JLcivic01

Well, im calling gearbox because really it is one of the only VERY respected members I know but everyones invited to help me here.

I have a 01 EX sedan with 55,000 KM on it. The transmission is starting to slip (I believe). Its starting to rev higher before shifting, sometimes it shifts in a strange way causing a little tremble, sometimes (rarely) when I give it gas it does not shift down and just continues climbing revolutions... things like those but this is my first car and im not sure if those things are normal in every auto. tranny. OR maybe its because of the famous auto tranny problem almost every 01 and 02 auto civic has.

If so, if (hope it does not happen / happen soon) my tranny dies on me, is there any way of changing some part of it and not all of it? if the anwer is no, WHY? can't it be repaired?

Well I hope someone can help me with this!!

Thanks a lot!!

OHH and im fixing my hood soon and repainting the hood and my entire front bumper im getting a new hood molding in chrome, the one I have now on it is broken, should I paint it the color of my car or leave it chrome?? OPINIONS! thanks! pics of my car are in one of the last pages of the "post your 2001 - 2003 civic pics" thread or something like that

lightningslp77

sounds normal to me.

if the transmission is really aggressive (jolting the car / rough shifting which is very noticeable) then you can look at a tranny flush.

what kind of maintenance have you done to your car?

JLcivic01

well I change oil every 5,000 KM, did it 1 week ago, today I changed air filter, spark plugs, 4 spark plug tube seals and the cylinder head cover gasket. 10,000 KM ago I changed the transmission oil because I was worried about my tranny, although that didn't change anything and im still worried about it... :S

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

yeah you have the problem lol. its worst with 01-02 civics auto trans. i have a trans cooler and external filter and change my fluid every year and i still have the problem. its just a defect in the secondary clutch pack. it wears out prematurely (even if you drive like grandma) and once it gets too smooth, the teeth will no longer catch. when you hear the whining sound, youre near the end of not being able to get the car moving. the trans can be repaired by opening it up and swapping out the defective part by doing a rebuild, but most shops i talked to say its too much work and its easier to replace the whole trans with a different one. try and find an 04-05 model because supposedly they are better built. im hoping mine holds out some more til i can afford k20 swap with manual trans. no way will i pay $2-4k just for another pos auto trans lol. i started getting the 500 rpm slipping from 2nd-3rd gear at 50k miles and so far it stayed the same and im at 90k. so its hard to say how much time you have left on yours. does yours slip only when cold? or after everything warms up too? mine is still only doing it when cold, so i know im not that screwed yet. slipping after everything warms up is bad news and i would start shopping around for new trans right now.

lowlife9

dam this all sounds horrible i didn't know the early models had this problem . try the flush and see what happens .

2005EM2

iTrader: (7)

Okay, so I drive a 2005 civic and my tranny has been slipping a bit lately. I have been more careful with my driving, especially, when I'm backing up and then come to a full stop, then switch gear to D and then give the gas.

I notice that sometimes even when I make a complete stop before changing gears, I still get slippage when I apply the gas. I usually get slippage during the first few minutes.. possible that I have to warm up my car a bit.

Well, I used to abuse my auto tranny by not coming to a full stop before changing gears from reverse to drive positions, so being gentle to the tranny is a must on my part. haha

oh and I'm currently at around 67,3XX miles. I recently did my tranny oil change at around a little over 60,000 miles (first one) and should do a tranny flush.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

if it drives normally when warm, id say you are fine for now. and yeah you need to wait a few secs when switching from R to D so it catches gears first.

kcari

iTrader: (5)

what kind of whining noise are you talking about? At what RPMS should I be hearing it?
I'm starting to hear a metal grinding noise, but it could just be my catback hitting the heat shield. It only happens when I'm at a full stop then accelerate for a bit, and when I'm driving I never hear it. My car is extremely slow going up hill- sometimes the RPM needle will stay still even though im mashing the gas.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Manual transmission FTW. This sounds like it sucks

doobiest

This started happening to my 03 during the winter. I took it into honda at the beginning of summer and they replaced my tranny under warranty.. Good think I decided to bring it in as my car was covered to 100,000 and I was around 92k

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

wow you got lucky. they told me i had to wait til it breaks, cause they drove it and said the car is still driveable even with the rpm slip. the whine sound comes from the trans area and sounds like a supercharger. you can hear it at idle too or at any rpm. its pretty noticable.

JLcivic01

Thanks Gearbox! well I think I haven't heard the whinning sound from the tranny... if you say its very noticeable then ive def. not heard it . I have a question, as my native language is spanish I dont know the difference between a tranny flush and changing the tranny oil... Id like to know that so maybe I can do the flush and help my tranny stay alive longer...

And gearbox you haven't told me what you think about the hood molding, chrome or same color as whole car? thankssss!

everyone?

thakssss a looot

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

do not do a flush, it will kill the trans. just do drain and refill. open the bolt, let the fluid come out, then pour in 3 quarts of new honda atf fluid. leave the trim chrome if you have stock sedan grill. get painted if you have the black mesh grill. also you can just buy the pre-painted trim from the coupes instead of trying to paint chrome which doesnt work well.

lightningslp77

i personally think the flush is debateable...

i've gone through a hundred mechanics' opinions all over the area and all of them can't seem to agree on when the transmission should be flushed.

some say its okay to do it at 50,000-60,000 miles...i've heard the Honda Service Center actually say anything after 100,000 miles...but the truth is nobody really knows i guess lol.

i'll be the first one to say it but i have an 01 auto with 127,000 miles on it and i've had the transmission flushed and it still works great. there have been a few jumps here and there sometimes but ive found that in every auto car i've driven in the car tries to shift prematurely when the throttle is messed with...the ECU wants to register you as in a need to go faster and shift quicker than normal is my guess...happens in my friends 09' charger...happens in my 01' civic so i think its normal...

who knows tho...could be wrong.

otbexige

I agree with an earlier poster, manual tranny FTW. Better MPG, if driven properly, and less mess to deal with. Besides, you get more power to the wheels, although in our cars, that means half a gerbil power, but better in the summer when the a/c is on and the gerbils running the engine are about to expire.

lightningslp77

i don't recall the post being labled "auto trannys vs. manuals"

i think everyone knows who wins....unless you have a girlfriend that needs some attention in front seat, then autos win.