civic tranny change $8000!!! plz help me!

[spothe]

I have a problem, can anyone help me out???

I have a civic 96 vti auto and my tranny was shuddering so i changed the tranny fluid and worked perfect for a day or two, then my car wouldnt change to 3rd gear and started to stall!!! I took it to honda car service and they said the whole transmittion needed to be changed and would cost $8000 for a new one!!!!! Is that even POSSIBLE???

Anyway i asked around about second hand tranny's and it would cost around 2000 something. I want to ask if i do change to a second hand one, i know its hard to tell but then in normal situations how much longer would the car run for??? 6 months? 1 year? 5 years???? I dont want to replace it and keep having to chuck money to it...

I also asked around and alot of people say that the CVT (i think that is the VTi one???) is VERY smooth but also VERY unreliable. Is it possilbe to change a VTi tranny to a normal GLi one????

Please any help would be GREAT!!!

[Scandrew]

I'm sure you could get a tranny from wreckers for cheaper then $2000 - just gotta look around. Most expensive part will probably be labour to get it installed.

[**Ghost**]

are u in VIC?

[spothe]

no i am in NSW

I also changed my battery around 6 months ago, a mechanic told me that it might not be the transmittions problem but a computer in the car that got resetted because the battery was changed, he said to go and update the computer. Would that sound right???

Also i know very little about cars but can anyone tell me if a belt driven gear box for the VTi can be replaced by a normal gear box from a GLi?

Thanks

[sivic]

yeah, dont even consider a new one from honda.
check around the wreckers. honbits should be able to help out.
for $2000 a guy over here in perth got a manual conversion done inc parts and labour. that was for a Si.
so it shouldnt cost too much. as long as you get a good gearbox it should last for years

[aimre]

lol, u could get a b16 with a gearbox fitted for alot less than that

[sivic]

haha yeah $8k could get you a B18CR swap done

[Weq]

Goto Good performance at yaroona(sp?) and ask charlie for a tranny. im sure he has a heep lieing around from swaps.

[chameleon]

call honda, i had similar problem. my car started to shudder will accelerating form standing start. i took it to local honda servise center and they said start clutch problem around 2000 to fix. i say no way!!! they guy then said he will call honda to see if will be repaired under warrenty cause it may be a design defect. now i'm getting it repaired for free. So if your local servise centre say it wlill cost u to repair, call honda directly and talk to them. By the way CVT does not have a 3rd gear.

[Waggy]

My first service from the local Honda dealer after buying my '00 EM1 cost me $450. Needless to say I had a lot of things to check, but their labour is a bitch. My advice is the same as the others, contact a Honda wrecker, I'm sure it wouldn't cost too much more than $1500.

[spothe]

call honda, i had similar problem. my car started to shudder will accelerating form standing start. i took it to local honda servise center and they said start clutch problem around 2000 to fix. i say no way!!! they guy then said he will call honda to see if will be repaired under warrenty cause it may be a design defect. now i'm getting it repaired for free. So if your local servise centre say it wlill cost u to repair, call honda directly and talk to them. By the way CVT does not have a 3rd gear.

Thanks for the reply's, ill take it anywhere but honda to get it fixed. Also i bought my honda second hand from a mazda dealer 3 years ago so i dont think honda would fix it under warranty, also it wasnt a problem with the starting clutch (i WISH) they said the WHOLE transmittion needs to be replaced, i dont know how much extent transmittion goes to except i got a heart attack when i heard it.

Also Chameleon, a CVT doesnt have third gear??? sorry to ask but how does it work then? im taking your word for it. Also does this mean my VTi HAVE or NOT HAVE a CVT transmittion thingy then???

THANKS

[jdmcivic]

8 large, lol. I got quoted $600 at the wreaker, but only 2 weeks warranty. How can you tell if the tranny is in good condition when buy from the wreakers

[Limbo]

take it around to a few other mechanics and get a quote on what is wrong and how much it costs to fix. It might be something else and not the tranny.
i'd recommend Hanny's in Smithfield he will tell you what is wrong. If it is the tranny problem you might as well start going around for quotes on labour and try getting a second hand tranny from the wreckers. Trust me look for prices yourself as i got quote by a mechanic to buy a certain improt part for $200, but i rang the place he was getting it from and they were only gonna charge me $160 (mechanic's find fee). You'll save more.

P.S Try doing a ECU reset (its somewhere on the forums) and also flush out your tansmission fluid (they have some transmission flush also for this) and this time use Genuine Honda fluids!

[chameleon]

Also Chameleon, a CVT doesnt have third gear??? sorry to ask but how does it work then? im taking your word for it. Also does this mean my VTi HAVE or NOT HAVE a CVT transmittion thingy then???

THANKS
From what i know CVT works with a series of pullies and belts. As the name suggests, the ratios are constantly changing, therefore there are infinite ratios. A simplified view would be a belt around a witches hat sliding up and down to change ratios.
If your civic is a ek1 vti with auto trannie then you have cvt.

[mj3610]

whateva honda dealers quote u then assume u can find it 10x cheaper. 8k for a new transmission??? i called them a while agon to buy honda hub cabs and they said $75 EACH!!!so thats $300 for a set of hub cabs. i got the same ones from a reckor for $30.
my mate got a manual transmission from a fairfield rekors for 1k fitted but he already had manual on his si so i dunno about other costs.

[wynode]

Hannys Performance
3/ 28 Victoria St Smithfield 2164
02 97255115

Give them a call / visit

[LORYDA]

there was a tranny at honbits with 6 months warranty for $650 a few months back... they are always willing to do cash deals also. dont forget trannies can also be repaired.

[wynode]

there was a tranny at honbits with 6 months warranty for $650 a few months back... they are always willing to do cash deals also. dont forget trannies can also be repaired.
And second hand trannys can also be as bad!

Sure they give you warranty.......but if you don't install it yourself......by the time you pay someone else to take your out, put the new one in to find out its as bad.....then pay them again to take it out.......you could have yours reconditioned with warranty :)

Hard decission!

[ek]

If its the VTI sedan, the be prepared to be raped because of the CVT tramsission. If you have the coupe, then its probably a normal 4 speed auto gearbox.

[spothe]

well yeh i am pretty much getting raped

i want to sell the car buy would it sell with a faulty tranny as a trade in at the dealers? i dont want to fix it costing me $2000+ and then having to just sell it again... and i dont want to fix it and then use it and just wait for it to stuff up again in a few months time, damnit why did i buy a vti civic.

the thing is two places i took the car to, none of the mechanics were willing to take out the gearbox to check if its a small or a big thing! they had millions of jobs lining up to be done and they refuse to just check what is actually wrong with the damn box and just tell me that they'll just replace it.

[Dtegra]

hey man i had big trannys issues just rescently in my integra..went to hannys drove it around with them not much happened then he pulled it apart and showed me my diff..and it was recked so bad like real bad .anyways..he replaced all the bearings in my box new diff..nothing wrong with the syncors...that cost me 800 and man the gearbox absolutley feels brand new like brand new..real cheap priice to get a diff and all new bearings everyone has told me...so yeah i suggest u got to hannys

[spothe]

was yours an auto or manual???

mine is the worst, CVT!

[vti_ek9]

ahhh SHIT....i got a ghay cvt tranny too...nOOoOoO