I drive a 2003 Honda civic hybrid. A few days ago it started making a grinding noise whenever I was driving over about 20 MPH and took my foot off the gas. The noise wasn’t incredibly loud (if I turned on the radio it was hard to hear the noise) and it sounded like it was coming from somewhere near the front wheels. I took it to the dealer to check out the noise and perform its 90,000 mile check-up. They said that when they drained the transmission fluid, metal shavings come out of the transmission and they thought I needed a new one (3 thousand dollars!). I called another dealer’s sales manager, who told me that it might be the brakes and he wasn’t sure that something like this was necessarily the transmission. They checked out the brakes and said they were fine.
Do I really need a new transmission or is there something else that they might not have thought of?
It seems like the dealer is in a much better position to correctly diagnose the problem than over the internet. He has listened to it, inspected the transmission and found a problem.
However, since people tend to have a difficult time describing noises accurately, this could be something much simpler. The noise, especially under the circumstances described, could be as simple as a bent heat shield. And, at 90k, it is very possible to find small metal fragments in a transmission without it being ready for the grave.
I would suggest that the OP take the car to an independent mechanic and ask him to check the heat shields. If that proves negative, then I suggest a stop at an independent transmission shop (NOT Aamco, or Lee Myles, or Cottman, or any other chain operation) to confirm the transmission diagnosis.