2006 Honda Accord EX-L 4 Cylinder Automatic 4 door 23,500 miles

Purchased this car brand new September 2005 Lynnwood Honda Washington State.

Have owned many Honda’s over the years, Civic, Accord, and Odyssey. This Honda has the worst transmission behavior of any car I have ever driven.


Problems while Driving:

Transmission holds back and feels like it does not want to relax into final gear (overdrive).

When going at any speed particular down grades with no brakes the engine is almost compression breaking instead of just coasting. If I slip it into Neutral and back into drive then it coasts fine and the rpm’s drop and energy is not wasted. This happens on the freeway too.


Around July 2007 I was told by Pennzoil that my Transmission was leaking from somewhere. I immediately brought in to the dealership for service.
I was told that the Transmission was indeed leaking from somewhere but they did not know where after running it up on a rack etc. I was told my transmission fluid was extremely low. I was told to “just keep and eye on it”.


I went in for another Oil Change at Pennzoil and was told again that the Transmission was leaking and the fluid was very low. The mechanic indicated that he could see Trany oil leaking from where the cable connects to the transmission. I went home and added more Honda ATF fluid again.


March 7th 2008 I had just returned from a trip to the airport and the transmission was causing me grief and my passenger noted the problem as well. I checked the fluid level while parked in the garage on level ground after a few minutes and it was bone dry. I immediately called Lynnwood Honda service and got an appointment.

I had to add more Honda ATF fluid just to bring the level up high enough to show something on the dipstick before driving the car back to the dealership.
I have never found any tranny oil on my garage floor so it must be burning up or dripping out when driving only.

Brought the car in today to dealership and provided them 6 pages of documentation by me regarding the above. They called me back 4 hours later and said that the Transmission was in fact leaking somewhere and the dipstick was dry. They said that a Honda Factory Rep was briefed about my problem and they were advised to put a brand new transmission in and they wanted the bad one for an autopsy.

I have a free rental car and renewed hope that my Honda Accord will be actually fixed and the problem solved. I will keep you guys posted and hope this helps anyone with the same problem.

Semper Fi

I'm surprised they are putting in a new transmission. They typically put in remanufactured transmissions for warranty repairs.

What kind of traffic (city / highway) is most of your 23.5K?

There are claimed reports of failed transmissions in some 07 Accords between 5K and 28K here:
http://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Accord/2007/transmission/transmission_failed.shtml
the second complaint in this site says theirs had leaking seals and a cracked casing.

City driving mostly as i have a company car. You are correct about the remanufactured Tranny but to me it's as good as new and free so either way i am happy.

if all goes well i will pay it off and keep it, if not i will turn it in (lease) and walk away. Thanks for your post.

Re:
When going at any speed particular down grades with no brakes the engine is almost compression breaking instead of just coasting. If I slip it into Neutral and back into drive then it coasts fine and the rpm’s drop and energy is not wasted. This happens on the freeway too.

Mine Has always done this. I think your new one will too.

Re:
When going at any speed particular down grades with no brakes the engine is almost compression breaking instead of just coasting. If I slip it into Neutral and back into drive then it coasts fine and the rpm’s drop and energy is not wasted. This happens on the freeway too.

Mine Has always done this. I think your new one will too.

It will, this is the grade logic that is build into these transmissions, it is a good thing.

A coworker's 02/4cyl/auto made it to 40K miles before his tranny crapped out. To Honda's credit they installed a reman tranny at no cost.

How much warranty did Honda give you on your reman tranny? I would think and hope they would still at least honor your original 60K powertrain warranty.

They are paying for the whole deal no cost to me. I guess then i hate Grade Logic and will never buy another car with it again!

Thanks

Knock on wood, I've got a little over 20k on mine w/o a hitch so far. I just wonder if these failures really relate to poor maintenance. Not so much the owner, but the factory's recommendations for service on these tranny's. I'm not convinced one bit that the OEM filter does what is supposed to do.

In the little miles I've put on my car, I've already changed the fluid 3 times and the filter twice. The only filters I'll use on the tranny are Magnefine.

I found the web site looks interesting.

http://www.emergingent.com/subpage1Magnefine.htm

Thanks for the Tip TurBeau !

How much warranty did Honda give you on your reman tranny? I would think and hope they would still at least honor your original 60K powertrain warranty.

The new unit will be under the original manufacturers warranty. However, it also has a separate 3 year, 36,000mi warranty through Honda as well.

Quick question.... Since this sounds like it has to do with how the unit was installed, is your car a JHM vin number or a 1HG?

Honda's "New" replacement transmissions are remanufactured units- My odyssey has one and it went in looking like it had 300k miles on it. The only way you could tell it didn't come straight from a junkyard is because the switches/sensors were all new.

By the way, my 05 shifts wierd already and has leaked (weeped, not dripped) from early on. I asked about it here and many others noticed the same thing (weeping at case seam).

This is strange.

The I4 AT's seem to be bullet proof for the most part.... Hummm

"However, it also has a separate 3 year, 36,000mi warranty through Honda as well."

I hope you're right about that. A coworker just had his 2001 trans replaced at 100K miles under the 6th Gen extended warranty from Honda. The dealer put in a reman and told him he had zero warranty on it.

You guys have my attention. I've been a little neurotic about my tranny fluid level since I changed it, I'm gonna keep checking it weekly.

I'm not easy on my car Marc, and I haven't had a leak of any kind yet. I wonder if its where some are made that are having the issues. i.e., Ohio, Mexico, etc.

1st digit of my vin is J.

To those that are having the problems, go look at the 1st digit of your vin and get back to us. Maybe we'll see a pattern. Everybody start posting your 1st vin digit.

I'm not easy on my car Marc, and I haven't had a leak of any kind yet. I wonder if its where some are made that are having the issues. i.e., Ohio, Mexico, etc.

1st digit of my vin is J.

To those that are having the problems, go look at the 1st digit of your vin and get back to us. Maybe we'll see a pattern. Everybody start posting your 1st vin digit.


Are there cars with a J VIN (and thus made in Japan) but have US-made transmissions? And made vice versa (cars with a 1 VIN and made in the US, but with Japan-made transmissions)? If so, then it would impossible to determine a pattern based on where the entire car is assembled?



My Accord is assembled in the US with a US-made transmission. :(

I'm pretty certain engine/tranny are made in the same place.

My car was assembled in Ohio. To date, no leaks and no rattles!

My car says engine made in US, transmission made in Japan, assembly in US

They are paying for the whole deal no cost to me. I guess then i hate Grade Logic and will never buy another car with it again!

Thanks


As strange as it sounds now, you will begin to appreciate the function of grade logic. It was not real well liked by me at first, but have learned to appreciate its benefits.
Around town I rarely have to brake when going down long grades at 35-40MPH, to stay within the speed limits. It does save on brake wear to some extent. On long downhill grades at 65-75MPH with cruise control on, it can be a bit annoying. My 2cents

...GREAT! I was thinking of not getting the extended warranty, and now this damn thread!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH

Not so much the owner, but the factory's recommendations for service on these tranny's. I'm not convinced one bit that the OEM filter does what is supposed to do.

I drove my last car, a supercharged 99 Buick Regal, for 90,000 miles before its first tranny fluid and filter change. I traded it in for my Accord at 144,000 miles without ever having any transmission problems, and that car was not babied.

There is no reason that fluid changes should be required every 15-20k miles on these cars unless there is a design problem with the tranny. If there is a design problem, I seriously doubt that frequent fluid changes are going to make a significant difference in the trans life. I suspect it depends more on how lucky you are, or on your particular driving habits than on whether you change your fluid every week or every 30k miles.

I drove my last car, a supercharged 99 Buick Regal, for 90,000 miles before its first tranny fluid and filter change. I traded it in for my Accord at 144,000 miles without ever having any transmission problems, and that car was not babied.

There is no reason that fluid changes should be required every 15-20k miles on these cars unless there is a design problem with the tranny. If there is a design problem, I seriously doubt that frequent fluid changes are going to make a significant difference in the trans life. I suspect it depends more on how lucky you are, or on your particular driving habits than on whether you change your fluid every week or every 30k miles.



I guess what makes some people worried (including me) is that Honda has a lengthy history of badly designed transmissions (mainly but not limited to the 01 Civic, 03 Accord, and so on). The newer generation transmissions should have had the problem fixed, but when the transmission in my new car shifts hard and sometimes jerks, I'm a little worried that my transmission fail before 70K. :paranoid:

I will definately keep an eye on this thread. I bought my used 04 accord 2.4L
at around 59k miles, it now has around 74k, knock on wood, no tranny issues. And get this, i just did the 3 fluid changes this month, the last a couple of days ago, i also added the magnefinefilter. I dont know if the tranny fluid was ever changed but it sure looked nasty the first time i pulled the plug. What was weird was, i didnt feel the "grade logic" when going downhills, but then after the very last oil change, i can definately feel it, i was beginning to wonder if something was wrong.

There is no reason that fluid changes should be required every 15-20k miles on these cars unless there is a design problem with the tranny. If there is a design problem, I seriously doubt that frequent fluid changes are going to make a significant difference in the trans life. I suspect it depends more on how lucky you are, or on your particular driving habits than on whether you change your fluid every week or every 30k miles.

I change mine every 15K because it is so easy, and so inexpensive compared to a $2-3K new tranny. It takes 15 min and have not had to lift the car. Pretty cheap insurance if it does help, and spent <$20 for a new washer and Z-1 fluid.

I don't think the 7th gen have cursed trannies but the '02 and priors did. Like I said, mine has the most minor seep at the case seam but it's the type of thing that will never drip (nor something I would worry about).

I don't think the 7th gen have cursed trannies but the '02 and priors did.

Accords with problem automatic transmissions -

1986-1989 Honda Accords - Mostly LX-i and SE-i.

1990-1991 Honda Accords - Due to 'sport shift' issue. - Also same unit used in the 1986-1990 Acura Legend, which is also prone to failure.

1997 Honda Accords - Redesigned transmission for smother shifts and quicker gear changes - Avg life is 160k with mixed city/hwy driving from what I've seen. . When they die, they slip like crazy.

1998-2002 Honda Accords - Poor lubrication of 2nd gear, slips between 1 2 and 3. When they get really bad they slam into lower gears and it can cause an accident if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time (freeway speeds).

2003's (V6) - poor lubrication, but could be fixed if caught early on by the 'oil jet kit'.

2004's - early models experienced the same issues as 2003's.

Looks like 05's and on are holding up. :) - Time will tell.:yes:

So far so good with the new (re-manufactured) Tranny on my end. They said it was a defect in the Transmission metal that failed and caused the fluid to leak through. That's the best i could get from him. They did not say any seals failed they said the Metal Failed and was porus. I never had any dripping or puddling on my garage floor. The Tranny oil was just burning up while driving.

I will check my VIN when i get home.


2006 Honda Accord EX-L 4 Cylinder Automatic

Just get a MT.... I have no idea why folks like AT's in cars like Accord. While my wife's Accord has a blue hair AT in it and its fine. Its the main reason I don't drive the car very much.

Slamming a testicle in a toilet seat sounds more entertaining to me than driving a AT.

I don't think the 7th gen have cursed trannies but the '02 and priors did. Like I said, mine has the most minor seep at the case seam but it's the type of thing that will never drip (nor something I would worry about).

I lifted my car yesterday and took a look at the transmission. Mine has seep at the bottom of case seam as well, but it doesn't appear to drip at all.

Response to Pyshack:

Coming from a Guy that Drives a Purple Car ! And it's a Mazda too. Mmmm thanks for your comment then ! and why would I want to shift if i already played that game for 20 years. I am perfectly content with being able to drink my coffee, talk on my phone and flick a bugger on your purple car all at the same time while getting 22 city and 35 Highway.

Everyone else has been very helpfull.

My Vin is: 1HGCM

So i don't know where it was made maybe someone has the code to tell me.

The repair paperwork said the tranny was leaking where the shifting cable goes into the Tranny near the differential. They were pretty secretive about the whole thing.

HAHAHAHA

Good luck with the tranny. :)

Response to Pyshack:

Coming from a Guy that Drives a Purple Car ! And it's a Mazda too. Mmmm thanks for your comment then ! and why would I want to shift if i already played that game for 20 years. I am perfectly content with being able to drink my coffee, talk on my phone and flick a bugger on your purple car all at the same time while getting 22 city and 35 Highway.

Everyone else has been very helpfull.

My Vin is: 1HGCM

So i don't know where it was made maybe someone has the code to tell me.

The repair paperwork said the tranny was leaking where the shifting cable goes into the Tranny near the differential. They were pretty secretive about the whole thing.

...because of YOU, I bought an extended warranty...

The prefix you posted above is the same as my car...although mine is a coupe, I am also guessing your engine=US, transmission=Japan, and assembled in US

Hey Guys I have a 2006 accord 4cyl auto and I had noticed that my transmission does hold gear before shifting into the final 5th and that is going down on slight hill. While holding the accelerator then it revs up like 150 - 350 rpm and then shifts. Another words if it is holding at 2100 rpm it will jump like 2300 - 2400 rpm then shift. This only happens on decline. It never happen on straight conditions. Any suggestions??

It's called grade logic, it's normal, read your owner's manual.

Hey Guys I have a 2006 accord 4cyl auto and I had noticed that my transmission does hold gear before shifting into the final 5th and that is going down on slight hill. While holding the accelerator then it revs up like 150 - 350 rpm and then shifts. Another words if it is holding at 2100 rpm it will jump like 2300 - 2400 rpm then shift. This only happens on decline. It never happen on straight conditions. Any suggestions??

That is grade logic working. It is designed to hold a current gear when going down or up grades.

I notice that it only becomes apparant at grades of 6% or greater.