Transmission gone: 98 Accord V6 (only 103K miles!!!):

My transmission has been acting up lately. but last night after a 10
hour drive (Buffalo to Boston) I think it's finally gone. When in D3
or D4 it is hunting for gears and over-reving the engine as it
violently kicks in (literally spinning my front tires as I though I am
trying to drag race).
I am little disappointed that it's happened this early. 163kms (103k
miles). I've talked to the dealer and there is no warranty extensions
or upgrade program for my year.

I just wanted to get some feedback from people who have gone through
this before such as:
Should I:
-swap for a rebuilt
-rebuild the original
-go to a dealer or independent? (any recommended in Boston area?)

Please help!

thanks,
Robert

 

=======================

For the sake of sharing information, what cures did you try before the
ten-hour drive? Did it ever give you the 'flashing D4' light, or show
burnt / smelly tranny fluid?

Did drain /refill of the tranny not help?

This sounds quite rare for a '98 v6 model.

'Curly'

 

I regularly check my fluids and it all seemed good. However my check
engine light has been coming on lately (not to be confused with the D4
light) on these long drives, which I thought was only emission related

 

103k from this generation Accord doesn't seem too bad. I replaced my
'99 Accord V6's at ~51k miles, again at ~76k, and now at 90k a Honda
tech tells me that the "ticking" noise coming from near the driver
side wheelwell is likely the transmission.

I'm a *little* disappointed as well.

Good luck.

-James

 

id be pissed enough to not buy another honda, personally. toyota makes
some really nice cars and trucks.

 

So how long should an AT last? I have always owned MT cars and never
had a problem other than clutches. Now I have a '98 Ody purchased
last year. I drive it a little harder than average and of course it
is naturally working harder than an Accord. At 60K it runs fine but I
would almost bet on having to replace the AT at some point unless an
ideal replacement vehicle becomes available in the next few years.

I suspect that longevity is at least somewhat related to how gently
you drive it. This could explain why some people think replacement at
103K is fairly normal while others think it is unreasonable.

And when it comes to minivan transmissions, longevity is inversely
related to whether it has a five-pointed star on the hood.

 

the person i was replying to went through *3* trannies in 90k miles.
that may be normal for GM or chrysler, but not honda.

 

Not even for GM, they seem to have pretty good auto transmissions.
Out of all the cars my parents, my brother, and I owned, only one AT
went bad, on a 94 Silverado at 120K. All these vehicles were GM and
all had over 100K before selling. My brother even has a Caddy he uses
as a work car with 210K miles that drives *very* well for that
mileage.

Me, I had two Chevys, both with well over 100K. Now a Honda of
course, 6 speed thankfully.

 

I have driven 3 GMs and a Mazda well over 125k without a single AT
concern, Same with my MT Nissan 240sx - no problems there, except the
bad clutch it came with.

I agree that gentle handling typically contributes to longevity, but
with stories about shattered bearings, undersized jet ports, bad
solenoids, and Honda *finally* adding an external filter (on my 3rd
trans), I believe the design is simply inadequate for the V6s Honda
has created since the late 90s.

Agreed Let's hope DC doesn't become any more Chrysler-like.

-James

 

The V6 trannys have issues in that generation of Accords. I have a '99 V6
and I had Honda replace mine at 63k miles. All I had to pay was the labor
which was around $550, they covered the rest. I must be a sweet negotiator
as there was no warranty extension on the '99 plus I was WAY out of
warranty. I don't even go to the dealer for anything. I now have 89k miles
and the tranny is still better than new. But once it starts to act up
again... Buh-bye

 

A well-designed auto tranny should last 150,000+ miles with regular
fluid changes. That's the point where the bands' or clutch packs'
friction material should start wearing out. Anything less is
unacceptable.

JM

 

Honda has an extended transmission warranty on all Accord V6 2000-2001s to
100,000/7 years. And probably would extend that to 98-99s. They know
something is wrong.

 

Maybe, maybe not. I had to fight for over a month to get Honda to eat
75% of the US$5600 cost of my first replacement. What really pisses
me off is that the true dealer cost for the trans is around $1200, and
the trans can be replaced in around 6 hours. My second replacement
was free, but by that point the warranty extension was out for the
2000-2001, and presumably a lot more transmissions had been replaced.

Agreed.

-James

 

My 98 Honda Accord V6 has just over 100K miles, and the automatic
transmission went out last week- same symptoms. I'm taking it to Honda
tomorrow...
Thanks for the various info.

 

Honda has been having lots of problems with it's automatic transmissions.
Maybe they should stop making them in-house!

John