99 Odyssey transmission problem

5643 Views 3 Replies 4 Participants Last post by egads, Jan 15, 2008

simunovd

Discussion Starter · May 14, 2001

Can anyone provide any insight into the problem below (99 Odyssey LX, 42,000 miles)

* About a month ago I thought I noticed that the trans began shifting hard from neutral to reverse (a "clunk") when the car was at rest . Park-drive and neutral-drive seem to be fine. As far as I can remember the neutral-reverse shift was originally seamless and smooth; something a passenger might not even feel at all.
* "Check Engine" light illuminates about 1 1/2 weeks ago. No noticeable degradation in engine or overall van performance.
* Three days ago the trans begins to engage each successive gear rather hard. It also holds the revs too long before shifting up; kinda like it can't decide whether or not to shift. 1-2 is hardest, 2-3 less so and so on. Hard shifts aren't present when fluid is cold. Downshifts are hard and delayed too. It only develops when things warm up.
* The trans won't engage 4th gear and lockup the torque convertor.

I called one dealer who immediately asked if I had been changing the trans fluid evey 15,000 miles. I said "Why would I do that." He said his dealership recommended it. I laughed and hung up. Another dealership said that changing the fluid may correct the problem. This just seems ridiculous to me. I cannot seem to find my owner' manual but I'm almost certain the transmission fluid change interval is more like 50,000 miles. Can you peek at your manual and clue me in ?

I suspect that a bad engine sensor (evidenced by the check engine light) is feeding bad info to the computer which is calculating and managing shifts. I'm scheduled to bring it in to a dealer on Thursday. Any help is appreciated

Thanks,
Dave

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ChristosAnesti

· #2 · Jan 15, 2008

I have an 01. @ 65000 I started having rough shifts from 1st to 2nd. I just thought I needed to warm up the van a little bit. I was wrong. I finally took it to my mechanic at 71000. He told me about the extended tranny warranty and advised me to take it to the dealer. I did. They are replacing the tranny as I type. Three of the four codes stored were directly related to the tranny. My engine light came on @ 67000.
I made a list of all the symptoms I was experiencing, I read about the extended warranty and what it covers, and read a lot of the info on this site. So, when I went in, I had a good bit a understanding about what was up. The gave me no hassle and even gave me a free loaner (not sure if that was covered or not).

From what I hear/read, this tranny issue is indiscriminate of how many miles you have it can 500- 50000. Godspeed to you!

Changing the fluid every 15000 is a joke! Don't settle.

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back3earth

· #3 · Jan 15, 2008

simunovd said:
I cannot seem to find my owner' manual but I'm almost certain the transmission fluid change interval is more like 50,000 miles. Can you peek at your manual and clue me in ?

Owner Manuals can be found in the link:
https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/logon.asp

For 1999-2001, ATF is to be changed at 45k miles (normal) or 30k miles (severe). Most of us here at OdyClub adhere to 30k or 15k, but even if you change it daily, it does not overcome the design flaw with our 4-speed trannys. (There is an area of the tranny that does not get enough ATF.)

Have you looked at your ATF dipstick to check the condition of your ATF fluid. If it is pink, it's okay. If it's dark or brownish and perhaps smells a little burned... well, you're overdue for an ATF change.

Head on down to the dealer and let them assess what's going on with your tranny. I'm betting you get a freebie. Let us know how it works out.

In the meantime, if you use the search feature, you'll find tons of posts here on the Ody tranny issue.

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egads

· #4 · Jan 15, 2008

This Odyclubber does not change trans fluid every 15k to prevent failure. I do it because it may not fail.

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