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I purchased this 2000 Honda Accord 4cyl. exactly one month ago today. If I had known about their widespread transmission problems I definitely would have went another avenue. Nevertheless I am now making payments for the next year and a half stuck with a car that has tranny issues. The day I purchased my car I noticed it stuttering at red lights, but figured it just needed a tune-up. 30 minutes later the check engine light came on and the code read it needed a catalytic converter, and no other codes, so we replaced it. we drove it around for about a week and noticed that it was having difficulty shifting in 2nd and 3rd, the RMPs would rise and it would then shift fine. We just figured it needs the tranny oil changed and would do it when we got home from Idaho (400 miles away) the car ran fine shifted fine all the way there and most of the way back. When we got off the freeway and only had 30 miles to go, we were stopped at a red light, the light turned green and we tried to go, but the car wouldn’t shift to 2nd until I let off the gas petal and it jammed into gear. Drove fine the rest of the way. Then this morning I got in it to go check my mail, it didn’t want to shift into 2nd again and then it jammed into gear, drove about 100 ft. and the D4 light started to flash. I got to the post office turned the car off and when I got in the check engine light is on and the D4 light still flashing. When I got home I started to research the car and found all the transmission problems. From most that I have read I have found that the torque converters are the main cause of the problem. My question is whether I should have the transmission rebuilt, when the torque converter is replaced? Money is quite the issue with us, and I can not afford to waste it. Not sure if the transmission is completely bad, it shifts fine if I manually shift from 2nd on up. What can I expect in the future with the tranny if the torque converter is only replaced? Or should I just drive it off a cliff and let my insurance pay the car off for me and just get a different car? If someone could give me an idea where to start or what to do I would greatly appreciate it.
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What You could do is pull any codes to see what the computer is
seeing. But this year and model had so many issues that its not
worth a rebuild. I would suggest a remanufactured transmission or
dump the car.When my accord needed a transmission (about 145k miles), I got a JDM MCJA to replace BAXA transmission + I installed a transmission cooler ($60). It worked out great for me. Cost me about $700 including tools. Many places that sell JDMs will do this for you for about the same price. After that just replace the transmission fluid every 30k, only use honda trans fluid.
I recommend you install a reman transmission. Also, only use Honda transmission fluid. Using other fluids can cause shifting issues and shorten the life of the transmission. More information here.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-transmission-problems
You might find a transmission here.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Eric, as Honda_98 suggested could swaping out from the BAXA transmission to the JDM MCJA transmission work? I researched a little, but noticed there are speedometer issues when you do this. I am seriously contemplating just eating a loss and trading it in on a different car. I still owe $5000 on the car and put all the money we saved on the down payment (yes I know it is a lot of money, but we have no credit :/) So at a loss here, didn’t expect this type of problem one month after we purchased it.
I honestly don’t know if or how that swap would work. I don’t have any experience with it. My policy is to replace with what was in there and avoid issues. As a technician you do what you can to avoid issues. If you would rather trade it in that’s your choice but it would probably be a good idea to get whatever you decide to get inspected before purchase to avoid similar issues in the future. You might also find this information helpful.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/what-to-look-for-in-a-used-car-purchase
Good luck
Had a friend come and read our code on the car, it is reading P0780. My husband drove the car around today after the code was cleared and there doesn’t seem to be any problem now and shifts better than when we bought it. Anymore ideas? We were thinking of flushing the transmission and seeing where that goes.
In my experience a P0780 means you need a transmission. I’ve seen it countless times. You can clear the code as you did and it can be fine for a while but trust me, it will be back. I think it’s time to decide what you intend to do with the vehicle. Commit and replace the transmission with a reman with a warranty, or trade it in at a loss. Keep us posted.
Thank you so much, I appreciate all your help. Going to see the used car dealer to see what they are going to offer us for help.
I talked to a college professor the other day who drove an Accord to 300K without touching the automatic transmission. Engines nowadays, if you take care of them, will often go that far. It is rare for an automatic transmission to last that long.
When you buy an automatic transmission car with more that 100K on it, it is a good idea to keep in your pocket enough money for a transmission swap. Automatic transmissions are consumables.
[quote=”barneyb” post=103937]I talked to a college professor the other day who drove an Accord to 300K without touching the automatic transmission. Engines nowadays, if you take care of them, will often go that far. It is rare for an automatic transmission to last that long.
When you buy an automatic transmission car with more that 100K on it, it is a good idea to keep in your pocket enough money for a transmission swap. Automatic transmissions are consumables.[/quote]
Older Honda automatics were bullet proof. The only thing that killed them was incorrect fluid and improper service. It’s basically a manual transmission with automatic controls.
They were harsh shifters, but the fact is that the harder an automatic shifts, the longer it lasts. It has to do with slipping the clutches and bands during shifts. It creates more heat and wear when the engagement is softer. In 1999 Honda made a move to make their transmission shift smoother and as a result they saw a dramatic increase in transmission failures. Also, they removed the transmission coolers from radiators in 2000 and that didn’t help either. So, more slippage and less cooling added up to a lot of warranty transmissions.
At least this is my take on it. I’m not a transmission engineer, but I AM the guy that installed hundreds of those transmissions as a result of their failure. In fact, for a time I was averaging 2 transmissions a day for more than a year.
So to your point of an auto transmission being consumable, I believe that’s true to an extent. However there are transmissions that last a very long time without issues such as the one in my 93 vigor which will probably last the life of the vehicle without incident.
I didn’t think to ask the professor the year of his high mileage vehicle. However, having driven it 300K he had to have had it awhile so probably pre 1999.
Anyway, I’ve ridden with owners of new cars and watched while they would slowly accelerate seeing if they could feel the transmission shift or not. If not they got a very satisfied looks on there faces. This is what people want. With computer controls shifts can be made even softer.
A little education needs to occur.
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