Hey all,

Just got a 94 Accord LX off of an older gentleman I know, long story short:

He is the only owner, 117k miles, beautiful interior and exterior, everything seems to work. ONE problem...around corners in 1st/2nd, the automatic transmission will slip/hesitate/screw around BUT on straight driving it seems to be fine....never seen an issue like this with a tranny before.

The ''guy'' at the local auto parts store says to drain fluid and if possible do the filter also - some people always say ''OH THAT'LL KILL YOUR TRANSMISSION IF THERE ARE PROBLEMS!!!!", however, I was driving my 97 Accord EX SOHC-VTEC and it started having such bad slips, I ended up broken down in a Discount Auto Parts parking lot and switching the fluid right there. It helped me to get my car home at least, so it must not be all that bad?

Any help would be greatly appreciated Thanks peeps

 

check the fluid level first...there should be two marks...the lower one is the fluid level when the car is cold and the upper is the fluid level when the car is fully warm

also check for leaks

 

So: start it, let in run a few minutes and then check while running??

 

check the fluid level before starting the car. It should be at the lower level. Then drive it around til it's warmed up and check it. The level should be at the higher level.

 

Ah ha!!! Ok thanks! Commencing fluid testing now!!

 

So, doing as you said....both levels were maxed which means that's bad!?

 

Do a fluid level check again. But this time, Place the car in every gear feel it load against the drivetrain, D3 and D4 you will not feel any difference between the two, but you will feel a drop in pull when selecting D2, and in D1 the pull will be high again.
Leave it in each gear for ~5seconds after you feel it charge, if there is no feeling of engaging. Check the fluid right away.

Albeit after you have charged all circuits the dipstick may indicate low. Just had a similar problem with my '95. Under 'normal' checks the fluid was reading full, place it in all gears and it actually dropped out of gear when I selected D1. Ended up being over two quarts low

Added fluid until the dipstick read full hot after each gear was selected and it has worked flawlessly since.

 

I'm hoping this is the case with me too HAH. I will be checking this scenario out today, thanks for your comments!!

 

Been experiencing the same with my tranny. Lately, it wont engage in reverse especially in the morning or from long stops when car is parked. Need to warm up the engine to operating temp and when placed on reverse, there is no response, need to rev the engine couple of time before it engages to reverse.

Also, from cold start, it slips from 2nd to 3rd but when its been running for quite awhile, everything seems fine except for the past couple of days, it feels sluggish like towing a truck.

Question: can changing the atf several times including the ones from the cooler + cleaning the solenoids do the trick? Or do I need to start looking for a replacement tranny? TIA

 

If the fluid hasn't been changed at its normal interval then yes change it.
The problem with our transmissions is if the slurry builds up it will block the sump pickup starving the trans of fluid and causing the trans not to work.
Dump some Trans Tune in it to help clean the valves and sump.

 

Thanks for the quick response.

I did replaced it twice, last was some 2K kilometers. Just removed the tranny drain plug, cleaned the solenoid also. But since my last changed, tranny problems got worse than before.

The first changed I used a dexron II and the last was honda dw-1 atf. Do i need to redo the process using honda dw-1? Thanks again.

BTW, ca you recommend any specific brand for the trans tune you've mentioned?

 

Trans Tune is the name of the product, its made by SeaFoam...

 

Any alternative to the seafoam trans tune? I dont think that product is available here where Im from. Im from the Philippines BTW.

 

It's available through Amazon.com with free shipping over purchases of $25. But I don't know if they will ship to the Phillippines.

As for alternatives, nothing that I will vouch for. There are a lot of snake oils out there (slick 50, duralube, various stopleak/shift improver fluids) you will need to find something that is just a cleaner, not an 'additive'.

 

Thanks! Will drop by our local automotive shops and find out if they carry the product.

Hopefully that can cure my tranny problems.

 

see if you got trans-x nearby you

 

called up every local auto parts shop including ace hardware and true value but to no avail, they just dont carry the seafoam product or the trans-x. However, a club colleague suggested auto-RX. I've usec it before on the engine but to a tranny? Any opinions on this?

 

Update: Since having the tranny problem and not finding any seafoam trans tune or trans -x here in the Philippines, I used the Auto-RX, did a 3x drain and refill of ATF using OE Honda ATF and lately replaced the lock-up control solenoid and shift control solenoid.

Though the problem still exists, every time I performed the above mentioned routine, the tranny, especially going reverse, goes smoothly but after a few days the problem comes back (need to run the car at idle for 2 fan cycles for the tranny to shift smoothly between 2nd to 3rd gear and if reverse wont engage, needs to rev from 3k to 4k before it engages.

Are there any possible things to check/replace or do I need to get the tranny replace? Also a friend offered his spare tranny but this came off a 6th gen accord and mine is a 5th gen. A friend mechanic said that the 6th gen tranny wont match up with mine because the 6th gen tranny is electronic and mine is not. Any inputs is highly appreciated. TIA

 

 

I have the same exact issue with my tranny. Runs fine, but hesitates going around turns in 1st or 2nd. I'm going to clean my tranny sensors this weekend and see if this helps. For now, I just drive like Grandpa Moses around turns so it doesn't hesitate.