civic acceleration question

I have a '96 civic EX auto with 130K miles on it. While pressing on
the gas pedal from a standstill, the car accelerates fine. However,
while cruising around 60mph, I slow down to 30mph by braking and then
quickly press on the gas. I noticed that the car seems to respond very
slowly. Meaning that no matter how hard I press on the gas, it takes
its own sweet time.

Is the car behaving normally? Or could there be some problem (other
than the driver)?

Thanks for the help.

 

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You are saying your automatic tranny isn't downshifting to compensate
for the lower speed? If it's a manual tranny, gear down. Read the manual
about the allowable rev / speeds for each gear. You can rev the heck out
of it.

'Curly'

 

Assuming it's not a transmission defect (and it doesn't sound like one),
your right food need to be heavy enough on the accelerator, to induce a
downshift. The downshift should be noticeable since it'll probably skip down
two gears (which is not a wise move if you've got jittery passengers).
Otherwise, you'll just have to put up with the lackluster power at the low
rpms (..what do you expect from a 1.6L engine that loaded down with an auto
tranny?).

The standard transmission does a much better job at simulating a big
displacement engine (...displacement equates to more torque which means more
power for passing without having to downshift) because of the ability to
manually select the appropriate gears (and usually there is more gears to
work with). The 'Tiptronic' is clutchless solution that allows for manual
shifting, but there's only a few good ones out there (VW's DSG transmission
promises to be above average). Contrary to general consensus, I still feel a
manual transmission on a small car is a better setup then a 'clutchless
shift', but only on the streets (appose to the racetrack where is necessary
to rapidly brake and downshift at the same time)

Pars

 

The transmission is not downshifting enough. Most automatics have a range
where they just don't respond the way you want, either they give too much,
or not enough. The automatic they used in '96 is optimized to stay in the
higher gear too long (for mileage). Try moving the selector to D3 when you
do this and you will get more response out of it.

 

dude, you're pretty down on the auto aren't you? thing is, with the
honda transmission at any rate, there's really not much "loss" once the
lockup clutch is engaged. the torque converter is lighter than some
standard flywheels, so there's no "loss" there. the gears are not
"lossy" planetary gears like most automatics - they're basically the
same as a standard transmission, only with a clutch pack replacing the
synchro. the only place where there is "loss" is in the oil pump, but
even then, with electronic [solenoid] control, there's not a huge
problem there either. this shows in the fuel consumption figures,
especially for the newer automatics with better electronic control of
their shift patterns.

there /is/ for most people, a difference in performance, but again,
that's more a function of shift pattern than suffering the effect of
"loss". with the older versions, you can adjust the throttle cable to
give a much more sporty shift and to ensure it red lines before shifting
[you /must/ floor the pedal]. with the post 99's, it'll red line
without flooring, depending on what it learns of your shifting preferences.

 

One thing I've seen is bunched-up floor mats, or mats that are too thick.

If the floor mats have bunched up thick enough, they can prevent the pedal
from being pushed down far enough to induce a downshift.

This is also a safety issue, as the gas pedal can become hooked under the
bunches and stick on.

 

My 2005 Accord Hybrid does the same thing. Takes it one to two seconds
to downshift from 5th to 3rd. The speedometer actually drops sometimes
when I stomp on the gas. I don't think Honda makes very good automatics.

 

I respect the fact that the newer auto transmissions are more efficient (and
smarter) than the older ones. But, they take away a degree of control that
can only be had from a manual system. I currently have two 96-00 Civics
(same model) but one is an Automatic and the other is Standard. I feel
crippled when I'm driving the Automatic. On those rare occasions, when I
force myself into the Automatic, it's because I plan on getting wasted (or
similarly crippled...), in which case my wife (who doesn't drive Standard)
would be the designated driver. Also, I've noticed that my Standard equipped
car returns better mileage then the posted rates, while the Automatic is
hard pressed to simulate the mileage rating posted by the manufactures.

Pars