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Honda Accord Transmission Questions

143 messages,  Last post on Feb 09, 2012 at 1:45 PM

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#1 of 143 Honda Accord Transmission in Stop & Go Traffic by dknight211

Jul 24, 2007 (12:59 pm)

Honda Accord Transmission in Stop & Go Traffic
 
My old car was a 1992 Lexus LS400 and an excellent car. The transmission was very smooth, and you could barely feel the transmission shift (it was a four speed).
I recently purchased a new 2007 Honda Accord LX V6. The transmission shift is a bit harsher than I’m used to, but still reasonable compared to cars in this price range in normal traffic. In typical traffic, the transmission is perfectly fine.
However, in Los Angeles rush hour freeway traffic, the transmission is a bit jerky at times and the shifts are much more noticeable. In typical LA rush hour traffic, you could be moving along at 5 mph, speed up a little bit to 12-15 mph, and then come to an abrupt stop. Repeat this for the next 30 miles.
When moving at 5 mph, I assume the transmission is in first gear. I add a little gas with a light foot to move up to 12 mph. During this, the transmission shifts into second gear, and the transmission “jerk” is very heavy and noticeable. I’m now moving at 12 mph or so and then come to a complete stop because of traffic. The transmission also very noticeable shifts from 2 to 1 (like the slow shift from 1 to 2, the car jerks).
I assume this is normal behavior because this type of jerking at slow speeds also happens on my 2004 Toyota Sequoia, which is a V8 with 4 speed transmission.
I assume this type of constant transmission jerking for 3 hours a day (the amount of time I spend in rush hour traffic a day) must be very bad for the transmission. I try using D3, but obviously that makes no difference as that only keeps the transmission to the first three gears (and the issue is at slow speeds with gears 1 and 2).
My friend suggested that during rush hour, I shift to 1 and drive the car in that gear. That way, the transmission stays in 1 and avoids the constant upshifting/downshifting. Is this a good idea? Won’t this lead to a lot of high-revving by the engine? Will this damage or cause extra wear on the engine or transmission?
Thanks!!

#2 of 143 Re: Honda Accord Transmission in Stop & Go Traffic [dknight211] by elroy5

Jul 24, 2007 (2:34 pm)

Replying to: dknight211 (Jul 24, 2007 12:59 pm)
The torque converters in Honda transmissions lock into gear much quicker and harder than the typical Toyota transmission does (Honda claims this saves gas, I doubt it saves very much though). If you think your 07 V6 shifts hard, you should have driven my 92 Accord for a day. I have an 03 V6, and it is smooth in comparison. Sorry, just the nature of the beast. My 92 Accord shifted harder than this one, and it lasted 140k miles, if that helps.

#3 of 143 Re: Honda Accord Transmission in Stop & Go Traffic [elroy5] by dknight211

Jul 24, 2007 (3:49 pm)

Replying to: elroy5 (Jul 24, 2007 2:34 pm)
Thank you very much for the input and advice!
Any opinions regarding driving the vehicle in first gear in heavy stop and go traffic? Thanks!!!

#4 of 143 Re: Honda Accord Transmission in Stop & Go Traffic [dknight211] by elroy5

Jul 24, 2007 (5:05 pm)

Replying to: dknight211 (Jul 24, 2007 3:49 pm)
Any opinions regarding driving the vehicle in first gear in heavy stop and go traffic?
 
To leave the transmission in 1st gear you would have to be going pretty slow. I'd say 10mph or less. If you are turning 3k rpm at 15-20mph, your mileage will suck IMO.

#5 of 143 Re: Honda Accord Transmission in Stop & Go Traffic [dknight211] by thegraduate

Jul 24, 2007 (6:09 pm)

Replying to: dknight211 (Jul 24, 2007 3:49 pm)
If you are staying above 5 MPH and below 30 MPH, I'd set the lever in "2". This will LOCK you into 2nd gear, avoiding the shift back down to first gear.

#6 of 143 Re: Honda Accord Transmission in Stop & Go Traffic [dknight211] by nycarguy1

Sep 09, 2007 (4:32 am)

Replying to: dknight211 (Jul 24, 2007 12:59 pm)
2007 LX-V6
 
4000 miles - mostly highway. Noticed the car downshifts (sporadically, but often) a bit soon, quite abruptly in stop and go traffic, or simply slowing to normal stop. Not sure if it's from 3-2 or 2-1 but whoa - jerks and can be quite unsettling. may take it to service to have a lookif it continues.....

#7 of 143 Re: Honda Accord Transmission in Stop & Go Traffic [nycarguy1] by dknight211

Sep 11, 2007 (9:07 pm)

Replying to: nycarguy1 (Sep 09, 2007 4:32 am)
I am starting to think that this is normal behavior for Honda transmissions. Ever since my first post, I have now gotten 2000 miles on my 2007 LX V6. The transmission is jerky as ever, whether in stop-and-go traffic or slowing down to a stop. When I first got the car, the jerkiness was even worse, but now it's toned down a bit (don't know if it's because the engine and transmission are broken in ... or if the Adaptive T ransmission changed the behavior). I sat in my friend's 2003 Accord EX V6 and it had the same jerkiness. I asked him about it, and he said "what jerkiness?". I guess it's all about getting used to it and what car you were used to before.

#8 of 143 Re: Honda Accord Transmission in Stop & Go Traffic [dknight211] by grampy1

Sep 12, 2007 (4:51 am)

Replying to: dknight211 (Sep 11, 2007 9:07 pm)
I don't know if i would call my 07 SE V-6 "jerky",but more of "searching" at certain speeds in the 20-35 mile range around town. I just shift into D3 and the annoyance is gone.On the highway i shift into D.

#9 of 143 Re: Honda Accord Transmission in Stop & Go Traffic [grampy1] by syon

Oct 13, 2007 (8:22 am)

Replying to: grampy1 (Sep 12, 2007 4:51 am)
I have an '03 Accord EX-V6 and experienced the same problem grampy1 experienced. It started around 30K mi. but it was so infrequent that I could never get it diagnosed and the solution of shifting into D3 was so simple. The problem became more frequent as the miles grew but not often enough that it would do it at a mechanic. Fast forward to 80K and one wkend the car just wouldn't shift out of 2nd, but would do it occasionally and then lurch forward which made for dangerous driving. Took it to the dealership and diagnosed it as a total transmission failure. They couldn't be more specific. I followed the maintenance schedule and this is what happens? Contacted Honda and after some arguing they decided to replace it with a rebuilt transmission. I'm still paying for the diagnostic check-up and part of the labor costs but what concerns me most is honda's reliability. I have owned a '91 Camry, '95 Probe GT, '99 Prism, '00 Camry, and all made it much past 150K w/o transmission problems.

#10 of 143 Re: Honda Accord Transmission in Stop & Go Traffic [syon] by blackexv6

Oct 13, 2007 (11:48 am)

Replying to: syon (Oct 13, 2007 8:22 am)
Sorry to hear about your car. We had an '03 Accord EXV6 that failed at 45k miles. Honda replaced with a rebuilt transmission (same design defect) for free & traded it in at 59k.
 
My advice would be to sell or trade the car while its still worth something. Your rebuilt tranny will fail again in another 50-80k miles.
 
Honda had a class action suit for the widespread V6 transmission problems. See this link: link title
 
We owned 2 Honda V6 cars in past 5 years with transmission failures under 100k miles.

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