Hi, I'm a new member, and sorry for the long thread, but I've been having problems with my honda, and not sure who to turn to.

I have a 94 accord and last week my car started to overheat and the speedometer wasn't working to I took it a mechanic.

They did an inspection and replaced the SS and Condenser Fan. From the inspection there were some other minor issues with the car ( like tire wear ) and needed a new air intake hose, which they replaced, but they said to get it back on the road all I would need to replace the condenser fan.

So with the inspection, and everything it came out to over 500+. Which isn't great, but I can live with it.

I got it back on Tuesday and on Saturday, four days later, the car died on me. (replaced battery about a month ago)

I eventually got it starting again but now it wasn't running right. When I came from a stop and accelerated I had to press all the way down on the pedal to get it up to speed. The RPM was high and the car felt like it was dragging.

I took it back to the same mechanic and they told me that I was bringing it in for another problem. They'll do an inspection and see what's going on.

The mechanic said it sounded like the transmission, which I know is ridiculously expensive. But won't know for sure until Tuesday.

Which if it is the transmission, I may just have to junk it.

Anyways my question is: shouldn't the mechanic have noticed the starter/transmission when they did the first inspection?

Because they did tell me the condenser fan was all that was wrong with it, shouldn't they be responsible for it dying on me?

Like if you bring in you car to the shop, they fix it, bill you and send you on your way, it shouldn't die on you four days later.

I'm upset because I just sunk 500 into the car, and now it's most likely dead. But if they told me the transmission was busted the first time I would have junked it then and saved 500.

And I don't even know if I can junk it if the cars not running.

So any help / comments would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,

 

Is this an automatic I'm assuming? When you say the RPM is high did it rev up easily? Feel like it was slipping out gear and just revving up? This is most likely the transmission if that's the case. This shouldn't cause it to die unless there is another issue where it's causing it to stall out.

If it's not revving up quickly and feeling like it's slipping it may be something else. It's hard to diagnose problems like this over the internet. If it's not an automatic it's more likely it's the clutch if it's slipping.


As for it not running does it cut off, or it just won't start? When it won't start does it try to turn over, or does it just click? If it just clicks it's possible that it could be the starter. If it turns over, it's not the starter.

That said if it is the transmission you may be able to get a used one cheap. I needed a 5 speed recently for my 96 Accord and found a junk yard that had them for $150 and they had several. The automatics seem to be a little more expensive in this area, but you can still usually find one for $3-400. They are a fairly easy DIY project on these cars since you can drop them out the bottom without having to drop the whole subframe with the motor and transmission attached. If you take it to a shop I'd expect to pay $600 or so in labor.

As for the mechanic being held accountable for this, if you took it in for this problem the first time then I could see how you could possibly argue this. However, if you took it in and told him to fix a totally unrelated problem (overheating) and a few days later something else broke on it, it's in no way his fault. He doesn't have a crystal ball to tell him when the other parts or going to die. Not to mention if you bring it in for something else, he likely won't even look at other parts.

 

You need to take your car to another mechanic. Immediately stop taking your car there. I like to check mechanics at yelp.

With that said, transmissions can cause shifting problems but they won't make your car die, no matter how bad it is. If you're able to do a little work yourself you can give us a bigger understanding of what exactly is happening and we can try to help you diagnose the problem. If you don't have the capacity to do any work then it might be best to just take it to another mechanic.

 

It is an automatic. It does rev up easy, I didn't really switch into gears to test it before I dropped it off. Once I was able to get up to speed on the freeway, where there were no stops, the car felt fine.

Just coming from the stop to accelerating was when there was problems.

It would crank, but wouldn't start.
I don't know much about cars. I've done minor stuff, but mostly just replacing parts, nothing that really involved taking it apart. I'm also working and going to school and can't really work on a car for a week hoping I get it right.

I did take it to him with some specific problems, but he suggested an inspection to see what was wrong with it.

They sent me a copy of the inspection with everything that needed work and everything that checked out okay.

It specifically says transmission, starter, and transmission fluid were okay.

 

I did check out yelp, google plus and they are rated 4.5 out of 5, with over 100 reviews.

Realistically I don't think I'll be able to, or should, try to work on it myself and I can't take it to another mechanic now, it's already at the same mechanic.

I took it there specifically, because I thought they would have some accountability considering they just worked on it.

I did read on a different site that if you're having transmission problems and don't have the money to replace the whole thing, you can just start the car in 1st and shift manually up to 4th. Has anyone tried anything like that?

 

I have a '95. When I purchased it, was overheating. Mechanic said I neded a fan motor. Changed, still overheated. After this, same mechanic suggested it needed to be bled. (Nothing). I purchased a new radiator (old one was 80% blocked AND THEMECHANIC MISSED THAT). Mechanic changed the radiator but didn't change hoses.... (Blown Engine).

Moral of the story, find a mechanic you trust or take it to Honda. These cars were built to last. f maintained properly, they will.

 

This is not true. Why it's more common for the car to not shift or the transmission to slip they can cause cause it to die. For example, when the transmission in my Ram died last time it would stall out anytime you put it in gear. If you held the brake and gas and dropped it into gear to keep it revved up it would run and take off. Same thing if you put it into gear while rolling down a hill. So it can happen, but that doesn't sound like the issue he is having here. I agree that he either needs to do a little work to find out exactly what it's doing so we can help, or go on a mechanics opinion.
It's really hard to tell from this description and not having seen the car myself.

Your starter is not bad then. If the starter was bad it wouldn't turn over at all. It would just click or in the rare care slip.

I honestly hate these inspections because they are a complete rip off and give vehicle owners a false sense of security. Let this be a lesson learned not to pay for one in the future. However I do think you're expecting a bit much from him. The majority of the time a shop isn't going to check anything that it can't visibly see. So they will probably glance at the exhaust, the brake pads, possibly check your fluids, ball joints, etc. Stuff you could all do at home for free in 10 minutes. If your transmission is working properly while it's there and the fluid looks good there really isn't much else he can do. He doesn't have a crystal ball and there is no way for him to know if you transmission will die in 2 days or 2 years. If the transmission was working fine when you brought it in, and you brought it in for a totally different problem, you shouldn't expect him to be liable for anything that dies after you leave on a 20+ year old car. That's just the nature of driving an old car. Stuff is always breaking. It sounds to me like he fixed what you brought it in for which is all he can really do. He can't fix something that isn't broken at that time and it's not something that you can predict when it will break if it's not giving any warning signs. You really can only look at parts that are wear and tear items and show signs of wear long before they fail. I mean think about it.

 

Thanks for all of your replies everyone, but I just heard back from the mechanic and transmission is busted. Said it would cost 3800 to replace. I'm going to pick it up tomorrow and in a few days junk it.

So raise a glass gentlemen, in memory of the 1994 Honda Accord that died today. 21 is far to young, but damn, we had some adventures.

 

Geez. I don't blame you. No way I'd put $3,800 into a transmission one of these cars. I'm assuming that is for a rebuilt one? Even then it still seems high. Why not just get one from a junk yard for a couple hundred and even if you can't put it in, pay a shop just to install it? I think you could probably fix this pretty cheap unless you just don't want it anymore. No reason to put a $3,800 transmission in a $1,500 car.