so im not sure what exactly the cause is but when my civic turns on i can drive just fine until it warms up then it just doesnt go. only revs like its in neutral, although the shifter is still in drive.
any ideas on possible causes/parts that need attention?

 

What year? I assume automatic, since you mentioned it's in drive?

Bad transmission. Sorry to say, but you likely need a full rebuild or replacement. Automatic transmissions in Hondas aren't that great. They run long enough to clog the internal filter, then give up 100%. Same thing happened to my bud's Civic. It would run 10-25 minutes and just give up. I will personally never own an automatic unless I have medical issues with my left leg.

Do you have any stored codes from an OBD scanner to share? It's slightly plausible to be something else.

 

 

When you try to go but it won't, does the speedometer go up from zero?

 

 

Would you jump right to bad transmission? My first thought would be bad shift position sensor.

 

Was a little schwifty for the first reply. The OP has not gotten back to us with a model year, trim level, and approximate mileage to determine if any codes can be retrieved with a scanner.

One of the most common failure modes of a Honda transmission is clogging of the internal filter. The 01-05 year was notorious for this crap. It will shed enough internal clutch material and metal shavings to fully clog the internal filter after a few minutes of running, which starves the rest of the transmission from any hydraulic pressure inducing the loss of drive. I've confirmed this with a few local transmission repair shops who state they rebuild the trans, update the torque converter, add a filter on the inline trans cooler, and recommend a shorter ATF fluid service interval. One of those shops even refused to honor a warranty unless an aftermarket transmission cooler was installed with the filter kit on top of the cooler lines to the stock automatic radiator. They also stated it will typically happen anywhere after 90k miles (for the 01-05 model year).

I would honestly start with checking the level and condition of the transmission fluid (what color..? is it burned?), then doing a drain and fill (WITH HONDA DW-1 ATF ONLY) for 2-3 quarts(Check for your model year) and a test drive. If no other codes are present, and both axles are all the way in and mounted properly (mk378 covered this with his speedometer question), then it's entirely possible a full trans rebuild/replacement is on the table. Of course this won't be a comprehensive diagnostic, pending model year and issue, but it will at least get you in the right direction. I really hope a sensor or low fluid is the issue since those will be easy to fix.

It would not surprise me if no codes were encountered since my buddy's 2002 Civic didn't light any. I've pushed that bastard's car too many times since he's only owned it for 14 months.