cfile

I have an 02 Accord with the 2.3 VEC engine andautomatic transmission. It's my second one; a tree fell on my first one and totalled it, so I bought this one. A couple weeks ago, the transmission started to hesitate going into first gear at stops or when shifting to D4 from Park. It would also clunk when it engaged. I had noticed this a bit earlier when I slowed to a rolling stop and then gave it the gas, but it only occurred intermittently. Anyway, I decided that it was time for a fluid change, and switched form Valvoline Maxlife to Castrol's new universal fluid. I only did the one drain and fill and it changed nothing so I took the car into Advance and ran codes. I had none, but the salesmans suggested I pull the Lockup solenoid and clean the screens. After viewing a few videos I did so, Also, removed the battery and box and did the same to the linear control solenoids. Pulled the B shift solenoid and washed it out too, all of these with brake cleaner and while I had it out checked the resistance which was about 15. Once completed, the car did better for a couple days. However, yesterday all hell broke loose. First the car just jumped out of 4th gear into what seemed like neutral.. The transmission gave no resistance to revving the engine. Then once released the car went back into drive. It did this several times and I parked it. Checked fluid and it was fine. Drove more and it would jump into and out of gear, When I slowed down, it would sometimes jump into a much lower gear. It would slip in other gears and by the time I got home, would not even stay in low long enough for me to get up my drive. I'd start up and get a few feet and it would jump out of gear. I'd let off the gas, it would clunk and I'd try it again. I think 4 tries to get up a 200 foot drive. But, during some of this driving, it changed perfectly fine. Very irratic. Any ideas.

cfile

Drove the car a couple miles this morning and no problems except maybe a bit of slip in the gear changes. Seems the problems occur once the transmission warms up. Could I have a solenoid going bad, breaking down when hot, and if so, why no codes? Could the different fluid cause all this? Electrical connection where I unplugged and plugged the solenoids? Stumped.

Chrisfrom1986

iTrader: (1)

Transmission failure, cannot be fixed. Replacement trans will be thousands of dollars wasted because it will happen again and there is no way to prevent it.

Aradin

^ This. I have way more experience with these transmissions than I ever wanted. They're junk. There really is no point in replacing it as it will just happen again.

cfile

So no one thinks a 2002 Honda with a bad transmission is fixable." My previous 2002 Accord had 270.000 with the original transmission and was still going strong when it was destroyed by a tree. The transmission outlasted the engine that had to have the top end rebuilt at 190,000. The current car is only showing 122,000 on the odometer and the transmission was pretty much fine until a week ago. I may not spend thousands to replace a transmission in a car this old, but i'm not quite ready to give up on this transmission either.

Fitz Williams

iTrader: (1)

I seem to remember that there was a "fix" for these transmissions if you were having them rebuilt. A filter, maybe?

tratar

It’s probably your Linear Solenoid. If one side is weak or intermittent it will cause terrible shifts and may not throw a code. Take it off and test both sides of the terminal connectors, they should sound equally as strong when it clicks when you apply power to it. Some people just go to the wrecking yard and grab a few. Because they are way cheaper than a new dealer one. I bought a new one from “hondapartnow” online , it was just under $400. I didn’t have time to be fooling around with my daughters car. Make sure you watch these 2 videos on YouTube by: 1torqued6point0 / title: Honda CR-v, Element, and Accord harsh shifting or no shifting solution, also this one by: Barron AT / title: Honda Element, CRV, Transmission Problem Fix. I have a 02 accord 2.3 automatic this is the one I purchased

Honda 28250-P6H-024

Solenoid Assy., Linear
it fits 2000 -2006 accords, pilots & odyssey

also I drove around for year manually shifting from 2nd up to 4th because it wouldn’t go into 1st without a hard buck. So this was my work around until learned about this problem.

cfile

Thank you Tractar. I pulled the Linear solenoid and cleaned it but did not check for function and when I put it back I did not change the gasket. It was after this that the transmission problems got a lot worse, so I may have caused some of the problems. I will pull it and check the function and order a new gasket for it too. Raining today, so it may not happen today and I may have to wait on a gasket too. I'll let you know if this solenoid was the problem when I can.

cfile

Pulled the linear solinoid again, recleaned it, tested it for resistence and operation using 12 volts and it seemed to work fine. 5.3 ohms on both solinoids. Put it back and it seemed to drive much better. However, once the transmission gets warm (maybe 10 miles), it starts messing up again. I've figured out that it is mostly when it is in low and tries to shift to second, it just doesn't go into any gear, but will also do that when it downshifts. I have ordered a new gasket and also plan to change the fluid again, but really think something is acting up when it gets hot, maybe one of the solenoids electrical circuit. Not sure how to test that. I can pull another solenoid off of a junker I have, but it always slipped a bit going from 1st to 2nd, but not like this one. I lived with that for years and if it fixes my current problem and replaces it with that, I will at least know it is the linear solinoid which I'll buy from a parts store. Very frustrating.

cfile

So I drove the car last night and it did fine going, but coming home started acting up and went into limp mode. Checked codes today and got P1739. 3rd pressure switch failure, P1750, Shilf Solenoid A stuck, and P1751 2-3 shift malfunction. Now I am confused regarding which is the A solenoid. Most diagrams show the front two individual solenoids as shift B and C, the double solenoid on the top as the lock up solenoid but also says assembly A, and the double solenoid under the battery box ans the linear shift solenoid, also called the pressure control solenoid for A/B valves. All the parts houses list the individual solenoids as Shift solenoid A and B. So anyone really know what the A solenoid is, the one that stuck?

tratar

P1759 is related to “3rd clutch pressure switch”.
this is for my 2.3 4cyl automatic accord. Dealer list it as Honda 28610-RKE-004 Switch Assembly, At Oil Pressure (Washimiya) $68 at hondapartsnow. You can probably try any autoparts 3rd party like napa, not sure how good they are, but it’s easy to replace , remove battery & and tray It is opposite & below the dual linear solenoid, use a 22mm deep socket or a wrench to remove it. you can swap it fast enough with out loosing too much tranny fluid ,place a rag under it for the drips. As far as P1750 Hydraulic Contol System , I have had those during the time of my hard shifts but they didn’t come back once I fixed the problem & cleared the codes.

cfile

One more fluid change and the transmission seemed much better. Changed the switch anyway, just because I read that with age they can get out of calibration and make shifting off. Drove it about 20 miles this morning and the transmission did fine. Hopefully dodged a bullet, though I did see a few very tiny flakes of metal in the last fluid change, so I'll obvious smacked up a few gears during all this jumping in and out of gears. Now time will tell.

cfile

Well, it's still acting up when it gets warm enough. Not sure what to do next. I've got the duel linear pressure control solenoid off the car and it looks and tests fine. I'm beginning to think the transmission is failing, but I don't know why. The clutches seem fine. Maybe the internal filter is clogged. Frustrating. Slipped a bit between 2nd and 3rd, but mostly acting up going to 1st and shifting to 2nd. Smooth as glass when cold but in stop and go traffic it gets real bad. I'd replace some solenoids, but not sure that isn't just throwing money away.

tratar

It could still be that linear solenoid even if resistance is ok and you hear clicking on both sides If it were me I would get one off ebay for $60 or $70 and try it. You should watch this YTube video so you know what i’m talking about. Search on YTube “Delayed Shifting, Honda Transmission by Eric the Car Guy. He basically changed the linear solenoid and it finally cleared his problem. As I mentioned I bought mine from Dealer but I know they are too damn expensive to be rolling the dice but it did clear up my problem And make sure your fluid is not to low or high on your dip stick. Car should be warmed up but with engine “off” not running And on level ground.
If you buy make sure it’s for your year , model , transmission example: automatic 4cyl or 6cyl. If you do ebay your not out too much.

cfile

Thanks for staying with me on this. Actually, my problem is different than Erics. I have smooth shifting from 2 to 3 and 3 to 4 pretty much all the time, with the one exception that put the car into limp mode and gave me the trouble codes. Most of my problem seems related to engaging 1st gear, either when you go from park (or neutral) to D (or L) and when you come to a stop and the car downshifts. Then occasionally problems disengaging and going to second. If I sit still for a few seconds, it engages L fine and if cold, smoothly goes into 2, but if hot, can flair, change early, or just hickup and occasionally disengage and be like Neutral until I let off the gas and the engine returns to lower RPMs when it engages 2. I did change the linear shift solenoid with one I had on a junker and no real change. I may do the same with shift solenoid C, as it is the one that puts the car in L. Also may buy a new 2nd gear clutch pressure switch which I think is what tells the 1-2 and 2-1 shift to occur or maybe disengages the 2nd clutch to allow L to engage. Not 100% sure what these switches do. Thanks again. I'll keep trying stuff.

johnnybgood1

It is possible to rebuild these correctly but the rebuilder has to use an upgrade kit and upgrade the valve body plate so that there is sufficient flow to the torque converter which is the issue with these. There was a guy on youtube named Javier Guttierez out of Texas that had a video on how to rebuild these properly. If you can find a transmission shop that knows how to do a proper rebuild and the car itself is in decent condition it might be worth it to have someone rebuild it. The issue is also doing fluid changes throughout the life of the transmission. If not, combined with the lack of lubrication is what causes these trannies to wear out faster.

cfile

Changed out the lockup/A solinoid from my junker and it seems to have made a big improvement. Having a bit of flair between 1 and 2 which the junker had too before I had to park it for other reasons. The late shift into low is almost gone as are other issues. Thinking the A solenoid was the problem. If it doesn't get much worse, I might buy a new lockup/A solenoid. Think I'll still change out the 2nd clutch switch since it's not much money and I've already changed out the 3rd. From a diagram I saw, the 2nd clutch switch turns on when pressure goes to the 2nd clutch, so it must tell the first clutch when to disengage going up and the 3rd to disengage going down via the computer of course. Disengaging too early would likely cause a flair. JohnnyBgood1, the car is probably not work a rebuild, but everything seems to hinge on the oil pressure in these transmissions. Unfortunately, there is no way to change the filter or to even get all of the old oil out short of tearing the tranny apart.

Good