Honda Owners Force Free Transmission Fix

Ah, the power of peaceful protest.

Honda and Acura owners recently saw their hard work pay off when Honda issued a technical service bulletin for the vehicle. The issue? Owners of certain vehicles claimed the car had a transmission problem involving the third gear randomly popping into neutral and grinding incessantly.

Previously, Honda claimed to know nothing of the problem and refused to issue a recall. A TSB is short of a recall, but owners can still get the problem fixed free of charge by bringing their vehicle into a dealership. You can see the TSB for the Honda Civic and Accord here, and the TSB for the Acura here. For a full list of models affected, go to the jump.

• 2003-07 Honda Accord V-6 with M/T
• 2008 Accord V-6 coupe with M/T
• 2006-08 Civic Si coupe
• 2007-08 Civic Si sedan
• 2003 Acura 3.2CL with M/T
• 2002-06 Acura RSX with six-speed
• 2004-08 Acura TL with M/T

Protesting Honda Civic SI Get Transmission TSB (The Consumerist)

Comments

[Marcus]

What about us owners with Accords that seem to love eating transmissions. I'm on my 3rd...hopefully the last.

[Stan]

The TSB states that it only in warranty vehicles are covered but the regional office MAY choose to fix for free out of good will.

Right now it appear that the defective part will cost you if you're out of warranty, unless the local Honda office is feeling generous.

[Adam]

Now Honda needs to stand up and help us '01-'02 Accord owners. Failing automatic transmissions were very common for those years. My '02 transmission failed at 80K miles recently. This being my third Honda, I was NOT happy. I had never had to pay for anything except the routine stuff, up until this point.

[Brett]

honda sucks my 95 5.0 mustang has 160k and the tranny and engine are mint

[Steve]

Ford sucks. My 2000 Honda Civic has 195k, the engine and tranny are mint. I'm on my original clutch, third set of tires & brakes, 43rd oil filter, 16th set of wiper blades, 4th air filter, 2nd set of plugs, wires, oxygen sensors (my car has two), but I did just have to replace the drivers side break light bulb.

[Ryan]

how about us 97-01 prelude owners with the sport shift that starts to go at 100k in most cases

[Thomas Geyer]

My 2003 Accord Automatic transmission just went bye-bye today (8/12/08). It happend all of a sudden (no computer warning) and it was in a serious siutation (on the highway at early rush hour). The gears slipped and out of nowhere I'm drifting without any gear traction. I pulled over to the side of the road, turned it off, waited 20 minutes and then started it back up only to put it in Drive and the car went in reverse! I have a relative that works for Honda, happens to also have a 2003 Accord and when I called him to let him know my woes.... I found out that his transmission died today as well! Long story short, the dealer is claiming that there is no broad issue with this and that the only answer is to pay 3K to get the transmission replaced. I bet there are many people experienceing the same issue.

[Jason Meyer]

call 212-566-4047. there is a class action lawsuit being worked on with the 03 accord A/T. i have one, and my tranny is making a funny noise, bringing it in tonight to see what's up.

[Gabriel]

I have a '02 Honda Accord SE bought off the lot brand new. My car was taken to dealer for ALL maintenence, scheduled and otherwise according to Honda manual.

Now only has 109k miles. Transmission issues between 1st & 2nd gear. Service tech at the dealer (same one I've had since I bought the car) said it's a common problem and I could fix it or not. Just ease into 2nd gear if I choose not to fix it. To fix would cost about $3k, but since I was a "good" customer, Honda would eat half and I walk out paying $1450.

I called local AAMCO and they say it's common,but needs to be "adjusted" not replaced. They say they can do for $69.

This problem seems very widespread. What can we do?

[Paul]

I have a 2006 Acura RSX Type S with manual 6 speed transmission. The car has 31,00 miles on it. I took the car into my local Sacramento Acura Dealership with intermittent problems of shifting and grinding whan going into 3rd gear. More noticable when cold. I'm glad I did this prior to the factory warranty expiring. The mechanic informed me of this transmission bulletin and my repair is covered 100% by Acura. They have even provided me with a rental car free of charge for 1 week during the repair. I believe Acura is one of the best cars you can purchase and will not hesitate in purchasing another.

[Christa]

I bought a 2005 Honda Accord with 23k on it 11 months ago. The AT transmission seemed to me to have trouble shifting sometimes between 30-35 mph or accelerating on the freeway.

Car is out of warranty.
Now at 62k it needs a new $3,500 transmission. I was told by the dealer that is the way a Honda shifts....I guess now that there is no transmission, they are going to tell me it is really a sprint car and I don't need a transmission.

[tosha]

Gabriele,

Which AAMCO dealer did you visit? Everyone keeps telling me that I need a new trans, and I would love to save 3k.

Tosha

[Nancy]

I have a 2000 Honda Accord and @ 147000, my transmission is going bad...I thought it was suppose to go way over 250k...I used to have a chevrolet cavalier and brought that one to over 185k without ever having an issue! Hondas have way too many transmission issues, I don't understand how they can be reliable? Will not pay the extra $$$ for a Honda again.

[Dan]

I got an 03 Civic ex 1.7, had a third gear syncro going in it for awhile but it wasent' worth fixing so i'd take it easy when shifting into 3rd. when it finally broke i got a replacement trans. in a junk yard with less than 5k mi!!great only i've put about 10k on the new transmission then think i blew my 2nd gear syncro.... it just grinds a bit as i put it into second gear.. even at a dead stop...
any ideas?

[john medina]

my 99 accord V6 was very reliable, although my wife drives easy and not too far. When we gave my daughter the car with 87k miles she quickly started to notice a weird shifting. I drove the car and it didn't do it for me. She kept complaining and one day it did it for me. I took it to honda dealer and they confirmed my worst fear. I was quoted 3600 for a replacement rebuilt transmission. I was disappointed with my Honda and not too with American Honda when I found out through internet searches that these cars were notorious for transmission problems. I call AHC and they quickly assigned a customer service rep who politely told me my car was not covered by recall warranty. I told him I would never buy a Honda again because they knew these transmissions were defective and kept building them and finally agreed to replace some if they fell into a certain date and VIN number sequence. After some ugly discussions he agreed to pay for the replacement transmission and I would pay labor about 750 dollars, I agreed and it was replaced by local dealer. Shortly before Xmas of 08 my daughter said the car was acting up again. I test drove it and it seemed OK, I told her to keep an eye on it. 2 wks later it started again. I called the dealer who replaced it and he said it was under warranty and bring it in for test drive. He called me that afternoon and said the transmission is defective and would be replaced under warranty. I can't blame the Honda dealer they just repair and sell the product. I'm disappointed with AHC for their arrogance and lack of "goodwill". They know the transmissions are junk and they just keep rebuilding them and putting them back in. I probably won;t buy another accord. My 93 was very reliable and if I known this 99 would blow a tranny at 90 I would not have purchased this car.

[Robin]

My 03 Accord has been a great car up until the last few months. I had a problem with the A/C that only the Palm Harbor, FL dealer could find and repair and a few days ago the transmission died. They want $3400 to fix. A local, honest transmission shop want $1,600. Now I'm finding out this is a reoccurring problem. How have some of you gotten the dealer to fix this outside of warranty?