I am driving a 97 prelude, with the Sport Shift automatic transmission.

My symptoms are as follows:

1. When cold and shifting from park to reverse or drive, there is a brief 1.5 second delay before it goes into gear.

2. When it does go into gear, it is quite a rough shift and jerks a little bit.

3. When driving, and the car is not warmed up, the 1-2 shift is rough and slips a little bit.

4. When decelerating, it takes an unusually long amount of time to shift down into first, feels kinda "sticky"


Now, all these problems seemingly disappear when the car is fully warmed up and driven for a mile or so. It shifts fine after that point.

I had the car looked at by aamco, they drove the car and couldn't notice anything wrong with the transmission. They did check the auto fluid however, and said that it was burnt and recommended a complete flush.


So my question to you is; does this sound like my transmission is shot? I am hoping and praying that a 7 quart reverse flush at the honda dealership will alleviate all these problems. Have you owned a car with similar issues? What was the outcome?

I honestly don't have the money for a 5 speed swap, or a automatic rebuild. Your advice and input is much appreciated.

*Fingers crossed*

 

The very same thing happened to my 96 accord auto tranny....first it just seemed like it was being stubborn, so had the fluid flushed. It only got worse... finally couldn't get it to shift from 1st to 2nd, so I replaced the tranny. It was easier than having it rebuilt (cheaper too)....

 

not to put you down but when having problems with an auto tranny, then getting it flushed it usually just mnakes the problem worste. but the things you described,are typical of burnt fluid, i would say maybe a roller clutch or 2-1 band also. auto's are usually one of those things you figure out exactly what broke when you take it apart.


ps. if you flush save the filter and cut open you can usually get a good guess of whats wrong with that

 

your going to need a new transmission. plane and simple nobody rebuilds the trannys on hondas due to the fact of the prices of remanufacured. also your clutches packs are burned up its very common on honda transmissions. also the transmission does not have a filter.

 

OK, I might as well ask. Is the conventional wisdom, to replace a Honda automatic with a boneyard special? Or is there another "magical" source for Accord automatic trannys?

 

Update:

So I took it into the honda dealership today, for the ultra 10 quart reverse flush special. $177.XX later, I drove it home, shifting as smooth as butter the entire way.

I figured this was just normal behavior, as it shifted fine when warmed up anyways.

The car sat in my parking lot for 5.5 hours, giving it time for the trans fluid to cool down. With my heart pounding rapidly, I just walked out to test the transmission under cold conditions. I started the engine, shifted into R, and I sat there shocked. No violent jerk into gear. I switch into drive, and it went right into gear with no delays. Holy ****.

Driving around the block, I notice no slipping where it would slip before.

Wow, hopefully the tranny stays like this for a while. I think I might be one of the rare few that doesn't have major problems with the sport shift.

Anyways, my plans are as follow.

1. Change ATF with Honda fluid every 20k.

2. Never use SS mode.

3. Ease up on the gas when it shifts.

4. No racing people.

Regardless, I plan on saving money up this summer, and putting it into an emergency account. Im hoping this car lasts me at least through the next year.

Big Moose: In the last few days of browsing various forums, the general consensus is to replace the transmission with a remanufactured unit, as disassembly of the transmission is quite time consuming. Pricing of that including labor, seems to be around $2-2.3k.

Hopefully this thread will help out SS Prelude owners in the future.

 

you mean to tell me an auto tranny doesnt have a filter, hah educate yourself please

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by postman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you mean to tell me an auto tranny doesnt have a filter, hah educate yourself please</TD></TR></TABLE>
Aren't most transmission filters located at an inaccessible spot on Honda auto trannies?

 

The auto transmissions on H, B and D series do not have filters. they have strainers that are very hard to access and not usually serviced during routine transmission maintenance. I dont know about any other engines/transmission though.

 

this is true, but if you takea trans apart you would def replace with a new, thats when you can cut it open to see what it actually caught .

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by postman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">this is true, but if you takea trans apart you would def replace with a new, thats when you can cut it open to see what it actually caught .</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by postman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ps. if you flush save the filter and cut open you can usually get a good guess of whats wrong with that</TD></TR></TABLE>

^^^Two completely different things. He's not going to take the transmission apart to flush the fluid.

 

Majority of auto trans problems are fluid related, be it too low, too old, etc. Let this be a lesson about maintenance

 

hey postman i would hate to tell you but you are 100% wrong. Also iam the yougest ase master tech in the country right now and 100% honda certified and have been working for honda (dealer) for 3 years and acura for 1 year and worked for a dyno shop for 2 years. i also have a degree in automotive from the local college. So don't try to tell me to eucate myself. whats your education I would love to know.

hey postman find me an internal transmission filter for his transmission and i will rebuild it for free. All it is is a strainer it directs the fluid not filters it as a conventional filter would.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HandoEX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

^^^Two completely different things. He's not going to take the transmission apart to flush the fluid.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

I know this is an old thread but my IQ sank 50 pts. just reading it.