1998-2002 Accord transmission query - known issues

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mjk

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Hi,

Looking to get as much info overnight regarding the known issues with transmissions in this model. To start out with:

a. Are there certain years within that timeframe that are more problematic than others?
b. It sounds like the v6 was more problematic than the 4cylinder -- correct?
c. What exactly was the most common issue with transmission failures?
d. Were the transmissions typically failing around 100k?

Anything else you can add, is deeply appreciated. In a bind, and need to move quickly on a vehicle.

Along these lines, was the previous model (94-97) mostly trouble free?

Thank you very much.
 
Check out driveaccord.net I'm willing to be this question has come up on there before.

I know 2003 V6 auto's had some issues (this was the 1st year of the 7th gen Accords). I don't know too much about the 6th gen's.
 
Afaik, Its a design flaw resulting in lack of lubrication to the 2/3rd gears. Results in overheating and slippage. Also Z1 isnt the best ATF out there and Honda spec'd 100k trans service intervals (what a joke btw).
 
You're correct that the V6 was more trouble-prone but the 4 cylinder BAXA units had plenty of failures too. 'Carrier bearing' failure was common regardless of whether proper maintenance was performed or the car was driven gently.
 
Going from my own experiences, I'd say the vehicle should be a pretty safe bet.

My wife had a 2000 Accord V6. We ran it to 220,000 miles with no transmission issues. That being said, I do remember hearing a few grumblings about the transmission with the V6's in that particular model on the Accord forums. We also received a letter from Honda telling us that they extended the powertrain warranty to 7 years/100,000 miles, which turned out to be a non-issue for us.

My wife also had a 92' Accord with a 4 cylinder engine. Again, we had no issues with the transmission. I also didn't hear about any problems with that model, but forums were also nonexistent when she owned that car.

I had a 2002 Acura TL-S. Those vehicles definitely had issues with their transmissions. I heard major grumblings about them in the Acura community. I also had the transmission replaced because of a shifting vibration the dealer could not fix. My friend also owned one and he had to have the transmission replaced twice.
 
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Originally Posted By: termigator
Going from my own experiences, I'd say the vehicle should be a pretty safe bet.

My wife had a 2000 Accord V6. We ran it to 220,000 miles with no transmission issues. That being said, I do remember hearing a few grumblings about the transmission with the V6's in that particular model on the Accord forums. We also received a letter from Honda telling us that they extended the powertrain warranty to 7 years/100,000 miles, which turned out to be a non-issue for us.

My wife also had a 92' Accord with a 4 cylinder engine. Again, we had no issues with the transmission. I also didn't hear about any problems with that model, but forums were also nonexistent when she owned that car.

I had a 2002 Acura TL-S. Those vehicles definitely had issues with their transmissions. I heard major grumblings about them in the Acura community. I also had the transmission replaced because of a shifting vibration the dealer could not fix. My friend also owned one and he had to have the transmission replaced twice.


I just got mine replaced by Acura in 2011 on the car in my sig. Fingers crossed lol!
 
There is a design flaw, and which wasn't quite rectified even in models 03-07, only way to keep the problem in check is frequent fluid change (never flush, just drain & fill only). This weekend I will be helping a friend of mine change Tranny fluid (w/ RL ATF D4, 3.1L) in his 2001 Acura EL (1.7L engine, Canada only model)

It helped my Odyssey, I'm hoping it gives my buddy sometime before he is ready to purchase a new car later this summer as his Tranny is really acting up!
 
i've never heard that frequent fluid changes was the cure. On this board there's been a lot of talk that frequent changes did not prevent failure. Ultimately, most of us are NOT doing recreational teardowns to peak inside before things fail, so we don't really know for sure.

There was a recall on some of the units that added an oil squirter through the dipstick hole.

i had an '02 accord 2.3L, and in that vehicle the trans was ok but was never my favorite. it wasn't a great transmission/engine combo. it exhibited a 1-2 flare for the 60,000 miles I had it that was tamed by using 1 qt of M1 universal ATF in the bath of Z1. the M1 was a little grippier and settled the flare a lot. Besides that, never had a problem.

My wife owned an odyssey, also a 2002, which had the recall done. The van was hit at near 110,000 miles and the trans never gave any signs of trouble. she is not what I'd call an aggressive driver, but she wasn't afraid to haul out in that van, either.

Finally, we have the mdx in my sig. (replaced the ody). it also had the recall done, and knock on wood has been fine.

There are good transmissions out there
 
So far the tranny on our Odyssey is holding up fine with Valvoline MaxLife ATF. We got the van at about 54K with the original Z1 tranny fluid and promptly did a complete fluid exchange (NOT a flush) with MaxLife. I had the MaxLife exchanged again (with new MaxLife) at about 90K and plan to do it again at 110K and every 20K after that. Maybe that's a bit overkill but I'm going to do what I can to keep this tranny going without failure! It does seem to shift better with the MaxLife than it did with Z1.

So to answer the OP's questions, you might want to check to see if the transmission has been running MaxLife or Amsoil ATF or some similar higher quality fluid than Z1 and for how long. If it's been running and operating properly on better fluid for say 30K miles or more, that might be a good sign.
 
Both of our transmissions are original with no problems reported. The MDX has about 92,000 miles on it now, and the CR-V has about 72,000 miles. The CR-V's transmission has never been known to be problematic, and they apparently fixed the Odyssey/MDX transmission by or in 2004, so I hope to not have issues with that one (oil jet kit not required on ours).

Running Castrol Transmax IMV in both.
 
Originally Posted By: cchase
The 03-07 is the real trouble spot with V6 Accord transmissions.


wrong wrong wrong. its 98-2002 accords, and 98-2003 odysseys, both v6's and some 4 bangers have issues.
 
Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
Originally Posted By: cchase
The 03-07 is the real trouble spot with V6 Accord transmissions.


wrong wrong wrong. its 98-2002 accords, and 98-2003 odysseys, both v6's and some 4 bangers have issues.



The single worst year for Accord V6 transmissions according to publicly available reliability data as well as overwhelming information on Honda forums is 2003, the start of the new generation of Accords. As the owner of a 2003 V6 Accord, you can believe I'm familiar with the information out there.
 
I think your both correct. Trans issues from 98-05 mostly V6's. Even some 8th gen V6's have had their trans replaced(2008). I used to have a 99 at 2.3 with 166k miles and no issues. I check driveaccord.net daily since I'm a moderator there so I'm pretty familiar with most of the issues.
 
Many 4 cylinder Accords did have transmission problems, but many did not.

The 1990-1993 and 1994-1997 Accords were less trouble prone.
 
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