6th gen noob!

juicebox00 · Mar 26, 2009

Idk what your problem is but you picked up the car for a hell of a deal and you should do the 5spd tranny swap. should cost around $2500

toast · Mar 26, 2009

Haha, there is no way im going to sink another $2500 into it! If I can do it for around $500 I might, 1000 tops. Otherwise, I'll just throw in another slushbox when this one pukes. All my extra $ always seems to go towards my Jeeps

JMillerUA6 · Mar 26, 2009

Just pick up a used auto tranny and either install it yourself or have someone do it for you. Should be pretty cheap.

pinkee334 · Mar 26, 2009

Welcome to the forum, sorry about your tranny...get it checked out ASAP!!

<<< is your best friend here

99F23VTech · Mar 26, 2009

toast said:
Boy I hope your right! A quick update...I have driven about 200 miles on the Amsoil ATF now. The 2nd to 1st gear clunk is almost eniterly gone, although you still need to wait for it. The wait is about half what it was with the filthy Z-1. Today was 30 degrees when I fired her up, and it did not shift out of first gear again Hopefully it is a sticky solenoid issue, because the tranny shifts perfectly fine other than the "clunk" at a stop. I cant believe that its heat related if after only a mile or so you can turn it off, and restart it with no further shifting issues.

Thats exactly what my wifes tranny did on her old Taurus she had, it was like a 59$ part that was not so simple to replace since i had to drop the trans, but it fixed it, get it check out and see. It may be something simple as that... but yeah, and like others have said a used auto trans is another option if it is not the solenoid...

danvar · Mar 26, 2009

toast said:
Hello everyone! I just picked up a 2000 Accord EX (2.3 Vtec) with 164k that has tranny issues.

When its cold the transmission will not shift out of 1st gear, until till the CEL came on, and the D4 was blinking. It would then go into limp mode-what seemed like 3rd gear, way too weak. If you put the shifter in #1 manually, it would engage (little rough), but you could at least accelerate. About a half mile down the road, you can pull over, turn it off, and restart. The CEL remains (shift malfunction P0780), but the tranny stays out of limp mode. Upshifts/downshifts fine until you go from 2nd to 1st at a stop. Once stopped for half to one and a half second later, there is a significant jolt in the tranny. I assume this is going into actual first gear, if you dont wait for the clunk after a stop, it makes a hell of a racket, until a gear engages roughly.

That was yesterday. Today I drained/refilled the ATF with Amsoil synthetic ATF, and it shifted fine when cold -twice, but you still have to wait for the clunk (although noticeably better now) at a complete stop.

What is this clunk, and is it leading to catastrophic failure?? Im going to drive it for a week and flush the ATF again, but hopefully it will buy me some time! Here are some pics

Hey sorry to hear about your transmission. Coincidentially I have been having the same problems as you this past week ( That big clunk from 2nd to 1st). At first I thought it was just a bad sensor or something so I decided to go to a friends Transmission shop, which is the best around my area.

He explained that BAXA transmissions have this problem. It starts with that particular clunk and within some time it will just not grab at all and stay in Neutral. He suggested I fixed it as soon as possible as this will damage all motor and transmission mounts with time. Mind this guy is like a brother and he is not trying to sell me anything.

In other words.... yes... your transmission is starting to kick the bucket.

PS: BAXA is a code used to identify exactly what transmission you have. There are B6AV, M6HA, BAXA, MDWA and MAXA types. Your code can be found in a sticker on the upper side of the transmission. More or less under the distributor. That´s if you´re still has the sticker.

toast · Mar 27, 2009

danvar said:
Hey sorry to hear about your transmission. Coincidentially I have been having the same problems as you this past week ( That big clunk from 2nd to 1st). At first I thought it was just a bad sensor or something so I decided to go to a friends Transmission shop, which is the best around my area.

He explained that BAXA transmissions have this problem. It starts with that particular clunk and within some time it will just not grab at all and stay in Neutral. He suggested I fixed it as soon as possible as this will damage all motor and transmission mounts with time. Mind this guy is like a brother and he is not trying to sell me anything.

In other words.... yes... your transmission is starting to kick the bucket.

PS: BAXA is a code used to identify exactly what transmission you have. There are B6AV, M6HA, BAXA, MDWA and MAXA types. Your code can be found in a sticker on the upper side of the transmission. More or less under the distributor. That´s if you´re still has the sticker.

Thanks Danvar! Thats good information! Does your tranny not shift out of first when cold? I tried an experiment today letting the engine warm up to almost operating temp, and mine shifted out of first just fine, so its looking more like I may two separate issues, one being a sticky shift solenoid.

Does Anyone have a simple diagram as to what the solenoids should be at in what gear? Are there any aftermarket transmission controllers that have the actual gear status like this one? I would like one a little fancier though!

danvar · Mar 30, 2009

When cold it would really make an effort before shifting from 1st to 2nd. Warmed up it would shift normally while driving, but when slowing down and finally coming to a stop the 2nd to 1st change you would get a good kick.