THE CAR TO JUDDER OR SHAKE. WHEN THIS HAPPENS IN ANY CONDITION OTHER THAN PERFECTLY DRY ROADS YOU CAN TEMPORARILY LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE BECAUSE THE VEHICLE IS FRONT WHEEL DRIVE AND THE FRONT WHEELS CAN LOSE TRACTION AND SPIN. I HAVE EVEN HAD THIS HAPPEN WHEN THE FRONT TIRES ARE SITTING ON THE PAINTED WHITE LINE FOUND AT MOST INTERSECTIONS. HONDA IS VERY AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS DOCUMENTED ONLINE, YET HONDA HAS BEEN VERY RELUCTANT TO PROPERLY ADDRESS THE SITUATION. HONDA CLAIMS THIS IS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE, BUT I HAVE TEMPORARILY LOST CONTROL OF MY CAR ON WET ROADS SEVERAL TIMES. I CAN'T IMAGINE TRYING TO DRIVE ONE IN THE SNOW. HERE ARE A COUPLE OF LINKS THAT WILL TAKE YOU TO DISCUSSION GROUPS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. HTTP://TOWNHALL-TALK.EDMUNDS.COM/DIRECT/ VIEW/.F0B3259/262 HTTP://WWW.CNGCHAT.COM/FORUM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP? 266-2001-2005-CVT-TRANSMISSION-WARRANTY-EXTENSION-FOR-SLIP-JUDDER HONDA HAS EXTENDED THE WARRANTY PERIOD FOR THIS PROBLEM. IN MY SPECIFIC CASE THEY KEPT IGNORING MY REQUEST TO REBUILD THE TRANSMISSION UNTIL I WAS BEYOND THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. IN MY CASE I FILED A COMPLAINT WITH HONDA AMERICAN AND NEGOTIATED TO SPLIT THE COST WITH THEM. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO HAVE NOT BEEN SO LUCKY AND HAVE HAD TO PAY IN FULL FOR THE REPAIRS. *TR

2003 HONDA CIVIC EX WITH 5 SPEED STANDARD TRANSMISSION AND WITH CRUISE CONTROL. WHEN USING CRUISE CONTROL, IF I SHIFT GEARS, AFTER I DISENGAGE THE TRANSMISSION AND BEFORE I RE-ENGAGE THE DESIRED GEAR (I.E., SWITCHING GEARS FROM 4TH TO 5TH OR 4TH TO THIRD OR A SIMILAR OPERATION) , CRUISE CONTROL DOES NOT DISENGAGE, ENGINE REVS UP TO REDLINE, AND I MUST MANUALLY KILL CRUISE CONTROL BY TAPPING BRAKES, OR I CAN LEAVE CRUISE CONTROL ON, AND SHIFT INTO DESIRED GEAR. THE POINT IS, THE CAR IS EITHER SUPPOSE TO KILL THE CRUISE CONTROL OPERATION AUTOMATICALLY, OR AT THE LEAST, NOT REV THE ENGINE UP IN AN UNCONTROLLED METHOD. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE I PURCHASED THE CAR BRAND NEW (WITH 0 MILES ON IT, RIGHT OFF THE DELIVERY TRUCK). I THOUGHT NOTHING OF IT UNTIL I READ THAT THE TOYOTA COMPUTER SYSTEM MAY BE THE SOURCE OF UNINTENTIONAL ACCELERATION. *TR

TRANSMISSION ON 2003 HONDA CIVIC STOPPED WORKING ON THE HIGHWAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT (ABOUT 11:30PM ON A FRIDAY NIGHT). THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE, BECAUSE WHAT IF I WAS REAR-ENDED BY SOMEONE ON THE HIGHWAY & I AND A FRIEND (GIRLS) WERE ALONE IN THE CAR AT NIGHT & IF I HAD BEEN UNABLE TO GET HOME, WE WOULD HAVE BEEN SUSCEPTIBLE TO ATTACK BY LATE-NIGHT MISCREANTS - WE WERE ON OUR WAY HOME FROM A CHURCH YOUTH MEETING - SINCE WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE ON THE HIGHWAY IN QUEENS, NY. I WAS ABLE TO FEEL SOMETHING WAS WRONG & MANEUVER THE CAR OVER WHERE WE COLLIDED WITH THE CURB AND MANAGED TO GET THE CAR OFF THE ROAD, BUT IT DIED WITH THE CORNER OF THE REAR, DRIVER'S SIDE BUMPER STICKING OUT ONTO THE HIGHWAY WHERE IT COULD HAVE POTENTIALLY BEEN HIT BY ANOTHER CAR. *TR

WE PURCHASED A 2003 HONDA CHC IN 2006 WITH APPROXIMATELY 34,000 MILES. AS OF JANUARY 2010, THE CAR HAS 155,010 MILES. FROM THE DATE OF PURCHASE, THERE HAS BEEN A SHUDDER WHEN DECELERATING FROM 40+ MPH. WE HAVE ONLY TAKEN THE CAR TO OUR LOCAL HONDA DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE AND HAVE BEEN REPEATEDLY TOLD THAT THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR AND THAT SHUDDER IS FROM AN "OVERLOAD". TAKING THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT THEIR WORD, WE HAVE NEVER HAD ANY REPAIR WORK DONE TO REMOVE THE SHUDDER OR TAKEN THE CAR TO ANOTHER DEALER. OVER TIME THE SHUDDER HAS GOTTEN WORSE. WE HAVE ALSO EXPERIENCED A HESITATION WHEN ACCELERATING AND THEN THE CAR WILL SUDDENLY LURCH FORWARD WHEN IT HITS GEAR. AGAIN, WE WERE TOLD THAT THERE WASN'T ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR AND THAT WE SHOULD EXPECT HESITATION WHEN THE CAR IS SWITCHING FROM BATTERY POWER TO ENGINE POWER. ABOUT 4 MONTHS AGO, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND WE WERE TOLD THAT THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER WAS IN NEED OF REPLACEMENT. WE WERE GIVEN TWO OPTIONS-IMMEDIATE REPAIR OR DRIVE UNTIL THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER COMPLETELY FAILS. RECENTLY THE IMA LIGHT CAME ON AND WE TOOK THE CAR FOR DIAGNOSIS. THE RESPONSE WAS THAT THE BATTERY PACK NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. IN ADDITION, WE WERE TOLD THAT THE TRANSMISSION IS BEGINNING TO FAIL. TO REPLACE THE CVT TRANSMISSION, BATTERY PACK AND CATALYTIC CONVERTER WILL COST APPROXIMATELY $7,500. AS I HAVE READ THE OTHER COMPLAINTS NOT ONLY FROM THIS SITE, BUT ALSO OTHER SITES ON THE INTERNET, I NOW SUSPECT THAT WE HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS ALL ALONG. WE HAVE HAD SEVERAL OTHER HONDA VEHICLES. WE PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE BECAUSE OF THE RELIABILITY WE HAVE COME TO EXPECT FROM HONDA. $7,500 OR MORE IN REPAIRS IS UNREASONABLE FOR ANY CAR UNDER 8 YEARS OLD, ESPECIALLY A HONDA. *TR

VEHICLE HAS HAD A CONSTANT "JUDDERING" (VIBRATION) ISSUE WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP. THE CAR WAS TAKEN TO BE SERVICED SEVERAL TIMES WITH NO DEFECTS FOUND BY THE DEALER. THE "JUDDERING" HAS FINALLY RESULTED IN A COMPLETE TRANSMISSION FAILURE WITH A REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. I HAVE READ OF SEVERAL PROBLEMS OF THE SAME NATURE WITH THIS PARTICULAR YEAR, MAKE , AND MODEL. *TR