Q&A: What design flaw causes 98-02 Accord auto trannys to fail?
Posted by James on August 30, 2012 · 2 Comments
Question by PrimeTime: What design flaw causes 98-02 Accord auto trannys to fail?
Is it one particular problem or is it a combination of things? Is there a way to prevent it from happening?
Best answer:
Answer by I drive fire trucks
If you find out let me know. My friend has been through 7 of them.
Add your own answer in the comments!
im not exactly sure. my cousin works on hondas says they all have it and theres a part to get it fixed.
I have an ’00 V6 Accord sedan & am well aware of the problems associated with Honda’s AT.
Apparently the problem affecting their AT occurs in 3-8% of the cars among these models.
As I understand it, the problem is due to:
Failure of the 2nd gear clutch pack, though other clutch packs may also fail.
The problem is due to inferior metals used in critical parts among the clutch packs.
The problem is also due to inadequate oil circulation among these parts.
RE preventative solutions….you can:
1. Install an additional transmission cooler. Lowering the transmission fluid temperature increases the life of the transmission.
2. Be sure to change your transmission fluid religiously…I do it annually. This too will reduce probability of tranny failure.
3. Avoid substantially increasing the car’s horsepower by avoiding forced induction systems (superchargers, turbochargers).
4. Avoid unnecessary agressive driving of the kind that would continuosly tax the drive train.
5. Install aftermarket torque converter & aftermarket transmission. ‘Level 10’ Company makes a robust torque converter. Also ‘Dr. Evil’ performs a ‘bullet proof’ transmission rebuild for yoru car. It’s not cheap & requires your existing transmission be provided as a ‘core’ however…not very practical for most folks.
6. Sell the car before it reaches the 108K miles of the extended warranty. Honda lost a class action lawsuit that increased factory warranty coverage. We love our ’00 though, have 90K on it & it still runs like it’s new w. all original parts humming along.
Hope this helps.