2012 Honda Crosstour. 190k miles. Was driving on the highway and D light began to blink. Took it to mechanic who said it was a P0741 code. Estimated price to fix it around $4k.
I do not have the money to fix it and I’ve been driving it very slowly for the past week. Car has been driving well and the Drive light has not started blinking ever since I’ve kept it below 5th gear.
It occurred to me that I have not changed the transmission fluid since I bought the car over a year ago. It had 160k miles then and I am not sure if the previous owner had changed the fluid.
I do not have the funds at the moment to pay $4k, so my only options at the moment is to keep driving until it doesn’t run anymore or just park it and find another way to get around.
My question is, would it be worth trying to get the transmission fluid changed and see if that was causing the error code? Also, if that wouldn’t help, could I keep driving it slowly and be okay for a while? Or would it be in my best interest to just not drive the car?
Update: I wanted to add that all the mechanic did was use a device to get the code. He did not thoroughly inspect the car.
If it were my car, I’d have the fluid changed and hope that unsticks the torque convertor clutch valve (that is what sets a P0741 code). But ONLY use Honda fluid… the cars tend to be picky, or so I’ve heard. Some places may not want to do that service since any subsequent failure would come back on them as the cause.
Seems the mechanic just looked at the car’s mileage and assumed a remanufactured transmission for $4K. Replacing the fluid, filter and valve would not cost that much.
Define driving slow? You drive at 55-60mph on roads normally? You stay under 40mph almost all the time? Or you mean you get up to 55mph slowly now? Is that safe to others around you?
I agree with Mustangman about changing with Hona fluid Only.
also besides the fluid change you might want to have the torque converter clutch solenoid valve replaced.
That fault indicates the torque converter clutch is slipping. The computer cannot determine whether this is cause by a solenoid malfunction or torque converter clutch failure.
This transmission could continue on like this for several years and replacing the fluid may help.
I was talking about the replacing the fluid part of your response. But thanks for highlighting the torque converter clutch failure. As I alluded to earlier, I’m just going have to do the best with what I have at the moment. And if I can continue on like this for a while, I’ll take it. I also understand that things can get worse at any moment.
If replacing the fluid helps, but not enough, you could try replacing the fluid again. Might help. Some of the fluid remains, not all of it gets replaced. Most recommndations here for a non-car-specific auto-trans fluid replacement is to remove the pan and clean it out, inspecting for metallic debris, and to replace the trans filter. Whether this can all be done or is advisable varies car to car. I’ve always done it that way on my 40 year old truck though.
I’ve had a couple of Honda Accords and I always used Honda AT fluid. I got 187,000 miles out of the first one with not transmission problems. Changing AT fluid is inexpensive compared to transmission repairs and worth a try.
The transmission fluid was a little low when the Drive light first started blinking. The fluid was just above the line so I added some more. So the level itself is fine.
I am assuming that the vehicle was at operating temp and running on level ground also… it is best to go through all the gears with the shifter to fill any and all voids that could/will have drained off…
Sorry to mention it but a lot of people check the transmission fluid either after cold start up or engine not running at all…
Have you taken the vehicle to a (independent) transmission shop and not just some mechanic, transmission are a specialty repair that a lot mechanics don’t repair…A transmission shop should/will do a thorough check including if needed a pan drop or drain and catch 100% of the fluid to see the condition and if or what other materials are in the fluid… They can reuse the old fluid if need be…