Okay I have a 2000 Accord LX sedan 2.3 liter. When I go to start it in the morning, I usually take off right away. But when this happens, the d4 light flashes and the transmission doesn't accelerate. I just keep going until I slow down. I've asked people and they said it's because the car didn't warm up enough and that I should let the needle raise to a few notches above the C on the temp gauge. What should I do?
D4 light issue
2000 Accord LX
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Okay I have a 2000 Accord LX sedan 2.3 liter. When I go to start it in the morning, I usually take off right away. But when this happens, the d4 light flashes and the transmission doesn't accelerate. I just keep going until I slow down. I've asked people and they said it's because the car didn't warm up enough and that I should let the needle raise to a few notches above the C on the temp gauge. What should I do?
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This is a sign that your transmission is failing. Unfortunately a flashing D4 means its about time for a trans rebuild. Sorry.
It may work fine sometimes but it WILL happen again and more frequently. Now its just a matter of where/when it will leave you stranded.
Good luck with everything.
It may work fine sometimes but it WILL happen again and more frequently. Now its just a matter of where/when it will leave you stranded.
Good luck with everything.
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Now today I let it warm up for ten minutes. And it worked fine. So is there some connection between a cold engine and the transmission?
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The only connection I can see here is that when the ATF is warmed up (warmed up through the ATF reservoir in the radiator) that the pressure plates and / or clutches are expanded just enough to get you into gear and get you going.
But yea, what you're saying here means that it's just about time for you to rebuild the transmission. Start saving your pennies or plan on selling it. A rebuild goes for between $1,800 - $2,800 depending on the shop you take your car to.
But yea, what you're saying here means that it's just about time for you to rebuild the transmission. Start saving your pennies or plan on selling it. A rebuild goes for between $1,800 - $2,800 depending on the shop you take your car to.
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Now I let it heat up this morning and it kept flashing. Is there any other way of fixing this issue without having to burn a hole in my pocket??
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Short answer, no. The blinking D4 light is telling you that the transmission's time is limited.
At 290k, I'm on my 3rd transmission. We know this from experience, LOL.
At 290k, I'm on my 3rd transmission. We know this from experience, LOL.
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I'm at 246k. We had the transmission fluid drained and cleaned once in the 15 years we have owned it. We are the first owners. This started happening last month and it seems to happen more when it's cold.
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Would it be more practical to rebuild/ replace the transmission or just sell the car and buy another car?
You could always find a JDM and have it installed. I did that on my 98 in my sig for $750 installed.. running strong for 18 months now, and 15k miles later.You probably have a little while to shop, and in the warmer weather, your symptoms may decrease.
You could try doing some drain and fills on your tranny, but if you got 246k on it without maintaining it, I am sure it is toast anyhow.
For a JDM tranny, you would look for an MCJA to replace your BAXA/MAXA. Whoever installs it has to swap out some of the external components off your old tranny, just make sure they clean out the screens, and flush your radiator before installing on the JDM.
You could try doing some drain and fills on your tranny, but if you got 246k on it without maintaining it, I am sure it is toast anyhow.
For a JDM tranny, you would look for an MCJA to replace your BAXA/MAXA. Whoever installs it has to swap out some of the external components off your old tranny, just make sure they clean out the screens, and flush your radiator before installing on the JDM.
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With basically no maintenance in the time you guys have owned your 6GA, you are one of the lucky ones to have gotten so far without the transmission having failed.
As for what to do with the car in regards to rebuild / replace the transmission or sell the car and get a new one, that will be up to you. Personally, I would have the transmission rebuilt and would only get rid of the car if there were dyre electrical issues as coming up; but that's just me. The way I look at is like this, with a single (guestimate) $2,400 for a transmission rebuild plus another (guestimate) $300 for other things throughout the year (things like brakes) is still cheaper long term than the $330 monthly payment ($4,000/yr) of a new car per year for the next 4 to 7 years plus its maintenance (things like brakes). Having a single issue like this can be broken down to either recoup your savings account or pay back a CC that you used to make this happen into monthly payments of just $200 (guestimating a $2,400 repair bill as mentioned above) for just one year instead of $330/mo for 4 - 7 years to pay off whatever new(er) car you purchase to replace this one.
As for what to do with the car in regards to rebuild / replace the transmission or sell the car and get a new one, that will be up to you. Personally, I would have the transmission rebuilt and would only get rid of the car if there were dyre electrical issues as coming up; but that's just me. The way I look at is like this, with a single (guestimate) $2,400 for a transmission rebuild plus another (guestimate) $300 for other things throughout the year (things like brakes) is still cheaper long term than the $330 monthly payment ($4,000/yr) of a new car per year for the next 4 to 7 years plus its maintenance (things like brakes). Having a single issue like this can be broken down to either recoup your savings account or pay back a CC that you used to make this happen into monthly payments of just $200 (guestimating a $2,400 repair bill as mentioned above) for just one year instead of $330/mo for 4 - 7 years to pay off whatever new(er) car you purchase to replace this one.
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I mean we have gotten tune ups regularly, but I'm saying we have only done a fluid change and a filter change once.
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Because the cost to buy a new transmission is like 2,000 or so, right? And the car's value is also about 2,000 or so. So people have told me it's more ideal to sell the car then to keep doing these expansive maintaining of a 15 year old car with almost 250k.
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In regards to buy a new car. I meant to say that we would buy a newer used car from Craigslist instead of leasing just pay up front.
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The filter on the transmission is internal. To replace the transmission filter you have to drop the transmission. ATF fluid changes, yea that can be done. Other tune ups and regularly scheduled maintenance such as oil changes, that's typical for any car and not factored into my example.
Yes, $2,000 to have the transmission rebuilt is quite plausible. Your car's value may be as little as $1,500 or as high as $3,500 depending on the options your car has as well as how well maintained it has been (transmission issue aside). People do make these kinds of decisions on keeping or scraping a car based on repair costs alone. Buying a new-to-you car from Craig's List is definitely an option. However, you may have issues that this other car may have that the owner is not telling you OR issues that may happen immediately after purchasing the car. Or, the car simply works and runs great but the car is no longer needed by seller. You won't ever really know what you're getting into, and I'd say there can't be a basis on the reliability factor of the car for at least one year after ownership of the new-to-you car you'd be purchasing. Here in this case (again, this a reason for me to keep my car instead of sell it) is that aside from the transmission issue, I know exactly what is wrong with my car.
All I can really say is that we are here to help you on making an informed decision on your car. If you decide to keep it or sell it, that is all on you.
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Its up to you ultimately, you will spend more buying another used car and have to do maintenance + cost of the car.
I have been lucky with my trans so far as well. 215,xxx miles and original V6 trans/engine 2nd owner (Parents bought it new). It has been slipping for close to 4 years now! Have to warm it up every morning or it will slip/harsh shift horribly. Haven't yet had the D4 flash but I do D&F every other oil change, helps for a few thousand miles but not much. Just waiting for it to die before I rebuild/J32 6MT swap (depending on the circumstances).
Just living with it at the moment and have to baby it constantly, the worst part of it is my MPG gets worse as the trans does. Last FULL tank got me 240 miles, that's 15MPG!!! I used to get around 25, ugh.
I have been lucky with my trans so far as well. 215,xxx miles and original V6 trans/engine 2nd owner (Parents bought it new). It has been slipping for close to 4 years now! Have to warm it up every morning or it will slip/harsh shift horribly. Haven't yet had the D4 flash but I do D&F every other oil change, helps for a few thousand miles but not much. Just waiting for it to die before I rebuild/J32 6MT swap (depending on the circumstances).
Just living with it at the moment and have to baby it constantly, the worst part of it is my MPG gets worse as the trans does. Last FULL tank got me 240 miles, that's 15MPG!!! I used to get around 25, ugh.
Is there any way to know if my car's transmission was replaced or rebuilt? My v6 has 267k on it, and I've had it since 205k (single owner before that). The transmission has never shifted as well as I would like from 1st to 2nd gear, and I've always wondered.
Like others, letting it warm up pretty much solves the issue. I've never had a blinking D4 light either. My solution: buy a 5 speed, and use the v6 only for my long distance interstate driving. I was once an avid hypermiler, so I'm good at avoiding unnecessary gear changes.
It seems like its working because there has been no discernible deterioration in shift quality in the 5 years I've owned the car.
Like others, letting it warm up pretty much solves the issue. I've never had a blinking D4 light either. My solution: buy a 5 speed, and use the v6 only for my long distance interstate driving. I was once an avid hypermiler, so I'm good at avoiding unnecessary gear changes.
It seems like its working because there has been no discernible deterioration in shift quality in the 5 years I've owned the car.
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That I'm aware of, no there isn't unless it was recently rebuilt. If it was recently rebuilt, the housing would look new as well as any new external components, such as shift solenoids, that would have been replaced had they needed replacing. Now that you've had it for 5yrs and put on 62k miles of your own, there would be lots of dirt and grime on there that would not let you know this.
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