mooch91

All,

I've been in the market for a Civic as a reliable, fuel-efficient vehicle to use for daily-drive purposes. Unfortunately, most of the Civics I've been finding locally (and there aren't too many in central PA) are higher mileage (>150K) cars.

I found one (LX coupe) locally that's in my price range. It has 180K on it, and has been very well maintained. It has new tires, new brakes, and the timing belt, tensioners, water pump, and belts were just done, along with new plugs and air filter. Body is straight and it is very clean.

I drove the car, and it seems to drive very well. As I was asking the owner about maintenance, I happened to ask if the ATF had been changed or flushed. He acknowledged changing it recently (not flushed) and mentioned something about what sounded like a shift flare (it holds shifts until a higher RPM) within the first 5 minutes of starting the car (cold). I didn't think much of it; I've had A/T Toyota trucks that have had similar issues, along with minor slipping, and I've gotten 100K more miles out of them. This is the 2nd owner of the car (he's only owned it for a couple of years) and there isn't much history prior to that time.

I then came here, and that's when I started reading about the catastrophic auto trans failures on the 2001 and 2002 Civics.

Would buying a car like this put me on borrowed time? The price is good (at the lower end of the KBB range), but I don't want to drop an additional $2K on a trans replacement. From what I read, it sounds like failure is almost inevitable on these things and that no one makes it to high mileage without a replacement. Is this true? Anyone have any high mileage success stories?

Thoughts appreciated...

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

I would guess the fact that it is already at 180k would be a good sign? If they fail, it's way earlier. or it have a rebuilt/swapped trans sometime ago.
no way to know unless trying, i am afraid.

mooch91

Well, I bought it today. The car was warm when I saw it, but I noticed nothing unusual with the trans at all. I was satisfied enough with the price that I could easily re-sell for what I've paid if I get cold feet about it. I'll get it registered tomorrow and will drive it more when cold to see how it does.

Again, any high-mileage success stories out there or do they all eventually fail for the 01/02 civics?

Thanks.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

have heard of some reaching around 300-400 k in rare cases...

7thGenHondaCivc

My 2001 auto just passed over 220 km today, replaced the timing belt , water pump and had the transmission fluid flushed at 200km. Has been runnning great and and no issues whatsoever so far.

ezone

Any word on this part yet?
I'm wondering if this is just a cold operation/delayed shift/faster warmup strategy as opposed to a real shift flare.


It's a used car. Anything can happen.

mooch91

Won't get to register and drive it until the end of the week...
Thanks,
Todd

mooch91

All, an update.

I got to register the car recently and drive it a bit.

It definitely has a little bit of a shift flare. I notice it on the 2-3 upshift - it's a very brief (1 second) period where the RPMs raise about 100 -150 between the two shifts. It's more pronounced when cold, but I sometimes feel it when it's warm (probably because I'm looking for it). When warm it feels more like a soft shift between the two gears.

I did a 1X drain and refill with the Honda DW-1 because I had it. The history of fluid changes is unclear with the previous owner - he mentioned having it done once with a Lucas treatment, but the receipts he provided showed only the Lucas treatment. The color wasn't too bad - a little darker red and hazy compared to fresh fluid.

Thoughts? I really want to like this car and keep it (it serves the purpose of giving me a fuel-efficient daily driver), but I don't want to deal with the risk of an A/T failure. Keep or sell? Other things I do to the trans to ensure some longevity?

ezone

Risk? There's a risk with anything you point a finger at.
Again:
It's got 180k on it already.
If you wanted zero risk, you'd have to get a new car with a warranty.


Flare? If you brought it in the shop and complained about it, it would (probably) get a recommendation of a trans replacement.
OTOH there are a few people on here that have had the flare for a long time with apparently no other issues.






Next you will probably ask, "How long will it last?"
To which I must answer......




/sarcasm