Honda Civic - What type of auto transmission - expat

A friend of mine in France is looking at buying a 2012 Honda Civic 9 1.8. automatic petrol. Am I right in thinking the series 9 Civic auto is a torque convertor box and that it was the series 8 that had the dodgy Ishift? Are there any things to watch out for with this model of Civic? It is a one owner car with 48,000km on sale at a Honda dealer.

Honda Civic - What type of auto transmission - badbusdriver

It is a torque converter auto. I'm fairly sure that the I-shift was phased out on the previous generation. But it would be easy enough to spot either way, as the I-shift had a gear selector which looked like a manual, whereas the TC auto had what you might call a 'stereotypical' auto selector.

Honda Civic - What type of auto transmission - SLO76
The horrid I-shift transmission was replaced by a conventional torque converter set up in 2009 2yrs before the 8th gen ended. The 9th gen is definitely an updated version of this gearbox so there's no worries about reliability.
Honda Civic - What type of auto transmission - expat

Thank you both very much. That is exactly the information that we needed.

Honda Civic - What type of auto transmission - JonestHon
The horrid I-shift transmission was replaced by a conventional torque converter set up in 2009 2yrs before the 8th gen ended. The 9th gen is definitely an updated version of this gearbox so there's no worries about reliability.

The above statement only applied to the 1.8 n/a configuration, the 1.4 remained in iShift form up to the demise of the 8th gen.

Can anyone testify about the performance of this T/C gearbox in the 9th gen when fitted to the 1.8 Tourer? Trying to compare it with our slightly larger 2010 Avensis 1.8 tourer.

Honda Civic - What type of auto transmission - CK91437

A friend of mine in France is looking at buying a 2012 Honda Civic 9 1.8. automatic petrol. Am I right in thinking the series 9 Civic auto is a torque convertor box and that it was the series 8 that had the dodgy Ishift? Are there any things to watch out for with this model of Civic? It is a one owner car with 48,000km on sale at a Honda dealer.

A very good question.

Always worth doing some homework on these sort of issues.

Honda also used some dodgy bearings in some of their gearboxes (not sure which ones), and they are expensive to repair.

Buyer be aware.

Honda Civic - What type of auto transmission - SLO76
"Honda also used some dodgy bearings in some of their gearboxes (not sure which ones), and they are expensive to repair."

You'll be referring to the 7th gen Civic which was known for gearbox bearing wear but it was usually well into six figure mileages when it happened and didn't affect the automatics. Agree though that some non service Honda parts can be very expensive but they rarely need anything. The Civic is probably the best small family auto you can buy with regard to reliability and resale.

Edited by SLO76 on 14/11/2017 at 13:12

Honda Civic - What type of auto transmission - expat
He has now bought the car. Thanks again for all your assistance.
Honda Civic - What type of auto transmission - JonestHon

The horrid I-shift transmission was replaced by a conventional torque converter set up in 2009 2yrs before the 8th gen ended. The 9th gen is definitely an updated version of this gearbox so there's no worries about reliability.

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The above statement only applied to the 1.8 n/a configuration, the 1.4 remained in iShift form up to the demise of the 8th gen. Can anyone testify about the performance of this T/C gearbox in the 9th gen when fitted to the 1.8 Tourer? Trying to compare it with our slightly larger 2010 Avensis 1.8 tourer.

Honda Civic - What type of auto transmission - SLO76
“ The above statement only applied to the 1.8 n/a configuration, the 1.4 remained in iShift form up to the demise of the 8th gen. Can anyone testify about the performance of this T/C gearbox in the 9th gen when fitted to the 1.8 Tourer? Trying to compare it with our slightly larger 2010 Avensis 1.8 tourer.”


Every day is a school day. You’re right enough. To answer your question though, I’d have absolutely no fears regarding the 1.8 Civic auto beyond avoiding the early pre 2013 hatchback models due to some cases of excessive oil usage. It’ll be a little more economical and a more nimble car to drive

Edited by SLO76 on 18/01/2022 at 13:45