Hello Group,

 

Well, that wasn't a very smooth move. Note to self; don't hit the "Enter" key to advance a line. Anyway, I'm having an issue with my transmission that I haven't been able to find any discussion about. What is happening is that the transmission will slip to the point of not moving the car forward whenever kick-down to 2nd gear takes place. Accelerating while in 2nd gear is not an issue. Kick-down to any other gear is not an issue. There is no shudder, no shimmy and no slip anywhere other than this point. Any thoughts on this? Could this be indicative of a bad or stuck kick-down valve or should I just start saving for a tranny swap?

 

OK First WELCOME TO THE FORUM!


Now a Question what is "Kick-Down"? Are you Referring to Downshift?
Well anyway if the Transmission is Slipping theres no Turning Back now, The Transmission Should never Slip in Any Situation.

So Basically if its Slipping, the Transmission is DONE.

 

Kick-down is an automatic transmission convention that shifts to the lowest possible gear under heavy acceleration. Usually at full throttle.

 

Except for when you throttle it and it kicks down it drives fine is what you're saying?? Regular acceleration through all 5 gears then stopping is ok?

 

Ill call that a WOT Downshift.... It downshifts 1-2 Gears in a Hit maybe thats why you refer to it as "Kick-Down".

Anyway even if it only does that while "Kick-Down" the transmission must not SLIP! Even while "kicking-down" the trans should Shift Fast and Precise.

Simple if It Slips = DONE.

 

I would probably say that your first guess is maybe right
But I would think it could be that the clutches between 2nd amd 3rd are toast.

 

That is correct.

 

If I'm looking at the service manual correctly the valve body that contains the kick-down valve is inside the transmission housing. A pull might be required either way. If it's going to get pulled, I would think, it might as well get replaced with an Accord unit.

 

I don't know what you guys are talking about saying that the tranny is toast if it slips. I'd get a professional opinion from a tranny shop. Mine slipped for 5k miles and they had me do a tranny fluid flush and now it runs just fine. The fluid goes black quick but I've got a smooth tranny. I'd recommend it!

 

Both Problems might not be Related.

 

I heard it from a guy at autozone that our cars do have a problem with th clutches going out in the auto trans. But then again I don't know him well enough to trust that.

 

My tranny had the same exact symptom. It ran perfectly fine, but it wouldn't catch gear when I floored it at a low speed. However, my issue only happened when the tranny was cold.

Either way, tranny went toast about 5k miles later.

 

welcome to the forum
Please see the subsection Problems and Fixes,,thread title `Main Tranny Failure thread`
read the last 4 pages for recent news

our main prob is weak cooling flow to 3rd gear clutchpack
it overheats and wears out early
Each gear has a clutch pack set, and shares a shaft with another gear,,so multi probs result

actual engine rpm goes up 1000+ = `trans clutch slippage` is death warning

Sure you can do a fluid change (flush is a bad word around the TL- never a pressure machine at trans shop or trans death)
and that may help a while

also clean both 3 and 4th gear external shift selenoids- see diy section

to really know if it clutches or just dirty shift selenoids or whatever
a 3 ounce sample of old atf fluid sent to blackstone labs with 25 bucks
will get you a mass spectrograph test and report of whats loose in the oil
It can tell if clutch material , bearing issues, oil dead etc

DO USE Honda DW-1 its the new fluid that replaces our old spec stuff
manual drain and refill or `accord method` engine running method are ok

but stay away from those machines at generic trans shops!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
they use dextron3 a known killer of the tl trans

 

kick down is the really old school way of describing the auto downshift the trans does on application of heavy throttle

since it has this slipping problem- stop doing that to it!
every time it happens, more clutch material is eaten off the face
and thats one less shift its going to be able to make for you in the future

be gentle on all the shifts,,drop it down a gear or two with ss or gate shifter
if you really need to --otherwise drive it like an old lady --slow and easy till you get it sorted out or replaced

these days it makes more sense to get a low miles junkyard unit from newer vehicle
and hope the years have made improvements inside the trans

 

those with probs--how often/ever are you changing atf?

 

I looked for the solenoid cleaning DIY for the 02' but couldn't find it anywhere. I'll look again.

I recently performed a fluid change with DW-1 using the manual d/f method. Except for recall resolution, I can't find any service records for the car so I don't know what was in the transmission previously. I did the d/f over a three week period to acclimate the transmission to the possible use of a different fluid. I disposed of the old fluid so sending it out for analysis is not an option.


Not to start an argument over such a trivial thing; but "kick-down" is a pretty standard way of referring to the function. It's even in the service manual. You can find it at 14-235 in the "Hydraulic Control" section. The reason I wonder about the kick-down valve is because I can't really tell if the transmission is actually slipping or just not engaging the correct gear when kick-down is activated. It's not as if I get some limited amount of power to the front wheels. I get no power at all. In SS mode I have accelerated through all the gears (starting at the low RPM point for each gear) with no sign of any problem.

I have and will.

Thanks for the reply(s),