fabrizzio71

Hi all,

My '99 3.0 CL just hit 138,000 miles yesterday and the transmission started slipping for the first time. I had been afraid of this for a while, and my fears are now confirmed. The check engine light has not come on yet, but I expect it will soon. I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I'm going to have to have it rebuilt relatively soon as I can't get another car. Do any of you have experience with Sonnax replacement parts for this transmission? Thanks!

http://www.sonnax.com/

yungone501

iTrader: (4)

How's the maintenence history of the transmission itself and replacing fluids? What fluids were used and how regularly was it done?

Just because the MIL hasn't come on yet, it could be the symptom hasn't occurred as many times as it takes for the PCM to recognize a fault...wether it be mechanical or electrical the PCM will sometimes take a little while to detect issues. Don't assume your transmission will need a rebuild when there's a possibility of it being a shift solenoid (easy fix) or a trans. temperature sensor. I always go by the number one Golden Rule of always try doing the easy things first.

As for my personal experience, I too have feel victim to replacing the transmission on my 1998 2.3 CL. And like yours it started my a slip here and a slip there. After about a 20 minutes diagnosis, I knew I'd be having it rebuilt. That was at 294XXX miles...now she's at 331XXX. Great cars they are!

JDM8o9

you could try doing a tranny flush/cleaning .. this has helped for many honda owners i know

timeizmoney22

Pretty sure a flush is not what you wanna do on our transmissions from what I've heard/read. Just drain and fill and if $ allows do it 3 times. I could be wrong but maybe someone else could chime in.
Also, my tranny does some slight slipping/hesitation for about 10k now so it might not be an immediate thing to address. I've never gotten a CEL from it.

GhettoNinja06

iTrader: (1)

Don't flush guys... Do whatever fill method you want just don't flush!

yungone501

iTrader: (4)

More over, use genuine DW1 Honda/Acura ATF. Never use the conversion additives that "convert" other ATF's into Honda fluids as well as that Global ATF crap. Don't know about 1G CL's but 2G CL's and TL's take right at 3.5qts on a drain and fill. Always chech transmission fluid with the unit warm, in neutral/park gear, on LEVEL ground and of course engine off.

fabrizzio71

Thanks y'all! I really appreciate the feedback.

@ yungone501-- In the maintenance records I have for the car, the 30,000 mile service was declined and there is no record of a 60,000 mile service. The only record of the transmission fluid being changed was at the 90,000 mile service. During my acquisition of the car at around 127,000 miles I had the transmission fluid changed again. Basically, the fluid was not changed at the intervals it was supposed to be done.

I'll definitely take your advice of looking for the easiest solutions first. Since it slipped over a week ago it hasn't done it again, but I've really been babying it. It does have a tendency to bang downshifts at low speeds though so I try and avoid power downshifts. I'm moving back to VA from Arkansas in a month (around 1,000 miles) so hopefully it holds up during that trip. It's the heat that worries me.

themadmarmoset

I have had my '99 CL 3.0 for about 5 years and am now around 125,000 miles. Mine has been shifting hard and slipping a little for 2 years now. I took it to the local transmission place and the owner told me drive it until it has to be replaced. With that in mind, I have had a tranny rebuild budgeted for 2 years now without the need to have it done. I am removing some ATF today and adding LUCAS and will re-post with my findings. Not an immediate fix, at least not in my case. Also, I had my CEL come on for EGR carbon build-up. I contacted the Acura Service dept. at my local dealership and it is still being covered, 14 years or 150,000 miles... SWEET!

pitbullLOVER

i concur. never ever flush these tranny's or the G.M. trucks either, all a flush does is dislodge metal shavings and jams them into places they shouldnt be.

timeizmoney22

I did the Lucas thing and saw no difference.

pitbullLOVER

if the tranny is hooped thats just how the cards were delt to you my friend. you could try the fluid change but again if its broke its broke, you wont be able to band aid this problem.

i know nothing of sonnax but it depends on the quality control and the parts they use (eg: china=bad, u.s.=good, japan=best).

if you are going to spend the money to get this tranny fixed , the car is nice and you sre going to keep it for a while then get it rebuilt (or new) stronger than before with bronze guides and titanium rings n shit.

fabrizzio71

Thanks again for the advice. I got the transmission fluid changed on Friday and immediately it's shifting smoother. This makes me think I may be able to get by for a while with just fluid changes. After driving it another 1300 miles in the next couple days I'll see how it does.

pitbullLOVER

if you look at the factory recommended maintenance schedule it overwhelming but people never do it. fir every flying hour af an air plane it has 2 service hours, now a car aint that much but for every 10 driving hours your car should receve 1 service hour, most people do oil every 5000 + km's and everything elce when it brakes. its a wonder vehicals last as long as they do.
most peopls car problems are fixed with a major tune up.

every one laughs at me when they find out how much maintenance i do on my car's.

oil change = 2500 km's with mobil 1
tranny fluid = complete change every spring
brake and power steering = every other year
coolant = every year
fuel filter = every year
air filter = twice in the driving year (april - sept.)
grease suspension = twice a driving year ( april - sept.)
brakes pads = well before they are replaced by most people
plugs, cap & rotor = every year
plug wires = every 3 years (but i got custom's so its a pain)
vacuum , wash and wax = WAY TOO MUCH!! lol.

i usually give my "old" , lol, part to my buddy who has a 2000 el and does NO MAINTENANCE so my old shit is new for him, lol.

fabrizzio71

So, the CL made it the 1300 miles back to Virginia. Not without some hitches though. I've been having this issue with my ABS light coming on.... The dealer checked it out and said that it wasn't throwing any codes and that it didn't come back on when they test drove it. This was true until I started the car the next time. The light was back on. Now, every time I fill my car up with gas, the light goes back off, but when I restart the car the next time it's back on again.

I've suspected for a while that my A/C condenser leak has been screwing things up with my electrical system. It is my theory that all year when water has been leaking into my car (mostly onto the front passenger rug but sometime all the way across the center console onto my feet!) it's been getting onto important electrical components. I know the ECU plug in is in the center console behind the ash trey, so this makes sense to me. In any case, I got the water leak fixed in Dallas before I came back to VA.

Now the transmission... It's fine on the highway, but after several hours of driving, when you go back to low speeds and it has to shift it starts clunking gears and doing "flare ups" between the 1st to 2nd upshift and 2nd to 3rd upshift. According to my mechanic, my symptoms are not full blown slips, but rather something called flare ups. He thinks it may be curable with new shift solenoids. I'm getting those put in next week. My mechanic also can't find anything stored in the computer about the ABS. As of now it's a mystery. Hopefully it will all be figured out next week.

pitbullLOVER

lol, DAMM YOU ACURA AND YOUR ABS!!!

very common problem bro., the f-ing abs pumps dont prime right and cause the abs to become nonfunctional and light to trip on. check the fluid level in the abs pump reservoir, fill that biotch above full, if the fluid is old maby,.. MABY new fluid will help but the pumps fuck up. mostly the o-ring in the pump but the units are a prob.

the tranny solenoid might just do the trick but i dont know, i do know these tranny's are a HUGE PROBLEM in these cars.

fabrizzio71

Well, I got two new Solenoids put into my transmission (for 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd) and I'm hoping that this solves my transmission issues for a while. The transmission is shifting better, but it was only really acting up before after long hours on the road and I don't plan on working it that hard this summer. I'll see what happens the next time I take a long trip.

As for the ABS, the right rear wheel speed sensor was replaced and my mechanic thought this fixed the issue. Then my light came back on.... It turns out the left rear speed sensor is also bad, so I'm bringing it back next week. Hopefully this finally resolves my ABS issue.

timeizmoney22

How did those solenoids work out for you now that it's been a while?

fabrizzio71

The first to second upshift is smoother with less hesitation in normal driving with the new solenoid. Last week, when someone pulled out right in front of me I had to slam on the brakes and swerve, hard on the gas, into the other lane. This was on a fairly steep stretch of highway and the car downshifted into first or second (either way it brought the rpms to 6 grand) and the shift was a bit harsh, but not as harsh as I had noticed in the past. At least for peace of mind I think the new solenoids were worth it, but I still worry about the heat so I'm having a transmission cooler put on in the next week or so.

I wish I could have worked on it myself though (or even cleaned out the old solenoids as some have done on here) as it cost a pretty penny for the labor charge. I still haven't been on any long trips though, so I can't attest to whether the new solenoids fixed the flare up issue after extended hours of driving.

timeizmoney22

Thanks for the quick reply. Think I'm gonna attempt to clean mine as they are pricey and I think it's worth a shot. I notice alot of movement in my tranny when shifting from park to reverse/drive etc... Think my mounts need changing. Hopefully just the transmission and the front one as the rear is expensive.

97'CL2.2

dude really?.....damn...I think most people dont do this much maint bc they put the money they would spend on all this into and account where it can accru interest which will eventually turn into a new car after a few years

pitbullLOVER

ive never used my savings account, i gotta try it one day, lol, i never said i was smart but my cars run good. ive tryed to save money, honest but i cant, i buy weed and car parts i cant stop.

Amaninus

Hi, you mean there are 2 solenoids for the transmission?
I can only find one solenoid. Can you share how much does it cost to replace the solenoid?Thanks!

pitbullLOVER

there is 4 solenoid's and 2 oil pressure sending unit's. 1 solenoid for 1st & 2nd gear's, 1 or 2 solenoid for 3rd & 4th gear. i dont know what exactly the other solenoids do but on my print out i got from my acura dealer they are clumped in a group with what the paper calls the "solenoid assembly, SHIFT, so asume they are for the shift functions.

print out is as fallows:
(the 3 together) part# 28200-p0z-003 (half of this # is the local ref. # and the other half is acura's universal #) solenoid assy,.shift $485.04 (can)
that comes with the o-rings needed (or so it sayes,lol)

fabrizzio71

I believe the other solenoid packs are for when the transmission locks up in 4th gear and reverse. I don't have a service manual though, so don't quote me on that. On my repair bill, the two solenoids were listed as A and B. One for 1st to 2nd shift, and the other for the 2nd to 3rd shift. I paid $50 dollars each for the part plus $225 labor. My mechanic said that the other solenoid (the one for the lock up converter) is considerably more expensive although I don't know how much. This would explain why Pitbull's quoted price from Acura is almost $500 for all of them.

97CL_NC1102

Im running into the same issues. 1, 2, and 3rd all slip but after that its fine. Ive only had the car for a month and a half and havent checked any fluids due to me fixing all the other problems I have, but you get what you pay for for 1500. I hoping it just time to change the fluid (fingers crossed).

jb1aze

I am also having similar problems. At first the tranny started slipping and went into limp mode. I couldn't get it to even catch into first gear at some point. I changed the tranny fluid and added Lucas last week. It is running better, where it catches into gear, but occasionally when coming to complete stops it slips but when caught into gear it runs fine. It threw codes p1738 and p0700 and I bought the 2nd clutch switch from honda, but I cannot locate it even with the diagrams that it came with. I only shows the area and not the step by steps like the EGR service bulletin. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

97CL_NC1102

I checked my codes when I first bought the car and the only thing I threw was a bank one sensor. Could it possibly be that I only need to change the fluid?

fabrizzio71

jb1aze and 97CL_NC1102-- It sounds like your transmission issues are a bit more accelerated than mine were. I found out when I brought it to my mechanic that my symptoms were not actually slips but "flare ups." From what I've read, if it's actually slipping and won't catch gears then a fluid change probably won't do much more than put a small bandaid on the problem. For me, replacing the first two solenoids pretty much fixed my immediate issues, but I can still tell that the clutches inside are somewhat worn. If the clutches inside are too worn new solenoids aren't going to fix anything. It's a frustrating problem because you can just keep throwing money at it and not be sure if it's really going to fix anything. Best of luck figuring it out...

fabrizzio71

Also, my car never threw any codes when I was having transmission flare ups.