99 Civic EX Transmission problem

Hi All, new to the group. We just picked up a very clean '99 Civic EX
2-door automatic for my daughter's first car. Lately it's been shuddering,
slipping a shifting harshly, mostly when pulling away from a stop. Seems to
run OK once up to speed though. Coincident with this behavior the CEL
illuminates. Retrieving the error code with a scanner reveals a code
"PO730 - Gear Ratio Incorrect" is present. This seems to be consistent with
the poor shifting performance. Any clues as to what's wrong? Automatic
transmissions are scary things as they are usually very expensive to fix.

 

---------------------------------------

Somebody put non-Honda fluid in it. Drain-n-fill it at least twice with
Honda Z1. Drive it a several miles in between flushings, preferably a
week. It's missing some 'essential friction modifiers' at present, and
is chewing up some important friction surfaces.

'Curly'

 

Thanks, I drained and replaced it once and for a little while it was OK,
I'll try doing it again. It's pretty easy to do. Thanks again.

 

OK, I've drained and refilled 3 times now and replaced the linear solenoid
as per TSB 00-012. The transmission will seem to work ok for a day or two
but then goes back to its shuddering, slipping and harsh shifting
misbehavior. Now what? :^(. The TSB refers to a 70 code, not the P0730
code that I got. Maybe I'm fixing the wrong problem?

I'm starting to think about getting a used or rebuilt transmission for the
car, any recommended sources??

 

---------------------------------------------

That's the TSB I was thinking of, all right.

Have you tried resetting the ECU (or is it a TCU?) ? It decides the
shift points, and I think you have to reset it. Try a google search for
'reset honda tcu' or 'reset honda ecu'.

Lots of hits. My first CR-V behaved really weird because somebody had
reset it 'funny' and the result was LOTS of engine braking when you
released the gas pedal. I got used to it. Saved on brake pads.

'Curly'

 

Well, I'm talking to myself I guess. An amazing story of customer support
to report:
We took the Civic to the dealer that the PO had kept it maintained at and
told them our sad story. I also told them I tried changing the ATF 3 times
and replacing the linear solenoid per TSB 00-012 to no avail. I
communicated to them that as our first experience with a Honda car we were
disappointed in this problem.

The service manager called me later in the day and told me the transmission
was indeed toast and would have to be replaced, she also told me that she
had called American Honda on our behalf and they agreed to replace the
transmission with a factory re-manufactured unit and they would comp the job
100%! Needless to say, my daughter and I were floored, relieved and over
joyed. To beat that they had the job done in 2 days and washed the car too!
As my 18 year old daughter would say: "Honda Rocks!"

 

----------------------------------------

Congratulations!

Your story is not terribly rare, but it sure makes you want to become a
loyal Honda owner, right?

'Curly'