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...)

azndng

oh man, i wish i read this earlier. i too, am experiencing shitty work from a tranny repair shop. its been about 2 months without my car. they said they are ordering a new prelude tranny for me. all the symptoms you stated were all true. but i thought my car was "the select" few that didn't have the problem, because my car has about 78k on it.. and most of the pple who had failure was less then 50k. when i went to pick my car up 2 weeks ago, they said they changed the TCM (transmission control module), and the speed sensor, along with rebuilt tranny.. all was well, till i was driving to skool, and all gears slipped and then finally just didn't go. i brought it back to the place and now they said they are getting in touch with honda etc etc... bad thing is.. i alredy paid for the damn service... $2000. HOPEFULLY they won't dick me over, and say they can't do it.. another thing.. why do local dealers even take SS ludes in the first place? its not like they "know" how to fix the damn thinig? or are they just out to get money?

gerhard

Why do they take SS Ludes? Many dealers in CA will not certify the SS Prelude as a used car. (Certified Preowned Vehicles, etc....)

The fact is that many folks when they see a transmission problem coming just sell the car.

The only thing you can do with the Trans shop is tell them to call Howard. That's your best hope for a working replace transmission.

As to the dealers... they're part of Honda's coverup of the actual problem. Of course, when someone dies because of a transmission realted accident, I suppose Honda will be forced to deal with the problem. Someone was almost killed and that is why the 2000 & 2001 SS Autos now have a 100,000 mile warranty on the tranny. The rest of us are screwed.

-Gerhard


[Modified by gerhard, 2:17 PM 12/2/2002]