Hey guys and girls. My name is Bob. A month ago I bought my son a 1991 Acura Integra with a newer B18A1 swapped into it, coil overs, stainless header and complete exhaust, and a short throw shifter.

The 4th day he had it, some idiot in a big old Tahoe decided he was going to pass his buddy over the double yellow lines and darn near hit my son head-on...needless to say, totaling it.

While the insurance people fight it out, I decided we better get a temporary car, which may or may not end up being my daily driver when he gets situated. On the way home with the new (used) Accord, the Check Engine light came on literally within minutes of buying it and as soon as we got on the highway the thing was bucking, going into and out of D4, which I assume is Overdrive....Had to drive it all the way home in D3, which obviously had the engine running a higher rpm on the highway.

So...now we have one awesome running but wrecked Integra, and one newly bought non-wrecked Accord with issues...lol.

What a great day.

My toy is a older restoration 1971 Chevelle SS with a big block V8, and my daily driver is a slightly modded 2002 Chevy Silverado, so this Honda/Acura thing is 100% new to me, lol.

I did some quick Google searching, which not only gave some tips for finding the problems, but also led me to this site. Looking forward to hanging around for a while. I am going to do the "jumper wire or paper clip" test to get the engine and transmission codes, hopefully, and post the results in the proper forum section...Wish me luck.

 

Hi Bob, sorry to hear that about your accord you just bought. Seems like the transmission is slipping. By the way what year is the Accord. I know alot of Honda's automatic transmission are weak from years 04 and under. I had similiar problems also, BUT I am no mechanic. My gf's 98 accord had the same problem we would had to drive from D1 to D4 which made it worst. I would try to flush the transmission fluid and replace it with Honda ATF(auto transmission fluid). That would be the cheapest way to try to fix it. But if the transmission is really bad, it probably wont fix it. We ended up buying a used transmission and still the same problem, I would recommend taking it to a shop to get the transmission rebuilt. Cost the same for rebuilding a transmission and buying a used transmission.

 

Well, I just got back home and did the jumper test on the blue connector in the kick panel on passenger side of car...

Code 12 on engine....EGR valve issue.

From what I have read on here, the EGR ports clogging up is a common problem.

I got no codes for the transmission, but according to it's symptoms, and everything I have read, again mostly on here, points directly to the TCM, transmission control module. I have two fairly close pick and pull junkyards, but some say get a new one, so I am not sure what to do there.

Wish me luck...

On the brightside, even in D3 all the way home at 55-60mph, the car didn't appear to use a drop of gas.

 

What were the actual codes?

 

Code 12 for the engine, and no code for the transmission

 

I just got a used JDM transmission (roughly 25 to 50,000 miles on it) and put it on my 91' accord and the thing works grrreeaaat! The seals on it were fresh and everything was in great condition. The best part of all was the price. Only 309$ shipped. I wouldn't spend 4 times money to make a shop rebuild it.

USDM used one's should cost around 300, in my area at least. Having a shop rebuild it would be 1 or 2,000. Buying used JDM AT's is a very good thing because they come with low miles and are usually in much better condition.


I put that on my newly rebuilt motor that I just finished. The thing shifts wonderfully now.


JDM importers are no joke, they really do sell quality low-mileage engines and transmissions... If you go to the right one's that is.

 

I'm hoping the $100 dollar eBay TCM fixes it. If not, I'm not going to be a happy camper.

I wonder if the B18A1 engine and 5 speed (or even just the 5 speed) from our 91 Integra would fit?

 

If your D4 light is blinking, and the TCM is not giving any codes, the TCM is probably the culprit. I had to change out the TCM on my 92 Accord also (years ago). If you turn the key on, and the D4 light is on, with the shift lever in park, it's also a sign of TCM problem.

 

Yeah, that D4 light is doing all kinds of weird stuff.
Blinks and flickers if/when it starts doing it's sporadic up and down shifting.
Stays lit, along with the D3 light, or whatever gear the shifter is actually in, at a stop.

Found one online with "lifetime" warranty for $119 w/free shipping, so hopefully I will have update with positive results by week's end.

 

I don't know about putting that in yet. Is there a way to test the TCM? I am sure there is. It wouldn't be too good if you got the part in and it didn't fix it.

That's my opinion though, it maybe the problem. I would want to be positive about it though before I got the part.