Haven't posted here in years, back into the Honda Scene now . long story short, I have a 1997 Honda Civic LX (auto). At 70mph my RPMs are between 3,000-3,500. Is this normal? Can anyone with an automatic transmission 96-00 Civic chime in? Thanks in advance.

 

I sit at like 3100rpm @ 70mph in a 5 speed y7/y8 mini me, so that sounds about right.

 

Its close to right. Maybe your torque converter isn't going into lockup mode? That'll lower your RPMs about 300 and save a little fuel. You should be able to see (if you have a tach) or feel it go into lockup mode.
These engines love to rev.

 

Car is equipped with a Tach (ex cluster) . Im new to Auto Tranmissions. How would i feel it go into lock up mode? Yea the engine loves to rev, torqueless wonder lol thanks for the response.

 

Transmission isn't slipping though, that much i know. Just wondering why its at such a high rpm (maybe its just me being OCD?) Lol. When I had a b16 tranny, it was expected. So this automatic transmission kind of has me baffled.

 

is your speedometer accurate?i checked mine with a GPS and discovered it was from 10-15 off at 70.fault was in the speedometer head.but yes,i didnt think my converter was locking up either.it turned out i was just going faster than i though.

 

When the torque converter locks up or unlocks the RPM will go up or down about 300 RPM accordingly. Its to increase mpg.

 

my 98 lx auto is around 3000rpm at 70mph.

 

I have never really tried to gauge the speedometer with a GPS , but I shall try and see if I'm getting accurate readings.

 

hmm..so this may be all be normal then, just seem like some high *** revs for highway driving.

 

Update : was checking the calibration on my TPS yesterday and noticed my throttle cable had some slack. I readjusted it to a tighter spec, reset ecu and the problem seem to have went away. Will keep the thread updated in a couple days to see if everythings ok. Thanks for the input everyone.

 

UPDATE : Car still is showing the same symptoms, but not all the time. I believe its not "locking up" at highway speeds, I already swapped out the lock up solenoid for one from a junk yard, still doesn't lock up. Any input/help/ideas?

 

Make sure your temp sensors are functioning correctly and no codes are stored.

 

Car has no codes, Temperature is running at normal range.

 

The trans will lockup at about 55MPH. thats where mine does (same motor). it feels like another gear when it happens.

 

My y7 tranny is 300rpm's less from 3000rpm when cruising at 70mph.

 

Yea i think the problem is my lock up solenoid, sometimes it will lock up, sometimes it wont. No CELS or anything, i will research some more and update as necessary