02 Civic EX auto tranny concerns

[kebo81]

Hi. I just bought a 2002 Honda Civic EX 2dr with an automatic transmission last month. It's a 1 owner with only 47,128 miles and I paid $5800 out the door for it from a dealership. It looks like a very clean and well maintained car. Everything on it seems to work and runs smooth. Interior is practically brand new. Had Pepboys look it over and they said it's one of the cleanest and well maintained used cars they've seen in a long time. However, I learned after buying it that many of the 01-03 Civics with the automatic transmission have had a lot of issue with the transmission breaking down in the early 100k mile range. I know that not ALL 01-03 Civics have that issue or they would have recalled them all, but is there a way to find out if my exact car has one of these faulty transmissions or is it a total gamble? I still have quite a while before I hit the 100k mark, but I planned to try and keep the car for at least another 5 years or so if possible. Any info/options/suggestions?

 

[Esotericimage]

Id have the trans fluid changed by honda if your not mechanically inclined. Other than that, it should be A-OK

 

[HeX]

I shortened your title from "Just bought a 47k mile 02 Civic EX auto. How big is the trans threat on these?" because thats an opening statement and NOT a title.

Drive sensibly and have the tranny fluid flushed and refilled about no longer than every 40k-50k miles to stay on the safe side. If you're in doubt then flush it now. FYI, find a reputable private mechanic. PepBoys is ridiculously expensive, rip people off, and commonly employ mediocre mechanics.

 

[Mr.Baker]

Flush the system, have it filled with the CORRECT fluid, drive like a normal person and maintain it.
Should have no issues with it.

 

[XpL0d3r]

Everything everyone else already said.

 

[Civicman1955]

Hi,I have a 2001 Civic, automatic,2door coupe,SI here in Canada,Sohc,127hp same as yours... Previous owner replaced transmission on this one... There's 161,000 kilometres on it right now... I'm nervous about my tranny going as well.?? Someone in another Civic forum mentioned that Sonnax.com makes transmission parts and Sonnax website says it's the Pressure Regulator Valve that sticks,preventing fluid to flow to the converter and cooler causing the converter to overheat and also affecting clutch failure
Even if you rebuild with a new converter or transmission by Honda,if you don't address the Pressure Regulator Valve issue you'll likely end up with this reoccurring tranny failure...Check them out and good luck to us...

 

[kebo81]

Ok thanks. I figure there's a 99% chance this car was owned by an elderly person (based on the mileage, a few scuffs on the sides of the wheels, and factory cd player) and was driven pretty lightly. The official Honda owner's manual that came with this car says to change the automatic transmission fluid every 120k under "normal driving conditions" and every 60k miles under "severe driving conditions." "Severe" conditions include - driving less than 10 miles per trip, driving in weather above 90 degrees, long periods of stop and go traffic, and extensive idling. Due to the extremely low mileage for the car (47k miles over 14 years) and having it be a 1 owner northern IL car as of last month (weather ranges from -10 degrees to 100 degrees each year here), it looks like it would fall more under the "severe" conditions. Is it a waste of money though to change the trans fluid more frequently than every 60k miles though? I've always heard that having a shop do a transmission "flush" (pressurized) is not a good idea. The manual's version of "flushing" the fluid is to "Drain and refill it with Honda ATF-Z1, then drive the vehicle a short distance. Do this three times. Then drain and refill the transmission a final time." Sounds simple enough. What is considered a "short distance" to drive the vehicle between draining sessions? My previous car was a manual. SO much easier to maintain. Just change the fluid when you change the clutch and you're good to go. :-)

 

[Esotericimage]

Hex shortend the title to include tranny...LOL

 

[Civicman1955]

uh you

Ok thanks. I figure there's a 99% chance this car was owned by an elderly person (based on the mileage, a few scuffs on the sides of the wheels, and factory cd player) and was driven pretty lightly. The official Honda owner's manual that came with this car says to change the automatic transmission fluid every 120k under "normal driving conditions" and every 60k miles under "severe driving conditions." "Severe" conditions include - driving less than 10 miles per trip, driving in weather above 90 degrees, long periods of stop and go traffic, and extensive idling. Due to the extremely low mileage for the car (47k miles over 14 years) and having it be a 1 owner northern IL car as of last month (weather ranges from -10 degrees to 100 degrees each year here), it looks like it would fall more under the "severe" conditions. Is it a waste of money though to change the trans fluid more frequently than every 60k miles though? I've always heard that having a shop do a transmission "flush" (pressurized) is not a good idea. The manual's version of "flushing" the fluid is to "Drain and refill it with Honda ATF-Z1, then drive the vehicle a short distance. Do this three times. Then drain and refill the transmission a final time." Sounds simple enough. What is considered a "short distance" to drive the vehicle between draining sessions? My previous car was a manual. SO much easier to maintain. Just change the fluid when you change the clutch and you're good to go. :-)

Hi,I got Honda here to do a drain and fill about a month ago,not flush may have too much pressure with a flush,I'm going to get another one done by them or my mechanic if he can do it in another month and then maybe a 3th one to make sure in another month all the fluid is out of the torque converter... Don't idle or put the car in neutral ever,this will overheat the tranny....I see some of these cars for sale around here because of automatic transmissions going...If your tranny ever goes,contact Sonnax.com...The part is Pressure Regulator Valve,part # 98892-04...Head gaskets seem to go on these models as well so don't put it to the floor alot or overheat it...If it goes through some oil it could be the cam plug on the top of the engine,cheap fix...

 

[kebo81]

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Hi,I got Honda here to do a drain and fill about a month ago,not flush may have too much pressure with a flush,I'm going to get another one done by them or my mechanic if he can do it in another month and then maybe a 3th one to make sure in another month all the fluid is out of the torque converter... Don't idle or put the car in neutral ever,this will overheat the tranny....I see some of these cars for sale around here because of automatic transmissions going...If your tranny ever goes,contact Sonnax.com...The part is Pressure Regulator Valve,part # 98892-04...Head gaskets seem to go on these models as well so don't put it to the floor alot or overheat it...If it goes through some oil it could be the cam plug on the top of the engine,cheap fix...

Hex shortend the title to include tranny...LOL

Ugh........thanks. Lol

 

[kebo81]

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Hi,I got Honda here to do a drain and fill about a month ago,not flush may have too much pressure with a flush,I'm going to get another one done by them or my mechanic if he can do it in another month and then maybe a 3th one to make sure in another month all the fluid is out of the torque converter... Don't idle or put the car in neutral ever,this will overheat the tranny....I see some of these cars for sale around here because of automatic transmissions going...If your tranny ever goes,contact Sonnax.com...The part is Pressure Regulator Valve,part # 98892-04...Head gaskets seem to go on these models as well so don't put it to the floor alot or overheat it...If it goes through some oil it could be the cam plug on the top of the engine,cheap fix...

Ok thanks. I went to a Honda dealership today to ask about the fluid changing on the automatic trans. They said just drain it once till the fluid stops pouring out of the drain hole (about 35-45% total fluid), then put the plug back and refill it with Honda ATF. He said I should do this about every 30-40k miles. I'll probably just do it myself. Easy enough. It's hard when you don't know how the car was maintained the first 14 years of its life. Not sure if the previous owner ever changed the trans fluid or if its still got the 2002 fluid in there. They recommended flushing the brake fluid and power steering fluid too. I might do that. A friend of mine has a 2005 4cyl Accord with 201k miles that he bought new. He's never changed the power steering fluid or brake fluid, and only drained and filled the automatic trans fluid once. His car still drives like it's new. So I don't know how "mandatory" all these fluid changes really are...

 

[Esotericimage]

Well just because the car operates with contaminated fluid doesnt mean it ok. Brake fluid should be done every 60K and PS every 100k.


The dealer shouldve told you to repeat the process 3X. (drive around getting into all gears while at operating temp, then go back and repeat)

Theres still old fluid in the solenoids and then new fluid will clean the old fluid.. so doing this 3 times should clean out everything