A few months back the transmission did a few weird things in a manner of a couple days. Felt it slip a bit on two occasions. Then had a day where it seemed to get stuck in 3rd gear while driving, and the D/gear number indicator went blank. Restarted the car and it hasn’t happened again. Had it checked out by a very reputable transmission shop, and they couldn’t replicate the behavior or find any problems or codes. Hasn’t happened since. Car has about 133,000 miles. Transmission has been maintained according to factory recommendations and hasn’t been abused.

Anyone else had similar behavior? Is this an example of the 3rd and 4th gear switched going bad? Should they be replaced or is it too late?

 

its never too late to replace the switches.

 

 

FWIW: If it were my car, I would test the 3-4 pressure switch. In my experience, these switches either work, or they don't. If the switch tests good, I wouldn't replace it. Seems to me, if it shifts into 3rd., the switch is working. I would replace the external filter, perform a 4X4 fluid exchange, and check all pressure switch screens, for debris. Since this incident happened a few months back, and hasn't occurred since, the issue does not appear to be serious. Sometimes, even a tiny piece of foreign material in the wrong place at the wrong time, or a phantom electrical interruption, can cause a hiccup. The temporary absence of the D indicator light, is a mystery!

 

I disagree about the switches. I replaced mine while they were still working and it basically eliminated the hard clunk I was having in the 2-3 shift. That was a few years ago still running with no issues. The switches do get out of spec over time and eventually cause extra wear on every shift. Don't get me wrong, these transmissions have other issues as well, but I find changing the switches do help.

Worst case you change the switches and the transmission goes out, you can put those switches into the rebuilt or used transmission. Nothing wasted.

 

 

 

 

So I replaced the gear position sensor a few weeks ago, and so far the issue hasn’t reoccured.

My next question is about the transmission problems in general on these cars. Do the transmissions often go out suddenly with no warning, or do they slowly degrade?

 

It depends on what's going out. If it's the clutch packs or torque converter lockup clutch then it's a slow degrade.

 

Searching around and not really finding a definitive answer. Are the clutch packs or the lockup clutch what typically kills these transmissions?

 

What typically kills the BAYA transmission is the torque converter overheating due to trans fluid leaking past the valve body that's supposed to direct the fluid toward the torque converter. This documented on Sonnax' website. You should run a transmission cooler. It's not the 3rd or 4th gear clutch pack as some posts suggest. But the only way to fix it is to install an aftermarket valve body mod.

https://www.sonnax.com/tech_resource...honda-overheat