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Recently, I had the auto transmission replaced in my ’01, 2.3L Accord by an independent transmission shop. I know for a fact they have a lot of experience with Odyssey transmission replacements, however, Accords? Maybe not so much. The trans is performing flawlessly, however the shop has managed to instill an annoying vibration somewhere in the drivetrain or suspension which changes with road speed. Thanks to Eric’s videos, I’ve now seen first hand how the axles “should†be removed and reinstalled. While I’ve never done this particular operation-yet-it looks straightforward enough.
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Keep us posted.
Did this issue occur the day you drove the vehicle home from the transmission replacement? If it did, i would have taken it back that same day.
Yes it did and yes I should have. However, I was late for a meeting and did the cell call routine instead. A couple of days passed before I could actually get the car back to their shop and have them verify my complaint.
You said you checked tires for out of round. How about direction? Some tire treads are designed for one direction only. I put a tire on backwards, and got the most god awful vibration. It was news to me that some tires are directional.
So, the saga continues. In answer to the directional tire question, yes the Goodyear’s are directional. Grasping at straws, I had the tire shop dismount the front tires and swap them side to side. So, now I’ve had the tires rotated back to front and back, the fronts side to side. Front end rotational vibration is constant.
As for the idle vibration, the trans shop apparently cured it by “rotating the torque converter to the correct, balanced position”. I’ve never seen the trans pulled out of an Accord, but aren’t there some sort of locating pins or indicators for the correct orientation? Not sure why they couldn’t get it right the first time, however, idle is now smooth as silk.
As for the rotational vibration, their solution was to replace the right axle, claiming they observed “excessive whip” in the OE axle. Well, in my experience, both of our 2001 Accords have a scary amount of axle whip with the suspension unloaded and the car up on jackstands. As I was backing out of their parking lot, and with the shop owner standing right in front of the car, I hear this loud pop. Needless to say, I pulled right back in and told them to pull out their POS aftermarket axle and put the OE axle back in.
Suffice it to say, I’m done with these guys trying to figure out what the root cause of the rotational vibration is. I have no complaints at all with performance of the transmission. It does exactly what I expect it to do and significantly better than the OE which it replaced.
Not sure where I go from here, but somehow, I have to eliminate the tires as the cause once and for all. Maybe I can get a set of Michelins as a loaner?! LOL
I call BS on the torque converter balance, it doesn’t matter how you get it in there, remember it’s filled with fluid so it’s really not possible to balance it, besides that’s a BS explanation at best. That said I think you’re on the right track taking it somewhere else but based on the info you have given on the shop where you’re having the work done I would say it’s probably something they did and they don’t seem to be willing to go back and check their work. Sad really. Keep us posted.
I agree, their explanation of orienting the torque converter to the “correct” position sounded like BS when I heard it. At that point, I was so fed up that I didn’t even challenge them. So, lessons learned:
I’ll take more than half the blame. After all, I picked the shop. They claimed, and I verified, that they had done several trans swaps on Odysseys. Accords? I should have pushed them more regarding Accords. However, is the Odyssey front suspension and transmission mounting THAT much different than an Accord? Maybe Eric could comment when he gets a chance.
Was it worth the $1k I “saved” compared the dealer installed Honda transmission? Nope!
I’m a rank amateur at DIY car maintenance. I’ve drawn the line at timing belt/water pump replacement due to lack of knowledge, tools and facility. I know most if not all of you guys are way up the learning/experience curve compared to me. I can only say to those that do find themselves in a position where you must entrust your car to someone else for major service, vet the hell out them before you turn over the keys.
Actually, I did check with the BBB prior to choosing this shop–no complaints on record, business incorporated in 1986. I also checked with the county clerk for current or past legal action. Nothing on record. So, given the combination of my own reference checking, their longevity in business and apparent “clean” record, I “thought” I was on pretty solid ground.
On the good news front, I’ve figured out a way to ditch the Goodyears and replace them with Michelin Primacys at virtually no cost. So, long about next Friday, I’ll know once and for all if this whole mess has been tire related from the get-go. If so, I owe the trans shop a huge apology albeit with a jaundice eye.
That is an unfortunate situation. You might consider letting them know that you are going to file a complaint with the BBB and if they don’t respond to that they actually file the claim that way others will be warned. I think the only thing you could have done as a customer would be to check them out on BBB’s site to see if there were any complaints filed and what they were for as part of your ‘vetting’ process. I would not assume all the blame though you paid good money for a service and you didn’t get it.
I can say from EXTENSIVE study and experience that Honda’s are VERY particular about the tires you put on them, cheep tires just don’t work out, the best policy is to put on what was on when the car was new and for the most part that would be Michelins, I’m sure you’ll notice a big difference in ride quality and noise over the Goodyears. I tell people all the time that the most important part of the car is the tires and it’s always a worthy and probably your most important investment when it comes to your vehicle.
As for the shop it could be that they are just ignorant and not trying to ‘take’ you but they may have just exhausted their resources. I still don’t like the torque converter explanation, I have no idea where they got that from.
OK, I’m headed for Vegas. What are the chances that tires can somehow go out of round coincidentally with a transmission swap? I would have never bet on it, however, the switch to Michilens cured the rotational thumping vibration and provide a significantly quieter ride. So quiet, that the engine vibration is now quite apparent. I suspect the engine vibration was masked by the magnitude of the rotational thumping vibration.
I’m calling this one solved and, after a lenghty test drive, starting a new new thread on engine vibration diagnosis……….
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