Rep Power: 0

Car: 2001 Civic EX Coupe
Engine: little Inline 4 w/ V-Tec (WHOOP WHOOP, V-tek, yo!)
Transmission: Automatic

Story: Ok, so I was driving down the street today like normal, and when the car tried to shift into 2nd, it simply slipped into neutral and the engine just revved. I pulled off the main street and tried to figure out what was wrong. The car would drive fine in first, but when it went to go to second, it would not go, and thus, it would not go back into first so I simply rolled to a stop.

I tried putting the car in reverse, and that worked the first time, then I tried putting it in drive and it wouldn't work.

I sat there for a while, then put it in Drive again and it started to go. I made it to a better spot to pull over and stopped and called a friend to come pick me up.

When my friend arrived, I told him I would have him follow my car and see if I could drive it a little further to a shop or something. However, this time the car would not move when it was in reverse, D, or D2, or D3

Sooo, I'm a total idiot when it comes to cars basically. The car isn't modified in any way, so it's not like I F'd up installing anything.

Does this sound like a serious issue with the transmission, or is it perhaps just the fluid? I'm really at a loss for what it might be and I'd like to have some idea before I take it to some place that tries to charge me $1500 for a $15 fix.

Any help is appreciated. Really good advice that saves me money will result in an adoption!

 
Rep Power: 0

I'd check the transmission fluid first

 
Rep Power: 0

I would check the fluid but hate to tell you that I dont think that is the issue. Do you drive it hard (burnouts, squeak tires and such)? IF you do you may have done some internal damage which is going to be expensive to fix

 
Rep Power: 290

seems like auto trannys of 01-02 civics are known to go bad.
how many miles do u have on your car?
have you ever changed the tran fluid before?
search?

 
Rep Power: 811

your trans is garbage now. honda knows theres a defective clutch that wears out fast and then causes the whole thing to go. so call up corporate, be nice, and maybe they will offer to pay for some of the new one.

 
Rep Power: 335

give us more info so that we could help you...
milage on the car? changed trans fluid at all?

 
Rep Power: 238

*sniff sniff* do you smell that??

smells like a manny tranny swap to me...

 
Rep Power: 811

or burning clutches lol.

 
Rep Power: 0

^^^^ i called corporate these guys told me to go to my local dealer ask for inspection on the defect. i called my local honda they were going to charge me $180 just to inspect it. Im on the same boat 2001 auto tranny are trash!

 
Rep Power: 246

its done man...especially if you are throwing a gear ratio incorrect code. Mine did the exact same thing before it ****...good luck getting a new one...throwing a manual in is cheaper than getting another crappy auto.

 
Rep Power: 0

word on that. this problem just happened to my roommate this week. she has a 2001 4DR AT. she's at 116,000 miles and not the best at maintenance, but having a tranny go out suddenly is a pretty serious problem. best thing you can prob do is just swap in another tranny. she said her bill is gonna run $2900. internet research shows this is not an uncommon problem. surprising coming from Honda.

i wonder if poor maintenance could be a factor? otherwise i don't know why there hasn't been a lawsuit or recall yet. don't forget to change that timing belt to avoid other problems. hope you catch a break somehow. good luck!

 
Rep Power: 0

^^^^ it is a common problem for automatics, especially for automatics ranging from 2001-2002