Ok, I am at my wit’s end. I have a 2002 Civic DX automatic. It was running fine and on longer trips started to overheat. Then it started not wanting to shift gears. I tested the TCC and the shift solenoids and all tested fine. I changed the transmission fluid and then checked it and it went into gear and drove for about 5 minutes before it didn’t want to pull anymore. I parked it and it immediately started overheating. I shut everything off and restarted it and it would go in gear and pull and then just as fast it would not pull and started overheating again. Is this a problem with the ecu? Prior to testing I pulled a P0740 and P0730 code. Please help!

 

The P0740 and P0730 codes are considered the death codes for the auto trans. You may have clutch debris in the trans blocking the internal filter, ports and or solenoids. Did you do drain and fills of Honda OEM DW-1 ATF prior to this issue? Hopefully you did not flush the ATF as it is not recommended by Honda.

 

No drain and fill prior to this issue in quite some time. There was a prior flush done many years ago. Would the inner filter being clogged cause the vehicle to overheat? Also would this be something that comes on suddenly? Did not experience any shifting problem prior to this incident.

 

Unfortunately you may have both of the 2 biggest problems with these vehicles: breached head gasket and a failed auto transmission. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news - I feel for ya - I had a Honda Odyssey van with a failed trans and my current ride is an Acura EL that had its head gasket replaced due to overheating.