97 Accord torque converter solenoid - ok to drive as is?
 

My son has been running his 97 Accord (lots of miles 200k+) with the check engine light on for a couple months. since we have a 3 hr road trip coming up this weekend (6 hrs roundtrip over 2 days) he took it by AutoZone for the free check. Their readout indicates the problem is a torque converter solenoid. He doesn't recall a specific error code and they didn't give a printout, so that is all the info I have.

We don't have time to really do anything about this, so I am wondering what could potentially happen this weekend if we go along our merry way. All I know about this is that it is related to the tranny and gears, and is expensive to fix (maybe more expensive than this heap deserves; he has really trashed it).

My son has noticed no change in the driving of the car since the light came on. Not sure if the change could be subtle and he adjusts to it, or not.

Any harm in driving it as is? The below post, if I read it right, seems to indicate OK to drive it as is.

https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...40-code-47058/

Thanks in advance for any help.

It is impossible to guess without the code. If you check the codes the OBD1 way, all you need is a piece of wire to check. The common diy thread on top of the gen tech help forum has a link to check engine codes.

What are the RPM's at 70 mph. If it is above 3000, then you are not getting converter lock up.

If the transmission has not been regularly serviced, it is possible the little screen under the solenoid is clogged. Very easy to remove and clean. Before removing it, check the electrical connection.

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...HTHF3TiJOBqDHm

You will be fine but not for a long period (1000s of miles) of time. I would suggest getting a new solenoid and replacing as soon as possible. They are cheap these days so no need for cleaning them.

I drove mine for 30K miles so far, no issues