UltimateWarrior

http://www.edmunds.com/future/2006/h...enav..2.Honda*

Ok, but still better choices and nicer cars out there IMO. Still kinda slow. Don't ever expect the Civic to be a high performace race car. They should keep the black hood and spoiler, that would be cool.

I can't wait for the future Mazda line. Awesome, totally awesome. I've seen some future concepts. Talk about custom rides. Wow! Watch out for the Mazda 3 and 6 and also a new model down the road which is even nicer!

Later

menofls3

I also have the same problem with my tranny. It jerks and seems to slip. It also seems to take longer than it should to shift into gears from park. I am slowing getting fed up with it and i really don't take any joy into driving my car? Has anyone done an auto to manual swap? I took off some of my aftermarket parts and it is looking like I may trade it in for a Scion Tc or a rsx type s, but I like the car.. I'm just afraid it is going to fall apart........2001 45,000 miles

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

well you just gotta live with that. I just give the tranny 5 secs to make sure it goes into gear from park and it works. Just don't expect 1 second for it to switch. Also yea its rough shifting sometimes but there's a way around that. Just try not to let the mph go below 20, and if it does just very slowly press the gas until it shifts again.

tinman

Done a fluid change yet????

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

who me? I do it every 10k miles and I have an oil cooler now. The first maybe 1k miles after fluid change it feels good and switches into D fairly quickly with smoother shifts. But then gets worse...

UltimateWarrior

Fluid changes never really helped mine at all. I wonder if a synthetic blend, or a top-notch brand tranny fluid would help. I gave up to be honest and just learned to drive around it so to speak.

Talk about having to "baby" a car. It's rediculous. I've never driven another car that acted this bad and I've had many cars.

We just purchased a Kia Sadona van (more of a family vehicle) and I used the big rebates to paid off my Civic! (Couldn't have two car payments) The Kia is nice and for the value it can't be beat. 10 year, 100k warranty, 5 year 60k bumper to bumper. No brainer! It's a Korean product and has very good reviews. It can't be the best in every catagory but again, sometimes you just want that "peace of mind" more than anything. With the Honda it's been nothing but frustrations and with only a 3 year, 36k warranty that just plain sucked. I was past my warranty in a year and a half!

Never again.

I'll drive my Honda until it's towed to a junk yard. That's the only way I can gain anything out of it. I'll just suck it up and deal with it and learn from the experience.

mclean987

iTrader: (1)

what kinda oil cooler you got and was i hard or expensive to install ? ive beenb seriously thinking about installing one

UltimateWarrior

Update:

Well, I think my tranny finally went bye bye! I pulled out of a parking lot today and it would not shift out of first gear. After about 50 yards it finally went to second but made a bad sound like something grinding, then a metal "clunk" again. Hmmmm... So, I decided to try and drive straight to the Honda dealer but as I was on the highway it totally slipped out of gear and my RPM's went right up like I took it out of gear or something. As my car slowed all I could do was pull to the side and call the tow truck company which is programmed into my phone. (Shows you how much I call them) So the dealer won't be able to look at it until tomorrow so I'll keep ya posted but this time I think my tranny finally bit the dust. In a weird way I am kinda glad because maybe with a replacement I won't have the annoying "clunk" anymore! Sure, it's gonna cost me a few bills but the car is now paid off and I should get many more years out of it with a new transmission. The timing belt has been replaced so I am good to go once this is taken care of hopefully.


BTW, I saw the brouchure on the 2006 Civic Si. Sweeeeeeeeeeet! I want one! I am scared of Honda transmissions now so I don't know if I would ever purchase another Honda to be honest. Maybe the standard shifts are better and the new Si had the six-speed manual. It's a beauty with a 350watt system including a sub and amp. Now that's all factory too with warranty! Navigation is available too. Also, it's a 197HP DOHC i-VTEC. The car has been totally rediesigned. The interior is awesome and has a red glow to the instrument guages. Cool! The Civic EX has a blue glow to it. It has a digital speed indicator but the tach is mechanical still. Check out Honda's site!

http://automobiles.honda.com/civics/...ivic.honda.com


Oh well, maybe one day.

Chow!

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i drove a new auto, it felt even worse than the 7thgen.

Axxe

iTrader: (1)

Auto sucks. Solve all your problems by buying a manual gearbox.

UltimateWarrior

Well, Honda said my transmission was shot (no kidding!) and wants $3,200 for a replacement. Ouch. So, I had Danco Transmissions (which was right next door) tow it over to their place and the guy there is going to see what's wrong and just rebuid it. He said worse case it would be a lot less expensive than just replacing the whole transmission. Danco offers a 24,000 mile, two year warranty as well.

The tech from Danco said he does all the work for Honda anyway. Go figure. You see, Honda does not rebuild transmissions, they only replace them. Much easier! Honda didn't even really know what was wrong, the Honda tech just said it was shot. Ok? Whatever that means.

Guys, if you have ANY transmission problems that are out of warranty, take your car to a transmission specialist, not Honda.

I'll find out the cost early next week.

Danco says our Transmissions have like 900 individual parts. They take apart the whole transmission piece by piece, inspect every single one, clean every single part, and replace only what needs replaced. Basically, you are getting a new transmission if you think about it. All parts are chemically cleaned too. All for much less than what Honda would charge.

I am hoping my "clunk" goes away too! I talked to the Danco tech about this and explained how many people seem to experience the same thing and he knows about that. He also said it's just how the Honda transmissions work. Not the smoothest ones out there. So, I don't think there is a fix for our "clunk" after all. Some cars are better than others I guess. Either that, or some people just don't really notice nor care about it. Well, I do and I will never own another Honda with an automatic tranny.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

since they are rebuilding, have you thought about having them install some performance kit?

UltimateWarrior

Hmmm, like what? List some options and I'll ask the dude.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

http://levelten.com/

UltimateWarrior

Well, to be honest I don't plan to keep the car more than a few years. Worse case, three years. By then I hope to be making a substantial amount more money and will be able to hopefully afford something really nice! In fact, I will have a different job soon and I will only be driving to work and home, not all day like I do now. So, I'm really not concerned with this car anymore or improving it. I just want it to last me a few more years and then I'll unload it to someone. Right now it's about putting as little money into it as necessary.

I'm not sure what my next car will be but it's gonna be sporty, and a manual transmission for sure! I want something fun next time around.

UltimateWarrior

Update:

Yep, my transmission is shot.

The fine gentleman at Danco here in Cincinnati is really working with me and really treating me right, more so than expected. He said almost every part in my transmission was burnt up and it needs to be totally rebuilt. The damage is about $2,500. Yes, that's a lot of money but it's still cheaper than what Honda wanted. Also, Danco is installing a quality tranny oil cooler and also fixing a broken engine mount which they discovered, at no extra cost to me. Plus, he is doing the transmission at wholesale cost to save me some money.

Gang, if you live anywhere near Cincinnati Ohio and need transmission work done I found the place. Just let me know. This guy is super to work with and bends over backwards to help his customers.

Danco offers a 2 year, 24,000 mile warranty on any work they perform too. The tech said with an oil cooler I won't ever have to worry about my transmission again. With proper maintenance of course. I might add, he said our Honda transmissions need a cooler! If not, you wind up like I did. So get one installed. They are inexpensive and will keep your fluids from getting too hot and destroying your tranny. I found out the hard way. Fluid changes are not enough. Over time you are prone to have issues with these transmissions.

My car should be ready tomorrow and it will be very interesting to see how my tranny performs. I can't wait to see if the "clunk" is gone. If so, I'll be thrilled. If not, then we know it's just a Honda flaw because mine will be totally rebuilt.

More to come...

mclean987

iTrader: (1)

damn thats sucks $2500 is alot especially since you said you arent planning on keeping it, i know transmissions are garbage on 7thgen ive been through 2 manuals, you really do need an oil cooler ive been saying that for a while but everyone just laughs, but i have manual and cant just plug one in without a pump that cost like $200, anway why didnt you just buy a new tranny and swap because the tranny design it just **** you could buy 5 with $2500

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i'm stupid for waiting until 20k to get an oil cooler. Oh well at least now its there. Honda puts one on the hx tranny but not ours? dumb.

speedracersong

iTrader: (10)

what are some good auto tranny coolers?

UltimateWarrior

So where might I get a new tranny for $500? Oh yea, who might install it? And, what does it cost to ship? Let's see, who would guarantee the installation? What else, and who would have installed a tranny cooler and fixed my broken engine mount? All in three days?

Yea, it sounds nice dude but I don't have time to mess with it. I depend on this car for my job and I can't take a chance of messing something up worse so this is why I don't mind spending the money for Danco to just get it done. If I don't have a car I can't do my job, period. I am using a relatives car at the moment but this puts them in a bind.

Listen, I know the guy is still making money but at least it's cheaper than Honda and I'm getting a cooler and an engine mount fixed which I know Honda would have not mentioned. So to me it's all good. The car is paid off too so if you divide $2500 by 12 months it's still way less than my old car payment so it's no big deal really. I just pay for a little while longer and get a rebuilt tranny. I can still sell this car in a few years and make some money so I don't worry.

I just hope I notice an improvement with how the thing shifts. If all the problems go away then that's icing on the cake.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

Well I just gotta say, I'm pretty happy with the functionality of my auto. It is usually smooth as long as you slowly step on the gas after the speed drops below 20mph, or that clunk I've gotten maybe 5 times in 3 years which is good. Overall its nice. I change tranny fluid every 10k and that cooler helps alot I bet. Most tranny die from heat. So get a cooler doesn't even have to be big. I got a small B&M and stuffed it between the radiator and condenser. Easy.

AntiLoop

iTrader: (3)

Hey UltimateWarrior what was your mileage at before your AT bit the dust?

Im having some similar jerky probs you mentioned.. but I believe all AUTO's have the same prob... yet some peoples cars are running just fine..

UltimateWarrior

120k.

Although I didn't keep up with fluid changes quite like gear does I did do it more than any other car I've owned. Heck, some cars I've had I never changed tranny fluid and they lasted longer than this one. Yes, I was young and stupid at the time and maybe got lucky but this one has been very picky.

The tech told me coolers are a must but it's too late unless yours is fairly new. Now that mine is rebuilt with a cooler I shouldn't have issues anymore with proper fluid changes. I need to find out more about how to maintain it. I am not sure 10k is the magic number, maybe it's sooner with these cars...who knows. But I will ask!

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

thats no excuse to say you didn't change the fluid. even the honda maintenance says 30k under severe conditions which is way too long imo. the tranny should be built to last. The tranny fluid is supposed to be long lasting formulation upto 120k miles!

AntiLoop

iTrader: (3)

im at 85k and have never changed the tranny fluid once yet. But I have had these jerky problem ever since i owned the car..

When slowing down then gassing right away it has a BAD jerk...

Also when sometimes slowing down at a high speed u feel a heavy jerking downshift...

I dont think it has anything to do with tranny fluid ( mind u it prolly wouldnt hurt to change it more often )

I honestly think its just the trannys in general and dont think fluid changes will save it.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

yup its tranny in general. you should see the older tranny on the 92 accord that thing clunked for every shift straight from the factory!

UltimateWarrior

Yep, same thing mine did until the tranny finally just broke. They are still rebuilding it! I may not have it back until Monday now. These are very tricky transmissions to work on and are a pain in the rear the tech says. They have already pulled it twice because it's not acting the way it should. He said nobody likes to work on Honda transmissions. So good luck and you may just want to have it checked out before you have to be towed one day.

AntiLoop

iTrader: (3)

I don't think my tranny has the particular problem, I think it's all 7th gen auto tranny's in general.

My friend just bought the 2005 Si sedan (canada) has less than 3,000 km on the car and he is reporting to me the EXACT same issues we went through and its not even BROKEN in yet...

#1 - Harsh downshift when slowing down at higher speeds
#2 - When slowing down then gassing it right away gets another harsh Jerk.

Oh ya forgot to mention I drive a 2001 LX sedan ... soo Honda had 4 years to address the problem with the Automatic Tranny and it seems they have done nothing to fix it.

I am hoping this car will last me another year... and I plan on getting the 8th gen in either 2007 depending on reviews of the 8th gen trannys. If they have the same problem I will get a toyota.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

the first one isn't a problem. its the grade logic control that downshifts to help slow the car down when it senses you're going downhill. that hasn't happened to me since moving the farmland here.

AntiLoop

iTrader: (3)

ooh thanx for the info =) I did not know that... do any other cars use this ? I havent ever noticed this in any other car I have driven.