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My son owns an 06 TL with auto transmissions ~152k miles. He was driving home on the highway today and said he started to feel some stuttering in the drivetrain. He wasn't sure what it was and there were no check engine lights, so he kept going. At one point his engine revved high to like 6k but the transmission was slipping. He nursed it off the highway to a parking lot and was unable to drive it the rest of the way home, so had it towed. I do a lot of work on my cars and have good experience with almost everything except auto transmissions. I checked the trans fluid to make sure it had some and look at the color. It was at the right level but was brown, not red like I would expect. Part of me thinks maybe will get lucky with a fluid drain and refill, but not sure this will have an effect given how he described it completely slipping (little to no movement). I have read some threads about pressure switches failing or clogging. Are there some basics that I should look for to help determine whether the transmission is pooched or potentially recoverable?
the best you could do or ask for is to change the fluid.
if you get fresh fluid in there, it might prevent the tranny from slipping further. it wont reverse the damage that was done, so the best you could ask for is more time with the tranny with a fresh fill.
that would be the best way to assess the tranny, by draining and filling it with fresh transmission fluid.
you will be able to look at the spent fluid and observe any foreign material, if any.
then you will be able to assess how the car drives with fresh fluid.
the most common practice is the 3x3x3 method...where one drains 3quarts of fluid, fills three quarts...drives it around the block and then does it 2 more times.
when undoing the drain plug, only 3 quarts will come out at a time. thus by doing it a total of 3 times will fully mix in the 9 quarts needed to fill.
Last edited by justnspace; 09-14-2021 at 01:22 PM.
That's one heck of a long thread. This will help because you think replacing the pressure switches will resolve? Or is there another nugget buried deep within the thread? Thx.
^for a slipping condition, I would try fluid first.
the pressure switches collect data about the pressure inside the tranny which affect timing and shifting of the vehicle.
ie; symptoms of bad pressure switches will be hard shifts, banging, clanging, slow shifts, etc....
a slipping condition means heat has killed something.
which I think represents your symptoms more than a bad pressure switch.
new tranny fluid will have better protective properties than old worn out fluid.
Last edited by justnspace; 09-15-2021 at 07:53 AM.
That's one heck of a long thread. This will help because you think replacing the pressure switches will resolve? Or is there another nugget buried deep within the thread? Thx.
Do the 3X3 fluid change first. See if/how it that fixes the slippage.
If it does, but shifting is hard or delayed, then look at the switches.
If it doesn't, it's your trans on the way out.
Hoping to have time this weekend to do the trans fluid. A potentially good sign I hope - I was able to use reverse, but “D” just slipped. I use 1’st gear and it seems to work fine. Does this give any insight as to what is damaged? I know the pressure switches control specific drive gears. What are the chances this could be a failed switch? Not seeing any CEL’s.
I hate to be the raincloud here, but there's no way it's magically going to improve itself over time. Yeah, you might be able to prolong its life with a fluid change, but I'd start on a backup plan. Whether that's rebuilding or swapping the trans, or even looking for a new vehicle. Just best to be prepared.
UPDATE: I drained and filled 3 quarts of Honda brand DW1 trans fluid and it is now driving like normal in all gear selector positions. Am going to complete the 3x3 process for good measure. The drain plug did have some metallic sludge on the magnet as I expected it would, but I don’t think beyond what you would normally expect to see. Any thoughts on what happens next? Am I looking at getting closer to a few hundred miles or we talking thousands of miles? I want to make a plan in advance. Thx.
UPDATE: I drained and filled 3 quarts of Honda brand DW1 trans fluid and it is now driving like normal in all gear selector positions. Am going to complete the 3x3 process for good measure. The drain plug did have some metallic sludge on the magnet as I expected it would, but I don’t think beyond what you would normally expect to see. Any thoughts on what happens next? Am I looking at getting closer to a few hundred miles or we talking thousands of miles? I want to make a plan in advance. Thx.
That's good news! But nothing is guaranteed. When I bought my '06 @150k, it had a nasty shudder between 2nd and 3rd gear. The fluid had been neglected and was black. I did a 3x3 and changed the 3rd and 4th gear pressure switches, and it drove like a new car. I did the trans filter shortly after. I'm at 241k miles now, still performing like a dream.
Now, there's no one size fits all answer. But if you're planning on doing the 3x3, the pressure switches could also benefit you. (also, what's another ~$110 if a new transmission is on the line?) Also, on the 06 I would look into changing the trans filter. It's relatively easy and likely worth it in this case. Just a dice roll at this point. Good luck!
UPDATE: I drained and filled 3 quarts of Honda brand DW1 trans fluid and it is now driving like normal in all gear selector positions. Am going to complete the 3x3 process for good measure. The drain plug did have some metallic sludge on the magnet as I expected it would, but I don’t think beyond what you would normally expect to see. Any thoughts on what happens next? Am I looking at getting closer to a few hundred miles or we talking thousands of miles? I want to make a plan in advance. Thx.
We're not talking mileage. First, you gotta do the 3X3. See how it runs. Doing the filter on a '06 is a good idea on your 3X3, yup. If good, does it shift well? If not, then switches.
After you drive it for a while, you'll see if your efforts paid off. If all is good after a few hundred miles, with continually checking the fluid color/smell, you may have saved it. Then you can talk thousands of miles. My '05 had neglected fluid and the above process got another 50K and was still running great when I sold it years later.
Also, do a system reset with the gas pedal & ignition key.
UPDATE: completed the 3x3 and filter replacement and think I found the contributing factor to the original failure. The filter had come apart and the orange colored adhesive had gotten brittle and several small pieces worked their way into the banjo bolt causing a significant partial clog. The last pic below shows all the pieces I removed from the banjo bolt, which would have caused pressure issues and lack of flow through the transmission fluid cooler. This would create excessive heat and breakdown (burnt) of the fluid. So my son will need to drive it for a while before I feel overly confident about the life left in the transmission. Appreciate the advice from the forum ✌️
Well unfortunately looks like the damage was done and changing the fluid and filter only had a short temporary fix. After 30 miles the transmission started slipping again. Rebuild will cost $3k, so we are deciding whether to fix it or not. The car runs great otherwise so leaning toward having it done.
Well unfortunately looks like the damage was done and changing the fluid and filter only had a short temporary fix. After 30 miles the transmission started slipping again. Rebuild will cost $3k, so we are deciding whether to fix it or not. The car runs great otherwise so leaning toward having it done.
Sorry to hear that. It looks like we're onto another topic now. If you want to keep the car, you basically have two options. Rebuild the existing trans in the car, or search for a replacement trans elsewhere.
If you do option one, I would look into rebuilding the trans with the translab shift kit to improve the durability and cooling properties of the OEM trans.
If you do the second option, you need to look into getting an BAYA series transmission, found in the 5AT 2007 Honda Accord V6. These are compatible with the 2006 5AT TL and should be a direct replacement. These transmissions are more durable, in the event it has been relatively taken care of. (I think there is another model year or two you can use, but 2007 was the one off the top of my head).
I have not had to do any of the above (yet) on my 2006, so that's about as far as I know about it but obviously there is a ton of info on both of those options on this forum.
The general consensus seems to be finding a good BAYA transmission (along with its torque converter) seems to be the most practical option for replacement. Hopefully others can chime in on options here.
Well unfortunately looks like the damage was done and changing the fluid and filter only had a short temporary fix. After 30 miles the transmission started slipping again. Rebuild will cost $3k, so we are deciding whether to fix it or not. The car runs great otherwise so leaning toward having it done.
Did you replace the 3rd and 4th pressure switches? if not try that first before thinking about a tranny rebuild.......after replacing the switches reset your ECU.
From what I understand those switches only impact the shifting of the gears. The symptoms we are seeing is flat out slippage. I think we are going to have it rebuilt. Will look into the parts improvements mentioned by TheSauceBoss.
Well unfortunately looks like the damage was done and changing the fluid and filter only had a short temporary fix. After 30 miles the transmission started slipping again. Rebuild will cost $3k, so we are deciding whether to fix it or not. The car runs great otherwise so leaning toward having it done.
Well, the fluid flush was worth a try, but sorry it couldn't be saved. Sauce makes good suggestions. Good luck whichever way you decide to go.
09-14-2021, 12:44 PM
