Solving Honda Transmission Problems
By Geoff Sperring
Honda, a company with a reputation for making excellent vehicles, has had to face numerous unhappy customers because of the unprecedented number of automatic transmission failures that have occurred on vehicles with four- and five-speed transmissions. This problem led to several recalls and also affected Acura models.
The recalls included over a million vehicles in 2004 for problems with the torque converter, while in 2011 nearly 1.5 million vehicles were recalled for software problems that could cause secondary shaft damage when the transmission selector was moved between reverse and drive.
Details of Failures
There have been several problems, including:
- Failure of the torque converter lock-up clutch
- Failure of the third gear clutch pack
- Overheating of second gear
- Failure of the secondary shaft.
Affected models include 2005-2010 Accord, CRV, and Element models, and 1994-2004 Civic, Odyssey, and Acura cars, SUVs, and vans.
What to Watch Out For?
Owners of Honda and Acura vehicles should look out for anything unusual in the way the transmission behaves.
It's important that the transmissions are serviced regularly in accordance with the owner's manual by service centers that know and understand Honda transmissions. It's essential that the correct Honda oil is used as these transmissions are different from other automatic transmissions and the use of conventional transmission oil will lead to gearbox failure.
Look out for any unusual symptoms such as:
- Abnormally high revs needed to get the car moving
- Thumps, clunks, or other strange noises
- Engine revving when changing gear
- Engine check light comes on
- P0740 trouble codes
If you experience these symptoms, take the car to a transmission center like Willow Creek Transmissions in Cades, South Carolina. Don't be tempted to leave it and see what happens, all that you will do is increase the chance of further damage.
What can be Done about These Failures?
Honda transmission failures have been well documented; in most cases a straight rebuild to factory specification is not the answer as many cars involved in earlier recalls subsequently suffered transmission failure.
The answer is to the upgrade the weak components when rebuilding the transmission. Note was taken of design changes Honda made in newer transmissions and these were retrospectively applied by transmission rebuilders. Tried and tested solutions were engineered to overcome these defects, including the use of high-quality clutch materials, oil flow modifications, and improved hydraulic valves; the resulting rebuilt transmissions are stronger and better than the original OEM transmissions.
Where to Go
Willow Creek Transmissions draws on the accumulated knowledge in industry to ensure that their rebuilt transmissions are durable and long lasting. They will service, repair, or rebuild your transmission, and offer a 2-year unlimited mileage warranty. If visiting them is not an option, they will ship a new transmission to you along with installation instructions, and a special low-cost installation package can be purchased with the transmission. Rebuilt transmissions are available for Accord, Civic, CRV, MDX, Element, Odyssey, and Acura models.