trillobite
Active Member
So, some of you probably already know that I recently bought a 98 Accord LX 4spd Automatic 4cyl Vtech a few days ago, AND I LOVE IT! Anyways, being a used car (250k miles), I have a few questions, as I am completely new to this kind of a car.
First of all, I am under the impression that my transmission is going, which is not unusual for this model, and the mileage which is on it. But, I want to be sure that I am not incorrectly diagnosing a problem, and assuming the worst, so here are the symptoms:
- I can hear a whine, that you will only notice if you knew to listen for it, while driving up to 25MPH. But, I read in some places that Honda transmissions may whine a little bit at low speeds normally. I simply don't know if this is normal, and personally, I don't think it is.
- Going from 1st to 2nd seems to be a difficult shift for this car, as there is quite a long delay where the car feels almost like it is in Neutral until it hits 2nd gear 1 to 2 seconds later. If I give the car too much gas, it will never make it into 2nd gear.
- All shifts are smooth, and it has never given me a hard shift, which makes me wonder what exactly is going on. The shifts are also quicker after the transmission is fully warmed up after 30min of driving, but 1st to 2nd is always a bit difficult for this car.
- Transmission fluid is like a reddish orange, still very translucent, smells a little rich, maybe a little burnt, can't really tell if that's abnormal either.
I took my Accord to a trans shop today after my Honda ATF arrived, and I couldn't find somewhere flat to work on it... (crazy, I know). All I wanted was for them to do a fluid change with the ATF I purchased, and they simply said, "Were not touching that car, it has too many miles on it." WHAT THE ****! really? They said that if they did it, it could make the problems worse. So honestly, could a simple fluid change, not a flush, make the problem worse?
Finally, after all these questions, if my trans is on it's way out (and I think it is), is there anything I can do to make it limp along for a while?
Thanks in advance to anyone who responds to this long post.
First of all, I am under the impression that my transmission is going, which is not unusual for this model, and the mileage which is on it. But, I want to be sure that I am not incorrectly diagnosing a problem, and assuming the worst, so here are the symptoms:
- I can hear a whine, that you will only notice if you knew to listen for it, while driving up to 25MPH. But, I read in some places that Honda transmissions may whine a little bit at low speeds normally. I simply don't know if this is normal, and personally, I don't think it is.
- Going from 1st to 2nd seems to be a difficult shift for this car, as there is quite a long delay where the car feels almost like it is in Neutral until it hits 2nd gear 1 to 2 seconds later. If I give the car too much gas, it will never make it into 2nd gear.
- All shifts are smooth, and it has never given me a hard shift, which makes me wonder what exactly is going on. The shifts are also quicker after the transmission is fully warmed up after 30min of driving, but 1st to 2nd is always a bit difficult for this car.
- Transmission fluid is like a reddish orange, still very translucent, smells a little rich, maybe a little burnt, can't really tell if that's abnormal either.
I took my Accord to a trans shop today after my Honda ATF arrived, and I couldn't find somewhere flat to work on it... (crazy, I know). All I wanted was for them to do a fluid change with the ATF I purchased, and they simply said, "Were not touching that car, it has too many miles on it." WHAT THE ****! really? They said that if they did it, it could make the problems worse. So honestly, could a simple fluid change, not a flush, make the problem worse?
Finally, after all these questions, if my trans is on it's way out (and I think it is), is there anything I can do to make it limp along for a while?
Thanks in advance to anyone who responds to this long post.

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