fujiwaratofu86

Here's the rundown.

-2003 Civic 2DR LX Auto (United States)
-Swapped in a 2005 D17A with matching auto SLXA transmission w/ 61k miles
-Swapped in a 2003 D17A2 wiring harness and ECU
-Had ECU reflashed at Honda and original key reprogrammed to comply with D17A2 ECU
-Trans filled with genuine Honda ATF

Car runs, drives, shifts through all the gears, except I noticed it shifted a little hard sometimes just driving easy. CEL was on for multiple trans codes, P0705 and P0740. Transmission range sensor and torque converter clutch circuit malfunction respectively.

Despite it's drivability, I don't want to risk damaging the transmission. I've been doing a ton of research, but almost every thread is a dead end with no results or lack of responses. The jdm engine and trans came with the original harness and ECU, but from what I read in multiple areas people were having issues pairing the key to the D17A ECU to get through the immobilizer and actually get the car to run.

SO, with that being said, I have determined the issue is the difference in transmissions. The one that came with the D17A is an SLXA, whereas the original LX trans is a BMXA. I'm assuming the D17A2 ECU isn't programmed to operate the JDM SLXA transmission properly. I've seen a few posts suggesting swapping the TRS and solenoids off of the BMXA onto the SLXA, but nobody has confirmed it actually working and getting rid of the codes. Plus I don't really like the idea of swapping given the differences in the transmissions.

Has anyone had success pairing their immobilizer with a D17A ECU? Not really sure what other reasonable options there are. I do have an '03 EX auto ECU running an '05 transmission, so I'm wondering if swapping to a '05 EX auto ECU would help being that the auto transmissions were revised in '04.

It's a bit overwhelming, but once I get this figured out I'm definitely going to put together a DIY of how to correctly swap in a D17A. Gonna end this guesswork BS once and for all. Thanks for reading any advice is appreciated guys!

lazlong

I've been told the EX an LX/DX transmissions are geared a little different. If they are then swapping the solenoids wouldn't work. Best bet may be to swap an EX transmission in there.

boydstacy

Hi, I see that this is a current thread. How is it going for you? I am in the process of getting ready to replace the engine and bmxa transmission in my 2002 Civic EX (made in Canada)


From my research I do not think I can run the JDM SLXA being sold everywhere unless someone can clearly say what they did to make it work.


I have a complete BMXA in the car, and will have a SLXA that allegedly only is one washer from being identical on the shop floor. The only difference can be ECU programming because it worked in the JDM car it came from. I am going to swap to the SLXA cable and TPS switch then have my ECU flashed to JDM ECU shift points it would be all JDM. Can this be done? I do not know but that's my plan right now.


What is the status of your DIY?

battlecrxT

iTrader: (1)

Why you only shift 4 positions SLXA tranny?! BMXA Swap. - Honda Civic Forum

I'm having all of these issues right now.

boydstacy

I have been researching extensively, here is my latest thought process.

First, the relavent issue is 4 click, 5 click, 6 click etc. It is relavent because the info on the net says the SLXA and BMXA are only 1 washer different, but they can not be! Those clicks represent gears or something in the tranny other than a washer, even if its just a fluid passage, the click is something.

The SLXA is a 3 speed. I have come to the conclusion the BMXA made in USA is a 3 speed and the one made in Canada is a 4 speed but both are branded BMXA. I think this is part of the confusion on the forums with how to make it work. I think with a BMXA made in the USA in your car you can swap some solenoids and sensors and get it to work because both are 3 speeds. The Canada made BMXA you can not because it is a 4 speed.

The Canadian BMXA is a 4 speed and the computer wants to lock up the torque converter in 4th gear but it does not even see a 4th gear with the 5 click SLXA being sold. the 5 clicks are P-R-N-1-2-D, the BMXA has P-R-N-1-2-(D3)-D, it would be a 6 click (NOTE MINE IS IN MY CAR I AM BASING THIS ON RESEARCH) With the 5 click SLXA in a Candian made civic we get the P0740 code because it does not want to lock up the torque converter in what it sees as 3rd gear not drive.

As of late last night I have come to this conclusion,

The sheet metal of the civic does not care whats in there, for us to run a SLXA we need a PCM/ECU that came from a SLXA car and have our key programmed. I know people say that Honda said they can not program the key to the jdm ecu but I am looking at wrecking yards for USA made BMXA or SLXA cars that I can get the ECU from then I am in the same position as someone with a USA made civic, just switch the sensors. It all comes down to our computers needing to see more clicks than the SLXA transmission have.

I hope someone proves me wrong but that is my theory now. I think the limited success I have seen on the net were people with USA made civics having success geting the 3 speed to work with the transplant 3 speed. I do not think anyone has had the 4 speed computer that controls the Canadian Civics lock up the 3 speed SLXA when its in drive

I am about to look into the ECU itself, if the board is the same for the USA made, JDM made and Canada made cars then we should be able to get ours flashed to control the JDM SLXA, not sure about details yet it just a concept in my head.

My Civic is not my daily driver so dropping this thread is not going to happen it will be solved before this is all over. If anyone has info that I do not know or understand that is relavent please reply.

todoslosdiaz

i think having the d17a2 ecu paired with the lx motor and tranny is the biggest reason for your issues. the d17a2 exu is meant to run the d17a2 engine which has vtec and is paired with a different tranny from the lx. so on top of not have the right tranny hooked up to that ecu you also have a mismatched engine. if possible i would consider getting the original d17a1 ecu

fujiwaratofu86

Sorry guys, I didn't mean to post and ghost, but I'll share my current status with the car.

I have the D17A with the D17A2 harness running the current setup with the JDM SLXA transmission (the one without D3) PAIRED AND RUNNING with the D17A JDM ECU. So let me reiterate, YES you CAN drive your car to Honda on the original ECU and have the immobilizer paired to the Japanese ECU.

For those of you thinking about or currently running the US spec ECU's with the JDM auto trans, I would refrain from this. The ECU doesn't have the correct programming to operate the JDM trans, I'm not sure what the differences are, but from my experience with the D17A2 ECU it makes the trans shift hard, your D light WILL blink on the dash and you will have transmission codes after driving it for 20-30 minutes. After I took the car to Honda and had the D17A ECU programmed it was a night and day difference in the way it shifted, went through the gears, lockup was smooth, it felt proper.

Now, about the Canadian spec transmissions and ECU's, I have no input as I haven't dealt with any of that but from the amount of research and experience I've had, I haven't read or seen anything regarding a Canadian spec trans. To my knowledge, the only auto transmissions that exist for our cars is the BMXA and SLXA (4 or 5 click).

Currently the car runs and drives great, I managed 411 miles on my last tank of gas which is pretty good for an Ohio winter. I do have a CEL light on for Bank 1 O2 sensor, but I haven't gotten around to figuring out if it's actually bad or if it's a difference in US or JDM oxygen sensors? I tried removing the sensor but for some reason it's seized in the downpipe. I used anti-seize, didn't over torque it, it went in smooth without resistance so I'm stuck as to why this is the second time it's happened. The first time I had to cut the bung down to fresh threads. Also to mention, when I first started this project I repinned the Bank 2 O2 sensor into the non-vtec D17A1 ECU (since the car was an LX). So I'm going to have to re-trace the wiring and see what's going on with that, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Hope this helps out, my advice for doing this swap is to use all the Japanese components the swap comes with, harness, trans, ECU. It was designed to all work together therefore it will. If the harness is cut, I've had success using my EX harness however I haven't narrowed down the O2 sensor issue yet and if it's harness related.


If you're using a manual transmission OR you're keeping the original auto BMXA ('01-'03) or US spec SLXA ('04-'05) , you're golden, just plug and play with an EX harness if you're running VTEC. If you're stuck with an LX or DX you can still run the engine as non-VTEC unless you want to go through swapping the ECU for an EX one and repinning the harness for the Bank 2 O2 sensor if you aren't using an EX harness. You'll need to swap the EGR if your model has it, and the oil pressure switch (I believe) which I highlighted in the picture below

***Use an equivalent year ECU to which year auto transmission you have to avoid compatibility issues***





Replace this silver bolt with the pressure switch

Some people have said to swap shift solenoids and the range sensor to fix compatibility issues but personally I'd just leave it. Transmissions are expensive, and I know the SLXA's were revised in '04 regarding reliability issues with the typical BMXA burned up clutch packs causing them to slip.





Picture for reference

boydstacy

Hey, That is good to hear, I have mine on hold till about now. Mine is an 02 EX with a D17A2 I think because it is VTEC for sure. It has a bad motor and suspect transmission. I think I am going to buy the whole engine tranny package from one JDM place and get the harness with it then just drive the thing to honda to get it reprogramed. I was not sure about the Canadian manufacture issue because the JDM places on ebay like JDM Depot are the ones saying will not work with Candian spec tranny but if you are running the D17A tranny so can i, worst case senerio i will have to replace the shifter cable. Did your Civic have a D3 position on it and if so what did or does it have now?

Thanks for the imput

jajko

Congrats on getting this working! I've been following your progress as I'm also trying to sort out a BMXA to SLXA swap. My concern is that I'm trying to keep D17A1 engine with a JDM SLXA. Its a Canadian produced model and I'm afraid that there isn't a viable solution to this combination unless i swap out the non-VTEC engine and ECU. Can you imagine any other solution?

Thanks in advance

fujiwaratofu86

I can't say for sure if there are any differences in the US vs Canadian auto transmissions, but I see no reason as to why there would be any. I've seen rebuild kits for these and they don't specify Canadian or US. (Then again, I'm not sure as to why the US spec ECU won't run the JDM SLXA correctly if there are no differences? Maybe Japan has different trans programming?)

As for the shift cable, I used the one that was in the car originally, the difference is in the actual gear selector box. Just hook up your existing cable to the trans, you'll just be without D3. You'll notice the selector won't line up with the 'P R N D D3 2' that's on your selector. It'll be off a bit being the transmission doesn't have a "D3"

Also does Canada require an emissions check for your vehicle? I'm not certain running a foreign ECU will allow you to pass a test (don't have emissions here in Ohio so I wouldn't know)

fujiwaratofu86

This is one scenario in which I'm pretty certain you'd have issues regardless how you Frankenstein parts together. I've ran a '03 LX (non VTEC) ECU, an '03 EX (VTEC) ECU, and an '05 EX ECU all on the same JDM SLXA transmission and the only one that made it shift properly was the one it came with, the JDM ECU.

As for the engine being non-VTEC, running the JDM ECU (which is VTEC) I would imagine is going to throw codes and act funky. The computer is expecting the engine do something it can't do and it's not going to provide correct feedback readings to the computer, thus codes being thrown.

If you're looking to keep the D17A1, I'd look for a low miles and/or rebuilt transmission. However, running a BMXA programmed ECU with a SLXA might cause troubles like I had running a USDM computer with a JDM trans. But given the price for a remanufactured transmission, it might be equal to just getting a low mileage D17A. Unless you're mechanically inclined enough to try rebuilding the BMXA transmission yourself, in which case would be the cheapest alternative. Next cheapest I'd say is pulling a working BMXA or SLXA and appropriate ECU out of a salvage yard from a non-VTEC (DX or LX) civic.

boydstacy

No, I am not from Canada. I live in Washington state. My car was manufactured in Canada. I do not have to do emission. I just ordered the d17a and slxa tranny today.

I am going to run the JDM ecu and the jdm engine harness. If you do not mind what is the code on your ecu? I see there are a few different ones for sale on ebay and i am trying to follow your path as close as possible.

Thanks for the info!

fujiwaratofu86

I honestly can't remember, I want to say it was a Keihin? Don't know the code though. I'd go look but the ECU location on 7th gen's isn't exactly the most accessible. I will tell you, the Japanese ECU mounting tabs (I believe there's 3?) are reverse compared to the USDM ones because right hand drive. I was only able to get one 10mm in to hold it.

Good luck with the swap, if you have any questions just ask. I'll try to help the best I can.

civichhh

Man I'm about to do my bro in laws car 01 Honda civic EX automatic BMXA transmission. I have done some research about swapping the SLXA tranny, but it seems there has been a ton of compatibility issues. Fujiwaratofu86 do you know how many clicks your tranny is? 4, 5, or 6 clicks?
I contacted a jdm shop that sells only jdm motor/trannys and he said as long as your first vin # is 1 (which is american made) and you have the sequence P, R, N, D, D3, 2 then he can match the SLXA tranny using a pair of pliers to count the number of clicks on the SLXA tranny. He said the magic number is 5 clicks and it'll work fine with no CEL lights. He also stated he has sold plenty SLXA's using this method with no returns or complaints. He was so sure, he'll refund my money if there was a CEL light too or if it didn't work right. Basically, I don't want to go through the whole changing ecu/flashing issue. Anyone know if he is BSing me?

philm88

im still using my original ecu from my d17a1 because my honda dealership said they couldnt connect with the 37820-psa-j83 ecu it came with. im curious what your ecu product number was but also and most importantly how did you get the jdm ecu programmed to your key since my dealership says their computer doesnt connect with it or something

i swapped the motor in my 02 civic lx with a 01-05 jdm d17a (specific year was not given)with a slxa transmission. has all the normal problems you'd expect, transmission not having d3 and whatnot. also im using a 2002 d17a2 wire harness i had to buy used because the motor's came cut.

Jade03civicEX

The JDM told me the same and they say it will work fine is there truth to this. I ordered and ready to do the swap this week. Please share findings.
2003 Civic EX Coupe
original
D17a2 VTEC
BMXA trans
JDM
D17 VTEC
SLXA trans
I am using the original 2003 Civic EX ECU and wiring harness. Plan to swap out ALL BMXA trans sensors into SLXA. I let the JDM know I have P R N D D3 D2 they told me SLXA is a 5 click and will work fine with my sensors and ECU.
IS there anyway to verify the SLXA swap will work prior to install ? Are they telling the truth. I do not want to put this in and have a bunch of headaches. The current trans has 220,000 miles one it and figure if swapping in a low mileage engine opted to buy the trans too. PLEASE SHARE any insight and findings

Jade03civicEX

Check it out

Jmlove2004

Were you ever able to solve the Bank 1 o2 sensor code? Car runs and drives great after the swab using all of the JDM stuff that came with it but I have the O2 sensor cause like you please let me know if you were able to clear it up I live in inspection state so I need to clear it up somehow. Thanks, Joe

ajarvis8

Hey, I'm in the same boat JDM SLXA swap. Although I am having a different problem. The Vehicle speed sensor that came in my SLXA trans was broke, so i swaped in my Sensor from my BMXA. Well, they are not the same.

Can anyone tell me what sensor i need to buy for the SLXA??

The one on the SLXA Looks like this one. https://www.amazon.com/Beck-Arnley-0...words=090-5042

The one in the orginal trans looks like More Information for AIRTEX / WELLS 5S4734

fujiwaratofu86

Mine was a 5 click because it didn't have D3. I know USDM SLXA's in '04 and '05 had 6 clicks because they included D3. Not sure what a 4 click SLXA would have came from if they do exist. Like I said, my fix to the trans codes was using the JDM ECU, which you could do being that yours has VTEC.

fujiwaratofu86

How does your SLXA shift being controlled by the LX ECU? Mine shifted hard and was very finicky, but went away when I installed the JDM ECU. I'm not sure why they aren't able to connect with it. Maybe a difference in dealer software? Maybe an outdated HDS scanner. Did they charge you even though they weren't able to work it out? If not I'd try taking it to another dealership. Also I don't know what the product number is. All that was listed on the computer was a serial number.

fujiwaratofu86

Did your swap come with a JDM ECU? People seem to be having issues with getting it programmed but I was able to have mine paired. If you do swap your sensors over, please share with the rest of us how it turned out. If this way works, it could save a lot of headaches and would actually make the process a lot easier and cheaper. I never went this route. Some said it worked, some said it didn't, I could never find a definite answer as everyone just went off of what the importer or shop tells them which may not always be the correct answer. The only way to know is to actually have done it, which I doubt most of these shops/import companies have done.

Try swapping ALL the BMXA sensors onto the SLXA, not just the range switch.

fujiwaratofu86

I never messed with it. I actually ended up selling the car and explained the situation to the buyer. I would imagine it was on my end since I initially tapped into the wiring to wire the bank 2 sensor into the ECU since I was originally trying to use the original LX ECU. But for some reason Bank 1 was the only one throwing a code. What is your current setup? Maybe I can provide some insight.

Jmlove2004

Mine came with a broke VSS too. Swapped in the BMXA one and it runs great now, still no power to upstream O2 sensor though.

ajarvis8

I swapped in the BMXA VSS and it destroyed itself once the car moved. It appears the red plastic piece hit something and the sensor got ripped apart.

I ordered this https://www.amazon.com/Beck-Arnley-0...words=090-5042 Because this looks like the SLXA one. Lets hope it works.