Honda Accord '98 - Automatic Transmission - Slipping
 

Hi there,
I have a feeling that there's some slipping in transmission in first gear range (0-15 mph) especially in cold weather. Yesterday, I have replaced the transmission fluid with Honda ATF. No significant difference so far. Is this all normal or is it something that I should look into seriously? Any help there!

Did you replace the fluid?? Did Honda do the job??

I got it replaced by my mechanic yesterday.

v6?

you sure its ATF?

did he powerflush it?

why do i get the feeling it was powerflushed and non- ATF fluid used.

:(

i know

a dealer done "flush" shouldnt cause any problems.

One thing that I find so strange is how can an independant auto shop flush a tranny and re-fill with something other than ATF?
I mean it says it in the manual yet they still do it.

Hopefully this isnt his case because eventually that tranny will fail.

How serious is it slipping?
From a dead stop does the engine rev up a lot and then takes off?
Is the slipping only occuring on the 1st - 2nd shift?

also, do you have a 4cyl?
If you do, well if its a 6 or 4 im hopeful your not over 105k so honda can look at it. If so, then we can start by isolating certain solenoids.

give us a better description of your symptons and i ( we ) will try our best to help.

Basically, you should never get your tranny flushed EVER. Only do a drain, refill. Which consists of draning, refilling, driving to normal opp. temp, drain, and refill again.

i had that done at a dealer a few years ago..... they wrote flush on the bill :o :shrug:

even though it was a 3x drain and fill.

When you flush, sediments and shavings get washed back into the transmission's gears.

That "power purge" crap you see on TV does more damage that help.

I would trust Honda when they say flush, not the local Jiffy Lube. It seems that this has been coming up quite a bit in the forums:dunno:

This is a 4 cylinder, 1998 Honda Accord EX with 2.3L VTEC-ULEV engine. And it has 103640 miles on it as of today. The slipping is not very serious though I'm concerned. When I start pushing the accelerator from a dead stop, if I push gently it goes up smooth and the shifting from 1st gear to 2nd is smooth. If I push harder after a dead stop, the engine rpm goes above 3000 rpm and then it shifts to 2nd gear, which I am uncomfortable with. Above that gear range things look fine as the further shifting is more or less smoother.

My mechanic suggested transmission fluid replacement and when I went to his shop two days ago, I asked him if he has Honda ATF. He said no but that he has something better to replace. I insisted on the Honda ATF and he said I have to buy it myself and he'll be glad to replace with that. I went to a Honda dealer and bought 4 quarts of Honda ATF (he suggested that) and he has replaced the fluid. It is not a flush job but its a drain and refill. He aslo said that it'll take a few days before I can really see the performance improvement of the transmission.

You should think about other mechanic. Really.
You need 12 Qt. of ATF to replace all fluid not 4.
You are wasting your money with him.

Hi, my 99 4 cyl. Accord is at a Transmission Rebuild Shop right now for the same reason. When it is cold out the transmission slips when shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear only. The harder you excelerate during the shift, the worse it slips. Took it to the trans shop about 4 times now, because I have a warranty with them. Symptoms are hard to replicate when the engine is warmed up combined with warm weather.

1st time, they replaced the Transmisiion A and B solenoids, with used ones of another tranny. Problem got worse.

2nd time they replaced the same solenoids with brand new ones from Honda $30 a piece. -Tranny felt better but problem still existed on cold start ups.

3rd time they said they changed the pressure sensor, tranny felt very weird and along with the cold weather the tranny slips clear as day when shifting from 2nd to 3rd.

4th time is now since I did not take the car home on the 3rd time. He says he will take the tranny out and open it up and see.

I have researched the issue quite a bit and have found many people mentioning to replace the Linear Solenoid which is $270 from Honda. But with the $200 I paid for the warranty, I don't see my guy replacing that, though I have told him about it many times.

The boss is nice to deal with though, which is a change from a lot of the other shop owners I've met. Someone please chime in with any insight.

Thanks for sharing the information. At least I have started thinking of any solution to this problem that will cost lesser than the Honda dealership people always suggest: "Replace the transmission. New one is for $4000, certified used one is for $2100". Wow, one can buy a good 95/96 used honda accord for that kind of money.

I am not sure where should I go to get this problem checked. Can anyone suggest a good transmission rebuild shop? Or should I try Transmission flush from the Honda dealer. What I have learnt through internet is that 'Flush' is destructive. Does Honda delaership do a flush or just 3X drain & refill. Because, the Honda guy specifically siad the word "Flush" when I went there and that's why I went to my mechanic in the first place who have replaced 4 quarts of ATF.

Any help, people.

Best Regards.

since you have a 6th gen... you should ask the dealer if they are going to cover it.

some people have gotten honda to cover some of the cost.

When Honda does it, they do a drain and refill X3. Although, they call it a flush.

Sedate, since your under the extended warranty ( extended to 105k I believe ) you should go to the dealer immediately and have them look at it. At least its on record that your experiencing some tranny troubles.

linear solenoid at hondaautomotiveparts was 164.00 when i got it.
Linear solenoid is what regulates pressure to change gear from 1st - 2nd and vice versa....

Thanks flyromeo3. I'm not the first owner of this car so I do'nt have any documentation about the warranty/Extended warranty.

Can anyone help with this so that when I go to the dealer I have something to make my case with them.

Regards.

iirc, the 98 and 99 are still not covered :o

I had the EXACT same feeling. :rolleyes:

Not really...

Tranny has 7 quarts or so total, but the torque converter doesn't drain. You only get 2 or 3 quarts each time you drain & fill. If the old fluid is nasty, you may have to do a few more drain/fill cycles & drive 100 miles in between to mix the fluid.

But since old is always mixed in with new, it may take 12 quarts before all the old fluid is diluted & gone. That's NOT saying your mechanic is a crook...

Did your mechanic say anything about the condition of the fluid he drained?

After all that, it's still possible your tranny is on it's way out to a permanent lunch.

I'd like to know about the extended warranty... My '98 is automatic, but it's not having problems (yet?) I thought the warranty extension was only for 2001 & 2002 or ????

Yeah, I believe the 01 and 00 were extended to 105k.

The warranty was mainly for the v6 transmissions since they were so prone to this disaster. Some 4cyl models were included as the same problem would appear.

The 2002 models were EXCLUDED from this recall. Even though the problems I experienced were Identical to my friends 01 accord that ended up getting a transmission replacement under warranty.

The warranty from 98-99 was up to 100k i believe
00 and 01 to 105k miles.

I wanted to say that his mechanic wasn't sure how to change ALL ATF because he used only 4 qt of fluid. 12 qt might be too much.
I use 2+ qt for every drain and fill so for 3 I would buy 9 qt. not be short on ATF on the middle of a weekend when dealerships are closed.

Damn man, that's a raping ass dealership... My best friend just had trans. replaced ('98 Coupe V6) and hers was only $2000 out the door and that was with all new motor mounts included and a 12mo/12K warranty. When I called to check on my timing belt service they quoted me $600 for new belts/seals/water pump on my '96 Accord out the door.