Need some advice re: my 2001 Accord's with 104K miles tranny problem. The tranny clunks into gear when cold and shifts extremely rough until the car has been driven a couple of miles and really warmed up. The CE light came on and then the TCS light came on and stayed lit. When the car is warmed up the transmission shifts flawlessly like new! I had the CE light reset and the TCS light went out on it's own. I looked up the known transmission issues for this year and model and the "Linear (pressure control) solenoid" problem seems to dovetail with my car's symptoms. Can this problem be fixed w/o buying a new transmission? If so what does the fix normally entail and cost?

Thanks,

m3doc

 

Have you been changing the fluid with Honda fluid? If not, I have seen where non Honda fluid will cause hard cold shifts.

If you have been using Honda fluid.....I won't even say what my next answer is...good luck

 

Honda oem dw-1 will cause cold hard shifts btw.....Im in the middle of a 5 speed swap most people will say its the sign of the tranny going out,the curse of the 6th gen lol.....ive been driving mine very gently because its showing signs of ima leave you stranded mf....lol

 

No. Haven't been using the Honda fluid. Is it too late?

 

RE: HONDA ATF, I don't know for sure, I just bought the car and have no service records. I've been told by a Honda dealer and AAMCO that I need a new transmission. However, I've also talked to some mechanics that are familiar with this car and they say look at the various solenoids first, flush the tranny and fill with Honda ATF. Has anyone with my symptoms ever fixed this issue with replacing the transmission ECU/DME. I'm afraid that even if it was a bad switch wouldn't there already be damage from the driving it like this?

Thanks

 

The first thing you might try is to drain the transmission. Check the color of the fluid, is it red, dark red, black? Does the drain plug have metal flakes on it, or a thick sludge?

Add fresh fluid, depending on what you can afford... Use the Honda fluid, or what I'm using is the Valvoline Maxlife which the general consensus is that it is compatable with the Honda Transmissions. A gallon is around 16 bucks verses 35 plus...

You can pull the selonoids and inspect/clean them if you choose. a 10mm socket and a little elbow grease does the trick.

You may need to do this a few times. I, (not suggesting you do) also added the SeaFoam Trans Tune which seems to be helping, but my trans has been acting worse than what you are describing.

Eventually most all A/T's fail sooner or later.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the help. I will flush the tranny and clean out what I can. Where are the solenoids located and how many are there? I've read where (in theory) you should be able to to a resistance test to see if they are bad. Obviously I'd like to explore the cheapest remedies first, so they are definitely on list. Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated and thanks to everyone that's replied so far.

 

Don't know about the resistance check.

Here is a site that shows location. A1 or 2 may be hard to get at without removing the battery and battery tray.

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...SOR+-+SOLENOID

 

Dont use Valvoline Max life. I worked for one of the largest Valvoline quick lube and they highly did not recommend using it.
I personally would do a fluid change using a Honda compatible fluid.
SeaFoam is O.K to use along with Honda fluid or even see if royalpurple is compatible. I do believe it is but dont quote me on it.

 

How do I find out which version of transmission I have in my 2001 Honda Accord EX, 3.0L, automatic, build date 10/00? I see that there are 2 different transmission types. I can see a # engraved on the top of the left lower half of the engine block, but I don't think that tells me what version it is, e.g. KA4AT or KL4AT.

Thanks,