2020 Honda Civic transmission & drivetrain problems

Related recalls

No recalls on file.

What owners say

1. Filed Jun 12, 2026TXTransmission & Drivetrain

   I am the second owner of this year and model of Civic. I initially bought it back in 2021 with 14,000 miles on it. The clutch slipped and blew at around 29K miles in 2023. I brought it into a honda dealership and they were at least able to replace the clutch with the SAME CLUTCH under warranty but now it's 2026 and the clutch is going out again. Clutches should not be going out this frequently. I've driven several manuals and if you were to look up this specific year and…

   NHTSA complaint #11743792 · source
2. Filed Feb 22, 2026CATransmission & Drivetrain

   Clutch started slipping all of a sudden. Check to see if it was under warranty said the warranty had expired because the car was over 36,000 MI did not know about the extended clutch warranty at the time that Honda was extending it due to defective parts so we replaced it ourselves. Upon tear down it was discovered that the clutch disc was only about 30% worn down there were no hot spots in the flywheel or the clutch cover so the problem was related to the holding force of…

   NHTSA complaint #11719737 · source
3. Filed Feb 4, 2026CATransmission & Drivetrain

   This model Civic Si was build by Honda with a defective clutch. Mine began to fail at less than 60K miles. It started in the higher RPM 5K to 6K in the taller overdrive gears. This clutch design was unable to support the torque of the motor, which led to its premature failure. It's well documented in Honda forums that the clutch is weak and prone to early failure. It usually starts to fail in the upper gears under moderate acceleration. Once it starts to fail it does become…

   NHTSA complaint #11715706 · source
4. Filed Nov 24, 2025DETransmission & Drivetrain

   My 2020 Civic Si had a total clutch failure at <32,000 miles matching TSB22-017 exactly. The vehicle failed to accelerate on a major interstate. The posted speed limit is 65 mph. While attempting to reach that speed the vehicle was revving at >6000RPM in all gears. I was able to reach 50 mph for short periods, but the vehicle would then slow to 45 or lower. An extreme safety risk on a busy highway. When the vehicle was pulled to the shoulder and stopped, the car would not go…

   NHTSA complaint #11701267 · source
5. Filed Nov 20, 2025TXTransmission & Drivetrain

   Honda CVT transmission fluid seal leak cause by failed torque converter. Car has a perfect maintenance history, all fluid changes done on time with Allen Honda at Bryan Texas including filters associated. Car is garage kept, not driven hard. Always driven in economy mode for smooth efficiency. Failure occurred at 86,165 miles. Significant enough I am reporting this, as it is a safety issue, however don't know if other Honda civics have had this issue. A normal CVT…

   NHTSA complaint #11700473 · source
6. Filed Jun 29, 2025AZTransmission & Drivetrain

   Researched and found this has been a common issue with this make and model. Clutch slippage at random times when accelerating, reported to Honda dealership multiple times, stated there wasn’t any issue with vehicle and denied this was a common issue even though it has been reported by multiple owners of this year/make/model. 3-4 days ago, clutch started disengaging while driving and constantly had the burning friction smell. Fortunately I was able to get my vehicle to the…

   NHTSA complaint #11670094 · source
7. Filed Feb 6, 2025GATransmission & Drivetrain

   2020 Honda Civic EX-L Bought In 2021, December 2024 car has 102K miles and transmission went out. No warning at all, in the middle of highway. It's now Febuary 2025 a used transmission provided under the power train warranty got installed. That transmission is also failing on the vehicle. Dealership service manager doesn't know what the problem is nor why it is showing failure. I have no update on repair as of now. My only options were to trade in or buy a brand new $10k…

   NHTSA complaint #11641189 · source
8. Filed Oct 20, 2024MNTransmission & Drivetrain

   Clutch has begun slipping very badly at 40,000 miles, sometimes to the point of not being able to accelerate. It is worse at highway speeds. There is a known service bulletin 22-017 outlining this issue. According to the VIN, this vehicle was assembled in the Alliston, Ontario, Canada plant and further online research has found multiple others having the same issue on vehicles from the same plant.

   NHTSA complaint #11620904 · source
9. Filed Aug 7, 2024NCCrashTowedBrakesElectrical SystemTransmission & Drivetrain

   I turn my car on To go to work realized I didn’t have my phone. Car was in park. I hadn’t touch the gearshift at all I get out of the car. Approximate 20 seconds after I walk away from the car, my home security camera shows the car creeping extremely slowly backwards up into my driveway going up across the crown of the road… across the street and falls into a 10 foot deep ditch. I am 100% certain that Car was in Park… There were no sounds when I open the door to alert me…

   NHTSA complaint #11606960 · source
10. Filed Jun 18, 2024TXFuel, Hybrid & EV PropulsionOther / UnknownTransmission & Drivetrain

    Clutch System/Transmission Failure 1st Occurrence: Driving on the highway one evening at 65 mph in July of 2021. The engine began revving and the clutch was no longer functional. The engine would rev and there was no ability for me to accelerate. The vehicle decelerated placing myself at risk of getting rear ended or side swiped by other vehicles on the highway until coming to an eventual stop on the side of the highway. The vehicle was no longer operational and was towed to…

    NHTSA complaint #11595132 · source
11. Filed Dec 28, 2023FLTransmission & Drivetrain

    TSB 22-017 failing clutch on all M/T civic 2020&2021. Failed on highway almost caused severe accident. Honda is refusing to repair/replace under warranty.

    NHTSA complaint #11562457 · source
12. Filed Dec 23, 2023PATransmission & Drivetrain

    Over the last few months, I noticed that the vehicle had poor acceleration when merging onto the highway. When I tried to accelerate, the RPMs shot up as the turbo kicked in, but the car did not move any faster. Previous to this, I had trouble getting the car into 1st while sitting still (50+ times). The final incident occurred during a short trip to a local store. The engine revved high and I couldn't get over 35MPH. Upon stopping, there was a burning smell coming from the…

    NHTSA complaint #11561613 · source

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology