I have a 97 Accord SE, 2.2 non-vtec, auto tranny, with 218,000 miles on it. Had no problem with it until this past weekend. I drove it about 200 miles and nothing was the matter, but about 5 miles from where I was going, we stopped at a gas station, I left the car running, went to pull out and it had a hard time finding 3rd Gear. At the next light. 3rd gear was no longer coming after second, and it threw on the CEL. Also, I notice a faint whine, and it takes it a minute to shift into drive once it is selected.

I got the car towed back home (luckily my friend brought his diesel truck), pulled the codes and all I got was Code 15 from the D4 light, which is the Main-Shaft speed sensor. I replaced that and the problem persists even after resetting the ecu, it throws code 15.

After reading on these forums using the search tool, I find I may have made an error. I changed the tranny fluid about 10,000 miles ago with Castrol Multi-Vehicle Import. The car seems to find 1st easier when its cold, and gets to second and rarely third. But after driving for about 15 mins. it doesn't want to grab at all and revs unmercifully. Letting go of the gas sometimes gets it to grab first.

I'm not driving it to/from work at the moment, hoping to stave off further damage. I know there is no such thing as a mechanic in a bottle, but could changing the fluid to Honda ATF help this?

OR, do I need a new tranny... Thanks in advance for your help.

 

I have a 97 Accord SE with 163000 miles on it, and changed the fluid myself. A Honda mechanic told me to use only Honda ATF made for the car.

Also it takes 3 qts with a drain and refill. So I did this 3 times after driving a few hundred miles between changes. You cannot get all the fluid to drain at once unless you do an overhaul.

The fluid from the dealer cost about 7-8 dollars a qt, so it might be worth a try.

Good luck and Semper Fi

 

I would change to Honda ATF before replacing the tranny. The torque converter can't drain, so the total fluid is about 7 quarts but a little less than 3 quarts drains out.

Drain & fill, drive around awhile, repeat the drain/fill/drive a couple more times.
To get good mixing, you should probably drive 10 miles or more, and shift into all the gears.
Then keep an eye on the fluid, you might have to drain/fill again ???

For the fluid level, be aware that you check the transmission dipstick with the engine all warmed up but TURNED OFF. That's different from lots of other car companies where you check tranny oil with the engine idling.

 

Ok, got 6 qts of Honda AT Fluid, cost me $70! I just hope its worth it... I'll update with the results later.

Thanks a ton guys!

 

Ok, drained and filled once, went to drive around the block a few times, and I lost all forward gears... luckily I still had reverse, so I got it home... Let it idle for awhile... gonna let her cool off and then see if she'll shift into 1st... if not, it might not be worth another $30 in fluid...

Gonna go look for a tranny (transmission, for those with their minds in the gutter)

 

Let it cool, now it will drive in forward again. Barely goes into second. Maybe I'll try that second flush after lather-rinse-repeat until I can get some mileage out of her. It would be a loooong weekend trying, but I gotta travel this weekend, so I'll try some more Monday-ish.

Here's hoping...

 

does not sound too good dude, but keep your fingers crossed you never know

 

Fluid changes aren't magic. (Yeah, I know I told you to do the changes...) The fluid is expensive, but sometimes that works. And it's a lot cheaper than a new tranny.

Seems like the BIG BAD transmission troubles began with 1998 cars, so I figured the fluid would be worth a shot. If it doesn't improve at all with the 2nd drain/fill, I don't know whether I'd keep doing more. I'm hoping some auto-tranny experts will chime in here.

 

this sounds like what mine is doing real bad now. it wont shift into third or fourth for about 10 mins of it reving out like crazy and even then it might not shift out of 2nd. and it has a hard time getting into 2nd, but first gear is great! hahaha i havent replaced the main shaft sensor(partly due to price from honda and the other from this just now starting to happen) because i dont know where its at exactly. iv tried looking it up but i cant find anything. would i also have to change the tranny fluid? i havent done that in a year or so.

 

I have a 1990 accord when it is cold it will go into drive and revers but when the car warms up it has nothing just revs up. I called a mechanic friend of mine and he told me that the clutches in the transmission were bad (based on what I told him the car was doing) and i needed a new transmission. Like I said im not an expert but hope this information helps out a little