1994 honda civic transmission

my 1994 honda civic's transmission goes to neutral when I'm driving. When
this happens I have to turn off the car and turn it back on. After I do
this it goes into gears and shifts normal for about a minute then it goes
back to neutral. I have to keep doing this. Sometimes it'sperfectly
fine.

 

Is there a diagnostic light on the dash that you can see?

 

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Look in the glove compartment. Car ownership isn't rocket science. If
that doesn't solve it, tell us what kind of tranny and the mileage and
the service history.

'Curly'

 

If you're suggesting he check his Owner's Manual, he may not have one.

Honda gives them away for free (page by page) here:
https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/logon.asp
Click "Owner's Manuals" in the menu to the left. No login required.

 

If you're suggesting that this could be solved by reading the manual, then
that would be a miracle. To me this sounds like something is picking up dirt
which blocks the transmission fluid.

 

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I was hoping the manual would help the O.P. to determine whether their
tranny was a manual or automatic (both can 'pop' out of gear), and to
check the level of fluid if it's an autobox. They could then follow the
instructions and determine whether there is any fluid in the tranny (if
it's an auto). Dry dipstick would be a helpful thing to know when
troubleshooting. A tiny bit of 'history' would go a long way too.

'Curly'

 

Nice. Here's some info, some I will quote from the ownner's manual:

Check the fluid level with the engine at normal operating temperature.
1.Park on level ground.
2.Remove dipstick, wipe dry.
3.Insert the dipstick all the way in the transmission securely...
4.Remove and check the dipstick..should be between upper and lower marks.

"Always use Honda ATF-Z1
(automatic transmission fluid).If
it'snot available,you may use a
DEXRON III automatic
transmission fluid as a temporary
replacement. However,continued
use can affect the shift quality.
Have the transmission flushed and
refilled with Honda ATF-Z1 ..."

ATF-Z1 is around $6US/quart. A good reason to switch to Toyota which has
a better, more reasonable choices on maintenance recommendations. If I remember
correctly, a complete flush took 7-9-quarts.

 

my moms scion xA, (1.5l, A/T) says the tranny fluid never needs to be
changed! ever!

and on top of that, the 1.5 uses a timing chain. go toyota!

 

finally, toyota gets into life limitation. the europeans got into that
in the 90's. detroit's never produced cars good enough for life
limitation to be a concern.

 

That's the new TW fluid (no dipstick), and it SHOULD be changed regularly
even though Toyota says you don't have to.

The Toyota techs I've read talking about this are very suspicious of this
"lifetime" fluid. It's still going to collect clutch particles and other
contaminants, and friction modifiers are still going to wear out.

I think this is going to be another fiasco like those ultra-long oil change
intervals.

To check or change the TW fluid, you need to get underneath as though it
were a manual tranny.

AND valves with no rocker mechanism. The clearances last forever if you
change the oil regularly.

 

if i ever got a scion xA, id likely try replacing the fluid at 100k
anyway, with toyota fluid, of course.

 

if you can. bmw for instance don't even have a drain plug.