KnownCarProblems2001 Honda Civic Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 1,079 complaints with NHTSA about the 2001 Honda Civic, most often about the transmission (37% of complaints, typically around 98,000 miles). It is 4th of 27 Civic model years by number of complaints and has 14 recalls.
Most common 2001 Honda Civic problems
Transmission
403 complaints · 37%Half of these problems showed up before 98,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission, manual transmission, clutch assembly, driveline.
Our 2001 Honda Civic stopped suddenly on a 2-lane highway. I was unable to make it go forward or backward and had to push it off the road. I had to have it towed to a garage with the result that it had transmission failure. The cost to US was $2,700. Besides the inconvenience and having to rent a car to attend a…
Check engine light came on with a code of p0740. Had car checked and told nothing was wrong, reset light. Mil came on again and took car to brown's Honda in glen burnie. Charged me another $90 to tell me the light had the same code p0740 and they changed the transmission fluid. They said not sure if it is fixed. If…
Air bags
310 complaints · 29%Half of these problems showed up before 80,000 miles. Parts named most often: frontal, side/window.
I have a 2001 Honda Civic ex. I have a problem with the SRS light. I have talked to howard nathan at turn to 2 ( wdtn ) about this. The problem stims from an electronic interference ( cell phone , lap top etc ) but it was my phone. I bought the car ( 6/2/05 ) and the light was on and then I took it back to the…
About 1 month ago my SRS light came on. I have been weary to take the vehicle in to the dealer because they seem to have no answer to the problem. Apparently the vehicle's airbags will not deploy when the SRS light is on.
Engine
83 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 91,500 miles. Parts named most often: engine, exhaust system, cooling system.
Transmission failed while driving on highway at 60mph. Car would not shift into gear and check engine light signaled. There were no warnings whatsoever. This appears to be correlated to many others complaints with the 2001 Honda civics. I was fortunate to not have been seriously hurt when my car came to a stop. I feel…
I was yet another unfortunate victim of Honda's cheap transmission and I say cheap in that it doesn't work properly not that it is cheap to get it repaired. No that is over $2000 according to my local Honda dealership. After taking such good care of my car diligently taking it in for oil changes and tune ups at…
Lights
66 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 99,500 miles. Parts named most often: headlights, fog lights, tail lights, turn signal.
Vehicles of this type were subjected to a recall back in 2012 due to a safety issue where the low beam headlights would unexpectedly fail while the vehicle was being driven at night. The recall work has been performed previously by Honda on this specific vehicle. However, a similar problem has recently started…
The contact owns a 2001 Honda Civic. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously serviced under NHTSA campaign id number 04v086000 (exterior lighting) by the previous owner. The contact stated that the failure recurred. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle was unable to be repaired a second time…
Electrical
59 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 92,000 miles. Parts named most often: ignition, wiring, 12v/24v/48v battery, starter assembly.
Car does not start when I turn the key. It usually start after the 8 or 9 try. It started doing that about 6 months ago, but in the past few weeks it has happened about every time I try to start the car.
The vehicle gauge cluster reads the wrong information. It caused me to stall on the freeway driving 65 MPH. I completely ran out of fuel and the gauge read that I had 1/4 of a tank left. Others have complained about this issue on the internet. The fuel, MPH, and temperature readings are all off.
Suspension
52 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 40,000 miles. Parts named most often: front, rear.
Left and right front macpherson struts leaking, causing front end noise and very poor handling. Parts back-ordered for undetermined time.
Consumer took vehicle in for service, after the front end developed a noise. Mechanic noticed that the struts needed replacing. Please provide any further information.
Fuel system
51 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 94,500 miles. Parts named most often: storage, delivery, fuel injection system, carburetor system.
The contact owns a 2001 Honda Civic. The contact stated there was a crack in the exhausted manifold and smelled gasoline. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told there was a fuel leak. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 99,000 and the current mileage was 99,200.
Honda Civic gx cng fuel tank valve failure, causing the car to leave you stranded for hours. Car would not start or run, only after trying it 10+ times.
Brakes
46 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 34,000 miles. Parts named most often: foundation components, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip, pedals and linkages, antilock.
When I press on my brakes it makes a loud popping noise.I took it to the Honda dealership and they said theres nothing they can do about it because theres some kind of defect that causes the brake pads to shift.the technicians told me that many people have complained but since they do not know how to fix it they can…
The brakes would squeak when the pedal was depressed. Consumer thought that the pads needed to be replaced. Upon inspection of the brakes and pads by the dealership, they noticed that the calipers had locked up which caused premature wear of the brake pad and uneven wear of the right front tire. The cause of the…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2001 Honda Civic recalls
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began august 12, 2019. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are q5a and y58.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2003 acura 3.2cl, 2002-2003 3.2tl, 2003-2006 mdx, 2001-2007 honda accord, 2001-2005 civic, 2003-2005 civic hybrid, 2001-2005 civic gx ngv, 2002-2006 cr-v, 2003-2011 element, 2002-2004 odyssey, 2003-2008 pilot and 2006 ridgeline vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with driver frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal airbag inflator, free of charge. The recall began august 12, 2019. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are e5d and x5c.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2003-2006 acura mdx, 2005-2012 rl, 2003-2007 honda accord, 2001-2005 civic, 2003-2005 civic hybrid, 2001-2005 civic gx ngv, 2002-2006 cr-v, 2003-2011 element, 2007-2008 fit, 2002-2004 odyssey, 2003-2008 pilot, and 2006-2014 ridgeline vehicles. The vehicles are equipped with passenger frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An explosion of an inflator within the driver frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver, front seat passenger or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began april 10, 2019. Honda owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is o41. Acura owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's number for this recall is u40.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling specific 2003 acura 3.2cl, 2013-2016 ilx, 2013-2014 ilx hybrid, 2003-2006 mdx, 2007-2016 rdx, 2002-2003 3.2tl, 2004-2006, and 2009-2014 tl, 2010-2013 zdx and 2001-2007 and 2009 honda accord, 2001-2005 civic, 2003-2005 civic hybrid, 2001-2005 civic gx ngv, 2002-2007 and 2010-2011 cr-v, 2003-2011 element, 2007 fit, 2002-2004 odyssey, 2003-2008 pilot, and 2006-2014 ridgeline vehicles. The affected vehicles received a replacement driver air bag inflator as part of a previous takata inflator recall remedy or a replacement driver air bag module containing the same inflator type as a service part. Due to a manufacturing error, in the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver frontal air bag, these inflators may explode.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An incorrectly installed air bag may deploy improperly in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the passenger frontal air bag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began june 22, 2018. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are k1p, and m1o.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2003-2012 honda accord and pilot, 2010 accord crosstour, 2001-2011 civic, 2002-2011 cr-v, 2003-2004, 2006-2008 and 2011 element, 2007 and 2009-2013 fit, 2010-2012 insight, 2002-2004 odyssey, and 2012 ridgeline vehicles. The front passenger air bag may have been installed incorrectly during replacement.
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the passenger seat occupant or other occupants possibly causing serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on july 1, 2015. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are ju4, ju5, ju6, and ju7. Note: vehicles that have already received a replacement passenger air bag inflator as part of the recall remedy for an earlier campaign such as 14v353 or 14v700 (honda recall numbers s95, jh6, jh7, jh8, jh9, jj0, jj1, jj2, jj6, jm5 and jm6) are not included in this recall. However, this recall does supersede 13v132 and 14v349. Note: on december
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2005 honda civic vehicles manufactured march 21, 2000, to january 20, 2005, 2001-2004 honda civic gx vehicles manufactured june 14, 2000, to august 19, 2004, 2003-2005 honda civic hybrid vehicles manufactured february 24, 2002, to january 18, 2005, 2003-2007 honda accord vehicles manufactured february 21, 2002, to august 28, 2007, 2002-2004 honda cr-v vehicles, 2002-2003 honda odyssey vehicles manufactured june 19, 2001, to july 12, 2003, 2003 acura mdx vehicles manufactured september 19, 2002, to june 19, 2003, 2003 honda element vehicles manufactured june 25, 2002, to july 31, 2003, and 2003 honda pilot vehicles manufactured november 26, 2001, to august 21, 2003. The affected vehicles have a passenger side frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupt
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on july 1, 2015. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Owners may contact acura customer service at 1-800-382-2238, select option 4. Note: vehicles that have had their driver frontal air bag replaced previously as part of a recall remedy prior to september 12, 2014 need to have their air bag replaced under this recall as well. Vehicles that, on or after september 12, 2014, received a remedy for a prior driver frontal air bag inflator recall already rec
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2007 accord, 2001-2005 civic, 2001-2004 honda civic gx, 2003-2005 honda civic hybrid, 2002-2006 cr-v, 2003-2011 element, 2002-2004 odyssey, 2003-2008 pilot, 2006 ridgeline, 2003 acura 3.2cl, 2003-2006 acura mdx, and 2002-2003 acura 3.2tl vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion and other factors, including manufacturing variability that, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
Air bags
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passengerâs frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger side air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began january 26, 2015. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-800-999-1009.
Full defect summary
American honda motor co. (honda) is recalling certain model year 2001-2005 honda civic, 2003-2004 civic cng and element, 2002-2005 cr-v, 2002-2004 odyssey, 2003-2005 accord, pilot, civic hybrid, and acura mdx, 2005 acura rl and 2006 honda ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in geographic locations associated with high absolute humidity. Specifically, vehicles sold, or ever registered, in alabama, florida, georgia, hawaii, louisiana, mississippi, south carolina, texas, puerto rico, u.s. Virgin islands, saipan, guam, and american samoa are addressed by this recall. Upon deployment of the passenger side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.
Fuel system: tank assembly
Risk: This could result in a tank rupture, explosion, and ejection of the tank from the vehicle.
Fix: Dealers will install a heat insulator material to the rear seat back. An interim owner letter was mailed to owners beginning november 26, 2007. When parts are available, owners will be renotified asking them to bring in their vehicle for repair. Owners may contact honda at 1-800-999-1009.
Full defect summary
On certain compressed natural gas (cng) vehicles, in the event of a severe interior fire in the area of the rear seat, the cng tank may be heated unevenly, preventing the pressure relief device from venting the contents of the tank as designed.
Lights: headlights
Risk: An unexpected loss of low beams could result in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the head light switch and coupler for signs of heat damage. If heat damage is present, the dealer will replace the switch and coupler. If no heat damage is present, the dealer will replace the head light switch and one mating pin in the coupler. Owner notification began on april 5, 2004. Owners should contact honda at 1-800-999-1009.
Full defect summary
On certain passenger vehicles, the low-beam terminal on the head light wire harness can overheat and could cause the low beams to fail without warning.
Seat belts: buckle assembly
Risk: The rear seat belts will work properly and provide protection in a crash, but the owner may experience difficulty unfastening the belt after the crash.
Fix: In a previous recall (01v-380), only right and left buckles were inspected. The rear center buckle should also be inspected and corrected if necessary. This recall is being conducted only for the center buckle. Dealers will inspect the vehicles and replace the seat belt assemblies that were imrpoperly manufactured. Only buckles that are marked (on the back side of the buckle) with an assembly number beginning with 00185, 00186, or 00187, will be replaced. Owners should contact their dealer for this replacement. Owner notification began march 5, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an author
Full defect summary
Certain sedans and coupes fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 209, "seat belt assemblies." certain rear seat belt buckles were improperly manufactured.
Seat belts: buckle assembly
Risk: The rear seat belts will work properly and provide protection in a crash, but the owner may experience difficulty unfastening the belt after the crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the vehicles and replace the seat belt assemblies that were improperly manufactured. Only buckles that are marked (on the back side of the buckle) with an assembly number beginning with 00185, 00186, or 00187, will be replaced. Owners should contact their dealer for this replacement. Owner notification began january 22, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact honda at 1-800-999-1009.
Full defect summary
Vehicle description: certain sedans and coupes fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 209, "seat belt assemblies." certain rear seat belt buckles were improperly manufactured.
Engine
Risk: If the plastic piece lodges in the throttle body, the throttle could stick in a partially open position. Although the driver can always stop the car by applying additional brake force, or by taking other actions (I.e., shift into neutral, turn off the ignition key, etc.), if the car continues to maintain speed when the driver is expecting it to slow, a crash could occur.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the air cleaner box for damage. If damage is found, the dealer will locate and remove the broken plastic piece, and replace the air cleaner box lid. Owner notification began on october 25, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact honda at 1-800-999-1009.
Full defect summary
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. During the assembly process, the air cleaner box cover may have been damaged, and a broken plastic piece could travel into the intake chamber.
Fuel system: filler pipe and cap
Risk: In a collision, the tube could disconnect from the fuel tank, resulting in fuel leakage. Fuel leakage, in the presence of an ignition source, could result in a fire.
Fix: Dealers will check the hose clamps for proper torque and tighten them correctly, if necessary. Owner notification began june 4, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact honda at 1-800-999-1009.
Full defect summary
Vehicle description: sedans and coupes. The hose clamps on the filler neck tube have insufficient clamping force.
Fuel system: fuel pump
Risk: If the pump stops working, the engine will stall without warning, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the fuel pump. If corrosion is found, the fuel pump will be replaced. Owner notification began june 29, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact honda at 1-800-999-1009.
Full defect summary
On certain sedans, a small amount of water may have been left in the fuel pump electrical connector after testing. This residual water could cause the fuel pump to fail due to corrosion.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture
Summary
From 2000 through 2017, takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("psan") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004l. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 blomquist report at www.NHTSA.gov/sites/NHTSA.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe14-016 in june 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.all six vehicles were operated in florida or puerto rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Air bag inflator rupture
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe14-016 in june 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.all six vehicles were operated in florida or puerto rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.during the course of pe14-016, odi determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.nonetheless, at odi's in
Rupturing driver's air bag inflators
Summary
This rq investigation was opened to collect and analyze additional information to better evaluate the scope and timeliness of honda's two safety recalls addressing rupturing of the driver's side air bag inflators (08v-593 and 09v-259).in an earlier response to rmd's request for information, honda indicated that the second recall (09v-259), essentially an expansion of the first (08v-593), was necessary since later information informed that the source of the defect was different than originally postulated, and so the scope of the vehicles affected changed. Honda indicated that it had relied on its supplier of the air bag inflators, takata, inc. (takata), in studying the possible sources of the
Questions about the 2001 Honda Civic
- What are the most common problems with the 2001 Honda Civic?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: transmission (403 complaints, typically around 98,000 miles); air bags (310 complaints, typically around 80,000 miles); engine (83 complaints, typically around 91,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2001 Honda Civic have?
- 14 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from June 27, 2019 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2001 a bad year for the Honda Civic?
- It is 4th of 27 Civic model years by number of complaints, with 1,079 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.