menelaus22

I just bought a 97 prelude with 71k miles on it. The car looks like it's in great condition, at least on the exterior. I picked it up at an auto auction for 8k. Anyhow... i'm having some worries with the transmission.

When I first start up the car and shift into reverse, there is a slight delay (about 2 sec) for the transmission to make the gearshift. The shift itself seems very abrupt and kind of feels like a slam into gear. Shift back into drive gives the same delayed and kicking response. After driving the car for about 10 minutes the problem stops.

The first couple of upshifts also seems pretty harsh. I checked the transmission fluid and it looks a bit low. My first step will be changing the fluid and filter.

So i'm looking for advice on what to do about this. I've researched the issue and have seen that a lot of these preludes and hondas have transmission issues. I'd really hate to be paying out 2 grand in a year or two for a new tranny.

Do you guys think i should just flip the car and make a couple thousand off the sale? Or should I just quit worrying and enjoy it?

I've posted this on another forum and have gotten a couple good suggestion. I'm going to replace the transmission fluid and filter. When I do this I'll definitely look to see if there's excessive amounts of metal shaving etc in the fluid. Also, someone reccomended warming the car up for a couple minutes to resolve the initial harsh shifts. I'm going to do this, but would like to find a permanent solution. I'm in a rush and dont feel like waiting in my car forever...

any suggestions are MUCH appreciated.

thanks much

Ninjaboi_on_X

If you are saying that you have a 97 Prelude with an automatic then something is most def wrong because I'm pretty sure 97+ were all stick............

Tekwon-V

i suggest you to check out the "sportshift complaints" section on honda-prelude.com you will find more than enough information there.

i dun wanna bore you with information on this post. i will let you check it out yourself.

just make sure you come to a complete stop before shifting R-D / D-R. when on a hill, leave the e-brake on til you shifted into D or R then release, etc. common sense stuff. if you are planning on doin basic stuff, i'd say enjoy your car. tranny cooler will help out prolong your tranny. if you are planning on doin CRAZY stuff... then sell the car and get the 5 speed one.

and... ninjaboi.... all 5th gen preludes are offered with automatic (sportshift)

menelaus22

hehe... what are you talking about man? The only prelude that doesnt offer the automatic is the SH model. Other than that, of course you can get a automatic.

Thanks for the advice though TEK. I'll definitely check everything out.

Do you know of a way to check and see if the transmission is on its way out? Obviously noises and grinding isnt a good sign.. but are there any other indicators?

smslude

Your wrong of couse they make an automatic!

Try changing the fluid and filter if that doesnt work i would definently sell it and try your luck on another prelude only next time get a standard.

lunarcry

i ran through the same thing,your tranny is about to run out,you probable have from 3 month to one year depending on hard you press on the gas pedal ,it has something to do with the over drive gear engaging when it don't have to, that is messing the other gears even if you let it heat up before runing it would not help.i hope you got an extended guarranty cause you will need it if you plan to stay with the car.rigth now i am shopping for a convertion to manual i can't sell it cause i love my lude. ps do not engage your ss when the temperature is below 35* it will only make it worst .good luck

azndng

i feel you lunacry. well my situation bout the reverse.. i'm banking it happens to all ss ludes. i put in R then i hold brake down till it "engages" (real hard jerk happens)then i just reverese. then i put it in drive till it engages (another hard jerk). takes like 2 seconds each time.. then just driving.. the car does have a jerky feelin for each shift. then i changed the atf.. which helped allot. then i just got it change it again (at honda this time) then it was running funny. then 2 months after that.. i'm ludeless cause my tranny is shot and "tried" to rebuild.. but the shop broke my transmission.. then they told me "we'll replace it on us" sure.. *******..

anyways, make long story short.. don't drive too hard.. that's why i think mine went out.. i bought my 97 at 58k.. it has 78k now.. and the first 10k miles i drove pretty hard.. then i figured i'm not F&F.. so i just stopped.. and didn't vtec allot. try to level10 it.. or 5spd. full level10 runs like 3g's or so.. http://www.levelten.com

menelaus22

thanks for the information

it's pretty disheartening to realize my transmission is going to fail. If it just started slamming into gear I wonder how long itll last?

how much do you think i could sell a 97 black auto with 73k miles

lunarcry

how much time its going to last; hard to say,could be anything from one year to at least four if your are lucky.i can not tell you how much i think your lude is worth but if i was in you place i will probably trade it for a manual .

ponzarelli

damm....ive had the same exact problem...same exact jerkks on the gears and everything....i had to get my tranny replaced twice...but thanks to the extended warranty everything was covered....hopefully i wont have to replace it again for the third time....just dont drive your lude too hard man...thats how i fucked up mine...

smslude

Damn im new to owning a prelude i didnt know there were this many issues with their transmissions, I have a standard transmission is there any major problems with them.

lunarcry

as far as i know there is no problem w/97+ludes that have a manual tranny

menelaus22

i know im a little pu$$y for liking the auto transmission so much... but seriously, I owned a manual for 2 years before getting the honda and got sick of it. It's fun for really driving, and I'd definietely get a stick it the car was just for pleasure, but for my daily driver I wanted something convenient and sporty... like a prelude! But grrrrrreat! now I can't drive it hard cause the POS tranmission is built like $hit. It just really pisses me off that I didnt research it more before buying my car. Had I known about this I probably would have sucked it up and bought the ugly little celica, which is at least reliable.

alright... had to let off some steam...

JG Luder

ugh... newbie... shut up...

Please, don't speak again unless you KNOW what you're saying.

I can't stand wrong info in here.

MugenHonda

I would check the title before you think you're going ot make some money off the sale
most if not all auction cars have salvage title, flood or rebuilt titles

gerhard

I figure that I should post information on the SS Auto's here.

If anyone of you that own a 5th Gen have an SS Auto, then you may be aware that Honda has finally decided to warranty 2000-2001 Prelude Auto Transmissions up to 100,000 miles.

Of course, this means that the rest of us that have been bitching about the numerous failures we've been experiencing with our 1997-1999 Preludes are out of luck...

Basically, SS Auto failures have historically fallen into two categories:

1) Never had a problem.

2) Transmission went very early on (under 20,000 miles), and possibly again afterwards.

I've been following this issue for a number of years and have a fair amount of information. I'm going to post that info here for everyone:

SS Auto Background:

Honda used the Prelude as it's test bed for much of it's new technology. This was the case for the SS Auto 5th Gen and the 4 speed version of the transmission.

Initially, Honda thought that the design would translate from paper to a decent product. Unfortunately, they ran into manufacturing problem - mostly quality control related due to the very tight tolerances in the transmission.

When the first problems started to be reported, Honda let the local dealers attempt to fix the problem. Generally, this entailed sending the trans out to a local trans shop to repair the unit with Honda OEM parts. Unfortunately, the trans' design was a little to new and a lot more difficult to work on. The failure rate was almost 100% attempting this form of repair.

So, Honda decided that they had to put a stop to dealers working on the transmissions. They immediately told the dealers that there was only one fix for an SS Auto: Let it completely fail and then replace it.

It turns out that Honda's own remanufacturing division started to have problems as well. They started to see a 40% failure rate on the SS Autos from the Prelude.

So, after a few years of horrible results, they turned to a company that was in the remanufacturing business. These guys were able to reliably rebuild the SS Autos and even offer a decent warranty.

The primary reason Honda has been so successful at ignoring Prelude owners and not dealing with the problem in a timely manner is that there are so few Honda Preludes with the SS Auto transmission. In a typical year Honda sold about 10,000 Preludes (5th Gen), and maybe 40 percent of those sales were SS Autos (4000 cars a year times 5 years of production = 20,000 car total!).

They would never be able to get away with this with a Honda Accord, which sells about 450,000 cars a year. So any problems would be reported by the masses to the NTSA and possibly risk a recall. (Hence the reason the SS Auto extended warranties began...)

Honda's likes to screw the little guys. Unfortunately, it is more like that someone will have to die in an accident related a sudden transmission failure before honda will take care of all SS Auto vehicle owners.

Replacement Options:

There is one company in the US that rebuilds the SS Auto properly. (For Honda / Acura too!)

That company is Howard Engineering.

If your transmission fails out of warranty, you should have the dealer contact Howard and get a remanufactured unit from them.

They offer 5 year / 50,000 mile warranties.

Honda only offers a 12 month / 18,000 mile warranty on their replacement units.

With Howard, they will also pay for the removal and installation of the transmission if it should fail. In other words: Howard offers a dealer like warranty that costs you nothing out of pocket should the unit fail (and includes a rental car!).

http://www.hecreman.com/hec.taf?s=pv...rranty_options

Don't waste your time having a local shop rebuild your tranny, they'll just screw it up and you'll be without your car. (This has been the case in about 9 out of 10 stories that folks have reported to me using companies like AMMCO, Lee Myles, etc.)

You need to use either a Howard or Honda branded rebuild otherwise you are wasting your cash.

(This includes Level 10 IF you are not sending your COMPLETE transmission and t-converter to them! Period. No Exceptions.)

SS Auto Transmission Failure Symptoms:

These are the problems most people report when their trannies are failing:

1) Hard Shifts: A hard shift is when the transmission shifts from one gear to another, but BANGS itself into the next gear.

2) Soft Shifts: A soft shift is when the transmission takes a long slide into the next gear. So rather than crisply shifting into the next gear over 1 to 3 seconds, the transmission sides into the next gear over 3 to 15 seconds.

3) Slipping: Slipping is when the transmission either takes a long time to go into the next gear, or no longer goes into the next gear. When the unit attempts to shift to the next gear, the "slides" but doesn't quite get there. As a result the tachometer revs a few thousand RPM higher than it would normally, as there is no longer any load on the engine.

4) Grinding: Grinding is something the does happen, but it's really not typical. It's self explanatory.

Typical symptoms for a Honda SS Auto:

1) Pour shifting into reverse, especially during cold weather. Kind of clunks itself into the reverse from Park. (There is a noticeable shutter.)

2) Pour shifting into D4 from Reverse. Once again, Clunks itself into gear.

3) Hard shifts from one gear to another. Typically, 2nd to 3rd or 3rd to 4th. (Imagine a steel I-beam being hit by a sledge hammer, and that's what this failure feels / sounds like.)

4) Finally failure: Slips and never engages the next gear.

What can be done to extend the life of your SS Auto?:

Well, there are quite a few simple things that will extend the life of your SS Auto.

The first thing is to install a transmission cooler in line with the existing cooler. This will keep the overall temperature of the transmission below 200 degrees. (Ideally, you want it to be about 175 degrees F.) Be careful not to install to large a cooler, as you need to keep the trans temp up into the normal operating temps during the winter. Purchase a medium sized cooler! Not a small one, and not the largest one that is made...

The second thing to you need to do religiously is change your ATF with Honda ATF every 15,000 miles. ESPECIALLY IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN AFTERMARKET TRANSMISSION COOLER INSTALLED.

Why 15,000 miles? Most Honda dealers will tell you it's a really good idea to change the ATF every 30,000 miles. (Even though the Service Manual says 90,000 and 60,000 miles depending on driving conditions. [what BS!]) However, you can only change 3 QTs at a time with a standard drain. As such, if you change the ATF every 15,000 miles you are removing particulates and refreshing the ATF's additive package (which prevent the acidic worn out ATF from effecting the transmission and keeps the seals in good condition).

Lastly, if you live in climates where you are going to face sub-zero temperatures, then you should consider using a synthetic ATF / Honda ATF mix. Generally, you can use 50%-60% Honda ATF and AMSOIL or Mobil 1 Dexron III ATFs. You can also use B&M "Synthetic Trick Shift" ATF, it flows well to -65 degrees F, but is better mixed with AMSOIL or Mobil 1 as well.

Interestingly, Honda ATF only thicken slights at 0 degrees F. B&M, AMSOIL, and Mobil 1 have virtually no change at 0 degrees F and that's why the mixture works so well. (Better cold shifting, slightly better thermal transfer properties, etc...)

I can be reached at http://www.honda-prelude.com - The Sport Shift Complaint forem under the 5th Gen area.

menelaus22

Mugen-

what are you talking about? I guess you must think I'm going to some publicly available auctions. However, this car was bought at a dealer only regional auction. Just about %80 of all the used cars at any dealership are bought like this. Additionally, there arent ANY salvage/rebuild titles at this auction unless they run a special section of the auction usually like once a month.
Anyhow, I checked the carfax before buying the car, and it came back clean.

sharkcohen

I'm running a Hayden 677 tranny cooler after the stock ATF cooler, and I have started changing my ATF fluid every 7500 miles (first change was at 30k). I'm sure it doesn't help that I am boosting 6 psi though

VEGASDRAGON

I just bought a 2000 Prelude. It's got an automatic transmission with the triptonic shifter. Recently I have been having a serious problem with it slipping out of gear and not re-engaging. The only way I can get it to reset and get back in gear is by pulling over, turning the engine off and taking the key out. After doing this, and starting the car up again it engages into gear fine until it goes to switch gears. It stalls a bit when shifting from 1st to 2nd, and again from 2nd to 3rd. It wont shift to 4th. Anyone got any ideas what the problem is and what I need to do to repair it....?

jcball3r

You have a problem with your transmission pressure plates. Internal trans problem. Will cost atleast 1 grand plus. I just had that same problem.