2015 Honda Civic · symptom sheet

Transmission shudders, slips or shifts hard

42owner reports
90,000median miles
0involved a crash

Newest report Aug 25, 2026 · checked Sep 9, 2026

176 of the 379 complaints on this car are about the transmission and drivetrain. 42 of those describe transmission shudder.

Tick what matches of 42 reports

shudders or vibrates at low speed

slips or revs without pulling

bangs or clunks into gear

hesitates when I accelerate

fluid was changed or flushed

What got replaced

Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the transmission (3 reports).

Recalls and investigations

One recall on the transmission and drivetrain covers the 2015 model year. A recall on the same system isn't always the same failure, so read the defect text.

15V-574Sep 15, 2015

Power Train:Automatic Transmission:Control Module (Tcm/Pcm/Tecm)

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Civic vehicles manufactured January 16, 2014, to November 6, 2014 and 2015 Fit vehicles manufactured March 12, 2014, to May 12, 2015. The software settings that control the transmission operation may result in damage to the transmission drive pulley shaft.

Risk and remedy

Risk: If the transmission drive pulley shaft is damaged, it may break, and the vehicle may lose acceleration or the front wheels may lock up while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the transmission, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin October 30, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are JU2 (Civic) and JU3(Fit).

When it happens

The middle half of failures fell between 50,000 and 131,603 miles, from the 28 reports that gave a mileage.

215

217

218

119

420

521

922

723

524

325

226

What owners wrote

“Car was hesitating on acceleration from a standstill, less than a mile down the road the transmission disengaged while in drive and coasted to pull over to the side of the road where we had it towed to an auto shop.”
Filed Jan 9, 2025

“CVT Transmission began to slip at 128,000 miles. Vehicle would not accelerate past 20 mph while driving on a busy road. Upon inspection fluid was black and burnt. No prior indication of any problem. Symptoms began 1 day before failure.”
Filed Jun 16, 2024 · 128,000 miles

“Car when Accelerator. is depressed The transmission searches bogs Down Loss of power switches gears jerks around Which makes it extremely unsafe when trying to pull out into traffic. Had a mechanic look at it and you stated. This is extremely common with this year in type of Car. Honda put a unsafe transmission in them and should replace. Especially with only 50 Thousand miles on it”
Filed Apr 4, 2023

“Pressure caused transmission plug to pop out unknowingly. Vehicle now jerks at low speeds or when accelerating from a full stop position. Likely that missing plug is allowing dirt and debris into transmission fluid. Transmission likely negatively impacted. This vehicle has less than 75,000 miles. Seems this vehicle should have been included with the NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID: 15V574000”
Filed Dec 30, 2022 · 75,000 miles

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 0 of 42 reports involved a crash. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.

File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation.