HELP! 7th gen Civic auto trans

well my auto trans died tonight, i was going up an incline and it just revved like buggery and wouldn't change up a gear.
NRMA came, checked the gearbox oil, ok, not smoking or leaking fluids or anything
ended up getting it towed home.
i think reverse still works cause when the towie was helping me move the car i put it in R and no problems, car moved.

its a 2001 7th gen Civic sedan, auto, 137 XXX kms on the clock
i have had it since new

i gave 'Dr Honda' (Phil Donato - my mechanic, found him on ozhonda) a call, left a message

a few questions:
- what sort of $ am i looking at? 1-3K?
- can anyone recommend a workshop/transmission place that does this sort of work - i live in Fairfield/south west sydney
- also can anyone recommend a good/cheap (?) towie as eventually i will have to get it towed to the workshop to get fixed, once i get a quote and i am happy

thanks

anyone?

Hanny's Performance in Smithfield,only Honda vehicles,28 Victoria St Smithfield on 9725 5115/Robert and they can arrange towing as well.

thanks

yeah i'd recommend them also. Good job at a reasonable price

currently being worked on by Dr Honda
thx

what did they quote you to fix the tranny?

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Originally Posted by clayton4115

what did they quote you to fix the tranny?

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PM me

Just out of curiosity, how often have you serviced the gearbox?

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Originally Posted by buddah51au

Just out of curiosity, how often have you serviced the gearbox?

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i serviced it as per the maintenance schedule
PM me for further details

back on the road now, all good
runs like a dream, much more smoother now

Auto transmission service should be done every 12 months or 20,000km

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Originally Posted by buddah51au

Auto transmission service should be done every 12 months or 20,000km

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is that what the service schedule says?

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Originally Posted by buddah51au

Auto transmission service should be done every 12 months or 20,000km

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Where the hell did you get your info from? My service booklet says the first tranny service is at 120,000 km, there after every 80,000km....

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Originally Posted by disappointed

Where the hell did you get your info from? My service booklet says the first tranny service is at 120,000 km, there after every 80,000km....

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Make inquiries at any auto trans specialist and they will say what i posted. On the other hand if you don't want longevity from your auto transmission, go ahead and service it every 100,000km, bearing in mind that when you change the oil you can only change about 33% of the oil in the transmission, unless of course you repeatably change the oil until it is clean and that can be an expensive proposition. If you spend some time in a transmission workshop you will be amazed at the number of transmission failures due to lack of servicing. Heat is the biggest killer of transmission fluid, so if you ever tow anything it is recommended you fit an additional oil cooler as well. For those of you with the current model civic it is a very easy job.....1 drain plug, top up with 2.5 liters of oil, no oil pan or filter to worry about......very cheap insurance.

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Originally Posted by buddah51au

Make inquiries at any auto trans specialist and they will say what i posted. On the other hand if you don't want longevity from your auto transmission, go ahead and service it every 100,000km, bearing in mind that when you change the oil you can only change about 33% of the oil in the transmission, unless of course you repeatably change the oil until it is clean and that can be an expensive proposition. If you spend some time in a transmission workshop you will be amazed at the number of transmission failures due to lack of servicing. Heat is the biggest killer of transmission fluid, so if you ever tow anything it is recommended you fit an additional oil cooler as well. For those of you with the current model civic it is a very easy job.....1 drain plug, top up with 2.5 liters of oil, no oil pan or filter to worry about......very cheap insurance.

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No No No No,,,, Those were the bad old days, it's not like that anymore. Tranny shops would tell you that because thats their bread and butter. These days transmissions are run by electronics, use synthetic fluids, people don't tow great loads with their civics. Heat is the big killer, as you said. Some car manufacturers have completely sealed for life transmissions. what would you do in that case buddah51au

It seems that you know a lot more than someone who has spent years working in a transmission workshop, so u believe what you wish. we overhaul more than 10 electronic auto transmissions every week, so i will send them to you for advice......lol

whoa guys - didn't think it was so controversial :P

i repeat my reply - i have serviced my car since i bought it new at the dealer and then when the warranty ran out, at Dr Honda (who is a factory trained Honda technician i might add)

he has seen 5 other auto transmissions fail as well (same model, same car)

buddah51au has a point though, the more you service, (presumably) the longer life you get out of it
perhaps Honda Aus should look at their recommended servicing intervals then?

They majority of those would be commodore and falcon, and the overdrive shits itself. Falcons with coolant migration.

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Originally Posted by buddah51au

It seems that you know a lot more than someone who has spent years working in a transmission workshop, so u believe what you wish. we overhaul more than 10 electronic auto transmissions every week, so i will send them to you for advice......lol

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I too have spent years working in a transmission repair shop.

buddah, i was advised the same thing after having a gearbox failure on my 91 civic. At first i thought it was a sales pitch so i checked with several transmission specialists and they all said exactly what you recommend. So if all transmission specialists recommend the same service interval i will go that way. it was pointed out to me that in theory you can only drain about 1/3 of the oil in the gearbox, so every 3 services you change the oil capacity of the gearbox, butt the problem is old and new oil mixes together, so in reality you never get completely new oil. It was also mentioned that the other way to achieve this is to disconnect 1 of the transmission cooler lines and to keep filling up the oil and running the engine till the oil runs clean, but this could take 20 liters or more of transmission oil, thats more expensive than changing the oil as recommended. So for me i am now doing the transmission service yearly and hopefully my gearbox will last more than 140,000km.

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Originally Posted by disappointed

Where the hell did you get your info from? My service booklet says the first tranny service is at 120,000 km, there after every 80,000km....

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i wouldnt recommend anyone drive a honda auto/cvt to 120k without a fluid change, i dont care what the book says.

current model honda gearboxes are far from bulletproof, if you had any experience with them you would agree

Hi Godiva, great to hear someone else agrees with my advice, i think after 30 years in the motor trade i know a little bit, but advice is just that, some people listen and some don't. Not that i am complaining as the more gearbox problems there is, the happier my bank manager is. lol. I have 1 customer with a 1989 accord exi with over 400,000km and is still running on the original gearbox, but very few people keep their cars that long. all i can compare that with is the several accord gearbox failures i have seen with less than 1/2 that milage.

It would be interesting to take a poll of auto transmissions in civics and accords, to see how many have had problems and how they are serviced, at 20k, 30k, 40k or dealer service recommendations.

I change my MTF every 20k(harder driven). and all the Autos i got at about 30k

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Originally Posted by disappointed

It would be interesting to take a poll of auto transmissions in civics and accords, to see how many have had problems and how they are serviced, at 20k, 30k, 40k or dealer service recommendations.

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yeh that would be interesting

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Originally Posted by 7th Gen

well my auto trans died tonight, i was going up an incline and it just revved like buggery and wouldn't change up a gear.
NRMA came, checked the gearbox oil, ok, not smoking or leaking fluids or anything
ended up getting it towed home.
i think reverse still works cause when the towie was helping me move the car i put it in R and no problems, car moved.

its a 2001 7th gen Civic sedan, auto, 137 XXX kms on the clock
i have had it since new

i gave 'Dr Honda' (Phil Donato - my mechanic, found him on ozhonda) a call, left a message

a few questions:
- what sort of $ am i looking at? 1-3K?
- can anyone recommend a workshop/transmission place that does this sort of work - i live in Fairfield/south west sydney
- also can anyone recommend a good/cheap (?) towie as eventually i will have to get it towed to the workshop to get fixed, once i get a quote and i am happy

thanks

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Old thread, but one Honda workshop I've come across this year in Western Sydney is "APEX AUTO Works" run by Daniel Smith and his 2 co-technicians.

Daniel is a great diagnostician and only charges a little over $75/Hr. As a Honda Specialist, that's really good. Did a terrific job on my 'Lude! :thumbsup:

www.apexautoworks.com.au Ph: 47511555

hi after reading this post, do you think its wise for me to also get the oil changed in my tranny on my 50k service? (car has done 35k) ? its due for a service in dec, shall i also ask the additional service for the tranny?

uh oh.. i've done 130k kms on my 7th gen, and never had my tranny oil changed. everything seems to run quite well for the moment - touch wood - but upon reading this thread, i think i'm definately overdue for one! so thank you to the OP. also, i have a question in regards to when i start my engine. sometimes it makes a "tschhh" sort of noise straight after the engine starts when its cold, has anyone experienced this before? if so, any idea what it is?

^^ get a vid/sound clip happening would be alot easier.

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Originally Posted by SHU-ES1

uh oh.. i've done 130k kms on my 7th gen, and never had my tranny oil changed.

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you got to be kidding me, its part of the major service if i recall.....
major service should have been done at 100K?

Yes it's part of a major service at 100,000Km involving...
i) Drain and replace
ii) Check start/neutral switch operation
iii) Road test to evaluate shift pattern and standard operation
iv) Carry out adjustments
v) Re-inspect for leaks

To the OP, what ended up being wrong with your tranny?

water pump died - apparently it's a design fault