Yesterday I picked up my '03 civic from service - the transmission was flushed 3 times to correct a transmission problem.

Service manager said that about a week ago, Honda approved an extended warranty on the transmission. He expects to see customers requesting payment for transmissions fixed prior to this date.

My bill was $0

 

That's some good news. What's the reason it's flushed 3 times and what's your mileage ?

 

If you mean why was it flushed 3 times instead of once, that's standard Honda maintenance procedure for the CVT -- probably ensures the most possible cleaning.

If you mean why did it need service at all, the HCH 1 has a pretty famous clutch/transmission issue that requires burnishing the clutch. Mighta been that?

--doug

 

I didn't know that's standard procedure for CVT. At 30K, I went for transmission fluid change - should I flush at 60K ? If I remember correctly the manual never mentions about ATX flush as part of the maintenance.

 

The manual may not use the word "flush" specifically. I believe it says something like "drain, refill, drive, drain, refill, drive, drain, refill." Or some such.

I don't remember what the interval is. The maintenance minder will tell and the manual will as well.

--doug

 

I bought the car new and have 32k miles. It's a 2003 automatic. The service manager said he is seeing an increasing number of transmission problems with the 2003s.

And they did say flushing the transmission was the standard solution for the issue.

I was rear ended in June at a stop light - the driver never hit the brakes. $5k of damage, but I wasn't hurt at all. I was hit by a like size car and was concerned about getting hit again . . so, I ordered a Mariner Hybrid and had sold my civic to a friend who wanted it despite the accident.

1/2 mile off the dealer lot I noticed something in my periphery vision . . . and glanced at the passenger seat. A long ink mark accross the leather seat that went down the side.

After signing the last of 100s of docs, the salesperson reached in from the pass side took the pen from me and swiped the seat. I'm fanatical about keeping my car clean - after 5 years, it really looks brand new. So, I returned the car and the dealer immediately returned my $. I don't know if they would have been so agreeable if it wasn't a hybrid?

So, I'm keeping the Civic. (my friend is hoping I will change my mind)

 

Check out the new april consumer reports. They show the chart of Civic Hybrid reliability on P90.

The 03 Hybrid has 'worse than average" for Transmission, Major and "much worse than average" for Transmission, Minor. Overall it is not rated as high as the standard Civic sedan.

The 04 Hybrid has "average" in both categories.

The 05 Hybrid has "better than average" in both categories.

The 06 and 07 Hybrids are "much better than average" in both transmission categories.

It seems like the transmission problem in '03 is more widespread than Honda would like to admit.