I have a 2003 honda civic hybrid it is automatic, i've noticed when i would accelerate the car from auto stop it would vibrate violently but then stop when i'm normally driving at a fast or slow speed. I'm very concern with this issue it started happening recently no engine light, hope it isn't a bad trans.

 

Is it the CVT? If so change the fluid. Use Honda cvt fluid only. You could also remove the Exhaust gas recirculating valve and clean it with something like carb cleaner solution. H

 

yes it is a CVT i did some researching online and it seems that i may need to replace my starter clutch do you know any information on that? i don't have that kind of money right now so can i drive for a few more months without replacing the starter clutch? & i'm going to go get my tranmission fluid flushed and replaced today as well as engine oil flushed & filter replaced, i also use synthetic oil so hopefully this will help stop the juddering

 

The dealer might be able to do the burnishing thing to get you by. I don't know what they would charge though.

 

I have a 2003 HCH with the CVT that has transmission problems as well. My car has 2 distinct issues.

1) Judder. The car groans and vibrates loudly when starting off (especially when starting uphill). It quiets down and is smooth once it gets up to speed. This is easily fixed by changing the transmission fluid. I have Jiffy Lube do it every 20k - $200.

2) Bang and Jerk during transition. When starting off, I have to let the car slowly slide into gear by taking my foot off of the brake and waiting until it starts to roll forward before giving it gas. If I transition straight from stop to gas, the car bangs violently into gear and jerks forward. When I decelerate, I have to slowly ease off the gas until it disengages, which still gives a little jolt as it completely disengages. The worst is quickly letting off the gas when driving around 45 mph, and then giving it gas again. On several occasions I have had passengers think we got rear-ending because the bang from the transmission was so violent.

Given that my car has 166k miles, a bad transmission, a bad hybrid battery, bad catalytic converters, and a bad air bag system, I won't be repairing anything. When it finally stops running, I am going to take the license plates off of it and run away . That being said, I am still getting 46-47 mpg, so I can't complain too loudly.

P.S. I recently had the car into the dealer for the 'Airbag Inflator' and 'Low Beam Headlights' recall and they decided to give me an estimate for the other work that needed to be done. The dealer couldn't even read the estimate without laughing - $4,700 for the transmission, $3,700 for the cats, and $3,200 for the battery. They didn't notice the code for the airbag problem.