why are honda autos so trouble prone?

[demarpaint]

I remember a lot of customers coming back after I sold them a used Odyssey or V6 Accord screaming bloody murder when their transmission blew and they didn't take an extended warranty. The Odysseys seemed to go through transmissions at an alarming rate. They're big money to have a dealer replace when they do quit.

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
Honda AT's are trouble prone because Consumer Reports consistently lies about how great Honda's are. Sorry, had to get that off my chest.


My wife says basically the same thing: Honda is way over rated. I really don't see Honda on some lofty plain of reliability, that's for sure. Some parts on the van seem very "GM - ish"

 

[hypervish]

Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
I've asked that question before and got flamed. I'm suited up. They have had issues for over a decade. You would "THINK" that a good company would correct the design flaw. The 08' Oddessey my step mom has has has 3 transmissions in 105k miles.=Honda trans are JUNK.


Chrysler minivans have had transmission issues for more than a decade, and they are still experiencing issues.

Honda has at least fixed the transmission issue as of 08'.

 

[pbm]

Honda makes their A/Ts in house.
I believe they would be better off buying them from Aisin like many other makers. If I ever bought another Honda it would be a stick shift.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: sciphi
What transmissions? Like every automaker, Honda has some good transmissions and some awful ones.

Not all of them are trouble-prone. The automatics behind their 4-cylinder engines are usually okay. It's the transmissions behind the V6's that were problematic.


Funny that we're driving a 4cyl accord currently that needed a new AT at 28k miles. The Camry v6 in identical service didn't need one until nearly 90k.


Neither is good. An auto transmission should last the life of vehicle, even if that's 300-400K miles. I'd say the Honda transmission was poorly designed/built as no transmission should fail at 28K, but the Camry transmission could have failed due to a lack of fluid/filter changes. I know for a lot of the newer vehicles fluid changes aren't recommended...ever, which I think is just begging for a transmission failure....I wonder how many of these so called bad transmissions are failing due to fluid/filter change neglect...

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: sciphi
What transmissions? Like every automaker, Honda has some good transmissions and some awful ones.

Not all of them are trouble-prone. The automatics behind their 4-cylinder engines are usually okay. It's the transmissions behind the V6's that were problematic.


Funny that we're driving a 4cyl accord currently that needed a new AT at 28k miles. The Camry v6 in identical service didn't need one until nearly 90k.

So 4 cyl cars do have failures.


I'm not saying the 4 cylinder Hondas can't/don't break transmissions. They can and do. The V6 and automatic combination has been documented to go through transmissions more often than 4 cylinder cars, hence my statement.

I've heard a lot of issues with V6 Accords and Odysseys breaking transmissions, and far fewer 4 cylinder Accords and Civics eating their transmissions. For what car would be a better bet, a 4 cylinder Accord would be a better used car than a V6 Accord because the 4 cylinders have had better luck with their transmissions.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: grampi

I know for a lot of the newer vehicles fluid changes aren't recommended...ever, which I think is just begging for a transmission failure....I wonder how many of these so called bad transmissions are failing due to fluid/filter change neglect...


+1 Exactly. I have had 3 Hondas and did complete ATF exchanges with all of them every 50,000 miles. Never an issue. But that doesn't matter since this is a Honda bash thread.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: ram_man
Are all honda auto trans trouble prone? Do they all employ the same design, the manual transaxle design? What makes them so weak? From a design aspect to me it looks like this style of auto would be pretty trouble free.....but I guess not?


Troll baby troll....

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2

Funny that we're driving a 4cyl accord currently that needed a new AT at 28k miles. The Camry v6 in identical service didn't need one until nearly 90k.

So 4 cyl cars do have failures.


Yeah but usually those people who have multiple brand transmission failures aren't very good drivers and abuse the units. Then blame the automaker.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: ram_man
I am not really talking about the cars or when they were good ect..... I just want to know why honda transaxles are trouble prone? And which honda transaxles aren't trouble prone? Like my 05 civic how are those?


Just change the ATF every 50k and you won't have any issues.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

It's Honda. Just like toyota, they are perfect in every aspect and never have any failures, ever. Absolutely perfect. Anyone that buys one can drive them to 500,000 miles with no maintenance!
They did build some defective transmissions in the Accord (and related vehicles) in the 4A and 5A variety. Seems to be limited to the V6 models more than anything.

Everyone knows that Chrysler and Ford can't seem to make a reliable front drive auto - Honda made a bad bunch and no one seems to know.

I have a friend with an 05 Accord V6 ... I like the way the transmission shifts ... maybe that one isn't affected?

 

[Dave Hess]

Ram,

Your 2005 Civic has an excellent automatic trans. Change the ATF every 40K miles.

 

[rjundi]

Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
Honda AT's are trouble prone because Consumer Reports consistently lies about how great Honda's are.


They only report what they get from owners. I love the conspiracy theories about Consumer Reports.

I do however concur with other folks about Honda/Acura not being great owning three of them (Civic x 2 and Acura MDX). They are good all around but do not excel in any one single area. Most vehicles have some wonderful aspects along with shortcomings. Honda is just decent overall but not great. That being said what vehicle is great out there???

I did encounter a transmission nag with my 5speed auto MDX. Two weeks after taking ownership(82k miles) I noticed vibration shifting 25-40MPH area. Annoying. I ask dealer and they knew about it the issue but no fix and especially out of warranty (ends at 70k). Finally in December a software fix with extension on warranty on torque convertor till 105,000 miles they updated transmission programming and changed fluid in mine free. It shifts perfectly now but lost around 1mpg in the process as it simply lets the motor rev a bit higher for shifts(no more sub 1500 rpm shifting).

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: ram_man
I am not really talking about the cars or when they were good ect..... I just want to know why honda transaxles are trouble prone? And which honda transaxles aren't trouble prone? Like my 05 civic how are those?


Just change the ATF every 50k and you won't have any issues.


It's amazing how many people think that transmission fluid never goes bad. They couldn't be more wrong. In fact, I believe these manufacturers that have gone to these sealed transmissions with this supposed good-for-lifetime fluid do so because they WANT the transmission to fail. Why would they make a transmission that would last the life of the vehicle when they can make one that fails in 100K or less? This way they get more money from you either by you having to pay to have the transmission repaired/replaced, or by you buying a new vehicle. I change my fluid every 30K or less and I've never had a transmission failure in ANY vehicle I've owned, with the exception of a '66 Chevy Bel-Air...it failed at 309K, which to me is acceptable...

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
Honda AT's are trouble prone because Consumer Reports consistently lies about how great Honda's are.


They only report what they get from owners. I love the conspiracy theories about Consumer Reports.

I do however concur with other folks about Honda/Acura not being great owning three of them (Civic x 2 and Acura MDX). They are good all around but do not excel in any one single area. Most vehicles have some wonderful aspects along with shortcomings. Honda is just decent overall but not great. That being said what vehicle is great out there???

I did encounter a transmission nag with my 5speed auto MDX. Two weeks after taking ownership(82k miles) I noticed vibration shifting 25-40MPH area. Annoying. I ask dealer and they knew about it the issue but no fix and especially out of warranty (ends at 70k). Finally in December a software fix with extension on warranty on torque convertor till 105,000 miles they updated transmission programming and changed fluid in mine free. It shifts perfectly now but lost around 1mpg in the process as it simply lets the motor rev a bit higher for shifts(no more sub 1500 rpm shifting).


NOT ALL of them are bad. Just a specific few 4AT and 5AT models.



Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: ram_man
I am not really talking about the cars or when they were good ect..... I just want to know why honda transaxles are trouble prone? And which honda transaxles aren't trouble prone? Like my 05 civic how are those?


Just change the ATF every 50k and you won't have any issues.


It's amazing how many people think that transmission fluid never goes bad. They couldn't be more wrong. In fact, I believe these manufacturers that have gone to these sealed transmissions with this supposed good-for-lifetime fluid do so because they WANT the transmission to fail. Why would they make a transmission that would last the life of the vehicle when they can make one that fails in 100K or less? This way they get more money from you either by you having to pay to have the transmission repaired/replaced, or by you buying a new vehicle. I change my fluid every 30K or less and I've never had a transmission failure in ANY vehicle I've owned, with the exception of a '66 Chevy Bel-Air...it failed at 309K, which to me is acceptable...


Frequent fluid changes and a big cooler does wonders!

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
Honda AT's are trouble prone because Consumer Reports consistently lies about how great Honda's are. Sorry, had to get that off my chest.


I just checked the Consumer Reports website.

They break down reliability on used cars by major components, according to reliability reports from their readers.

The oldest year they have reliability reports for on the Accord is 2003. The 2003 and 2004 Accord both are rated "poor" for transmission reliability, showing that quite a few readers have reported major transmission problems. "Poor" is their lowest reliability rating. The later years have significantly better transmission ratings. Certain years of Odysseys are also rated "poor" or just "fair" for transmission reliability.

That seems to jive with what people here are saying about the years that changes were made to improve the Accord's transmission.

So, there doesn't seem to be a CR conspiracy in this case to cover up anything. Readers have reported problems with those Honda transmissions, and CR has warned prospective used-car buyers by rating the transmissions in those years as having "poor" or only "fair" reliability.

I don't own any Hondas, and I never have, but I have researched them as possible used car purchases. I agree with most of the posts here. Some years/models/engine and transmission combos of have significant AT problems, but other years/models don't seem to suffer the same problems. Do your research on any models you're considering, and you should be able to avoid the common problems.


Here's the Accord reliability info to show what I'm talking about. Note the black dots under the 2003 and 2004 for transmission reliability. That means "poor":

 

[SwampSurvivor]

What does the half red mean?

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
What does the half red mean?


All red = excellent
Half red = very good
white = good
Half black = fair
All black = poor

 

[ram_man]

Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: grampi

I know for a lot of the newer vehicles fluid changes aren't recommended...ever, which I think is just begging for a transmission failure....I wonder how many of these so called bad transmissions are failing due to fluid/filter change neglect...


+1 Exactly. I have had 3 Hondas and did complete ATF exchanges with all of them every 50,000 miles. Never an issue. But that doesn't matter since this is a Honda bash thread.


I hope everyone knows that I actually really like honda and am not bashing them. I do know they have some trouble with the slush boxes I was just wondering why since the design seems pretty intelligent. Also all if their transmissions are built like manuals right? Something most companies do not do.

 

[yesthatsteve]

Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: ram_man
I am not really talking about the cars or when they were good ect..... I just want to know why honda transaxles are trouble prone? And which honda transaxles aren't trouble prone? Like my 05 civic how are those?


Just change the ATF every 50k and you won't have any issues.


Except when it fails at less than 50k, like my Ody did once.