1998 Honda Civic Transmission and drivetrain Problems
- Complaints
- 49about this part
- Share
- 11%of 435 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 63,600miles
- Trend
- StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 49 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 1998 Honda Civic, 11% of the 435 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 63,600 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“I have a cluth problem with my automatic transmission. I was told that this is unusual at 70,000 miles. I have seen similar complaints about this. The check engine light came on a few months after I bought the car and I was told by the dealer that nothing was wrong. I now wonder if that might have been an error.”
NHTSA complaint #10032644, filed 2003-08, 70,000 miles“My 1998 Honda Civic ex (80,000 miles) is having tranmission troubles. It will rev up but the car will not speed up very well, when it shifts into 2nd gear the car shakes and abruptly shifts into 2nd gear. I had the fluid changed at the end of december and it seemed to fix the problem but a week later it was back and getting worst fast. The dealer told me I needed a whole new transmission and it would cost $3600 plus labor. …”
NHTSA complaint #10007813, filed 2003-02, 78,000 miles“I have a 1998 hondo Civic with 50, 000 miles. It has recently developed a jerk when shifting from gear to gear and from gear to gear and also when down shifting. I have conducted all manufacturer's recommended services which include transmission flushes. However, even my preventively measures could not save this obvious manufacturer's defect. The car is no longer under warranty and has not been through any abuse. There are other complaints of this nature involving the same vehicle throughout the internet. …”
NHTSA complaint #10058549, filed 2004-02, 48,900 miles“Honda, Civic lx, 1998, transmission problems. Transmission refuses to smoothly operate sometimes when you are shifting from first gear over to second to third, and to fourth, the rpms's speed up between gears. Sometimes it will go completely out of gear. If I drive very cautiously and carefully this most of the time will not happen. It started happening a few days after buying the car. I'm a senior citizen, that checked consumer reports and thought this was a reliable car. I'm now receiving all sorts of estimates such as completely replacing at $2500 . …”
NHTSA complaint #10067619, filed 2004-04, 59,010 miles“98 Honda Civic dx transmission slippage my car has been having this transmission slippage problem intermittently for about 4 years. It recently started doing it for about 2 weeks straight so I tried to go online and find out if there was some type of solution. I found other complaints about transmission problems in Honda accords/civics/odyssey's and even acuras. I called Honda corp. And their only response was you're not on the recall list so you'll have to go to the dealer and get it repaired. I did that and they told me I needed to get a refurbished trans at 5k a pop! That's a rip off. …”
NHTSA complaint #10130596, filed 2005-07, 60,000 milesRelated service bulletins
- 10107371Jul 2, 2015Service news article - planning on using a leak check dye to help find a leak? Heres the current list of vehicles that you shouldnt use dye on.
- 10014230Feb 16, 20042nd to 5th or 3rd to 5th gear upshift.
Transmission and drivetrain: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 6% |
| 2025 | 6 | 8% |
| 2024 | 6 | 5% |
| 2023 | 8 | 3% |
| 2022 | 10 | 1% |
| 2021 | 2 | 1% |
| 2020 | 32 | 14% |
| 2019 | 13 | 3% |
| 2018 | 14 | 2% |
| 2017 | 29 | 5% |
| 2016 | 36 | 3% |
| 2015 | 177 | 46% |
| 2014 | 98 | 33% |
| 2013 | 22 | 7% |
| 2012 | 49 | 11% |
| 2011 | 4 | 2% |
| 2010 | 12 | 3% |
| 2009 | 23 | 6% |
| 2008 | 52 | 6% |
| 2007 | 104 | 9% |
| 2006 | 76 | 5% |
| 2005 | 36 | 11% |
| 2004 | 56 | 16% |
| 2003 | 101 | 20% |
| 2002 | 185 | 26% |
| 2001 | 403 | 37% |
| 2000 | 30 | 10% |
| 1999 | 35 | 10% |
| 1998 | 49 | 11% |
| 1997 | 25 | 7% |
| 1996 | 25 | 8% |
| 1995 | 14 | 7% |
| 1994 | 8 | 6% |
| 1993 | 9 | 6% |
| 1992 | 5 | 5% |
| 1991 | 6 | 5% |
| 1990 | 6 | 7% |
| 1989 | 2 | 3% |
| 1988 | 1 | 2% |
| 1987 | 2 | 5% |
| 1986 | 5 | 14% |
| 1984 | 1 | 20% |
Other parts of the 1998 Honda Civic
96 complaintsElectrical system
88 complaintsEngine cooling
53 complaintsVehicle speed control
29 complaintsBody and structure
26 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
24 complaintsTires
18 complaintsOther or unknown
16 complaintsBrakes
11 complaintsFuel system
11 complaintsEquipment
10 complaintsSeat belts
10 complaints
← All problems reported for the 1998 Honda Civic
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology