So as many of you have seen I've been posting questions and threads about my 03 Tl that had a transmission failure all of a sudden. It was also having a battery problem close to this time. I had it towed after the tranny quit to my apartment. It's been about 2 weeks now and I went out to jump her and lube the seals a bit by letting her run. So after the hassle of jumping her and letting her sit for a minute, I notice that the check engine light had turned off. Now I was previously registering code P0730 which is usually a tranny failure. So I figured I'd put her in gear and see what happens. She moved... I shit you not... she moved. And not just a crawl, she lurched forward like nothing was up. Then I tried reverse and it's suddenly revived... This is so weird. I'm thinking now I may have a clogged solenoid instead of an actual failure. As before, I'm still getting this weird buzzing noise on the backside of the tranny, closest to the firewall. What do y'all think? I don't know how to clean solenoids so any insight on that would be awesome. It's looking like I might be ok eventually... I haven't had time to take her on a longer test drive but I plan to in the next few days. I'll also try and get a video of her running in the daylight later this week since I work till dark here in Indy. This is a ray of sunshine I hope. Let me know what y'all think. Thanks!

 

Well it sounds like you had a fluke incident. Have you tried checking your transmission fluid levels? Is it still red or does it look brown or black? Do you have a burning smell, see any leaks under the car?

Also, have you had any other common indicators? Slipping? Blinking D5, VSA/TCS Light come on? If not, your transmission may very well be OK, BUT there's still that chance something is wrong. After your test drive and if you feel the car is shifting through the gears properly, I'd recommend a trans fluid drain/fill.

 

.... Hey 03Blackbeast, our tranny's are electronically controlled.....so if the tranny suddenly went bad at the same time as your battery, ya know where to look first.....the electrical system must be in top notch condition.

Buy a new high quality battery, closely check or replace all the electrical cables, connections and grounds. Then have the it load tested. "Electronic Gremlins" love old corroded cables and connectors, especially grounds. They can create havoc and simulate bigger issues at times.

Assuming the tranny fluid is up and clean, clear the codes when installing the new battery by holding the neg & pos battery cables together for a few minutes. By doing this, it will give a powerdown clean boot of the ECU for a fresh start. Operate the car as normal and if the CEL comes back on, have it read, then tell us the codes.

 

I checked all levels when it first happened. Everything seems fine. I change the oil every 10K, just to be safe, and it's about time to do it again. The oil always looks a little dark after I change it but it's never given problems. Been getting a little hard shifting as of late but like I said it's due for a change anyway. When I got the car a few years ago I started this change sequence because I was getting major slipping. All has seemed well over the past 50K. I'm at 270K now and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it was a clogged shift solenoid that's making the noise but who knows. I'll be getting a replacement battery soon. Never been any burning smell and there's absolutely no leaks at all.

 

Hey Blackbeast, it appears as though your car's tranny has been on borrowed time with all the classic signs of internal failure.

Start looking for a donor '06>'07 Accord V6 tranny if ya wanna keep the car.

 

She's goin strong though I tell ya. Just need to figure out what to do. I'll try and get that noise recorded soon.

 

Sorry to burst your bubble but your trans is still toast. All that happened is it sat long enough for fluid to drain back and the solenoids cleared up. Failure is still going to happen. If the solenoid was plugged there is enough wear done and the problem is there. It will only be a matter of time before it happens again.

 

Sounds like you`re tranny is just dodging the inevitable. But on the plus side it also seems to have more than one life.

At 270k keep it going as long as you can. 300k is right around the corner.

 

Grab a 10mm and takes those solenoids off clean them one by one so you wont confuse them.
Either way its time to let it go and start looking for an Av6 swap. It wont be long till it gives up again, been thru 2 and worked on few theres not much hope when it slips or shifts hard.

 

Yeah, ErickUa5 is giving ya the best possible advice that ya can do right now.

 

I'm just trying to get the best temporary fix possible while I save for an AV6 tranny. Don't exactly have the money for it right now and being down a car being married is a serious hassle. I'll try and figure out how to clean the solenoids I guess.

 

Yeah, hear ya and feel your pain.....but what are ya gonna do if it goes down ?

The solenoid cleaning is described on the Accord swap thread and others if ya take the time to look for them. 3rd Gens swear by replacing them !

 

Ok I see, all you would need to purchase is carburetor cleaner its less than $5 at the parts store. The solenoids have small filters you should be able to see if they are clogged easily. Take some pics if you find one and post it up if possible.

 

Yeah for a while there it wouldn't even engage but since the computer reset it actually goes into gear. Still haven't gotten to try a longer than 2 second test drive though. That'll be the real test. Think I'll clean the solenoids first and see what happens. Gotta pick up a few more quarts of tranny fluid for the 3x3. I think I have carb cleaner around here somewhere. Thanks for the insight guys! Kinda sucks living on borrowed time with a meager budget haha and a wife without a car currently.