I bought the car about 6 weeks ago from a reputable Honda dealer. I noticed a shutter about 2 weeks and was having trouble recreating it. When i am driving on a slight incline and have the pedel depressed about 10-15 percent when the trans shifts into 3rd gear, somewhere around 2000 rpms i get a hard shutter coming from the front end. Any ideas?

Seth

2008 TLS. 69k miles.

 

Could be trans shudder. If it is shudder, you can do months worth of damage every time that it shudders. If you continue to let it shudder, it will be a quick death.

Take is back. Make sure that they can recreate the issue, even if you have to drive it with them in the car.

 

Im Having same issue and car has 42k miles. Car is at dealer now. Took it in for gas cap light, rear strut crapped out and trans shutter. Everything is fixed except for the shutter because it does it randomly and tech couldn't duplicate shutter. Guess gonna have to pin point exact time it does the shutter to fix pronlem.

 

You guys really need to search. This is one of the most talked about problems and in most cases easy and cheap to cure but it won't take long before it turns into a trans failure as jda123 mentioned.

 

You'll need to change the tranny fluid. If that doesn't work then try changing the 2nd and 3rd gear pressure switches.

 

This happened to my car. It took it to the dealer and took the tech for a ride. He noticed the shudder and they replaced my torque converter under warranty. Take it to the dealer. Make sure it's duplicated. Even if you have to take them for a ride in the car.

 

That's interesting.. Maybe the pressure switch quick fix was all in people's heads. uhm...

 

Seriously, that's your conclusion?

 

From my experience with the trans shutter, all I did was change the tranny fluid and it did the job. Probably, you'll need to go through to a couple of fixes to fix the shutter. It's a hit and miss issue.

1. Change Tranny fluid
2. Pressure Switch
3. Torque Converter

 

Shudder is caused by the clutches barely slipping. It's a quick slip and grab of the clutches. It can be the 3rd gear clutch pack, the torque convertor clutch (TCC) or any of the many clutches in the auto. Where you might have been confused is the torque convertor has a large clutch in it that locks once the car is moving and under a low load condition. Just like any clutch it can slip and cause a shudder.

An old fluid or fluid with too much FM will reduce clutch holding power. An old out of calibration switch will also reduce clutch holding power. Depending on how bad it is, some will need only the fluid or switches, some will need both. If 1st or 2nd gear is slipping, switches will do nothing. If 3rd-5th are slipping, switches will help. Switches also have a minor effect on TCC lockup so they can possibly help with that shudder as well.

These transmissions have a long history of destroying the 3rd gear clutch packs due in part to the crappy fluid but also the switches getting out of calibration over time and causing excessive wear. They occasionally have a TCC shudder as well.

The dealer fixing a transmission by replacing the torque convertor does not mean the fluid and/or switches would not help. It means they replaced the part that was acting up without getting to the source of the problem-- the fluid and switches. In the process of replacing the TC, at least half of the fluid was replaced, if not all of it. I would go so far as to say it could very well have been the 3rd gear clutches and by replacing the fluid when they did the torque converter, they fixed the problem.

The dealer replacing the torque converter to fix the shudder is the same as repainting your car every time it gets dirty. Sure, it looks really nice and it's effective but all you had to do is wash it.

The switches are proven to fix the shudder *when it's caused by one of the issues the switches can fix*. If it's 1st or 2nd gear, the switches aren't going to help. If it's the TCC, they *can* help. Fluid helps everything. Sometimes it requires both the fluid and switches to fix a shudder and both should be replaced as preventative maintenance, not once the trans develops a shudder.

 

Im not having any of these issues but Im at 70k miles ima change them anyways i just did a fluid change too
http://www.acuraoemparts.com/delray/...All&vinsrch=no

 

I had this issue, but mine was not cured by fluid and switches. Turns out my axles and motor mounts were worn...and after replacing them, no more shudder. I also swapped my transmission mounts.

 

Get the dealer to replace the transaxle and torque converter - this is their solution to this problem. Then, get some good fluid and new switches on the new unit.