# 1999 Honda Accord Transmission

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-honda-accord-transmission/27387>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [March 7, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-honda-accord-transmission/27387 "2009-03-07T04:09:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![momballard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@momballard](https://community.cartalk.com/u/momballard)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-honda-accord-transmission/27387/1 "2009-03-07T04:09:43Z")

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My son’s 1999 Honda Accord (2.3L)has started to shift roughly. It is past time to have the transmission serviced, but I’ve heard that if you’re having problems that changing the fluid will push it over the edge.

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**Author:** ![fitjeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e79b87/32.png) [@fitjeep](https://community.cartalk.com/u/fitjeep)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-honda-accord-transmission/27387/2 "2009-03-07T04:34:00Z")

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If its starting to have problems, you’d better get it looked at. How many miles? Has it been regularly maintained? Has he checked the fluid level?

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**Author:** ![hellokit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6a8cbe/32.png) [@hellokit](https://community.cartalk.com/u/hellokit)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 8:56am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-honda-accord-transmission/27387/3 "2009-03-07T08:56:54Z")

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Change the transmission fluid. Use Honda automatic transmission fluid (about 5 quarts).  
What you have heard is an urban myth. What the truth is, is that the transmission is failing, and that changing the transmission fluid won’t help delay that failure, half the time. Doing nothing, guaranties failure.

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**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 1:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-honda-accord-transmission/27387/4 "2009-03-07T13:09:09Z")

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Hellokit is correct. People frequently place the blame for transmission failure on a fluid change when the reason is actually because the fluid change was delayed for so long. If failure is imminent, it is going to take place whether the fluid is changed or not, but the fluid change itself will not do any damage if it is merely a fluid change, and not a fluid flush.

Have the pan dropped and cleaned out, have the filter replaced, and be sure that _genuine_ Honda ATF fluid is used. If the Gods are smiling on you, the transmission’s performance will improve as a result. If it doesn’t improve, that is an indication that a rebuild is in the near future for this tranny. Don’t have the transmission flushed, simply because far too many mechanics fail to replace the filter prior to the flush and they wind up aggravating the existing problems with the tranny.