I’m currently looking itno a friends 98 accord 3.0 vtec. He says the transmission occasionally shifts hard into second. After research it would appear this is a common problem, yet alot of different sources say this is just due to the transmission not having a filter and a fluid replacement along with some additive would fix it back to new. Any thoughts?
You can only hope and it would not hurt anything but the wallet if it did not work.
I would stop “looking into” your friend’s Accord if I were you, unless he is GIVING it to you. This car is ready for the recycling yard, since a transmission fix will greatly exceed the book value of one that has no problems. The car is running on borrowed time now!
You are correct is concluding that these transmissions are troublesome (if not maintained) and will only keep working properly if the oil has been reliously changed over the life of the car and only Honda oil was used. In the case of your friend’s Honda, none of these things likely took place. And no, you can’t fix the problem with a fluid change at this time.
The scrap value is about 2 cents a pound or about $60.
You are considering buying a 12 year old car that has been driven hard and neglected? Ugh! Walk away.
The VTEC engine is designed to get extra power from a small engine, which can bring out the animal in the average driver. If you friend has neglected the transmission, what else has he neglected?
That’s whats odd about this particular car, its a daily driver 170k miles on it and the one owner of it drives slower then my grandmother… lol It’s had routine oil jobs done since day 1 , he’s even got the cars record book up to date with every shop visit its had… Anythings gotta be better then my 95 neon with a blown timing belt/ bent valves and ruined head.
What do you mean “looking into?” You might buy it or your trying to help him fix it? Try the cheapest things first and keep researching online. Change fluid, try SeaFoam Trans-Tune. Some solenoids and transmission fluid pressure sensors have been known to get clogged up or go bad and can be cleaned or replaced. Research this on a Honda owners forum, you’ll probably find some better info if you really want to try to solve it without taking it to a transmission expert or Honda dealer.
Longshot: are the motor mounts in good shape? Bad motor mounts can sometimes cause a shift to seem “hard.”
Hi,
I have been looking into a 1998 Accord LX as well. The transmission issue is tough to decipher. I called American Honda and they said the car I am considering had a transmission recall performed at 70,000 miles in which they installed an oil jet kit to keep the 2nd gear from stressing out. Yet, the dealer where the car was sold had never heard of such a recall. There have been similar fixes for 2000-2003 Acura TLs, Accords and other cars built on that frame. I’ve read that many of those cars have had post-fix tranny failures. Bottom line: I think that whatever may be wrong with the transmission is serious enough that it won’t be fixed easily and that if the symptoms are there now, the damage probably has been done. I may go ahead with my purchase because it is a V4 and I’ve heard that primarily the V6 models almost always have this problem.