Rep Power: 0

So I just bought this 04 Honda Civic LX from a douchebag dealership. (Private own, very small.) I drove it for the first two weeks, and ended up going through a shin high puddle/lake of water in the middle of a street. Three days afterward, I started losing power in the trans. It would rev, but not move forward. Pulled over, there was foam on the dipstick. I went and got it flushed, worked fine afterward.

Fast forward it to Oct 16th, a month and a half later. Since the flush, when the motor is still cold, it would shift roughly, but once it warmed up it was fine. Now, however, since Tuesday morning, the transmission would whine and at about... 2000RPMS it would hesitate for a moment, then high rev to 6000RPMs or so, and finally shift into third gear. Today, after letting it sit since Tuesday, I took it to the mechanic.

He believed it was the TPS, and was adament about that being the problem because a previous 03 Civic did the same thing until he adjusted the TPS. Now, it rumbles and jerks forward when you start off, and into the second and third gear. Continues to high rev, and once I let off the gas, it shifts into the proper gear.

I personally believe it's the transmission going out, but I'd like more opinions. I literally just bought this car.

 
Rep Power: 517

I hope you aren't blaming the car lot for this.
Caused by?
Water?

Water in a trans can cause the friction disc linings to come unbonded.
Major damage.

Damn......
Does that mean that all cars with 4 wheels are exactly the same too?
You need a better mechanic.

Did you bother to TELL him about the water in the trans, the foaming fluid, and the flush?

Sounds like it NOW needs the TPS put back where it was, AND needs a trans job.
FYI when you get it to a mechanic that will put the TPS back where it is supposed to be (IF possible), it should be set so CTP is exactly 0.49V. Write this down for future reference, give this info to your new mechanic.

You drove it for 2 weeks with zero problems.....You may have killed it by driving through high water. If that wasn't the cause, then I'd assume it probably died a natural death.

Sorry. HTH

 
Rep Power: 811

shouldve just replaced the throttle body. adjusting that tps isnt worth the hassle. and while a tps problem can make it seem like you have serious trans issues (not shifting into or out of gears, shakey shifts and no power), it would never cause the car to rev that high. sounds like major trans work is ahead of you, and a new throttle body with properly set factory tps already on it. the puddle could have sent water in the dipstick if you have the old version that does not seal properly.