to flush or not to flush
 

I just bought a 2003 honda civic lx with a 170,000 miles . It has a automatic transmission, and gets stuck in gear and will not shift. This is only happening about 30% of the time. I don't know if the transmission fluid has ever ben changed. Should I flush, or will this just cause more problems ?

Re: to flush or not to flush
 

You have unfortunately made a bad choice in a used car :(. Hope you didn't pay very much for it! There is LOTS of information available on 7 gen (01-05) Civic transmissions, and it doesn't take too much reading to figure out that Honda made major technical mistakes with them. And it sounds like yours has the classic symptoms of one that's on the way out. There are a few reports of folks who did the flush when the tranny was really bad, and that worked for them (but for how long ???). I believe a flush would be a last-resort thing to try, if you don't have a problem throwing $150 or so away (probably). One exception: if this is happening only when it's cold (and then goes away), one of the mods here (gearbox), has had success by changing over to a different fluid. But outside of that, it's likely just a matter of time.
So what do you do? With 170K and an unknown maintenance history, I wouldn't have it rebuilt or replaced (somewhere around 2K). That's my own opinion, and others may disagree, but I don't read about any great, consistent success with the rebuilds/replaces on these. And there's also likely to be other big $$ problems waiting to happen with this vehicle.
But, if you can spare $25-100, you could have the fluid checked to see how it looks and PERHAPS (if it doesn't look good) drain and refill. That's also very unlikely to do anything, but it might be worth a relatively inexpensive try. Beyond that, drive it until it starts getting worse. Then, when it's nearly croaked, if you feel like throwing $150 away, go for a (miracle) flush. Finally, try to sell it for parts and chalk it up as an expensive learning experience. JMHO.

Re: to flush or not to flush
 

Youre not suppose to flush honda trannys, only drain and fill. Check the dipstick and see what colour the ATF is. You need to do a drain and fill, 2 or 3 preferably but do one for now and see how the colour of the ATF is and if things improve. It takes 5 drain and fills to get just about all of the current ATF out.

Also with trans hot, check the ATF level with car on a perfectly flat road in P and make sure the level is right on the max line. Also smell it and see if it smells burnt.

Re: to flush or not to flush
 

I believe the car should be running and in neutral when you check the ATF fluid.

Re: to flush or not to flush
 

That is not how you check the fluid level in a Honda.
Engine and trans warm, engine off, car in park on a level surface

Re: to flush or not to flush
 

Hello all, I recently purchased a 2004 Honda Civic EX with an automatic transmission with 156k miles. The seller had a leak in the radiator, and we made a deal if he changed out the radiator I would buy it at asking amount for sale. He replaced the radiator and replenished the fluids.. coolant and trans fluid. I didn't think much of it until looking over this forum... (I"m new here). he used Castrol Transmax Full Synthetic Multi-vehicle fluid to refill the tranny. I know because he gave me the bottle incase I need to put more in later. I recently read that Honda's need a certain type of tranny fluid. It has been two weeks since the fluid added/ purchase of the car. I'm currently looking at doing a fluid drain and refill this weekend. do you recommend me to do anything else??

Re: to flush or not to flush
 

Do the drain and fill 3 times to get as much of the old fluid out as possible

Re: to flush or not to flush
 

what is the time frame between the intervals? for the drain and refill

Re: to flush or not to flush
 

Welcome to the forum and yes I recommend that everyday, before you start the car for the first time you open the radiator cap and make sure the radiator is full of coolant. Add as needed. If your still adding at the end of the week let us know.

Re: to flush or not to flush
 

Like a 5 min drive, make it sure shifts into all the gears

Re: to flush or not to flush
 

Use OEM Honda DW-1 ATF only. In between drain and fills (no flushing), take a drive going through all gears until torque converter lockup. Three times drain and fill should get most of the old ATF replaced with DW-1.
I do a drain and fill of ATF every 3rd oil change over the years.

Re: to flush or not to flush
 

I've used Castrol MVI (multi-vehicle import) ATF in two separate Civic's without issue.

Re: to flush or not to flush
 

Great, I'm not so concerned then. I did two drain and refill's. Hopefully this is good to go.

I have a question about the transmission oil dip stick. My dip stick feels soo lose, as if it just sits in place of the hole. feels so loose that if I hit a bump it will unseat itself. Is it supposed to be like that or is it supposed to feel snug in there.

Thanks
Oscar

Re: to flush or not to flush
 

Does the dip stick have an o ring on it? If it does it might be worn and need replacement.

Re: to flush or not to flush
 

hmmmm… O ring? I didn't see an O ring. Are those replaceable or do I have to purchase a whole new dip stick, which is fine. I see them on Ebay for 7 bucks.

Re: to flush or not to flush
 

There might not be an o ring I was just throwing ideas out. I owned a manual 7th gen so not sure how the dip stick is suppose to fit. If the dipstick looks worn or there is an o ring or retaining clip/ring on the stick or in the hole that might be why it is loose.

Re: to flush or not to flush
 

Its a Possibility.

Re: to flush or not to flush
 

Next time I drain, I am considering starting the engine up and cycling it through the gears before putting the drain plug back on.

Logically speaking, once the transmission pump stops providing pressure, the friction discs will disengage and we are only talking about a few moments so I am thinking absolutely no damage would occur. I am unsure if that will get a extra ounce, pint, or quart out but will be interesting to find out.

Re: to flush or not to flush
 

I ordered another dip stick to see if it will seal better and it 100% did for 6.99 off of ebay. The old dip stick was no longer sealing maybe due to the heat and it being old.