Just bought 2001 accord at auction cheap. Drove fine and did for about 100 miles. Stopped at some construction yesterday and upon moving again it won't shift into 3 or 4 gear. No noises, no warning, just won't shift now. I did fluid changes immediately when I got the car. Tranny fluid was old, almost black, but was clean with no contaminated. Replaced with MaxLife synthetic. Worked good for probably 80+Miles until yesterday.

 

Not sure this will help much, but MaxLife synthetic is the wrong fluid for your transmission. The only ATF you should use is Honda DW-1 or fluids certified to be DW-1 compatible. The thing is, regardless of how superior (or not) the base oil is, synthetic or otherwise, unless the coefficient of friction is correct, the clutches will not engage properly.

At this point you can try to swap out the MaxLife by doing three consecutive drain and refills of the transmission (doing a few miles of driving in between each change) with DW-1, but I'm not optimistic.

 

MaxLife claims DW-1 and ATF Z1. Or, at least this version does:

https://sharena21.springcm.com/Publi...51-fe75-e711-9
c10-ac162d889bd3/3fa3136a-09bd-e711-9c12-ac162d889bd1

That said, it could certainly, IMHO, be the non-Honda fluid.

How about a power flush at the dealer?

Roy

 

Keep in mind, claims like, "recommended for", "is suitable for", "can be used in", et-al, do not in any way mean the fluid is compatible. The thing about ATF is it is NOT a once size fits all proposition, there is no way Ford, GM, Honda, and Toyota all develop their automatic transmissions with the same clutch materials and to the same coefficient of friction standards, and if that is true, then how can a one size fits all ATF suffice for all of those brands. Answer, it cannot (it might be close, but "close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and atom bombs).

 

Yup, look at my signature, that I quoted Jim on.
While Honda say you can use it, they also recommend a 3 fill and drain afterward, to get the traces of Dexron out of it.

 

I've also heard that Honda automatics don't like to be "power-flushed". Having said that, when a Honda dealer says "flush" the AT, I'm pretty sure what that means to a dealer is the 3x drain & fill.

Toecutter quotes me as if I'm an AT guru. Really not, I just remember threads about it on this board...

 

Let's assume that the fluid is compatible (as stated on the container). What else could be causing this?

 

No you might not be an AT guru, but there are a bunch of 98-02 AT problem threads on here. Same can be said for the number of AT problem threads on 6th gen Accords forum.

OP, you'd have to check for any codes. I only say that, as if there's a problem, it should kick up a code. I didn't see you mentioning any codes present, or if you checked for any.

 

No codes are present. D4 is not flashing. Only thing is the check engine light blinks five times after ignition is on for around 15 seconds

 

Are you sure it is the Check Engine Light blinking? What you are describing sounds more like the Maintenance Required light.