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I am thinking about buying a 2004 automatic LX, I have the chance of buying one for really really cheap, but it's like 2,000 miles away so I can't test drive it. Do these still have the tranny issues that the 2001-2002 cars have? Also, do these things even move? I ask this because I have a 2001 LX 5-speed and it's borderline inadequate for hill climbing, I hear the autos are even slower, but I can't imagine a car being slower than my LX 5-speed. Do you guys think a 2004 Civic auto could make it up a 7% grade at 70 MPH?

 
Rep Power: 812

we dont know about the trans due to most 04-05 only being 2 yrs old and not enough miles. tranny starts breaking at 40k miles so who knows. auto is very much slower, only has 90whp compared to 5speed which has 105-110whp. Its a good car for flat city and highway driving. I've driven through some mountains a few times and i was the guy pulling over all the time in the slow turnouts cause it wouldnt go past 35mph sometimes, well it could but then the rpm is gonna be stuck at 5k all the time which isnt good. if you are driving up any incline at all the civic is not for you.

 
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If you are not satisfied with your current civic in a 5 speed, you will be further disappointed by the auto. Personally, I'll never buy an auto for a small car like this because of the issues of the car continously shifting going up to the house in New Mexico. That is like a 6% grade for 14 miles. If you climb like that daily, any automatic is going to have issues.

 
Rep Power: 812

ya esp the new civic, even if you dont press the gas harder it will start downshifting itself and acting dumb. you could lock it in d3 which will help but your gasd mileage is gonna suck.

 
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I agree you. If you are disappointed in your 5 speed, you definitely shouldn't be considering an auto. I've driven an auto many times, even the 06's and never ever will I consider purchasing one.

Just my .02 cents

 
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90rwp is nuts. For satey reasons I don't think that would work out; I'd get pummled on the hills. What about an EX auto? Any better?

 
Rep Power: 300

an auto is an auto. they suck lol the 5speed is gunna be better.

 
Rep Power: 403

5 speed is better, autos go too wacky when going up hill

 
Rep Power: 274

Yeah I had an 02 Lx 5spd, it was faster than my 04 ex auto...auto was a big mistake for me I miss my 5spd.

 
Rep Power: 812

i was talking about the ex lol. youre gonna have to push the car hard to keep speed on hills.

 
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Autos suck. You have little control on how the car performs, IMHO.

 
Rep Power: 812

true with an auto you need to learn how it drives and when it likes to shift. otherwise its gonna be upshifting when you need to be accelerating. gotta know when to let off and when to push down so you can sort of keep it in the right gears. d3 helps because it shifts really weird if you're driving slow otherwise.

 
Rep Power: 301

I wouldnt get it. I would get a 5 speed in an 04-05. You never know there can be more wrong to the car then they are telling you

 
Rep Power: 291

i used to have an 5spd and now i have an auto and i hate it. it always feels like there's something wrong with the acceleration going up hills.

 
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A friend of mine had a manual, went to auto and hated it. He took a loss on the auto Civic and got a manual Mazda. Don't do it!

 
Rep Power: 247

I have a 04 ex auto soon to be swapped that doesnt matter right now, i drive ALOT. my 2 year old vic is @ 47k and so far i havent experienced any tranny trouble or anything like that because i take good care of it. but i on the other hand have to disagree with uphilling through mountains issue simply because being from Cali i used to drive back and forth through the moutains from Reno, NV and would make lots of road trips with my car, hence why i have so many miles. but from my experiances i can say that the car is capable to climb steep inclines after placing it into third. but, accelerating on a climb is different story. on a steep % grade ive managed to hit roughly around the 80's in a fairly short amount of time, only because i floor the mother. no doubt about it once you ease of the gas the power drops instantaniously but i still feel the car is capable.

my 2 cents.