Hi guys, I have a year 2000 TL. My tranny is giving me a strange problem. It slips in first gear. I have read through the many page tranny failure thread but all thats mentioned is that i should watch out for 2 and 3 gear slips.

Pattern: It slips when the car is still cold. I obviously warm it up even in the summer but for about the first 5 mins it may or may not slip. It happens when i am at a stop and when i accelerate its just the rpm needle that moves. Sometimes when i let go off the gas it catches the gear by itself and i can drive again, sometimes i just switch it to park and then drive again and its all good.

What got me worried even more today, is that i changed the tranny oil ( 3L of Honda Trans Oil) I drove out everything is fine, smooth as when the car is warmed up, so no issues. And then it starts again, after a little while of driving. I was standing in traffic, i felt a nice hard kick, and no slips since then. Could someone please explain what the hell it's doing, and why am i getting this problem when the car is cold and should anything change after the oil change as well as any cost effective solutions to making it stop.

Thanks!!

 

possible clogging of the internal lines and filter screens from dieing clutch disc/packs
the computer increases the pressure attempting to grab a gear, that makes it even hard to grip and thunk it goes into gear

how did the drained fluid look? and smell

 

It was dark (weird color), my mechanic pumped it with a tube at first, he showed me that it was a bit foamy, which is a sign of bad oil. When we drained the rest of it through the bolt, he showed me the bolt and there were little bits and pieces of metal (bad sign i know lol). Unfortunately I didn't smell the oil so I cant give you an answer on that.

 

Your 1st clutch pack is probably cooked, 1st clutch pack sealing rings could be hard so they're not doing the job of sealing the hydraulic in the circuit to make the shift, when warms up the sealing rings will be softer and it would working ok. Or shift valve "A" could be damaged and stuck. The valve body is made of aluminum, when cold the valve bore will shrunk, which made it really tight for the valve to stroke freely, but when the fluid warms up, the valve bore will expand not much but enough for it to move more easier. Keep driving will only make it worse, slipping condition will make the tranny runs hotter, burn fluid and clutches out quicker. If you are going to drive like that, the best thing is to let the car warms up before going any where. But keep in mind that there's a problem inside the tranny, so be easy with it.

 

Thanks PiggyLover for the great explanation. Is there a cost effective way for me to get rid of this problem. Money is an issue and i definitely cannot afford a new tranny. So if there is anything i can do to fix it for a few hundred dollars i would uber happy.

Thanks Again.

 

Cheap way to remedy the problem is to make sure the solenoid screens are all clean and clear, replace external trans filter, and do a drain and refill. You would have the same problem as said above if the fluid passage is clogged. once warmed up, fluid gets thinner and crude and sludge opens up then fluid can flow.

 

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^ Thanks man... Hopefully that works... Im going to a tranny expert tomorrow, he'l run diagnostics so im keeping my fingers crossed.