Car people! What might I be dealing with?

[Pen]

I have a '92 Honda Accord with low mileage that had been perfectly reliable up to around 1-2 years ago, at which point things started going wrong with it ... I suppose normal in a car of its age.

 

It has had a problem which feels like it relates to transmission, but apparently is not the transmission itself. It feels like a transmission shudder or slip perhaps--particularly in Drive 4, when going around 55mph, and when the air conditioner is on. When it manifests the problem the light on the dashboard that would show the car to be in Drive 4 goes out as if the car is not in gear at those times, which is what if feels like. If I put it down to D3 and turn off the A/C it seems to drive normally. The dealership was unable to replicate this problem. However, the dealership found that the automatic transmission gear shifter will move from Drive 4 to Drive 3 without depressing the button that normally needs to be depressed to allow the shifter to move. It has also gotten stuck in park once and had to have the key inserted to allow it to come out of park.

 

It is not clear to me if it is worth trying to make repairs or further analysis of its problem or not. 90% of the time it drove normally without showing any signs of problems.

 

Any ideas?

 

 

[kiana]

Personally in a car of that age, if the dealership isn't getting anywhere but you're confident in your own ability to handle a sudden breakdown, I would start putting money away now towards a new car but continue driving this one locally until it croaks.

[lllll]

nm

Edited May 16, 2016 by _ ?^..

[Pen]

It feels like transmission slip, subjectively, trying to explain what it feels like.

 

But best anyone can determine, the transmission is fine and not actually slipping though that is the feeling it gives.  Also there was a possibility of a bad solenoid (if that is the right term)  that could make it feel like that, but the solenoid is apparently also fine. Then maybe there is a possiblity that it is some sort of linkage between the transmission and something else, or something electrical since having the A/C running seems to be related to the problem.

[Katy]

I'm not a car person by any means, but my guess based on something similar that happened to my car once is it's the transfer case and something separate with the electrical system.  Combined it will take more to fix than the car is worth.

[TammyS]

I know this will sound weird, but it might not be the transmission at all.  I mean, yes, the symptom is manifesting in the transmission, but not caused by the transmission.  It could be the spark plugs and/or ignition coils.  When the plugs/coils go bad your engine is not producing the power that it should.  Then the transmission tries to shift up into your highest gear, but doesn't have the power to make it work.  This manifests as a "shuddering" feeling, right around 45-50mph (depending on how your engine is set up).  If you know someone with some test wires you can get the coils checked for continuity.  The plugs you have to pull to visually inspect (in most cars this is simple as pie, but look yours up, because there are a few that are real doozies).  Plugs and coils aren't hard to do yourself or expensive (for the love of all that is holy, do not buy coils from the dealership, they are a total rip off, get them from Amazon or another online parts place where a whole box of coils costs less than 1 from the dealership).

 

Another thing  that you can try is servicing your transmission.  It's not much different from changing your oil, you can look up instructions online.  You want to do it twice actually, because you won't be able to get all of the fluid out the first time.  Or you can have it done somewhere for about $75.  After you've done it twice add a tube of "shudder stop", which you can get on Amazon or an auto parts store.  It doesn't work for everyone and if your transmission is really headed for the grave yard it won't help.  But about 90% of people find that it helps and it can buy you months to a couple more years on an older car, for about $7.  IMO, it's worth a try at that price.

 

Another thing to look at is the AC unit.  Try running up to your highest gear without your AC unit on at all.  Do this a bunch of times.  If you don't have the problem, then the AC unit is the likely culprit.  Either it's dragging and causing power drain on the engine, or it's getting ready to throw a rod and is dragging on the belt causing a host of down chain problems, the trans being the most obvious.  If it's the AC unit you can either replace it or leave it off all the time.  But do keep an ear out.  If you start to hear squealing sounds from the engine the AC unit may have thrown the rod anyway (because the belt will still run over it's pulley even with the AC off) and then you will have to do something before you lose the belt and everything that goes with it.

 

If you aren't into doing work yourself, may I suggest that you find a real auto repair shop and abandon the dealership?  Their prices are too high, and frankly, they don't like to do real repairs.  They are happy to swap out parts when the problem is obvious, but big projects or difficult diagnosis is not what they want to bother with.  Plus I distrust a place that has a vested interest in telling you that your car is crap and you need to buy a new one.

 

I hope that helps.  It's possible that it's none of the things that I've listed, but those are the likely ones off the top of my head.  If you can't find an answer there, I would take it to a real auto repair place (ask around for the guy who is always busy, he's the one you want).  If they say it's trans then take it to a trans shop.  They will have the expertise to tell you if your trans is worth repairing or not.

[Pen]

 

 

 

Another thing to look at is the AC unit.  Try running up to your highest gear without your AC unit on at all.  Do this a bunch of times.  If you don't have the problem, then the AC unit is the likely culprit.  Either it's dragging and causing power drain on the engine, or it's getting ready to throw a rod and is dragging on the belt causing a host of down chain problems, the trans being the most obvious.  If it's the AC unit you can either replace it or leave it off all the time.  But do keep an ear out.  If you start to hear squealing sounds from the engine the AC unit may have thrown the rod anyway (because the belt will still run over it's pulley even with the AC off) and then you will have to do something before you lose the belt and everything that goes with it.

 

.

 

 

 

Hi Tammy,

 

Thanks. I think after a bunch of web searching I have found the main culprit--see below. Although the A/C does seem to be playing a role. And yes, I am very done with the dealership.

 

Could you tell me if the replacement of capacitors and resistors as in the link below sound like something that my son and I (both totally inexperienced) could manage to fix on our own?

 

It seems a perfect fit to the situation including that it now turns out that D4 light staying on is an indicator (and shouldn't the dealership know that?) and that this is a common problem in this car from its year.

 

 

 

http://techauto.awardspace.com/transmission.html

 

 

Honda Acura E R

Repair Guide

 

 

 

 

- Transmission

 

 

 

 

 

The Electronic Automatic Transmission - Troubleshoot, Inspection, Repair, Replace.

 

 

 

Type: Mechanical/Electronic

Transmission Diagnostic trouble code:1,2,7,8,9, and/or 15

Under the hood: Yes, TCU is under carpet.

Destructive: No

Manufactured: Japan

Cars affected: Accord 90-93

Overall repair ease: Medium

Reported incidents: High

System impact: Low

Information available: Low

 

Overview

 

The purpose and function of the transmission -

The Honda Automatic transmission is designed to allow the engine run in a favorable speed range in spite of varying acceleration and terrain. The Automatic transmission also allows the wheel to grip bad, loose or slippery roads, to provide engine braking and to protect the motor from excessive lugging.

 

The 90-93 Accord is a modern vehicle that relies on the computer to determine shifting points to increase comfort and safety. Without the computer the transmission won't shift and the car will simply move at a snail's pace or will simply default to limp mode, which can either be 2nd, 3rd or 4th gear. For example, a faulty transmission computer could cause the car to suddenly shift into lower gear while driving. This causes the car to drop in speed while the RPM shoots up. With other cases, the car will have a hard time accelerating from a stop unless the car is first manually shift to D2. The symptoms are followed by the 'S' or 'D4' shifter status light on the instrument panel blinking, or lights up or doesn't light up at all.

 

If the car won't shift into correct gears and displays a self-diagnostic light most likely the fault is not with the transmission. Sometimes a clattering sound may also be heard in the cockpit. This may be the sound of the transmission interlock system misbehaving, which may indicate a bad TCU.

 

Do not replace the transmission without first confirming the situation electronically. The fault is usually the Automatic Transmission Control Unit (also known as the automatic transmission computer or TCU/TCM.)

 

 

 

 

...

 

Problem: The usual problem with the Honda Accord transmission, namely the 90,91, -, - Accord, is a bad transmission computer. What happens is that the transmission computer has a couple cheap parts that fail. The failing parts may or may not automatically put the TCU into a saftey (limp) mode (aka, the "fail safe strategy.") The three known failed components are two resistors and a capacitor inside the transmission computer. The symptoms are of several types. The car "S" light or "D4" is on (just stays on D4 no matter what gear is selected) or blinking and the transmission won't shift into any gears or sometimes stuck on a certain gear. The trouble codes could be 1,2,7,8,9,15 or None. Shifter interlock control unit buzzes. When the driver steps on the gas the rpm goes high but the car refuses to move at the expected speed.