ES5 unable to change gear

engp9083 · Post by **engp9083** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 12:58 am

Hi Bros,
Need some advise here.

My 9 year es5 1.6 civic today unable to change to higher gear..engine gear indicator light on...seems like only able to run at first gear. Car tow to workshop and mechanic say got to change to used gearbox abt >$2K.

Few days back noticed car at low rpm 1k-3k doesnt change gear smoothly...like slight jerk at 3k rpm or car having skip like feeling at 2k rpm. Today morning bring car to workshop and they suggest changing tranmission fluid. Doesnt seem to solve the problem and seems to get worse when I drive around then it failed to change gear.

Any bros here have this problem before?

I suggest changing the solenoid from what I read from forum but the mechanic say the engaging parts may be worn therefore unable to shift gear. That could explain the skipping I experienced.

How much to change to used gearbox? Or should overhaul it? I was told that overhaul cost more then 3k

I am not ready to get another new/used car so hopefully changing the gearbox can last til this year.

Post by **MCDS** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 4:35 pm

You are the 'first' one here that have this problem... Those regulars here go on track with their auto boxes... no problem... the trick was to install an additional transmission oil cooler, and change out the gear oil every 10k-20k instead of the rulebook interval which is much longer like 80,000km

Since your gearbox exhibit this shifting problem, it could be as suggested by the mechanics who just want to change out your gearbox for 2-3K...

If changing to new ATF (original Honda) doesn't work, it's probably a bigger problem... solinoid, or gear shift sensor, etc could be a simple problem solver... you will need to work at finding the real cause rather than just dumping thousands to solve a hundred dollar problem...

see if people like Macross 43 can offer advice... his ride is over 300,000km and gearbox is OK... went on the track more times than I can count... no problem...

macross43 · Post by **macross43** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 5:05 pm

Hi bro, from ur descirbition , it does seems that ur gear box is gone. It usually start from gear sliping to gear refuse to engage. From my understanding , the auto gear box made up of 3 major parts , the torque convertor , valve body and the gear transmission. Now my guess based on ur describition , it could be the torque convertor or the valve body got problem. As ur car is 9 yrs old , ur option is really limited. I can give u some of my personal option for your refference, but my advice is that u find a auto gear box specilist and seek for their advice.
My advice is 1)Cheap way - try to flush gear box using oringnal atf oil (honda ATF-DW1) get it change and run for a while than change again and see if it help. Do also notice the smell and the color when releasing the fluid. Etc burn smell or the color of fluid is black.
2) changing a used gear box - my understanding is the scarp yard will required ur old gear box and give u an scraped gearbox. The risk is that no one can know how long the gear box can last. But this is the best option comparing the cost vs the remaining COE
3) overhual the gear box for my personal view is the best as it will open everything inside the gear box and change all parts worn out to new wif new gasket etc. your gearbox will be as good as new. But the downside is the cost will be high and finding a really good gearbox mechanic is not easy.

How the advice help you.

Regards