transmission issue again ut oh..

[ladagosta]

03 Honda civic lx, coupe, auto, 1.7 156,000 miles (used to own a 01 civic lx 4 dr auto 1.8, I sold at 185,000 miles 22 months ago now i wonder why)
the other car the tranny went at 120,000, total failure, no warning, no indicator lights, cel, absolutely nothing; other than the cruise control indicated some issue whether it was a red flag to the tranny failure IDK...
well after 45,000 the tranny was indicating that it was going to fail so i researched and decided to sell it and i let the person know that the tranny had been replaced and was wearing down they didnt appear to care they wanted it because it was well maintained. i did history check on the 03 civic and found that the 03 04 and 05 civics seemed to have less "issues" with them specifically the transmissions..so i found this car 133,000 mi for a great price (i should have known that was a red flag right there) any way here are the symptoms as best as I can describe:
cold weather appears to cause the symptoms to become more prominent
start up there had always been a slight shake to the car only in idle, neutral and park when driving there is no shake smooth ride. i am leaning towards a mount going or gone bad somewhere i havent had the time or energy to investigate this to date but now i just may look at it more closely.
at every shift there is a hard shift, notable jump in rmps about 800 to 1000. no noises that i can hear but my hearing is going so idk.. i havent driven it that many miles since this symptom appeared but after the previous car i am now very concerned.
i have heard that it could be a tps issue that not always is it the clutch going bad in automatics or not necessarily eminent failure if you address the issue before mechanical issues become a problem. I heard that it could be a sensor or some other part that is easy to replace and not necessarily going to need a rebuild to fix the problem. I know my way around cars but not when it comes to transmission. the tech who did the trans fluid change test rode it and said it is going to fail. the question remains why is it going to fail? i have also heard that many honda owners never have any warning before the transmissions fail. now i want to know why? are the sensors bad and that is why they end up in failure? cause it seems to me when you are looking at 1 in 6 accords and civics end in failure seems that something is malfunctioning somewhere and most of them never have a warning i have read far too many complaints on honda over the past 5 years to just accept that this is "normal" most cars have a warning at least most other makes give a warning before failing.. so this gives me the HHHMMMM affect.
i had a transmission fluid change (not a flush; only because I do not want the dw1 fully circulating in the system until I know what it will do to the problem and cost of 100 + more for the flush and if it is a failure issue then why bother?) when i got the car the fluid was perfectly bright pink, now before the change it was very paled and there are slight signs of metal wear on the stick, so this is why i decided to rejuvenate the fluid a bit to see how it affects the symptoms.
I am ready and prepare to replace with a re-manufactured transmission, yet only if i absolutely need to if i can replace a 20.00 tps or a sensor for under 100 i will go that route first
so since the fluid change the symptoms have changed a bit instead of a hard shift and a notable jump in rmps. there is now a hesitation and a slight jump in rmps nothing like the way it was shifting but still not right so I want to know if anyone on here is familiar with transmission repair and / or diagnosis to give me an insight as to how i should approach this issue if the transmission is definately on its way out I know where i can get a rebuild for under a grand and have it installed for about 500 i will supply them with the dw1 to make certain it is genuine honda trans fluid as I do know also with the hondas if you use anything BUT genuine honda tranny fluid within moneths you are going to have to replace the transmission that is a known fact now with most honda owners. and so far it is the only transmission made where if you put anything else in it you are looking at replacing the costly item.. seems that in and of itself is not a very reputable thing to do to a very costly item to make it so if anyone puts any other product in your vehicle you will pay dearly for it.. never heard of any other company that has taken such a bold stance on their manufacturing methods. most often with most products sold you can buy non oem or universal replacement products and still have a working product . Sorry for the commentary but i am slightly annoyed and I used to stand behind Honda due to a long history of them being a very reliable car.. but now i will seriously begin to look the other way and what i am seeing with KIA they have come a long way with their product and I am considering either one of theirs or toyota for my next purchase.. especially if i end up replacing the transmission on this car within the next 6 months.. they arent what they used to be.. and i have learned the hard way they present too many concerns for a disabled person to be driving one and relying on it to get from point A to point B.. any insight and or suggestions to investigate on this tranny related issue please feel free to share i am presently open to all suggestions. thanks in advance. LAD

 

[RonJ]

Are any CEL codes thrown?

the tech who did the trans fluid change test rode it and said it is going to fail. the question remains why is it going to fail?

Did you ask him? Honda dealer tech? What type of ATF was used?

Based on the information you provided, it sounds like you may see further improvement by draining and refilling the transmission with Honda ATF at least 2 more times. Absolutely do NOT do a transmission flush - just drain and refill cycles, which are easy to do and cheaper if you do them yourself.

 

[ladagosta]

honda tech (with dw1 I asked before having it done to make certain it was since i heard many great reviews on how the dw1 works better on these cars) told him i did not want it put on a mechine if he thought it was about to fail he test rode it and said he wouldnt even do the fluid change cause many times they do this and the car wont even go in reverse afterwards. i researched it online called him back and said to just do the change and if it improve the drive-ability in the spring I will pay to have the flush done if i think it is worth it or just go with a rebuild later if not. so in the spring I may just either flush it or just skip over that with a rebuild rather than waste money i thought if it may be a tps or something on those lines I would try this or something else if i would be avoiding a week of time without the car and near 2 g out of pocket expense,, but if it isnt going to fix the issue i will go the rebuild route

at 54 to do the fluid change it is still cheaper than doing the flush .. and why not do the flush? is there a solid reason for it ? i heard that this is the only way to get the metal fragments out completely which may unplug the screens.. where the fluid change only gets 1/3 the fluid out each time.. 3 x is what they refer to it as or something as such.. please shed more light on the matter thanks

 

[RonJ]

Again - DO NOT FLUSH AN OLD HONDA AUTO TRANSMISSION. THE RISK --> Gunk chunks in the transmission will be broken loose and clog the hydraulic system = instant transmission death.

Instead, do 2 or more additional drain-refill cycles with Honda ATF. Between each drain-refill cycle, take the car on drive where you use all the gears on the shifter.

...or replace the transmission. It's up to you, but the drain-refill procedure is much less expensive and worth a try.

ANY CEL CODES THROWN?

 

[ladagosta]

this man has taken the time to unravel the mystery behind the honda failing transmission.. here ya go .. it is the screen has too fine a mesh that plugs up the fluid from circulating after a short period of time.. that is why it is worse in cold and better in warm...
http://www.civicforums.com/forums/36-mechanical-problems-vehicle-issues-fix-forum/351016-7th-generation-transmission.html

Again - DO NOT FLUSH AN OLD HONDA AUTO TRANSMISSION.

ANY CEL CODES THROWN?

no cel no code no blinking indicator lights nothing but slippage.. it began as a hard shift and rpm jumps 800 to 1000 now it is slight slippage and rpm jumps about 300 to 500 not as notable but still present.. and a lot smoother.. but still present and it will concern me until addressed after reading the post i put a link to .. please tell me do you think the flush is still ill advised .. or is the screen irreversibly plugged up .. and if this is the case then a rebuild is the only option i have i thought a flush will clear the screen.. and if that is the case and an inline filter is added to the solution a flush and inline is what i will do.. if it turns out that a flush will not unclog the screen then adding an inline will do nothing at this point it is too late.. screen is already jammed.. what a costly lessen only wish this man had posted something 5 years ago i could have avoid this issue with the second civic.. lOL

 

[RonJ]

I'll repeat myself for the last time - unless you want to buy a replacement transmission or rebuild the current one - the only inexpensive option is multiple drain-and-refill cycles. The choice is up to you.

Finally, the vast majority of Honda auto transmission issues most likely could have been avoided by regular Honda ATF changes.

 

[lowlife9]

when i first bought my 04 awhile back it had close to 90,000 miles and the transmission fluid was pitch black it also had issues with 3rd gear so i had it machine flushed with no problems it also stopped my 3rd gear issue . im at 160,000 now with no problems. like said above the problem is the internal filter getting clogged so if thats the issue then there's really nothing that can be done besides replacing the filter or replacing the transmission. its only a matter of time.

 

[RonJ]

when i first bought my 04 awhile back it had close to 90,000 miles and the transmission fluid was pitch black it also had issues with 3rd gear so i had it machine flushed with no problems it also stopped my 3rd gear issue .

You got lucky. Flushing an old Honda auto transmission is known to be very risky.

The drain-refill advice I have given the OP eliminates this risk and often returns normal shifting.