I have a 2003 HCH MT with 182,000 miles. The transmission has gotten progressively noisier in the past 30,000 miles, especially in 1st & 2nd gears. Now the noise is also audible in 3rd & 4th.

I took it to my mechanic yesterday, and he said it's transmission bearings. And that this is not an uncommon problem in all Civics...

They called the Honda dealer parts department to get prices on the parts, and were told that the dealer doesn't repair hybrid manual transmissions because of the complication, but replaces them. $3700 for a new transmission, $2700 for a used one (which I know is outrageous), plus 8 hours labor. I found that used transmissions are available for ~$7-900, with anywhere from 30-90k miles on them.

Has anyone had bearings replaced in an HCH manual transmission? If so, what should the parts plus labor cost be. I would prefer to repair my transmission, since I know its history exactly, but will have a used one installed if repair is not economical.

I had my hybrid battery replaced at 140k miles, and the car is in excellent shape, so I'd like to keep it in shape to run another 100k miles or so. It's averaging about 50 mpg in all kinds of driving.

Thanks for any helpful input.

 

I found a shop in Johnstown, NY that installed a bearing/seal kit in my 2003 HCH manual tansmission for about $800, parts included.

Not sure where you're at but as far as I kinow the procedure is the same for a hybrid/non-hybrid Civic as the electric motor is sandwiched between the ICE and transmission and doesn't need to be touched.

Call around and see if you can find a local transmission shop to do the work.

Good luck...

 

> mrkcohen: Thanks for this information. I'm near Tacoma, WA, have a good mechanic, and they're going to look into this further for me. I think the Honda dealer parts department just gave them bad info. I'm sure they'd rather sell a $3700 tranny than a few bearings and seals. We'll see...