1. Home
  2. Honda Cars and Trucks
  3. 99 Civic EX Transmission problem

99 Civic EX Transmission problem

Hi All, new to the group. We just picked up a very clean '99 Civic EX

2-door automatic for my daughter's first car. Lately it's been shuddering, slipping a shifting harshly, mostly when pulling away from a stop. Seems to run OK once up to speed though. Coincident with this behavior the CEL illuminates. Retrieving the error code with a scanner reveals a code "PO730 - Gear Ratio Incorrect" is present. This seems to be consistent with the poor shifting performance. Any clues as to what's wrong? Automatic transmissions are scary things as they are usually very expensive to fix.
Reply to
Jeff Bertrand
Loading thread data ...

---------------------------------------

Somebody put non-Honda fluid in it. Drain-n-fill it at least twice with Honda Z1. Drive it a several miles in between flushings, preferably a week. It's missing some 'essential friction modifiers' at present, and is chewing up some important friction surfaces.

'Curly'

Reply to
'Curly Q. Links'

Thanks, I drained and replaced it once and for a little while it was OK, I'll try doing it again. It's pretty easy to do. Thanks again.

Reply to
Jeff Bertrand

OK, I've drained and refilled 3 times now and replaced the linear solenoid as per TSB 00-012. The transmission will seem to work ok for a day or two but then goes back to its shuddering, slipping and harsh shifting misbehavior. Now what? :^(. The TSB refers to a 70 code, not the P0730 code that I got. Maybe I'm fixing the wrong problem?

I'm starting to think about getting a used or rebuilt transmission for the car, any recommended sources??

Reply to
Jeff Bertrand

---------------------------------------------

That's the TSB I was thinking of, all right.

Have you tried resetting the ECU (or is it a TCU?) ? It decides the shift points, and I think you have to reset it. Try a google search for 'reset honda tcu' or 'reset honda ecu'.

Lots of hits. My first CR-V behaved really weird because somebody had reset it 'funny' and the result was LOTS of engine braking when you released the gas pedal. I got used to it. Saved on brake pads. :-)

'Curly'

Reply to
'Curly Q. Links'

Well, I'm talking to myself I guess. An amazing story of customer support to report: We took the Civic to the dealer that the PO had kept it maintained at and told them our sad story. I also told them I tried changing the ATF 3 times and replacing the linear solenoid per TSB 00-012 to no avail. I communicated to them that as our first experience with a Honda car we were disappointed in this problem.

The service manager called me later in the day and told me the transmission was indeed toast and would have to be replaced, she also told me that she had called American Honda on our behalf and they agreed to replace the transmission with a factory re-manufactured unit and they would comp the job

100%! Needless to say, my daughter and I were floored, relieved and over joyed. To beat that they had the job done in 2 days and washed the car too! As my 18 year old daughter would say: "Honda Rocks!"
Reply to
Jeff Bertrand

----------------------------------------

Congratulations!

Your story is not terribly rare, but it sure makes you want to become a loyal Honda owner, right?

'Curly'

Reply to
'Curly Q. Links'

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.