demogorgon02

I have a 2006 Honda Accord with V6 and auto transmission. The car as 65,000 miles on it.

I have been having a problem with my Accord that seems to have gotten progressivly worse over the last 2 months (since I noticed it first).

Whenever I press on the gas pedal (except full throttle) the car begins to vibrate and bog right at the beginning of and during each gear change. I have noticed it mostly from gear change 2-3 and 3-4. The vibrations and hesitation happens around 1,500 RPM. Also, while driving, if I maintain a steady speed of 45-50 mph, the car shudders/vibrates in intervals. So, everything will be fine while doing 45 and then it shudders for about half a second, and then goes back to normal for about 2 seconds and does it again (over and over). It will keep doing it unless I alter my speed.

I should point out that there is no vibration, rough idle at a stand still (Like if I was sitting at a light). Like I said, the hesitation and vibration comes during gear change when I am lightly to moderately pressing on the gas pedal.

Something else I noticed was that whenever I took my foot completely off the gas pedal, there would never be a vibration or hestitation until I pressed the gas pedal again. Also, if I went full throttle (pressed down all the way on the gas pedal), there would be no shuddering.

Another thing that seems worth mentioning is that I never noticed the vibration/shuddering/hesitation when the vehicle downshifted (without pressing the gas pedal).

One last thing that I think might be important to mention is that every time I put my car in drive (D), regardless of if it's from reverse to drive or park to drive, it takes a few seconds for the gear to change/set.


I took my vehicle to a Honda dealership recently and they did a full inspection. The tech said that I need a new torque converter.


I am just wondering if this really seems like the problem or if it's an educated guess by the technician. My Accord has never thrown any codes at any point in time.



If you can help in any way I would be greatly appreciative!

THanks,

DEMO

tommygun89hb

Hello some advice for you

It has some simptoms of a torque converter going out but im not expert.

When you go to the dealership and they do things to your car never ever for get to prod and question when they are finish.

A. Ask them how they deturmend this result

B. If they did a driving test ask them if they did a computer test.

c.Just because your car doesnt throw a check engine light doesnt mean there are not any codes.

if they did a computer test ask to see the results if and ask them to show you the results of a normal car of the same year and options.

Never be to afraid to ask as many questions as you can think with them.

Good luck

vectorvtec73

Hey bud,

I'm sorry to hear you're having such an issue. I have to agree with tommygun, and I have to say the dealership is likely right on this one.

The 03-07 Accord V6 Autos have tons of transmission/engine/converter issues. They've lost a bunch of long-time customers because generally, the problems show themselves between 50-70K miles. The only reason I know this is it's the reason why I bought a I4/5 Spd.

I'm sorry bud, my opinion is they are right and you're looking at a high priced repair if they don't warranty it and if you don't do it yourself. Best of luck.

demogorgon02

I appreciate everyone's feedback. I just wish I knew more about these types of things so that I could be sure of what the problem was before spending $1000 on a repair that may or may not fix the problem.

I keep going back and forth with what I think the problem is. The torque converter seems like too obvious of a choice. My vehicle does have a symptom or two of a bad torque converter, but not all and especially not the most important symptoms. For example, I keep reading that the key signs of a bad torque converter are: Overheating, poor efficiency, resistance in acceleration while engine continues to rev, and shuddering. I have only noticed one of these symptoms and that is the shuddering. The shuddering occurs during gear change and when maintaining highway speed (40-50mph).

So, I am not completely sure that I have a bad torque converter. What bothers me is that in the summary that I received from Honda, the tech was able to duplicate my complaint. Does that mean that he just test drove it and basically took an educated guess?

I know they used the diagnostic machine and that the tech drove my car, but other than that, I have no idea what else was done or checked. For all I know he could just be guessing at what the problem may be. So, I am going to call them back and ask some questions because I don't want to spend a lot of money on a guess.

I have also read about a few people who seemed to have similar problems with their Honda, but with some different symptoms. They said that the Honda technician told them they need to replace the torque converter as well. After they had the T.C replaced, the owners still had problems similar to before the T.C. was replaced, along with some new problems.


I tried to do some heavy research myself, but there are so many parts and the problem could be so many things! I tried using Honda's symptom troubleshooting guide, but it just gave me a list of parts that could be bad. And the problem with that is I have no way of checking without taking the whole transmission apart.


One last thing I want to mention is something that has been bothering me since the problems started. Everyone is quick to say it's something with the transmission, but I have been noticing signs that it could be something else. When the problems first started, I thought about it logically. It shudders when I press the gas, but not when I press the gas hard. I noticed that there is no shudder when I take my foot completely off the gas or when I am at idle. I keep asking myself, could this be a fuel problem? Maybe the mixture is really lean causing bad combustion or the engine is misfiring. That all makes sense to me, but I keep doubting those ideas simply because the shuddering happens at gear change and when maintaining hwy speed.


SO... I can't put my finger on it and that's why I took it to the dealership. Silly me for thinking that they could actually pinpoint the exact problem(s). Although, I really won't know if the tech knew exactly what the problem was, until I fix whatever is wrong. BUT, a $1000 guess is a little rich for my blood!


Let me know if anyone has any other ideas! Thanks again!


DEMO

tommygun89hb

One last thing I want to mention is something that has been bothering me since the problems started. Everyone is quick to say it's something with the transmission, but I have been noticing signs that it could be something else. When the problems first started, I thought about it logically. It shudders when I press the gas, but not when I press the gas hard. I noticed that there is no shudder when I take my foot completely off the gas or when I am at idle. I keep asking myself, could this be a fuel problem? Maybe the mixture is really lean causing bad combustion or the engine is misfiring. That all makes sense to me, but I keep doubting those ideas simply because the shuddering happens at gear change and when maintaining hwy speed.
[/QUOTE]

Im with you on this a torque converter i dont think is the problem. Correct me if im wrong but this is a drive by wire system with accord. if so it might be something with the module on the gas pedal but that is completely out of left feild

KWayRacing

While I have seen several v6 torque converters faulty. There are some ways to diagnose the torque converter besides a test drive. You can look at specific data on a nice scan tool while test driving to confirm torque converter failure. I doubt the tech did that. There is another potential problem that is much cheaper and easier to repair than replacing the TC. Its failure yields very similar results to those of a failing converter. That is the torque converter clutch solenoid. A soleniod that is failing to open precisely acts exactly like a failing TC. The part is really cheap like 30 bucks from the dealer. While it only has one 10mm bolt securing it to the trans that 10 is a real pain to get to.

I also wonder this. When this shudder happens what does the tachometer do. You will have to watch very closely but does it waver ever so slightly, increase right before the shift or waver while at 45-50? ALso the TCCS can be bad without setting a CEL.

demogorgon02

@KWayRacing:

It bothers me that I don't know what all the tech did to determine his diagnosis. I am going to get a hold of them after this holiday weekend and ask some questions.

You make a good point with the solenoid. I need to find out exactly what the symptoms are for that specific solenoid failure. I will look over the Honda shop manual's troubleshooting guide and see...

As far as my tach/RPMs, I have been watching it very closely. The gauge does not jump around like I hear a lot of people complain about. The lack of RPM jumping is one of the reasons I am hesitant to believe my problem is specifically a bad torque converter. During shifting, the gauge does as it always has... When the gear shifts, the tach drops. HOWEVER... recently I noticed a new problem/symptom which involves the tachometer. While maintaining a certain speed, usually 45 or 50mph, the car will shake violently for a split second and at the same time the gauge will shake between 1700 and 2000 rpm. The shudder and tach flux goes on for roughly one second and then the car stops shuddering and the tach settles. This happens every couple of seconds if I stay at one certain speed. It seems to me that the shuddering has gotten significantly worse these past few days.

I think it might be important to mention that I commute a long distance each day to and from work. I travel roughly 45 miles 5 days a week and then once a week I travel 80 miles. So, I travel roughly 305 miles each week!

I noticed something new for the first time as I was driving home from work tonight. When I am at speeds of 35-40mph or more, I can hear a howling noise coming from what sounds like the front of my car. I don't know how to take this because I know a lot of times the noise is from tires/alignment/etc.

I noticed that when I slowed down, the noise got quieter. Eventually, if I slowed down enough (but not stopped), the noise seemed to go away. When I got to speeds of 60 mph, the howling turned into more of a whine.

I don't know what to make of this, but this is something that just recently started and that can't be good.



I am going to bring my car to a different shop/mechanic this week and see what they say. I am going to try my hardest to be present when the tech looks over my car. I am hoping that this individual will be able to either tell me specifically whats wrong with the car or seriously narrow it down. I am also going to tell the mechanic what the Honda tech said and see if he agrees or not.

Wish me luck and thanks a bunch to everyone who has helped!

DEMO

KWayRacing

I would not tell them anything because it tends to confine people to one mode of thinking. THe characteristics of torque converter and torque converter clutch solenoid failure is identical in some cases. I have a known good solenoid that I use to eliminate the TCCS from the actual torque converter because I would feel like an a hole if I put a converter in a customers car and it ended up being the solenoid. That is the only way to isolate the torque converters operation. Again the TCCS can have a quality of operation error and not set a CEL. I also change the fluid anytime I service the transmission in anyway. Another good idea is to wash and compressed air dry the transmission prior to changing any parts. It lessens the chance of any dirt/sand, grit to fall in the trans while servicing the parts.

demogorgon02

Would I have a Torque Converter Clutch Solenoid (TCCS) even though I have an automatic transmission?

Thanks for the intel! Also, how would I know if the TCCS is faulty, especially if the vehicle isn't throwing a code?

Thanks again,

DEMO

KWayRacing

yEs your car has a TCCS. Again, the qualty of operation maybe compromised without setting a CEL. The only way to eliminate TCCS failure is to plug a new one into the connector but not install the part. The reason to do this is to make the installed TCCS inoperable while have the circuit completed. If you simply unplugged the TCCS the PCM would go into a limp mode making any diag impossible. So, unplug the installed one, plug in the known good one(new), test drive the vehicle if the torque converter shudder continues then you know that the TC is the fault. If it does not shudder anymore the TCCS operation is at fault.

market525

Not sure how long you've owned the car, but do you know if the trans fluid has ever been changed?