'00 V6 Accord Slipping Transmission

[Big Jim]

Originally Posted By: PT1
Originally Posted By: EricF
I guess so, but if i were a honda owner.. I'd be getting a new transmission when the whole ordeal was over.


Uh there is no such thing as a "silent recall" as most are listed with NHTSA and can be found on their website along with other automotive data sites. What you probably mean is a TSB (technical service bulletin) with an in field fix for the issue.

If it were my car, I would want a new transmission with the extra line installed.


I don't know what you would call it if you would not call it a "silent warranty". Perhaps you could call them "goodwill repairs". I was a Honda service adviser during some of this extremely high transmission failure. When a customer raised a fuse over transmission failure on Accords, Oddyseys, and even CRVs, the factory stepped up. They went out of their way to keep the problem "silent" or at least "under the radar". One Oddysey I particularly remember had around 120,000 miles on it. Sounds like a "silent recall" to me. Perhaps it should not be called that since "silent recalls are illegal. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck . . .

That experience taught me that Honda's quality reputation is highly over rated. At some point this will all catch up to them. Judging from current sales, maybe it has started to.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: Big Jim

That experience taught me that Honda's quality reputation is highly over rated. At some point this will all catch up to them. Judging from current sales, maybe it has started to.
My friend sold his 2000 Accord LX to a unsuspecting couple when I've noticed his tranny was slipping. He got a 07 Civic EX coupe instead. Besides from the tranny, the Accord had some paint and trim issues. His mom's 99 Odyssey suffered a tranny failure, from what they've told it had to be dragged out of the garage like a cat hooking its claws onto a rug.

On the other hand, my DD is a 1991 Lexus with 234+K on it and while the interior's seen better days, the car still runs great, I'm even on the original tranny. I will always say Toyota has the upper edge over Honda when it comes to engineering and quality. Honda uses VTEC as a blindfold from innovation.

 

[Market525]

In the past few years, Honda replaced the auto transmissions on BOTH of my daughers Accords - both 100% under warranty. Both cars were 4-cylinder models; one was a 2000 w/ 98K, the other was an 01 with around 80K. We were 2nd owners on both cars.

If it were me, I would definately try the Honda dealer route first! Even if they buy the tranny & you pay for labor, you'd still be better off. Worth a try, even though your mileage is outside of their parmeters.

Good luck & let us know what happens.
Steve

 

[krismoriah72]

1998 Accord V6 with auto tranny here. 225,000 miles bought used with 80K miles. The past 100,000 miles has seen alot of towing with heavy trailers and a daily trip up a mountain that is pure [censored]. No slippage no problems whatsoever. I change with Z-1 every 15,000 miles.

Also have a 1997 accord 4cyl with nearly the same mileage.. I change with Z-1 every 30,000 in it.. no problems whatsoever.

Curious to know if the guys having problems are changing their own fluids or are having them changed at the shop. The last time I took my honda into the dealer I saw a technican carrying Napa ATF towards a honda with the hood up... I dont trust dealers..

 

[element_42]

Originally Posted By: krismoriah72
1998 Accord V6 with auto tranny here. 225,000 miles bought used with 80K miles. The past 100,000 miles has seen alot of towing with heavy trailers and a daily trip up a mountain that is pure [censored]. No slippage no problems whatsoever. I change with Z-1 every 15,000 miles.

Also have a 1997 accord 4cyl with nearly the same mileage.. I change with Z-1 every 30,000 in it.. no problems whatsoever.

Curious to know if the guys having problems are changing their own fluids or are having them changed at the shop. The last time I took my honda into the dealer I saw a technican carrying Napa ATF towards a honda with the hood up... I dont trust dealers..





I wouldnt stand for having to change my atf as often as my engine oil!!

 

[thrace]

Quote:
I wouldnt stand for having to change my atf as often as my engine oil!!
Good point. Tried to make Honda 5 speed AT live long in 02 Odyssey by changing the ATF Z1 about every 10k miles. Never towed. AT slipped like crazy by 70K. Used more oil, spent more time in maintenance, but AT failed anyway. Maybe would have failed much sooner with recommended 30-45K changes, but too late now. It's oil under the bridge.
I guess these AT's are just bad. Better luck with any other brand.

 

[pbm]

Originally Posted By: Big Jim
Originally Posted By: PT1
Originally Posted By: EricF
I guess so, but if i were a honda owner.. I'd be getting a new transmission when the whole ordeal was over.


Uh there is no such thing as a "silent recall" as most are listed with NHTSA and can be found on their website along with other automotive data sites. What you probably mean is a TSB (technical service bulletin) with an in field fix for the issue.

If it were my car, I would want a new transmission with the extra line installed.


I don't know what you would call it if you would not call it a "silent warranty". Perhaps you could call them "goodwill repairs". I was a Honda service adviser during some of this extremely high transmission failure. When a customer raised a fuse over transmission failure on Accords, Oddyseys, and even CRVs, the factory stepped up. They went out of their way to keep the problem "silent" or at least "under the radar". One Oddysey I particularly remember had around 120,000 miles on it. Sounds like a "silent recall" to me. Perhaps it should not be called that since "silent recalls are illegal. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck . . .

That experience taught me that Honda's quality reputation is highly over rated. At some point this will all catch up to them. Judging from current sales, maybe it has started to.



I agree. The problems with Honda are kept quiet and many unsuspecting buyers are surprised to learn they have a tranny problem. Honda built their reputation in the 80's and early 90's but are losing it since approx. 1998. The automobile magazines still praise Honda and list them as "Best Used Car Buys" but most owners know that they aren't what they used to be. Just go to carcomplaints.com and see that from 1998 forward there are numerous complaints on Accords, Civics and Odysseys A/T's.
Failure to fix leaky gaskets killed GM's reputation and A/T problems will kill Hondas,IMO.

 

[typ901]

UPDATE!

So, after my original posting, my alternator died while on a business trip. I managed to buy a new battery at WalMart, and picked up a Duralast alternator from Autozone. The alternator had enough life in it coupled with the new battery to get me home.

I installed the alternator today and guess what...the transmission now shifts fine- No Joke! I duplicated every situation that had caused slippage before and it shifted fine. Much quicker and more crisp. Guess this means I should replace the alternator every 50k?

 

[CharBaby]

Originally Posted By: typ901
UPDATE!

So, after my original posting, my alternator died while on a business trip. I managed to buy a new battery at WalMart, and picked up a Duralast alternator from Autozone. The alternator had enough life in it coupled with the new battery to get me home.

I installed the alternator today and guess what...the transmission now shifts fine- No Joke! I duplicated every situation that had caused slippage before and it shifted fine. Much quicker and more crisp. Guess this means I should replace the alternator every 50k?


No, it means that when you dissconnected the battery and replaced with a new battery, the ECM/PCM went through a new learning cycle. Appearently, this was something that was needed earlier in the life of the car.

 

[unDummy]

Relearn should be performed for every owner change and any ATF service. The simplest method is a battery disconnect(which IMO should be mandatory). The more complex method is to reset the TAPs and follow the 'learn' procedure for your specific vehicle(mandatory after ANY powertrain repair).

The other issue is if the voltage fluctuated enough to cause problems with the ECU. Can you imagine how frustrating it is to 'adapt' when voltage is varying between 12-16v all the time?

I would think that some of the issue was from corrosion caused resistance at the battery and alternator terminals/harness/cables/clamps.

 

[caravanmike]

wow the only time i have heard of voltage effecting transmission performance is in allison's world transmissions. if they get below 11-12 volts they will go into limp mode. but it does make sense being an electronic transmission!

so you could have been at 10-11 volts over an extended amount of time and not known it! mike

 

[The Critic]

I've heard of erratic transmission performance on Saturns when the alternators were failing. From what I remember, the failing alternator caused the onboard computer to not function properly, which resulted in all sorts of strange problems, which sometimes included transmission issues.

 

[PT1]

Originally Posted By: Big Jim
Originally Posted By: PT1
Originally Posted By: EricF
I guess so, but if i were a honda owner.. I'd be getting a new transmission when the whole ordeal was over.


Uh there is no such thing as a "silent recall" as most are listed with NHTSA and can be found on their website along with other automotive data sites. What you probably mean is a TSB (technical service bulletin) with an in field fix for the issue.

If it were my car, I would want a new transmission with the extra line installed.


I don't know what you would call it if you would not call it a "silent warranty". particularly remember had around 120,000 miles on it. Sounds like a "silent recall" to me. Perhaps it should not be called that since "silent recalls are illegal.



Most manufacturers do goodwill repairs out of warranty for TSB issues. There are no silent recalls. There are TSB's and recalls both are very different and based on the number of failures and safety hazzards etc. Both are public information. When a manufacturer does a goodwill repair the part supplier usually agrees to pay a certain amount of them to ease customer badwill and keep the contract on the part or assembly.

 

[ionbeam22]

Originally Posted By: PT1
When a manufacturer does a goodwill repair the part supplier usually agrees to pay a certain amount of them to ease customer badwill and keep the contract on the part or assembly.


Fascinating, so what are the implications given that Honda makes the transmission in house...

 

[unDummy]

Its not goodwill. We, the parts manufacturers, 'eat' warranty repairs regularly. Also we get fined when assembly lines have to shut down. Its all in the contract. Manufacturers spend enough money/time/resources battling with automakers and component suppliers, proving that parts were made to required specs, and their specs just weren't good enough. Automakers' goodwill is usually pawned off on suppliers, or they are just simply trying to avoid becoming an episode on 20/20 or 60 minutes.

 

[Big Jim]

Originally Posted By: pbm
Originally Posted By: Big Jim
Originally Posted By: PT1
Originally Posted By: EricF
I guess so, but if i were a honda owner.. I'd be getting a new transmission when the whole ordeal was over.


Uh there is no such thing as a "silent recall" as most are listed with NHTSA and can be found on their website along with other automotive data sites. What you probably mean is a TSB (technical service bulletin) with an in field fix for the issue.

If it were my car, I would want a new transmission with the extra line installed.


I don't know what you would call it if you would not call it a "silent warranty". Perhaps you could call them "goodwill repairs". I was a Honda service adviser during some of this extremely high transmission failure. When a customer raised a fuse over transmission failure on Accords, Oddyseys, and even CRVs, the factory stepped up. They went out of their way to keep the problem "silent" or at least "under the radar". One Oddysey I particularly remember had around 120,000 miles on it. Sounds like a "silent recall" to me. Perhaps it should not be called that since "silent recalls are illegal. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck . . .

That experience taught me that Honda's quality reputation is highly over rated. At some point this will all catch up to them. Judging from current sales, maybe it has started to.



I agree. The problems with Honda are kept quiet and many unsuspecting buyers are surprised to learn they have a tranny problem. Honda built their reputation in the 80's and early 90's but are losing it since approx. 1998. The automobile magazines still praise Honda and list them as "Best Used Car Buys" but most owners know that they aren't what they used to be. Just go to carcomplaints.com and see that from 1998 forward there are numerous complaints on Accords, Civics and Odysseys A/T's.
Failure to fix leaky gaskets killed GM's reputation and A/T problems will kill Hondas,IMO.


One of those magazines is so biased toward Honda that their alternative name is "Honda Trend".

 

[FZ1]

Your best call is to just continue changing the atf using Honda ATF only. You not may have to do a thing for 2 years. My 02 V6 is o.k. at 108k. I have the Honda dealer do all the maintenance,including oil and fluid changes,and annual inspections. I have the ATF changed every 2-3 years or 20k. If you are a good customer,I think the dealer is more likely to help you with rebuilt tranny,if necessary.

 

[JHZR2]

It doesnt suprise me that the AT is slipping. The accord the inlaws have down in the VI destroyed its AT at 36k. Their camry (same age within a year) has 81k and is going strong - and it is a V6 vice the accord's 4, so less power going through the accord AT to begin with...

 

[millerbl00]

A person is luckly to get Honda do do anything after 36k miles. I had only 8k miles on mine and they would not honor the warrenty. My first and last Honda!

 

[Ramblin Fever]

Low voltage causing transmission issues is actually a very common problem with GM transmissions too.

It's very known for an Isuzu truck (which holds a GM auto transmission) that's only supplying 13v or less to have that tranny go into limp mode as a safety.

I ALWAYS recommend to someone who's having a transmission issue to have their volt's checked; nearly all new transmissions are electronically controlled so it only makes sense for them to get their utmost power from volts.