In Jan of 09 I purchased a 2001 Accord EX-L 4 cyl from a family friend with only 29K miles, in showroom condition, 47K total now. It performed flawlessly until the last few weeks. I went to the local dealer and they said it was the tires, so I went to Sears where I had purchased them. They aligned it, the noise didn't change.

Two Sears mechanics said it was the wheel bearings, replaced them, no change. Then replaced 4 goodyear triple treds with 19K miles on them, no change. Then they said CV joints, both done, no change. The said likely differential bearing in trans and sent me back to Honda. The good part is Sears ate everything after the first repair.

Honda replaced the trans with 35% comp despite the age, which I appreciate. While it was there I had them do the timing belt, drive belts, water pump, and oil seals. For whatever reason my issue is now it idles at about 700rpm with lots of belt noise, press the pedal a little and it goes away, and at a stop feels like it is so low it will almost cut off. The bigger issue is trans shifting. It will go up to 2800 rpm before shifting into high gear after about 60 mph and then only down to about 2200 rpm. The idle issue is different and bothersome, but is this correct behavior for both?

This is particularly frustrating in that I put a transmission in an 01 CL-S 2 years ago this month.