VehicleVerdict

1998 Honda Civic transmission problems

The 1998 Honda Civic has 53 transmission complaints filed with NHTSA — 11% of the year's total, and up sharply from the prior model year.

53

Transmission complaints

11%

Share of year

1

Crash-involved

0

Related recalls

Transmission complaints by year

Civic transmission complaints by model year409 complaints1984: 1 complaints1986: 5 complaints1987: 2 complaints1988: 1 complaints1989: 2 complaints1990: 6 complaints1991: 7 complaints1992: 5 complaints1993: 9 complaints1994: 8 complaints1995: 19 complaints1996: 26 complaints1997: 28 complaints1998: 53 complaints1999: 37 complaints2000: 30 complaints2001: 409 complaints2002: 188 complaints2003: 102 complaints2004: 56 complaints2005: 37 complaints2006: 79 complaints2007: 106 complaints2008: 53 complaints2009: 23 complaints2010: 12 complaints2011: 4 complaints2012: 50 complaints2013: 22 complaints2014: 98 complaints2015: 175 complaints2016: 36 complaints2017: 29 complaints2018: 14 complaints2019: 13 complaints2020: 31 complaints2021: 2 complaints2022: 10 complaints2023: 6 complaints2024: 6 complaints2025: 4 complaints2026: 2 complaints
Civic transmission complaints by model year. Red bars are years to avoid.

What owners report

“THE OWNER IS HAVING PROBLEMS WITH HESITATION WITH POSSIBLE CAUSE BEING THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. THE OWNER DID KEEP THE CAR SERVICED/MAINTENANCE WITH THE LAST ITEM BEING A TUNE-UP. LIBERTY HONDA HAS BEEN PERFORMING ANY AND ALL MAINTENANCE ON THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE IS NOT BEING DRIVEN DUE TO THE…”

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Transmission · January 24, 2002 · crash

Common questions

How many transmission complaints does the 1998 Honda Civic have?

NHTSA has 53 complaints about the 1998 Honda Civic transmission — 11% of all complaints filed for that model year.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.