mjthomas

I own an 01 Accord V6 3.0L with 236K miles. I bought the car with 218K miles and did plenty of work on the car including changing the tranny fluid to genuine Honda ATF. The problem I am having is two-fold. First is the car shifts hard into 2nd gear. Not very noticeable into 3rd and 4th but definitely into 2nd.

The second issue is it is slow to downshift into 1st when coming to a stop. If I do a rolling stop, it starts in 2nd and then drops into 1st. If I come to a complete stop or close, it will downshift.

Now these problems have gotten no better nor worse since I bought the car. It has thrown two codes recently:
P1739-3rd pressure switch failure
P0700-AT malfunction

I realize that the P0700 code is a catch all for the transmission but I also remember a solenoid code a while back.

In doing some reading, there seems to be three possible problems:
1. 3rd pressure switch has failed and/or leaking and needs replaced
2. C solenoid is bad and needs replaced
3. Screens under solenoid pack needs cleaned out as it is plugged.

The fourth option is the tranny is toast and keep driving it until it falls out of the car.

All three appear to give the same symptoms close but not identical to my issue. I would think that at least the solenoid would be an all or none situation where it would work or not and the issues would be worse.

The car is drive-able but sure would like to fix the tranny.

I know I can check the solenoid by checking with a battery and ground and listening for a click. I can also pull the solenoids and check the screen or replace the valve.

I guess I am looking for which direction to go...sorry for the rant. typing and thinking out loud.

Thanks for any help.

slowcivic2k

The solenoids are almost never a problem. The problem is clutch material blocks the valve body passages from within. A transaxle DTC will create a limp in condition, which is designed to prevent excessive wear on other parts. The pressure switches are a known problem on 98-02 Accords and should be replaced. I service these with each rebuild as required.

Given the mileage, you are due for a rebuild of the clutches and valve body. There are a host of issues an aftermarket rebuild kit will correct as the time of the rebuild. Most of these units require a rebuild around the 100,000 mile mark, you are lucky to go this far without incident.

Everyone replaces solenoids thinking this will solve the problem. In fact you probably wont find most of these solenoids in a junk yard for this reason. People don't understand that these problems are valve body problems. Once you understand that, your only course of action for longevity is to rebuild and update the valve body parts.

If you refuse to accept the fact that your transmission has wear and tear, and are willing to service it, expect to spend a lot of cash on hunches. I have rebuilt over 100 of these units.