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Automatic Gearbox Problems - Car Talk (2) - Nairaland

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Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by enilowo(m): 5:23pm On Aug 07, 2013
Please where can i get this gear oil in Lagos.
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by waash: 4:02am On Aug 08, 2013
car-doctor:
Honda automatic gearbox issues have become a reoccuring decimal to any Honda automatic car owner. Slow take off, sluggish acceleration, lack of kick down, loss of drive while in motion, lack of gear change, aggressive gear changes, high engine revs without power in drive just to name a few.

From my observation and the complaints made by some of our customers, these problems usually start from a gearbox oil change that was recommended by the mechanic who then uses the wrong type of ATF oil for the transmission. Honda recommends their own formila ATF-z1 for their gearboxes manufactured between 1998 to 2009 and upgraded to the ATF-Dw1 for gearboxes manufactured from 2010 upwards.

Using the wrong grade of ATF would almost certainly result in a failing transmission. Low grade ATF may not be able to handle the high temperature operations operations of a gearbox. Under very high temperatures, low grade oil loses its fluidity and may begin to boil causing loss of hydraulic functions by frothing or foaming.

Some remedies I have seen used by local mechanics is to further add engine oil to the gearbox in order to thicken the viscosity of the ATF. This in turn puts the pump under great stress as the thicker oil would require more effort from the pump in distributing the oil under high pressure as well as the oil filter which is usually embedded within the transmission gear train. (The removal and changing of all Honda transmission oil filter would require the removal of the gear box from the car and stripping down the gearbox)

The resulting consequence would be an imminent and extreme overheating of the transmission and components such as the friction plates and a rapid degradation of the wet clutch fibres hence the loss of drive, slipping clutch and rough gear changes.

Replacing the gearbox or a total overhaul by an expert would be the likely solution but before then, an inexperienced mechanic would Send you on a wild goose chase by suggesting the removal and servicing or outright replacement of shift solenoids on the outer casing of the gearbox. These solutions Don't last as its just a temporal remedy to a terminal issue.

We constantly repair these gearboxes and those of other makes to a very high standard with 99.9% success rate and we recommend that if you are having serious issues with your Honda gearbox, ensure that the appropriate procedures are followed.

Hi Doc, own a Honda Accord 2005 DX, 2.4l Engine, A/T. About 4 weeks ago, noticed car was dragging b4 shifting into 4 (around 80km/h). about last week, noticed some noise around driver's side of engine. 3 days ago, lost gear suddenly (car just screaming) so I stopped & shifted to P, shifted back to D and drove home.

Next morning set out for a trip & lost gear close to my house. Took the car to the mechanic & we drained the ATF and replaced with the Conoil ATF. Car seemed ok. Drove 500km next morning to Makurdi. Lost gear several times along the way. Would just shift to neutral, turn car off then on, shift into D and continue. Lost gear more frequently (every time I stepped on the brakes) close to my destination. Got to Makurdi, stopped for about 2 hours and car refused to move afterwards. Gear won't engage, D blinking, ATF smells and has changed colour. Have not done anything, car parked since then. Please advice. Thanks
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by ping2ping: 7:07am On Aug 08, 2013
car-doctor:



I have encountered a few engine problems on this car but mainly due to bad mechanics and poor maintenance. The most common issues with them are the auto transmission. If you intend buying one, check for high mileage cars with poor service history and avoid them or else you might risk having to change the gearbox in no time.

Thanks for your response. However, can you say the models years that have failed transmission more often? i read in some fora than 2002 upwards with 5-speed auto trans is more prone to failure. How true could that be?

Secondly, how durable is the auto transmission of Honda Odyssey 1998? How often does it need to be changed? I like the Odyssey 1998 and MPV 2001 but i'm trying to find out more about them in terms of the reliability and durability of their transmission and engines.

Will appreciate your professional advice
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by ping2ping: 7:25am On Aug 08, 2013
Please car-doctor, what does it mean to "flash" or "reflash" an auto transmission? I see this a lot but wouldn't know what exactly that means.

Could you please educate us
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by ping2ping: 10:50am On Aug 08, 2013
waash:

Hi Doc, own a Honda Accord 2005 DX, 2.4l Engine, A/T. About 4 weeks ago, noticed car was dragging b4 shifting into 4 (around 80km/h). about last week, noticed some noise around driver's side of engine. 3 days ago, lost gear suddenly (car just screaming) so I stopped & shifted to P, shifted back to D and drove home.

Next morning set out for a trip & lost gear close to my house. Took the car to the mechanic & we drained the ATF and replaced with the Conoil ATF. Car seemed ok. Drove 500km next morning to Makurdi. Lost gear several times along the way. Would just shift to neutral, turn car off then on, shift into D and continue. Lost gear more frequently (every time I stepped on the brakes) close to my destination. Got to Makurdi, stopped for about 2 hours and car refused to move afterwards. Gear won't engage, D blinking, ATF smells and has changed colour. Have not done anything, car parked since then. Please advice. Thanks

I'm NOT the car-doctor but i think you should start by changing your ATF to ATF-Z1 as prescribed by the car-doctor. That may just solve your problems
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by cardoctor(m): 6:50am On Aug 12, 2013
CHIMCO: I finally took my car to gearman mechanic. After repairs, i notice that every morning the car wont reverse. If i engeged R it will be as if it is still on P. If it heats up during the day it will become normal. Also the gear changes with heavy force. I took it back to him during the day and it was working fine, he promised that it will normalized. I used 7 Ltrs of Holts Atf on it.

Normalize ke. I doubt that.

If the gearbox was competently repaired , you won't have reverse not working or aggressive gear changes. I still believe that he left some things out cos if you carry out a tranny ovehaul properly it should work properly.

Seems like you might soon be needing a transmission replacement and Holts ATF is not the best for your car.

Car-doctor.

1 Like

Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by Ngutor(m): 5:38pm On Aug 30, 2013
Good day car-doctor. Hope work is good. Please how can one locate you in Abuja. I want to bring my car in for a scan the CIL is on and it's petrol consumption seems very high to me. Car is a 2005 Honda Accord I4. Thank you
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by luvinhubby(m): 9:16pm On Aug 30, 2013
Honda has fazed out production of ATF-Z1 and replaced it with ATF-DW1 which is an advanced ATF-Z1 in 2011. Anything you see as Z1 in the market is a cloned China fluid that is worse than our local ABRO and Holts. The first pix is the DW1, notice the replication of same can color and label design but inscription DW1 changed to Z1 in the second pix posted below.

Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by luvinhubby(m): 9:17pm On Aug 30, 2013
Cloned Z1

Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by cardoctor(m): 12:55am On Sep 01, 2013
luvinhubby: Honda has fazed out production of ATF-Z1 and replaced it with ATF-DW1 which is an advanced ATF-Z1 in 2011. Anything you see as Z1 in the market is a cloned China fluid that is worse than our local ABRO and Holts. The first pix is the DW1, notice the replication of same can color and label design but inscription DW1 changed to Z1 in the second pix posted below.

The original ATFz1 is still very much available. You just need to look carefully at the packaging.

Car-Doctor.
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by cardoctor(m): 12:57am On Sep 01, 2013
Ngutor: Good day car-doctor. Hope work is good. Please how can one locate you in Abuja. I want to bring my car in for a scan the CIL is on and it's petrol consumption seems very high to me. Car is a 2005 Honda Accord I4. Thank you

My address and phone numbers are below. Thanks.


Car-Doctor.
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by cardoctor(m): 1:17am On Sep 01, 2013
ping2ping: Please car-doctor, what does it mean to "flash" or "reflash" an auto transmission? I see this a lot but wouldn't know what exactly that means.

Could you please educate us

I hope you are not confusing flush with flash. Anyway here's the two.

"Flushing"your auto transmission means flushing out the old traanny fluid and replacing with a fresh and new ATF.

The process requires a special equipment to do that so that all the oil in the gearbox is expelled and a fresh one introduced into the gearbox while the engine is running to engage the auto transmission oil pump.

The purpose is to completeley empty out the oil in the torque converter which usually remains when you carry out a normal oil drain.

"Flashing" can only be done on auto transmissions that are controlled by a TCM (Transmission Control Module).

Obviously, this is a computer designed and programmed to control the transmission's functions and jsut like any computer, could lose its memory and begin to malfunction.

"Flashing"is the process of removing the corrupt program and reinstalling the original program or an updated version. This is usually done using a manufacturer specific scan tool or programming device. Kinda like formatting your laptop computer.


Car-Doctor.

2 Likes 1 Share

Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by awolols(m): 1:14pm On Sep 01, 2013
car-doctor:
Honda automatic gearbox issues have become a reoccuring decimal to any Honda automatic car owner. Slow take off, sluggish acceleration, lack of kick down, loss of drive while in motion, lack of gear change, aggressive gear changes, high engine revs without power in drive just to name a few.

From my observation and the complaints made by some of our customers, these problems usually start from a gearbox oil change that was recommended by the mechanic who then uses the wrong type of ATF oil for the transmission. Honda recommends their own formila ATF-z1 for their gearboxes manufactured between 1998 to 2009 and upgraded to the ATF-Dw1 for gearboxes manufactured from 2010 upwards.

Using the wrong grade of ATF would almost certainly result in a failing transmission. Low grade ATF may not be able to handle the high temperature operations operations of a gearbox. Under very high temperatures, low grade oil loses its fluidity and may begin to boil causing loss of hydraulic functions by frothing or foaming.

Some remedies I have seen used by local mechanics is to further add engine oil to the gearbox in order to thicken the viscosity of the ATF. This in turn puts the pump under great stress as the thicker oil would require more effort from the pump in distributing the oil under high pressure as well as the oil filter which is usually embedded within the transmission gear train. (The removal and changing of all Honda transmission oil filter would require the removal of the gear box from the car and stripping down the gearbox)

The resulting consequence would be an imminent and extreme overheating of the transmission and components such as the friction plates and a rapid degradation of the wet clutch fibres hence the loss of drive, slipping clutch and rough gear changes.

Replacing the gearbox or a total overhaul by an expert would be the likely solution but before then, an inexperienced mechanic would Send you on a wild goose chase by suggesting the removal and servicing or outright replacement of shift solenoids on the outer casing of the gearbox. These solutions Don't last as its just a temporal remedy to a terminal issue.

We constantly repair these gearboxes and those of other makes to a very high standard with 99.9% success rate and we recommend that if you are having serious issues with your Honda gearbox, ensure that the appropriate procedures are followed.
What would you say about dexron II for a 2003-12 honda accord
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by arcis: 8:50pm On Sep 01, 2013
@op, which ATF can I use for my mitsubishi carisma 1998 model? Kindly help me out.
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by cardoctor(m): 9:38pm On Sep 01, 2013
arcis: @op, which ATF can I use for my mitsubishi carisma 1998 model? Kindly help me out.

Dexron 3 should be suitable for most cars manufactured circa 1998. I would recommend Oando ATF Dexron 3 and make sure you buy directly from the petrol station as there are adultrated ones circulating in the markets.


Car-doctor.
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by cardoctor(m): 9:43pm On Sep 01, 2013
awolols:
What would you say about dexron II for a 2003-12 honda accord

Do you want to damage your gearbox? I just recommended the best oil for your gearbox and it seems like you diddnt read the write up.

Car-Doctor.
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by arcis: 9:47pm On Sep 01, 2013
car-doctor:


Dexron 3 should be suitable for most cars manufactured circa 1998. I would recommend Oando ATF Dexron 3 and make sure you buy directly from the petrol station as there are adultrated ones circulating in the markets.


Car-doctor.

Thank you sir, pls help me out on this topic www.nairaland.com/1421356/pls-me-out-car-vibrate
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by Stylz69(m): 8:21am On Sep 02, 2013
Though not a honda but a similar thing happened to my toyota. Gave it to a mechanic to repair my brakes and he returned with a huge bill telling me he 'serviced' my gearbox; he drained the ATF and filled it with LUBCON instead of the toyota Type IV. Two weeks later my transmission began to slip and the gearbox finally packed up. I called the mechanic and he said it will cost 30k to repair; i gladly paid, still the gearbox died. I finally had to change the gearbox,however a few weeks later i began experiencing hard shifting from the gearbox. Mechanic said it was the gearbox being too powerful,another said it was the engine mounting...finally visited a garage and got the vehicle scanned. It threw up an error code relating to my shift solenoid. I quickly 'googled' it and found out there was a recall on toyota vehicles experiencing that fault and it was a 'brainbox' fault. However, the person who scanned it said that was academic and said the gearbox had to be stripped down and the solenoid changed. I paid for the scan and drove off to Apo, bought a new brainbox, put it in...PROBLEM SOLVED!!
LESSONS LEARNED
1. Don't give your car to quacks who will put destroy your transmission
2. A diagnostic scan is always a good step tp take especially if you have a check light warning
3. GOOGLE is your friend. Trust me, there is no fault a car will have that hasn't already been experienced by someone else. There is a lot to learn from online forums.
...... Finally sold the car and got a later model; however the driver i hired to bring it to Abuja decided the ATF was low and put in Mobil ATF 220. I nearly killed the Arrow!!! As soon as the vehicle arrived, i drained the transmission and put the recommended WS ATF. I learned my lesson and wasnt about to buy a new transmission
Mechanics and drivers are car killers!!

12 Likes

Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by dandollar1: 11:05am On Sep 02, 2013
@car doctor, is it normal to feel gear changes in honda? Or are the changes suposed to be noticed only with d change in the sound of the engine?
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by ZIMDRILL(m): 12:25pm On Sep 02, 2013
Stylz69: Though not a honda but a similar thing happened to my toyota. Gave it to a mechanic to repair my brakes and he returned with a huge bill telling me he 'serviced' my gearbox; he drained the ATF and filled it with LUBCON instead of the toyota Type IV. Two weeks later my transmission began to slip and the gearbox finally packed up. I called the mechanic and he said it will cost 30k to repair; i gladly paid, still the gearbox died. I finally had to change the gearbox,however a few weeks later i began experiencing hard shifting from the gearbox. Mechanic said it was the gearbox being too powerful,another said it was the engine mounting...finally visited a garage and got the vehicle scanned. It threw up an error code relating to my shift solenoid. I quickly 'googled' it and found out there was a recall on toyota vehicles experiencing that fault and it was a 'brainbox' fault. However, the person who scanned it said that was academic and said the gearbox had to be stripped down and the solenoid changed. I paid for the scan and drove off to Apo, bought a new brainbox, put it in...PROBLEM SOLVED!!
LESSONS LEARNED
1. Don't give your car to quacks who will put destroy your transmission
2. A diagnostic scan is always a good step tp take especially if you have a check light warning
3. GOOGLE is your friend. Trust me, there is no fault a car will have that hasn't already been experienced by someone else. There is a lot to learn from online forums.
...... Finally sold the car and got a later model; however the driver i hired to bring it to Abuja decided the ATF was low and put in Mobil ATF 220. I nearly killed the Arrow!!! As soon as the vehicle arrived, i drained the transmission and put the recommended WS ATF. I learned my lesson and wasnt about to buy a new transmission
Mechanics and drivers are car killers!!

why did you agree to pay for something you didnt ask him to do ?

2 Likes

Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by awolols(m): 9:06am On Sep 03, 2013
car-doctor:


Do you want to damage your gearbox? I just recommended the best oil for your gearbox and it seems like you diddnt read the write up.

Car-Doctor.

i must have been guessing wrongly.
oweing to the fact that many of our cars are imported from yankee and one cant really say when to do a change. in this case when and how would one know when to do a change and what is the recommended mileage assuming mileage has never been rolled back?
pls treat as urgent
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by cardoctor(m): 11:26am On Sep 03, 2013
awolols:

i must have been guessing wrongly.
oweing to the fact that many of our cars are imported from yankee and one cant really say when to do a change. in this case when and how would one know when to do a change and what is the recommended mileage assuming mileage has never been rolled back?
pls treat as urgent

Stylz69 just gave you the best tip.

If you buy an imported tokunbo or Naija used car, the best thing to do regardless of service history or not is to ensure that you put everything back in the right order and to the correct specifications.

Start by Changing your engine oil and filter to manufacturer recommended specifications.

Change your transmission oil to the manufacturer's recommended specifications.

Drain and refill your radiator with a good quality recommended coolant.

Brake fluids and power steering fluids may not be too necessary at this stage but could be included.

This gives you reasonable peace of mind knowing that you have had your car reset to its original factory settings.

----------------------------------------------------------

Coincidentally, a 2007 model sienna was brought into my workshop this morning with slipping transmission issues. It turned out that the owner had just bought it from a car dealer in Kano about two weeks ago.

Everything seemed ok in what was supposed to be a good car until last night while driving in town he noticed that he had lost the final drive on the car and the gearbox was slipping when he tries to accelerate.

The condition got worse as he made his way to my workshop this morning.

A quick scan revealed that shift solenoids "B" and "grin" were stuck open.

A check on the tranny oil condition also revealed that the oil was burnt and had turned black.

He informed me that the car was serviced before he bought it and also had an oil change on the gearbox.

"which oil?" I asked. Abro, he said.

Well, bad news. The sienna 2007 transmissions are designed to operate with the manufacturer specific Toyota WS.

Running the gearbox without the recommended tranny fluid obviously led to it packing up.

New gearbox in sight and that should set him back around N400k.


Car-Doctor.

5 Likes

Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by dandollar1: 3:19pm On Sep 03, 2013
@car doctor, is it normal to feel gear changes in honda? Or are the changes suposed to be noticed only with
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by dandollar1: 3:20pm On Sep 03, 2013
@car doctor, is it normal to feel gear changes in honda? Or are the changes suposed to be noticed only with d change in the sound of the engine?
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by cardoctor(m): 4:50pm On Sep 03, 2013
dan_dollar: @car doctor, is it normal to feel gear changes in honda? Or are the changes suposed to be noticed only with d change in the sound of the engine?

Yes you should feel the gear changes as you accelerate as long as it doesn't change with violent jerk.

Car-Doctor.
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by awolols(m): 9:08am On Sep 04, 2013
car-doctor:


Stylz69 just gave you the best tip.

If you buy an imported tokunbo or Naija used car, the best thing to do regardless of service history or not is to ensure that you put everything back in the right order and to the correct specifications.

Start by Changing your engine oil and filter to manufacturer recommended specifications.

Change your transmission oil to the manufacturer's recommended specifications.

Drain and refill your radiator with a good quality recommended coolant.

Brake fluids and power steering fluids may not be too necessary at this stage but could be included.

This gives you reasonable peace of mind knowing that you have had your car reset to its original factory settings.

----------------------------------------------------------

Coincidentally, a 2007 model sienna was brought into my workshop this morning with slipping transmission issues. It turned out that the owner had just bought it from a car dealer in Kano about two weeks ago.

Everything seemed ok in what was supposed to be a good car until last night while driving in town he noticed that he had lost the final drive on the car and the gearbox was slipping when he tries to accelerate.

The condition got worse as he made his way to my workshop this morning.

A quick scan revealed that shift solenoids "B" and "grin" were stuck open.

A check on the tranny oil condition also revealed that the oil was burnt and had turned black.

He informed me that the car was serviced before he bought it and also had an oil change on the gearbox.

"which oil?" I asked. Abro, he said.

Well, bad news. The sienna 2007 transmissions are designed to operate with the manufacturer specific Toyota WS.

Running the gearbox without the recommended tranny fluid obviously led to it packing up.

New gearbox in sight and that should set him back around N400k.


Car-Doctor.

thank you so very much. i have actually been following the engine oil change myself for normal mobil oil and filters for every 3k miles but that of the ATF i have been scared to touch. however, what is the interval for the ATF change where would you recommend i get the original ATF for a 2008 honda accord \.
lastly, do you know if the ATF is changed before due period, if it could cause any damage to the Auto gear transmission?

thanks again as u respond Doc.
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by awolols(m): 9:18am On Sep 04, 2013
car-doctor:


The original ATFz1 is still very much available. You just need to look carefully at the packaging.

Cat-Doctor.

please where can one get the original z1?
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by olobank: 1:02pm On Sep 06, 2013
Hello car doc,
Anything wrong with changing the auto gearbox in honda hala to manual?
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by aejaywhite: 3:33pm On Sep 06, 2013
Car doctor
Do u work on toyota avalon gearbox?
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by cardoctor(m): 7:27am On Sep 08, 2013
olobank: Hello car doc,
Anything wrong with changing the auto gearbox in honda hala to manual?

The only thing wrong is that you won't get the automatic gear shifting anymore.

Its quite a straight forward job but you have to replace brake and clutch pedals as well as the gear lever. Gearbox mounts and certain electrical adjustments have to be made.

Car-Doctor.
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by cardoctor(m): 8:54am On Sep 08, 2013
awolols:

please where can one get the original z1?

You can get it at utako market, Abuja.
Re: Automatic Gearbox Problems by cardoctor(m): 8:59am On Sep 08, 2013
aejaywhite: Car doctor
Do u work on toyota avalon gearbox?

Yes we do repair Avalon gearboxes as well as that of many other models of cars. That's one of our specialities and you get 3 months guarantee.


Car-Doctor.

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