Signs of Honda transmission failure? 2003 Accord

[OVERKILL]

Same car with the stereo/climate control light issue. The car doesn't downshift when slowing down a lot of the time now. And sometimes doesn't do it or stutters then drops and goes when prompting a down-shift via heavy acceleration.

Car has always been dealer-maintained. Has ~130,000Km on it (~80,000 miles).

She is thinking of trading it in for a CR-V soon... And this issue is likely going to make that happen sooner than later.

Is this one of the "signs" of the tranny beginning to fail or is it just in need of some maintenance that the dealer hasn't performed?

 

[barlowc]

How often have you had the transmission fluid drained/filled following the Honda procedure?

 

[OVERKILL]

No clue. Not my car. Belongs to my good friend's mom. As I said in the OP, all the maintenance was done at the dealer.... So I would ASSUME they would have done it when it was supposed to be done.... Perhaps that is asking too much?

 

[rclint]

OVERK1LL I can tell you from first hand experience that is the beginning of transmission problems.. I have an 02 and the same exact problems started just like your describing, however it also seems that bad motor mounts seem to be involved in this as well. The back mount has a vacuum dampener of some sort, the others do not, still even if it does have a bad motor mount the transmission is probably as bad as well, called second gear shudder etc..

 

[Jared H]

I'd get on one of the Honda specific forums ... sounds like pressure sensor switch or another fairly inexpensive fix ... I'd guess ~$200 in parts if done yourself. I know I've read about this before and it will run $400 - $600 if done at a competant dealer. I am assuming you've got a blinking 'D' on the shift indicator when this is going on ... ?

 

[Solo2driver]

Originally Posted By: Jared H
I'd get on one of the Honda specific forums ... sounds like pressure sensor switch or another fairly inexpensive fix ... I'd guess ~$200 in parts if done yourself. I know I've read about this before and it will run $400 - $600 if done at a competant dealer. I am assuming you've got a blinking 'D' on the shift indicator when this is going on ... ?


I agree, I have heard of this also on the Accords. Time for some "light reading".

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Jared H
I'd get on one of the Honda specific forums ... sounds like pressure sensor switch or another fairly inexpensive fix ... I'd guess ~$200 in parts if done yourself. I know I've read about this before and it will run $400 - $600 if done at a competant dealer. I am assuming you've got a blinking 'D' on the shift indicator when this is going on ... ?


Nothing from the car telling anything as far as I've been told.

 

[crazyoildude]

those honda transmissions are not the greatest by any means i heard a trans guy say the chrysler trans is sometimes better than those
Honda is not what it used to be

 

[Vizzy]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude

Honda is not what it used to be


I know I spend about 25 years working for Honda stores from 1983- 2002.....Things really started to go down hill about 97 or so.

 

[The Critic]

Try a fluid change first. The Honda units are very sensitive to fluid quality.

Friend's 09 Fit was exhibiting signs of clunking, slamming into gear, flaring, etc at 35k. One drain and refill cured most of those problems. Loading the latest software onto the ECU fixed the rest.

 

[Market525]

Is your friend's Accord the 3.0L V6 or the 2.4L 4-cylinder engine?

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Market525
Is your friend's Accord the 3.0L V6 or the 2.4L 4-cylinder engine?


It is the V6.

 

[Schmoe]

The 03 is the first production year on the 7th gens. They had KNOWN problems from gears overheating. There was a factory recall to add a AT fluid injection system. Check to see if that car had that performed. There also has been a problem with a particular sensor on some of the AT's, not all and not all across the board. The 7th gen transmissions have been great since the first production run, rarely any problems. The AT problems with the 6th gens were the actual gears themselves and how they were made by a subcontractor. Also on your problem with the radio/HVAC head, there was a recall or a service bulletin put out on that as well.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: Schmoe
The 03 is the first production year on the 7th gens. They had KNOWN problems from gears overheating. There was a factory recall to add a AT fluid injection system. Check to see if that car had that performed.


Only for the V6.

 

[HondDiy2sve]

The symptoms of impending transmission failure are varied in these transmissions. The normal dealer service interval for transmission fluid replacement is usually way to long and it depends heavily on the driving conditions.

Wipe the transmission dipstick on a white tissue and see if the fluid colour is like old engine oil or darker (worse). If it’s fairly reddish then replacing the oil may not help but it's still worth a try with a quick 1 drop oil change. If it's dark then replace it ASAP. Warning! The dealer will “usually” replace around 1/3 of the oil only unless you do it yourself or request a full fluid change.

It is a PITA that these transmissions may not throw a code until it’s too late. As others on here have suggested there is also a reported problem with 3rd and 4th gear pressure switches getting sluggish or out of tolerance with age and heat, these are easily replaced. A recent check I did with some of the dealer part centres revealed that these sensors we are being replaced quite often. The symptoms can range from delayed or hard downshifts to sluggish shifting and others, just something to think about or try and a pretty easy DIY if you have the resources.

It all depends on how long they plan to keep it and how much they want to spend to try a few less expensive repairs with no guarantees it will fix it. The oil would be the first place to start.

 

[Schmoe]

Oh, on the V6 AT's, there is a replaceable filter. You might want to drop the fluid and replace the filter with that many miles on it. It's something you can do yourself, dealership will absolutely $crew you on it.