Seven problems related to engine and engine cooling have been reported for the 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Transmission shudder at starting speeds while on inclines.
I drove my car to Honda of san angelo dealership for a recall, a software update campaign was done, I picked up the car and upon driving off the dealership lot, I noticed immediately that the electric part of the hybrid was not working, at all, it was working when I dropped it off and getting 47 mpg. Upon returning to the dealership, the service manager told me not to blame them for having a 9 year old car with 100,000 miles on it. I argued the point, that it was working when I dropped it off, and it isn't now, simple as that and as I drove off, the service manager flipped me off. The car is unusable, I parked it in my garage, and dropped the insurance on it. I plan to tow it to a san antonio dealership, which is a 4 hour drive one way, when I can afford it.
The failure is a software defect, which causes the engine to stop running at random, unpredictable times, under unpredictable conditions. It has occurred four times with my vehicle, and luckily, not in dangerous circumstances. The only way to restart the engine is to bring the vehicle to a complete stop, put it in park, turn off the key completely, wait a minute, then turn the ignition to start. If it were to occur in traffic, as on the interstate, this would be a very dangerous situation. I have taken the car to the dealer for this problem, who says he cannot address it because he cannot observe it occurring, he also says that the problem is the responsibility of Honda corp, since it is a design issue.
Catalytic converter and O2 sensors continually need replacement.
Transmission hesitates. Manufacturer changes the transmission fluid, but does not repair. Manufacturer will not solve the problem only bandaids this recurring problem. Vehicle hesitates and shutters during acceleration which can be dangerous in intersections and in general traffic. This is occurring on several years of this vehicle according to websites I have read. The vehicle has also gone through two replacement of the catalytic converter.
My car has a manual transmission. The auto-stop feature cuts in sometimes when I shift into neutral preparatory to downshifting to accelerate. If this happens when I am trying to make a left turn through a break in oncoming traffic or pull into a gap in traffic on the expressway, it can be quite frightening. Fortunately, I haven't been hit yet, but my wife is reluctant to ride in my car. There was a recall several years ago which the Honda serviceman told me would fix the problem, but it didn't.
My 03 Honda Civic Hybrids electric (hybrid) motor needed replacing.