Hey guys-
I have been reading through the forum for a while, but just signed up.

My fiances 2003 transmission popped a CEL the other day. P0780 - possible causes, low fluid, poor electrical connection, or failed shift solenoid.

I live 3 hours away from an Acura dealership, and Im trying to figure out if there is anyway I can salvage this car, or if the transmission is shot.

When driving it just wont shift into gear and will rev up. You can turn the car off and back on and then it will work for a while and start to do the same thing. The transmission fluid is black, which obviously isnt good, but its not low. I thought about changing the fluid out, but will old fluid really cause a transmission to run like that?

I am about to trade the car in and only get $1500 for it from the dealership, and I feel like its something else (might just be false hope). We only owe a little over $2000 left on the car after having it for years, and it just sucks because we were looking forward to losing the payment.

If anyone has any ideas what I could try, and replace, or ANYTHING in the next few days before I pull the trigger on a trade, I would be forever greatful.

thanks in advance,

Brad

 

welcome- you are in the wrong thread area- you need 2nd generation 99-03
please repost over there for help and read the main `Tranny failure` thread last few pages and a few recent post with trans probs for others solutions
You may be able to save it or you may have a warranty

shift seleniods are a known issue and can be cleaned or replaced easy DIY

Is your car part of the trans extended warranty? 7years 9 months or 109kmiles for usa cars from new? not all 03 are in the covered vins but you can still argue for partial to full warranty coverage thru acura if out of vin - its called Goodwill warranty
dealer can run the vin for you or call acura 1-800-382-2238x5 or look up online acura.com
some 03 also get a free timing belt under recall! It may be your lucky day!

black fluid is bad news, smell burnt? does it shift into any gear- or just slips into 2nd and 3rd like a manual trans would with worn out clutch? 2/3 would be clutch wear but all gears may be selenoid- there are a few gurus on gen2 to help more

restart in 15 minutes- thats a safety system to get you off the road and home hopefully.
If trans gets hot it will do that too, or overrev trans makes it think engine overspeed

 

are you part of the recall to install `external trans oil jet kit`- and was that done?

 

moved to 2G

 

Hey guys-
I have been reading through the forum for a while, but just signed up.

My fiances 2003 transmission popped a CEL the other day. P0780 - possible causes, low fluid, poor electrical connection, or failed shift solenoid.

I live 3 hours away from an Acura dealership, and Im trying to figure out if there is anyway I can salvage this car, or if the transmission is shot.

When driving it just wont shift into gear and will rev up. You can turn the car off and back on and then it will work for a while and start to do the same thing. The transmission fluid is black, which obviously isnt good, but its not low. I thought about changing the fluid out, but will old fluid really cause a transmission to run like that?

I am about to trade the car in and only get $1500 for it from the dealership, and I feel like its something else (might just be false hope). We only owe a little over $2000 left on the car after having it for years, and it just sucks because we were looking forward to losing the payment.

If anyone has any ideas what I could try, and replace, or ANYTHING in the next few days before I pull the trigger on a trade, I would be forever greatful.

thanks in advance,

Brad

 

i would say do a drain and fill on the fluid, or even a 3x3 at this point and clean the solenoids....if the fluid is black, high chance lots of damage been done......what the mileage?

 

Thanks for the move - my bad...

The tranny was replaced with the recall in 2004 with 17k on the car. It has 168k on it now, so Im out of warranty. Called Acura to plead my case, and they didnt want to hear it.

Where can I get a shift selenoid? I need to try this before I trade the car in and regret this forever...

thanks so much.

 

Threads merged

 

This tranny has like 5 solenoids doesnt it?

Ugh, I need to either try and fix it fast, or make a decision on trade in quick!

 

Whats the best thing to use to clean the solenoid?

More info:

The manual shifting doesnt work...

It will be a delay to shift into first - reverse is working ok most of the time.

When going through gears, it will just pick a random gear to miss on... sometimes I get thru 3rd, sometimes to 4...

CEL popped, and occasionally I will get the blinking D5 and flashing exclamation point...

 

Cmon 2G gods - I need some help.!

In fact, if whatever help I get fixes the car, I'd be willing to send a cash prize through paypal to whoever helps me!!

 

you could probably get the tranny rebuilt for around $2k and then sell it for $6-7k

 

sorry, don't mean to threadjack, but I'm new here.

What's a 3x3?

 

haha +1 on that request. i have no idea

 

mine has the same problem i almost ordered a new tranny today. i dont know if its the solenoid or the torque converter

 

Mine 99 was doing the same thing, even though mine's a 4sp and your's 5sp. The torque converter failed and contaminated the tranny. It works okay for a few minutes, after the filter plugged up with the crap inside the tranny then it will slips. By shutting the car down for a few mins, the crap from the filter will be settled down. And then i can drive it again and so on. I don't know if your tranny is having exact same problem as mine or not. But it will need a rebuilt or new one
Keep driving will make it worse. When the fluid burnt, it lost the viscosity and make it run even hotter. I pulled mine, rebuilt it and install it in the car the next day. I have a spare one that i rebuilt just in case this one crap out lol. Too bad it's a 99, otherwise i can sell it to you cheap. Where is your location ?

 

3x3 = flush w/out flushing.

1. keep old tranny filter on
2. drain
3. fill
4. drive a few miles
5. drain
6. fill
7. drive a few miles
8. drain
9. replace filter
10. fill
11. enjoy

someone correct me if im wrong.