[redlion4]

Long time reader of this forum, but I believe this is my first post / plea for knowledge. Love the forum as a resource and have used it many times - rear hub, 105K timing belt service, and tranny maintenance. Which brings me to the issue -->

2002 EX with 116,000 miles, original transmission with towing package installed at original purchase, and we are the original owners. Recall tranny service was performed the same month it was announced. 3x drain and fill were performed over the past few months. Fluid has been changed regularly anyway. No indication of problems at the time - fluid looked reasonable. Changed the OEM filter with the last drain and fill. We did replace the 4th clutch pressure switch which was indicated by the P1740 code (blinking D light, but no MIL, P1740 confirmed with a code scanner). No codes or problems for 2 months since the last drain/fill, filter, and pressure switch work.

Wife calls today - she is 1 block from home and the van won't drive. Engine revs up but takes her nowhere. She shifts back to park, turns the van off, restarts it, shifts to D, and it drives just like normal - right into the driveway. She backs it out, takes it around the block, and it drives fine. This has happened twice now.

Is the transmission failing? Or is this an electrical or mechanical problem? I will plug the scanner in tonight to check for any stored codes. She said no warning lights came on, and the D light was not blinking. She did not try shifting back to D before turning the van off and back on.

Ideas? Truly a tranny on the way out, or something more basic?

Thanks for any input.

P.S. It has been one of those weeks. My car (02 Civic) got rear ended on Monday...found out today that the insurance company will be totaling it out! Crap, I'm already car shopping to replace it!

 

[davedrivesody]

The clutch is obviously not engaging, but if your scan doesn't pull a code there's not much to go on. Remember though that the transmission can throw codes that are not readable by a standard OBD reader. Only the dealer has the equipment to read those. But the D light would usually blink if the transmission threw a code, and you stated that yours wasn't blinking. (Don't want to blow $50 at the dealer for nothing.)

However, it doesn't sound like a terminal transmission failure.

If it happens again, try R and 2. If those work, the problem is in the 1 power circuit.

- Dave

PS: Hope nobody was hurt in your Civic!

 

[redlion4]

Thanks Dave. That was along the same advice I gave her tonight - trying R, D3, 2, and 1 if / when it happens again. Don't turn off the car until the above are tried.

OBD scan was clean tonight on it. I drove it to Sam's Club after the code check. It shifted like a charm under both light and heavy acceleration - no slipping, no jerking, no noise...just smooth and normal. No CEL or flashing D light.

My wife drove it on the way home and took the same route where it gave her problems both times previously (yes, twice in the exact same turn / small hill in our neighborhood). No problem this time for her either - it drove fine. We even looped around and did it twice.

Checked the fluid at home after the shopping trip. Smells normal and is clean red - no particles or browning that I could see. However, it is just a hair overfilled (<1mm over the high mark). I'm going to crack open the drain bolt tomorrow and bring the level back down under the high mark. What damage could/would result from overfilling?

No injuries from the Civic accident, which is certainly a blessing.

Thanks again,
Ryan.

 

[redlion4]

Problem has not yet reoccurred for either my wife or me. We drove it quite a bit this weekend while shopping to replace my 02 Civic. It continues to shift perfectly (knock on wood).

The more I talk to her and think about it, the more it sounds like the van had accidentally gone into neutral - either by hitting the shift level, or it was not fully in drive and finally slipped back to N. She swears though that the dash indicated it was in drive (D).

I have warned her NOT to rev the engine if it occurs again. The last thing I want is the transmission to engage with the engine up at 2500 rpms! Will try to shift down to D3 instead, with the foot on the brake, and see what happens.

 

[davedrivesody]

If the ATF is overfilled, it will foam and may even blow out the overflow tube into the engine bay. However, I don't think <1mm qualifies as overfull.