Rep Power: 0

my auto-trans died in my 2003 Civic in October 2009 with only 70K miles. i had a Honda factory rebuild installed for $1,900 (Honda chipped in $1,000 towards the repair bill which brought it down from $2,900) and now i have 86,600 miles. i have the following 2 issues:

1) when cold, when accelerating you can hear a noticeable whine. it becomes less noticeable and non-existent after 5-10 mins of driving

2) when accelerating from stop, up an incline of just a few degrees, the transmission stumbles from 2-3 shift. where as you should feel the single 2nd gear to 3rd gear shift, it stumbles and shakes twice and then gets into gear.


i would like to take it into a dealership and have it checked out. i would be taking it back to the dealership where the new transmission was installed. i know what will happen is they will not be able to duplicate the problem upon arrival, so i will need to leave it with them over night to cool the trans. when they test drive it the next morning at 6am they will be sure to hear it. however, the trans still works per se so what would be the likelihood that they would replace it again under the new warranty? i feel it would need to fail completely or throw a code to be covered.

also, how do i know if this Honda factory rebuild has the clutch pack TSB or is one of the good auto-trans from the 2004-2005 model year (the ones that aren't failing pre-maturely).

i need to drive this car a few more years b/c i really cannot afford to buy a new car. i am paranoid about this new transmission since i've already had one fail on me and this one is starting to act up like the last one (the acceleration whine during cold). some of the belts are beginning to squeal and since everything is original i was going to get the timing belt service done. i found a dealership willing to do the following:

- timing belt
- water pump
- drive belts
- coolant/anti-freeze
- labor
- check tensioner ($75 extra if replacement needed)
- Cost: $389.90

any advice?

 
Rep Power: 811

well if it stumbles, chances are they did not correctly rebuild it. whine when cold is a big red flag something is about to break. thats the trans oil pump choking on debris. so yeah chances are this one will go out again soon. hope you have some warranty left. timing belt service seems fair...

 
Rep Power: 0

hi gearbox, thanks for the input. the warranty that came with the factory rebuild trans is 3yrs/36K so i have plenty of warranty left on it. what do you suggest i do? is cold acceleration whine enough for them to replace it with another transmission?

should i change the trans fluid first before i take it into the dealership and see if metal pieces come out?

 
Rep Power: 811

you could change the fluid, altho it prolly wont help. maybe make it worse. but yeah unless the trans is broken or there is engine light, i doubt they would do anything.

 
Rep Power: 0

well i guess it's still worth a shot to bring it to the dealership to have it checked out. it won't cost me anything since it's still under warranty. they will still probably try and get some $$$ out of me by saying "we recommend changing the fluid to see if it fixes it" .

i guess i'll get worried once it gets closer to the end of the warranty. for now i'll just go with the flow. it really is disappointing that their replacement transmission is already having issues. the first one lasted me 70K miles and this one is already having issues before 20K.

on a side note...do you know if the 8th gen Civic has an internal or external filter? does the 8th gen Civic have transmission issues?

 
Rep Power: 811

these cars are a transmission nightmare. im still not convinced they fixed the issue in 04-05. i think 01-05 all have it bad and the newer models just dont have as many miles on em yet to see a problem. as far as i know, 8thgen does not have trans issues (altho it has many other problems of its own, and the trans is not as solid feeling as the older models. its hard to even know when it shifts or what gear its in). 8thgen has external filter. same one im using on my 7thgen auto which didnt seem to help. i started using it at 20k miles, then at 50k the gears started to slip. im at 94k now and crossing my fingers so it doesnt fall apart one day. its getting close i can feel it.

 
Rep Power: 0

I'm at 143,000km's. 2001 civic si(cdn).

Tranny is gone... Bearings and gears.

 
Rep Power: 811

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/C..._failure.shtml

 
Rep Power: 0

well i just made the service appointment for the timing belt maintenance. the breakdown is as follows:

- 1 timing belt
- 1 compressor/alternator belt
- 1 power steering belt
- 1 water pump
- coolant/anti-freeze draining, flush, and fill
- labor
= $389.95 + tax

i am getting it done at a dealership called Hamilton Honda in Hamilton, NJ . it's hard to give up this kind of deal even though my Civic might not need a timing belt belt... the coupon expires 9/30/2010. i have a 2003 Honda Civic with 87,000 miles. however, the compressor/alt belt is squealing and looks somewhat worn so that certainly needs replacement and the powersteering pump also is slightly worn. if i'm going to replace those two belts i might as well pay a little more and get the timing belt and water pump done. i was debating doing the accessory drive belts myself but i really don't have the time these days and i'm on the road a lot for work so i don't want to take any chances.

let's hope that my factory rebuild replacement auto-trans dies before the warranty ends (i have 2yrs/20K left on the warranty). when the dealership tests drives the Civic to make sure everything is working properly, i will ask them if the tech can pay particular attention to the transmission and see if he notices anything. who knows, i could get an immediate diagnosis on the spot and qualify for a replacement right away. i would rather allow this warranty to run out though and get it replaced right before the warranty ends and then get a whole new 3yrs/36K warranty, thus maximizing the combined warranty time to 6 years, ha!

it's probably better that i keep the Civic for the long haul since buying a new car when i have student loans and $1,050/mo in rent isn't a smart idea. i would have done with a Subaru Impreza Outback Sport for $19,000

 
Rep Power: 811

im sure it will die before the warranty. usually rebuilds dont last more than a year.

 
Rep Power: 0

all my synchors have gone, i have to double declutch, reminds me of driving in the 1930s!
oh and if anyone has any advice how to fix please let me know!!

 
Rep Power: 0

@GearBox, Why do you say rebuilds don't last more than a year?

I've finally made the choice to keep my civic, after rebuilding the tranny (in shop right now). Are you suggesting I abandon ship asap(Sell car asap)?

 
Rep Power: 811

its mostly due to mechanics who do not rebuild it properly. many i talked to says it takes too long to rebuild the whole thing, so they only replace select parts they think are bad instead of every part in the kit. also other places use cheap parts that will just break again. being wrapped up in the auto parts business a while back i learned quite a few "shops secrets" and while there are certainly mechanics who could properly rebuild a trans so it lasts another 10 yrs, many just lack the skills/parts or are just plain lazy. my bros old taurus had the trans go out at 100k miles, so he got it rebuilt with a 2 yr warranty. it was shifting rough the first day and within a month it went out again. took back to the shop, they said they fooled with it some more and said its better if it shifts hard so it doesnt wear out the gears as fast. 3 months later, it died again. finally had it rebuilt a third time and sold the car. this was a major transmission specialty shop too with good warranty. and the car will never shift smoothly like the original honda trans. thats why its better to try and find a slightly used 2005 auto trans and hope they fixed some of the problems (altho i doubt it).

 
Rep Power: 192

My '02 ex automatic transmission slips in 3rd gear. I'm not sure if it is because i did the fluid change (@85,000) or not. I can't remember if i noticed the slip before i did the change. I know a good local transmission shop. Had the guy (his name is Doc Reese) do some tranny work on my 2000 dodge grand caravan, and i feel really confident with him. My plan for now is to wait til the tranny goes completely out; which i hope takes a year or two . I'm curious if i should have my tranny rebuilt, or should i swap it with a different transmission. If i were going to go with the swap, what options do i have? Does it have to be a 7th gen transmission, or can i put a 6th or 5th generation, or even a late 7th gen into it? Also, is there anything i can do in the mean time to prolong the life of my whimsical transmission??

 
Rep Power: 811

has nothing to do with fluid changes. the transmission has a weak/defective clutch pack. no matter what you do, it will still break down. i have added a trans cooler and filter and am still limping along at 95k miles in my 02 civic. but its only a matter of time. try to find a low mileage 2005 civic trans to swap in. its your best hope.

 
Rep Power: 228

my auto tranny crapped out last year. shortly after it died i traded my yamaha R6 for a 1998 jeep cherokee I6 HO4.0. then i added a 2" lift and 235/75/15 BFG AT

i dont have the money to rebuild or replace my civic tranny, so after a year of it sitting in the garage, im parting it out in order to fund my jeep. ganna be doing a 3" lift, 30" cooper MT, and a rear locker. yeaa boi! lol.

 
Rep Power: 0

my 02LX 5sp tranny is finally is about to go, snapping in the tranny after take off from 1-2. i know the main shaft bearing was about to go but this is totally new to me. might be the clutch, but either way ima rebuild it starting this weekend.

193K, never had any tranny work done

 
Rep Power: 0

02 lx torqueconverter shot ; like so many others have . now tring to repair it .190k on motor but it runs good ,can't see junking my car

 
Rep Power: 811

at least on this forum since 2001, id say the fail rate is around 85% if i had to guess. its been nothing but problems to all the poor auto guys.

 
Rep Power: 811

worst thing is honda knew the problem and nicely dragged its feet to avoid it. then after all the cars were out of warranty, they issued a simple TSB (not a recall) saying yeah there is abnormal wearing of the secondary clutch pack. the fix is to replace the trans with another one. worst copout ive ever seen from honda. and look what happens to toyota from a stupid gas pedal getting stuck, it nearly ruins em.

 
Rep Power: 216

Did Honda ever fix the issue with 3rd gear in the current Si Civics? I just remember that **** came outta gear on a test drive and it scared the **** outta me.

 
Rep Power: 811

i believe they have a way of fixing it now, cause a few ppl posted here that they took it in for repair and it drives like anormal car now. same with the rear camber problems.

 
Rep Power: 216

I thought the SI only came in manual?

 
Rep Power: 811

prolly from canada. canada si = usa ex. and canada si-r = usa si.

 
Rep Power: 234

Far from it. They got a $16M fine (slap on the wrist) and are STILL the biggest auto maker in the world and still sell the most cars (worldwide). And the American public just eats it up when Toyotas go on sale for half off to distract us from the deadly recall. Did you notice how fast everyone stopped talking about it?

 
Rep Power: 0

ive broke 2nd gear a few times in my crx hf trans,
i guess it dosnt like 10 lbs of boost FTW!!!!!!!

 
Rep Power: 290

Hardly deadly to those smart enough to pop it out of gear. People just don't know how to drive any more.

 
Rep Power: 811

true, i think it was a setup but who knows. and i didnt mean physically ruin toyota, just ppls impression. alot of people i talk to would never consider a toyota again. i know i wouldnt. gas pedal may not seem like a big deal, but imagine pulling out of a parking spot creeping along and suddenly you keep going. or on the highway even worse. sure you can shift into neutral but by them you may have already had an accident. i agree tho, people need to learn how to drive. but having to constantly wonder if the gas pedal will get stuck at any moment isnt worth it to me.

 
Rep Power: 234

lol. I know a lot of people that never would have bought a Toyota anyway. Remember, I live in the heart of bowtie country.

 
Rep Power: 290

I won't buy a Toyota because it seems like its only beige camrys that won't use the pullouts so I can get around them on 2 lane roads. I don't want to ever turn into that person.