Proclaimed

Hello all. I'm a 19 yr old college student. I recently. Bought a 2002 Honda Civic LX from a friend of a friend. I pretty much got it for a steal. (Under $2500). It was his wife's old car. It's in amazing condition, new paint, sound system, new tires, an it's amazing on gas. I do not want to get rid of it, as this is my 3rd vehicle, the last two I bought were lemons(some say I have bad luck with cars).

The car ran perfectly fine, smooth, no complaints at all up until about 2 days ago. I noticed the car was shifting hard, in the past couple days it only did it to me about 4 times, other than that it drove smoothly. Until last night I was driving from work(about 25 miles away from home), it drove smoothly until I hot off the exit to go home, I got to a stoplight and sat, as soon as the light turned green , I eased of the break like normally and proceeded to hit the gas like normally and the engine just reved for an unusual amount of time then it went and I got to another stoplight, same thing except it never kicked into gear , and now it won't kick into gear period. I can't even get it to go into reverse. Strangely though last night I let it sit for about an hour and I got it to go into reverse twice perfectly normal, but I've had no luck this morning. Both drive and reverse feel like I'm in neutral. Usually when I put it in reverse I can feel it , I don't feel anything when I move the shifter. (It's automatic). . I had a mechanic over this morning and he had me move the shifter and he said it doesn't look like I need a new shifter cable, it's probably the tranny, and it needs to be either rebuilt or replaced.

I was looking online and I found out that transmission problems are common on the 2002 models, but it's something to do with the clutch pack , or something and I should hear a whining noise. I don't hear any noises wayts so ever, there are also no leaks. The car sounds perfectly fine I just can't move it . I called AAMCO and they're going to do a free diagnostics on it in the morning, I just have to get it towed there. They said that sometimes These Hondas have communication errors and it might not be the tranny at all. Any ideas ? Really want to keep the car , if I end up spending 1,000 on a tranny rebuild then that'll be fine , I'll just be out of about $3500 for a car I can keep for 5yrs plus. But I would like to try and avoid the extra 1,000 if possible. So any clues or ideas as to what can be wrong. I'm stuck.

More specs:
2002 Honda Civic LX
Automatic
180000 miles(Got it at about 173,000) I'm aware it's high milage, that's why I got it for a low price and if I have to spend a extra $1000 to have it rebuilt, then I see no harm in that.

ezone

You may not understand this, but just think about it for a while: That's far too cheap for a professional trans rebuild job, and will cost you a lot more than that in the long run. Run away fast.

A hack mechanic can ruin the entire car in a hurry, through pure ignorance and/or neglect. I've seen it far too many times. The average consumer just has no idea until it is too late.

FREE "diagnosis" is worth exactly what you pay for it, and will cost you dearly in the end.





I'd suggest you just start with a true professional. That means NO chain store.



You need a TRUSTED mechanic.
Dealer or independent, you need honest and competent.
(You may even want a full inspection to see if the car is even worth putting a transmission in it.)

Find an Independent Transmission shop (ATRA member) if you want a rebuild. ATRA member shops can give a nationwide warranty. If you don't have that, then you are at the mercy of the shop that did the rebuild when it ***** all over the highway. Not good.


Dealer will put in a factory rebuilt trans, complete with a warranty (good at any Honda dealer) and all that neat stuff. (Most dealers don't rebuild automatics in-house.)

An independent shop shop could go with a factory trans, or an aftermarket reman trans. (I'm not a fan of the non-factory remans I have dealt with.) Check into the warranty available through those sources.



You bought a USED car, with high mileage and a cheap price.
If it had been on a used car lot, there would have been a tag in the window saying AS IS, not "AS IF".

You got it cheap. You will need to spend money on it to keep it going. This is true of ALL cars.

mikey1

thats great....then go for it