This is odd, it sounds a tad like what Ive been dealing with.

Driving my car, I swear it feels like its lost quite a bit of power. Dealer doesnt think so, but then again the dealer hasnt driven the car everyday for the last 4 years My tranny was replaced (partly because of this issue, and partly because of a noise the car was making.........turns out the tranny wasnt the cause of the noise, but this issue still exists).

Anyway, the fact that you feel a "power loss" and the fact that it seems to be wanting to stall, almost points at possibly being the torque converter, or whatever controls it. Lately, Ive been noticing 2 things:

1. if my foot is off the gas (coasting, in traffic, whatever) at 60mph+ and I start pressing the gas slowly (I dont beat my car up, so this happens a lot) , the RPMs actually drop 200-400, then go back to where they started, and then the car accelerates. Remember, the RPM loss occurs with my foot ON THE GAS. Sounds wrong to me, dealer said its normal.

2. if Im driving in the speed range that the torque converter should be locked up (Ill explain later), and I give it about 1/4 throttle, the RPMs go up about 200-400, then back down 200-400. It translates almost into a mini-slip in the tranny. Almost like the torque converter should have unlocked, but it didnt. This is also accompanied by being able to hear the tone of the engine change. When the RPMs jump, you can hear the engine accelerate, and then all of a sudden it hits a brick wall, and you can hear the engine bog down. If I dont move my foot off the gas, or push more, the engine will bog for a little, the car gains very little speed, and then eventually it "clears up" and the engine tone goes back to normal acceleration, and the car begins to gain speed at a normal level. Its almost like the sound change you get if you drive your lawn mower over a large pile of grass.

At this point, Ive gotten Honda involved, because Ive been to the dealer 5 times for the first issue, and they told me its normal. Now the second issue has started, and Id like to see them pull a car off the lot and show me how "normal" this is.

Anyway, the torque converters on our cars will go into a "lockup" mode when you are at highway speeds. Thats pretty much "automatic overdrive" to improve fuel economy. When we press the accelerator, the converter should unlock almost immediately under most conditions. My theory (not a mechanic, but I know how stuff works ) is that the converter is either unlocking too slow, not unlocking at all, or not unlocking completely. This, in essence, holds back the car from accelerating.

My appointment with the dealer is on Monday...........Im bringing the car there, and Honda is going to call them to find out whats up. What is odd to me is that issue #1 occurred both before AND after replacing the tranny, which leads me to believe the tranny is not the issue (what are the chances of getting a bum replacement, as the 3rd tranny in my car?) after 6K miles. Its possible, but not likely. But I cannot think of anything that would cause what Im thinking is the issue. Or, it could very well be an engine issue, but Im leaning away from that because I only see these weird things during highway speeds, which is normally 4th gear. City driving doesnt feel nearly as bad, so Im not 100% sure.

I will report back after Monday, however. Im very hopeful that between the two things I see (and I can recreate at will, mind you) and Honda getting involved, my dealer will have a resolution. I even told Honda Im prepared to let them keep the car for as long as necessary to find out whats going wrong. The big hurdle, however, seems to be getting my dealer to admit that there IS something wrong in the first place.

-Chris