Rep Power: 0

After having bought my 2004 Civic EX SE I am noticing that the transmission sort of slips at low speed. At about 5 to 10MPH i will feel a slight "kick" coming from the gears switching. I continuously monitor my RPM and see it climb and then sharply go back down.

Pardon for the silly question but this is my first car and I'm only 18;
does this mean the transmission is either broken, needs complete replacing or a rebuild? I checked the transmission fluid and it is a light brownish color so I'm guessing that's bad?

My EM2 is an Automatic and has 85k miles on it.

When it comes to buying the transmission fluid which one should I buy?
Also what is the difference between flushing vs draining?

I do have school tomorrow and have to drive another 30 miles.
Is it safe to drive my car in this condition? I'll have the fluid changed by the weekend.

Thanks in advance everyone.

 
Rep Power: 290

Our transmissions are bad in 7th gen automatics, it is a known problem
Your tranny isnt exactly dying yet, but its leading up to it

Clean fluid should be pinkish

New fluid should always be OEM Honda Genuine Automatic Transmission Fluid
It's about $5 a qt at the dealership

You want to drain&fill your transmission, not flush it
Flushing requires removing all existing transmission fluid and replacing all of it.
Flushing may lead to new oil removing loose debris and clogging up the filter, causing complete transmission failure.

For a drain and fill, you're just draining the main reservoir and refilling with new fluid to mix in with the original 1~2qts still inside the tranny

It should be safe to drive your car in that condition, but I dont think it'll last long term
Having your fluid replaced once in a while will help, but not eliminate the problem

I replace my ATF once every year, and monitor it once every 3 months

 
Rep Power: 811

the kick you describe is normal for honda trans. when you are driving 25mph or faster and slow down below 20mph without stopping, then press the gas to accelerate, it will kick changing gears. best thing you can do when you know the speed falls below 20mph is very slowly ease on the gas til you feel it switch, then press more to go. its much less noticable if you gas it slowly.

 
Rep Power: 0

Ah okay, very cheap I guess. I think it should only take about 2 - 3 bottles correct? I'll change the fluid today when I get home.

Speaking of ATF, what other ATF would be better than the OEM? If any...

Thanks for the help!

 
Rep Power: 0

On my way here to school, I was checking out my acceleration.
If I accelerate faster I'll feel the "kick" but doing it slower it is not very noticeable. Sometimes the car will boost to 3000 RPM when starting to roll and it'll stay at that RPM until 35 MPH. Once it gets there the engine sort of relaxes back down to 1500 RPM just enough to maintain the speed I assume.

The car has 4 gears but I'm guessing the computer kicks it up to the highest to maintain the speed at a lower RPM?

Thanks for letting me know!

 
Rep Power: 811

the last part you described is the torque converter locking up to give better gas mileage. almost every car with an auto does this. the civics tend to do this around 30-35mph on a flat road in D. it will not shift to 4th/overdrive if you keep it in D3.

honda atf is the best so long as you change every year.

 
Rep Power: 0

Oh okay than the torque converter is fine.

I went to Kragen and Autozone, couldn't find the ATF-Z1 by Honda.
Had to settle for Valvoline Max Life for cars over 75K.

According to the label it's recommended for use on Honda's with ATF-Z1.
Seems to be working smoother. By the way when I took out the old ATF, it was purple!
Not sure if it had been changed or they used "Royal Purple ATF" in it.

Either way from the plug it came out brown before. Now it's red pinkish.

 
Rep Power: 290

Thats because only honda dealers offer it
I wouldnt recommend adding any other fluid

My dad explained to me that the genuine fluid has special additives and a specific consistancy to it, which makes it unique to honda transmissions
Other cars can even use engine oil as tranny fluid, but not on hondas

Just go to your honda dealer and go to the parts department to buy it

My source is my dad whos been an automotive salesman for 25+ yrs, and Honda salesman for 16 years

 
Rep Power: 811

the maxlife is prolly the only exception. people have tried it without issues on these honda trans. i would still use the oem, but you need to change it more often.