I have a 1997 automatic Honda Accord. It shifts kind of roughly especially when i slow down. Any suggestions?

 

service transmission and go from there. ( new filter and fluid ).

 

ehhhh new filter. Tranmission flush not just fluid and filter from the pan. I have seen transmissions that should have been junked come back to life with complete fluid exchanges time and time again, don't know why honestly but if a complete fluid exchange doesn't work for you, your tranny is shot. It costs around $80-100 and dropping the pan is not necessary. I have dropped a few hundred pans and only 2 actually needed it.

Try the tranny flush. aka t-tech

 

The filter for a Honda is interally mounted and not servicable without removing transmission and disassembling complete. If the vehicle is engaging hard with no codes I would suspect the spring in the valvebody is broken, this is a fairly common on the Honda's. To replace this spring the transmission has to be drained, removed and torn down to access the valvebody. I would also suggest refilling with Honda ATF only. I have experimented with other fluids.

Fluid changes are great mainenance but will rarely fix actual problems.

Jeff

 

If the true tranny flush doesnt fix it, my money would fall on the valve body also.

 

Check modulator valve. (This is just my opinion.) http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBr...3d801421a3.jsp

 

I don't know too much about trannys but mine was shifting hard...I mean hard...and it was slipping at low speeds so I bought a $10 bottle of Lucas No-Slip Transmission....Its like mollases because its so thick but it helps tranmissions stop slipping, eases shifting, and lubs and looses the bands and servos.

 

If you can't afford to take it to a Honda dealer for the needed repairs, then consider taking it to a transmission shop, or repair shop that specializes in Japan automobiles.

A transmission service is a good start, because it will show the condition the transmission is in, by how much material, and metal is in the transmission pan. It is unfortunate, but they have not yet developed an MRI big enough to view what's going on inside transmissions, so sometimes it is required to tear them down on the bench for a valid estimate, and rebuild them completely.

My suggestion to you is, if the car is worth it, have it fixed. If the car is getting to where it is going to need other repairs as well (shocks, brakes, tires, exhaust, etc.), you might be better off seeking a good deal on a newer car, and dealing with a monthly payment instead of the constant in & out of repair shops for (this, and then that) who knows what next, then (nickel and dimeing) you to death, along with the added inconvenience of being without transportation.

Consider how long you will have to drive this automobile after sinking possibly 1500.00 dollars into it, for just one major mechanical component, and how long you may have to keep it before you get an acceptable return on your investment.

Consider also, that it is depreciating in value every month, as a resale automobile. Many people forget to consider that even though that vehicle is only driven to church on Sundays, it is still subject to market depreciation (Kelly's bluebook) sometimes hundreds of dollars a month.

It just maybe a better choice, while it can still move under it's own power, to sell or trade now, because once it dies and is towed into a service provider, or dealership, you ability to bargain, and swaggle a good deal is gone.

There is a market for that automobile, you can see them being purchased, and towed in a line on the highways, destined for Mexico. These autos are wholesaled by dealerships constantly, for resale in Mexico

Goodluck, at whatever you choose to do.

 

This is my first time replying on this web sight but I have a 88 Honda acord that just died. The shifting was realy hard and wouldn't go into 4th or 5th and barley went in to 3ed. Weve been driving in third geer for about 6 months. My husband got about three blocks down the street tonight and "somthing snaped" he said, and now it wont go into any geer. When we bought it it was 5 years old. We dont have the money to repair it so it looks like we got to junk it. We had this car for 10 years. I think it will cost too much to repair, my son wants to keep it for his first car, we had that same car since he was born. Needless to say he is attached to it. Anyone have any suggestions that or junk it, its our only car so any suggestions are welcome. It needs alot of work.

 

Dear, Thunderbird

It may be a cold hard lesson to learn, but the truth is, that emotional attachment to vehicles is a lesson I wished I had learned how to handle when I was younger. It would have probably saved me thousands of dollars.

This emotional attachment, is the key to new car sales. When you get into looking at a dealership, and the salesman wines and dines you with ("can I get you a soda, coffee, popcorn?"), (or "let me pull this car you like around so you can drive it") to the point you find it hard, to even think about leaving, (because you've cause him/her so much trouble) or because you have found the car of your dreams, BINGO you're ripe for the picking. You see they have a goal to try, and taylor a car/payment package that will fit your believed budget. Some salesman will even go so far as to tell you, after finding out how much you earn, what you should budget for a monthly payment. Then after you leave, all the sales people gather and discuss who you were, and how much you make. I know, I've been a dealership employee for years. The tools those sales people use to get info from you, are endless. They are slow and sneaky while letting you talk all you want, listening and learning as much as they can about you, you're wants in a new car, and your income resources. The new car dealers practice at this, and do very well indeed. They first are very friendly, all the while asking key questions to aquire where your at in income availability, (they don't want to lead you to a product possibly to high for your income/resources, that would waste their time) your emotional wants, and needs so they can get you into a vehicle that will not only please your senses, but also maximize their profit margin. You have to be willing, after the test drive, t o give them back the keys, and after first offer they make to you, to get up and leave the keys on the desk with the salesman. Just try it, and say you will think about it, maybe overnight or for a week or so. This really gets the wheels of deals spining, because they don't want you to leave and/or fall in love with another vehicle, at another dealership, with another salesman. You have to watch out for traps like, "if I get my sales manager to go along with your offer, will you inital/sign here that you will buy today?" Thats a big one, because no one likes to give their word, and then say no I changed my mind. They also deliberately make you feel, that they are doing a lot of work for you, to get you into a new car that you like, to the point they they make it hard for you, to just get up and leave, because you already are so emotionally drained, and you don't want to have to go through it all again at another time or another dealership. Your son would benefit greatly from being with you in all aspects of a new car/used purchase, so when he grows up, he knows how to respond to this very high pressured emotional draining experience, along with seeing the style of tactics used at many of these large mega dealerships. You have to pay attention to everyword, or responce coming out of that salespersons mouth. The "I think we cans" "maybe's" "should be no problem" "we'll work it out's" "I think its warrantied" "we can have it added on through the aftermarket sector" Thats a big one, because then who is goingto warranty it, when it goes bad? It opens up, a big can of worms if the installation by another shop doesn't do well at installing, or the product such a a Radio/subwoofer or sunroof isn't working the way it should a few weeks after you get it home. etc.

The cold hard truth is, a car is a tool to get you from points A to B to C, on a regular basis, and it depends on how much you are willing to pay for style, added creature comforts, insurance, and maintance/repairs to get there. I once had a salesman in the Porsche dealer I worked at, put it this way. "Decide how much money, you are willing to lose." Cars are for the most part, are loses. They depreciate, the very minute to sign on the dotted line, for it to become your property, because the warranty clock starts ticking. Added depreciation comes when you drive it off the new car lot, with every roll of the odometer. That fact is, its new until you sign, then it becomes a used vehicle immediately in the eyes of the manufacturer, insurance companies, resale lots, or anyone that would purchase it from you.

Now getting back to the Honda your son is so fond of. If you can afford it, buy another car, and try and find someone to fix your old one. Used transmissions can be found from totalled vehicles on the internet. It can be very satisfying to our children, espsically our sons who want to be a mechanic someday, to have a vehicle that has been in the family for years. If, though he shows no interest in mechanical do it yourself, learning to fix and repair old cars, you may consider breaking him in early about becoming attached to these modern day horses, that sap many hours of our hard earned cash, out of our wallets.

I hope I have helped.

 

Dear dgibson969,

Thank you, that was very healpfull. When we bought the Honda we bought it from a previous owner who took real good care of it which probably is why it lasted so long. After buying the car we were just starting our family and as our family grew the income was streched thiner and thiner. So over the years alot of things on the car were over looked because of cash flow, me being a full time stay at home mom.
My husband and I not to long ago were shoping at a local store where there was a car dealership in the same parking lot. We thought we will just look to see the prices on some mini vans that cought our eye. So we walked over soon enough a sales guy came up and started with his pitch, I heard things like,.. ("What is your monthly price range" and "We go through over 100 lown conpanies") and (The "I think we cans" "maybe's" "should be no problem" "we'll work it out's") just like you said, but this was a used car lot. He even wanted us to talk to his manager which we just didn't have enought time to deal with. All we wanted was just the facts and price. Which we found that the 2000 Honda was $2000 to $3000 more then what the 2003 Akia mininvan. My husband was leaning towards the Akia and I wanted the Honda. (My sister has one and fell in love with all its features not to metion that I have heard that Hondas are longer lasting.) The Akia is more in our price range but I want some thing that is not going to cost us alot of money maintence wise and will take us where we want to go whether it be out of town or just running arrends around town.
Anyway back to the Honda, I don't know what we are going to do with that car. Depending on our finances and our income flow, we might have to sell it to "Pick-a-part" but we also have a 88 Nessan pick up that's just sitting in our drive way that I want to get rid of (it also dosen't work,leakes water in cab, if it starts). May be if we sell both we could get enough money to put down on a Honda minivan. But what do I know.
Thanks again for your imput and I WILL use that info for future car shopping. Any more would be helpfull.

 

Dear, Thunderbird

It sounds as if, "the modern way of life" is taking its toll on your family as well. Just think about whta it was like a hundred or so years ago, when the family was on the farm. Work was right out your door, and plenty of it. If the cows weren't milked on time, they might stop giving milk, and then your breakfast, and dinners would take a change for the worse. If you didn't plant on time, harvest, and can your goods from the garden, come winter it your meal planning would have few ingredients to work with. There would be no string beans, canned tomatoes, pickle relish, etc. Today, our lives have to be balanced towards making what we have last as long as possible, with few costly repairs, and down time.

The way you do this with our transportation today, is by never forgetting to do the little things. For instance, Tires have to be kept inflated to proper pressures, or they will wear out on the outer edges within a 100 miles. Once worn, they will not regain their correct wear pattern, and will have a shorten life span. The air filters, just leave one in your car for toolong, and see what happens. The engine starves for air, and raw fuel gets passsed down into the engine oil, which in turn causes a dilution of its lubricating properties. Usually the camshaft, lifters,and valve keepers suffer abnormal wear, and eventually several thousand miles later a tapping noise, or worse the droppping of a valve occurs in the engine.

One of the few mistakes people make when buying a new car, is keeping oil level checked at every gas up, until the engine rings are fully seated. They think, "Its a new car, it shouldn't use oil". Thats true, and many don't, but many do for the first 1,500 miles, and if the oil gets too low, the bottom oil rings on the pistons starve from oil splash within the crankcase, setting up an abnormal wear pattern, that makes your new car a oil user for the rest of its life. The factories protect themselves by saying that a car should use oil, equal one quart to 800 miles, but they are just protecting themselves from having to replace engines neglected from their new owners. Think about it, in many ways the same was true about how people back on the farm cared for their animals. The reallly good farmers, took good care of their stock, but their was always some farmers that walked the line in how they took care of the animals within their domain. The local Vets, knew the difference and if they could have talked freely without being criticized maybe everyone would have cared for their stock equally. It happens today, in the beef industry, and milk producing farms. They get weeded out eventually, but the damage is still being done day after day, by yet another person in another state, or county trying to squeeze out more profit, by being cheap at feed, or proper care.

The plain fact is, everytime you start your vehicle, it costs you money. Everytime you leave the house with not enough time to get to you destination on time, and you speed up your driving habits to compensate, it costs you money. Fast starts, fast stops, fast turns cost cost cost. The world we live in, is not the way life was intended for us humans. We were suppose to sleep in the open mossy grass, under a huge leaf, awake to a warm sun, and pick our breakfast from a huge beautiful balanced garden of fruits ,and vegtables. Well, isn't that a far cry from were we are today. The hussle and bussle of todays world takes its toll on our health, the worlds animals, and the things we use to get the job done for the day.

I know I've go way off track here, but I just want you to realize, that you have to keep your eyes focused on preventative care with your autos, as well as yourself. Read that owner manual, and think about how your car is used by you and all of your family members. Be real, know that your car is driven while you were not looking. Keep a check on that odometer. When it gets cold, tires lose pressure. So, check them going into,and throughout the cold weather patterns. The tires pressures go up when they get hot, so that is why they want them checked and balanced cold, meaning before driving any long distance. Set them a couple of pounds above what the recommended pressures are calling for, if you know they don't get checked by anyone else but you. A tire overfilled will last longer than one underinflated. Check the wear patterns of the tires. Ones that are worn in the middle, but not on the outer edges, are either overinflated, orif it is the drive tire, heavy acccelleration is wearing it. If the outer edges are worn evenly more than the center, they have been run underinflated.

Do you bac out a dusty driveway? If so, change that airfilter at 15,000 rather than the recommended 30,000 mile intervals. While backing up,the dust of your vehicle goes right into the engine compartment. More dusty backups means a filter that will struggle before it reaches 30,000 miles.

Mobile 1, can't say enough about this engine oil, use it, and use the extended version, or 15,000 mile but change it every 7,500 miles or as the factory recommends.

well, I must go