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I’ve got a 1997 Honda Civic sedan, EX trim (Canadian trim level), 1.6L non-VTEC engine (D16Y8, I believe), 4-speed automatic transmission, all with 286,000 KM and change on the odometer. (I bought the old girl a year ago at around 275,450 KM, give or take.) Looks like crap on the outside, but mostly mechanically sound except for brakes and CV axles (DIYs in progress on those) a lightly leaking cooling system (in which everything’s been replaced except the radiator proper and the coolant temp sensor), and… transmission quirks that I’ve never seen before, even in Civics of the same generation. The transmission quirks are what I’m inquiring about; to avoid being utterly pedantic, I’ll keep this as short as I can.
Transmission shifts just fine between gears two through four; shifts into reverse well enough as well. First gear, though… unless I’m real gentle with the gas pedal for the first several feet of acceleration (I’m talking “walking on eggshells” here) the transmission just… spins, is the best way I can describe it. Creates a mighty ruckus and causes the whole car to shake if I’m not careful, but it does not supply forward momentum with average gas pedal use from a dead stop. At operating temperature (not from cold start, thank heavens) it also takes a few seconds for first gear to even catch at all when shifting from park; a light grinding can be occasionally heard at that point until first gear does catch. CEL is also active; diagnostics show codes P0700 and P0715, despite replacement of transmission solenoids. Transmission fluid is pristine, having been changed by the original owner around the time I bought the car; color remains unchanged from pink even now.
While I have learned to compensate for this issue with very careful acceleration and reduced time spent behind the wheel, I would love to know the underlying cause – that way I can determine what repairs are needed, as well as if it’s worth keeping the car at all versus finding a replacement.Thank you in advance for your time and suggestions; any help I can get is greatly appreciated.
Daha3350
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You’re going to need a new transmission. Don’t be daunted; they’re pretty reasonable from junkyards, and the R&R is not that hard. You’ll need a transmission jack (Harbor Freight or craigslist); the rest of the tools are pretty ordinary.
Thank you both for your help – I had hoped it wasn’t something quite so critical (time and garage space are in short supply for me at present), but since according to all information it is such – time to save for that transmission jack.
Thanks again – will update as results develop.
A transmission jack is helpful, but you don’t need one to install it. A regular jack will do just fine. Just make sure you have some help and tie some rope around it to help move it into place.
No. You will need a 3 ton floor jack. I just changed mine. It wasn’t bad at all. I took my time doing it. You will need help when putting it back in place. You will need somebody to jack it up while you are guiding it onto the engine. The dowel pins make it helpful to get it on the engine. I have the manual if you are interested.
Hm… guess I’ll be using both my jacks in combination, then – I like to borrow from ChrisFix’s playbook and leave a jack in place as backup to any stands I use, so the two-ton will have to do for that purpose after the 3-ton helps put the car up on stands properly. (two-ton is a touch too short on lift range, to my annoyance – I’m talking an inch, at best! -_-; )
If you can email me the manual, that would be a great help; daha3350@icloud.com
Guess there’ll be a Pick-N-Pull run in my future…
Ok will do. I also recommend you use 4 jack stands and go as high as you can. That way you can jack the car up evenly and have plenty of space to remove the transmission. You will definitely need safe guards in place. You can leave a jack in place as you suggested, but I would try and find some cinder blocks at a building site they aren’t using. You can also put the tires under the car as well. Also take all the tires off including the back ones off to reduce the weight of the vehicle. Will get that manual e-mailed to you.
Here is the link for the manual. It’s too big to email.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_OqXR7rGeSpYTAwYjYxNzYtZWM4Ny00MjUxLTg0OWItZjc0NTY0MzZmMzMz/view
[quote=”Daha3350″ post=184326]Thank you both for your help – I had hoped it wasn’t something quite so critical (time and garage space are in short supply for me at present), but since according to all information it is such – time to save for that transmission jack.
Thanks again – will update as results develop.[/quote]
😉
It was changed with incorrect fluid change the fluid and ONLY use Honda DW-1 fluid. I had the same issue and used this fluid and it shifts like brand new.
mckrishes – I… can see why. Dang, didn’t know you were gonna try and email the ENTIRE service manual… o_O!
Thanks a million; if I don’t end up replacing the car outright with another 6th gen Civic in better shape (current one’s got a list of issues outside the transmission anyway), this’ll be a great help… heck, it’ll be a great help anyway, since I plan to stick with that vintage of car for awhile.Timinglight – noted and appreciated; I will try that as well. Hopefully I can find a funnel that’ll fit…
My thanks to all of you for your aid; again, I shall keep you posted as developments occur.
I forgot to tell you mine is a 1999 Honda civic…it was doing the same thing. When I put 3 quarts of DW-1 and then went about 500 miles and changed it again the problem went away. Honda’s need Honda fluids. Especially power steering fluid and transmission / differential fluid.
Thank you for the clarification, Timinglight; it’s good to know I’m not alone in this… situation. 🙂
Next oil change is coming up once spring thaw sets in, at which time I can rotate on the 3-season tires again – I’ll track down a transmission funnel and some Honda DW-1 ATF at the same time; get all three tasks done at once.Again, will update as developments occur.
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