After backing-up several feet, my 98 Accord EX sometimes produce a "thud" sound and I also feel a "jolt" in the suspension - like the tire just ran over something. It never seems to happen except when the car is "cold" (i.e. after sitting for some period of time). Also, it has never happened when going forward, though I am usually backing-up after first starting the car.

I tried holding my left foot on the brake while shifting between forward and reverse repeatedly - applying the accelerator lightly with my right foot between shifts. This produced no thuds or jolts.

Any ideas on what may be the source of this? The frequency has been slowly increasing over the past 14 months.

 

sunds liek a tranny starting to go bad...it helps if you defien auto or manual....

 

auto trans = time for a new one.

 

or repair it?

 

you could repair it. repair in this case = rebuild and speaking from personal experience, I would not recommend this route. I had a V6 98 accord that ate 3 rebuilt transmissions within 11K miles.

 

Thanks for the input. Yes, it is an auto trans.

So if it is the trans going bad, how soon should I take action. Currently, trans runs smoothly in every other way. Symptoms started around 88K (rarely occurred) and currently at 107K (occurs 1 in three times from cold start).

As far as I know, I have four options with trans going bad:
1. Have current trans rebuild.
2. Buy a used trans (possibly from newer model that is wrecked?).
3. Buy a rebuilt trans.
4. Buy a new trans from Honda.

Any suggestions on which options is best? I have an extra vehicle, so I can live without the Accord for a while. My skill level and tools access would allow me to install a trans, but not rebuild one. If the action is to have the current trans rebuilt, should I get it done soon or wait until it dies?

 

Before everyone and their mom tells you your transmission is going bad, although not while your driving it, only going in reverse and for a few feet. I'd suggest taking a look at the transmission mounts, motor mounts, suspension and see if maybe something isn't broken or loose.

I can't think of one time I've ever heard of reverse going out in a transmission before the forward gears went.

 

key phrase here is "sometimes produces a thud"

bad mounts could cause the problem every single time.

failure in reverse is a sure indication of transmission problems.

 

m having the same problem but mine just does this jolt when my car is cold. i get the big jerk and thud when i put it in reverse

 

hmm... I just read the title, and "ABS brakes self-adjusting" came to mind...

 

when you brakes self adjust that is more of a clicking noise......not a jolting of the car

 

eh, all my vehicles do it when backing out of the garages (slightly down hill, mind you). Feels like the brakes let go for a second before grabbing again with a click. The 'letting go' is what I would refer to as the 'jolt.' Just throwing that out there as possibly something minor as opposed to a transmission failure.

 

I have wondered several times if it could be related to ABS brake adjustment, but I don't know enough about them to know if this is possible. When this thud/jolt happens after backing up a few feet, I would say that I feel it more than I hear it. The feel is something like the car goes down and back up again - like the brake had been applied quickly and then released.

Since I experience no other transmission noise (as might be expected if trans was going bad) and I cannot reproduce the noise by accelerating in forward/reverse with the brake on (as would be expected if mounts were going bad), ABS brake adjustment or some suspension issue almost makes more sense.

Any other thoughts from anyone?