1997 Honda Civic power train problems
25 owner complaints filed with NHTSA name the power train on the 1997 Honda Civic — 7% of all complaints for this model year.
What owners report
“Driving at a speed of 40 mph, then the car went into limp mode and check engine light came on with codes po700 and po715, took to transmission business, could not find the cause of the problem. This problem is still present. Recently found a service bulletin from honda about this defect on the…”
filed Jun 7, 2012
“The vtec-e on my 1997 honda civic hx is not engaging at the proper times which is not only an annoyance when driving, but also a safety hazard when it engages at low speeds (which it should not do) in traffic launching you forward into the back ends of other vehicles. Has caused (2) rearenders. *tr”
filed May 9, 2011
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Related service bulletins
Service news article - planning on using a leak check dye to help find a leak? Here s the current list of vehicles that you shouldn t use dye on.
A15070B - 7-2-15 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 2, 2015
Power Train problems in other Civic years
| Year | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Civic | 2 | 9% |
| 2025 Civic | 5 | 8% |
| 2024 Civic | 6 | 5% |
| 2023 Civic | 6 | 2% |
| 2022 Civic | 10 | 1% |
| 2021 Civic | 2 | 1% |
| 2020 Civic | 31 | 14% |
| 2019 Civic | 13 | 3% |
| 2018 Civic | 14 | 2% |
| 2017 Civic | 29 | 5% |
| 2016 Civic | 36 | 3% |
| 2015 Civic | 175 | 46% |
Other reported problem areas on the 1997 Honda Civic
Counts are unique NHTSA complaints naming this component group. Complaints are unverified owner reports; mileage is computed only from complaints that included a usable odometer reading.