An ailing transmission?

[CathyA]

I have a 2001 Honda Odyssey van. It has about 165,000 miles on it. I took it in for a minor service recently and they told me there was about $2,200 worth of various repairs it needed. This place has been so honest and fair with me over the years, so I believe them. The service guy told me that I could probably get by for awhile with a couple repairs that would come to $1,300 (an oil leak somewhere and a new timing belt).
But then he said that the tech felt a possible problem in the transmission when he test drove it. He said they don't repair parts of a transmission, and that a new transmission would be $4,500. He recommended that I don't spend this other money on repairs until we know for sure about the transmission.

Bummer. I really don't notice much when I drive it......just a little mild jerkiness here and there when the auto transmission shifts.

I called him today and asked why they can't fix just a part of the transmission, and he said they don't, and they aren't allowed by Honda to rebuild them.
He said I could bring it in and they could test drive it again.

Dang. And they are about 42 miles away.

I guess I should prepare myself that I might need a new car.

What would you do? Any ideas how I might approach this? I supposed I could take it there and get another opinion on how it rides.
Seems strange to me that it's an all-or-nothing thing.........But then, I don't know that much about cars. Wouldn't I feel alot more wrong if the transmission was going? Or does it go from not-bad to not-working quickly?
Any advice?
Thanks!

[rodeosweetheart]

Yeah, I have had transmissions go out and they definitely are an all or nothing thing-- one minute mild jerkiness, to bucking like a horse dead in the middle of traffic.

Why not go to a transmission place and have it checked out? My husband just had his differential replaced on his '86 ford f150, and it cost about 900.
4500 sounds really high.

When I replaced two transmissions, they were about 1500-2000 each.

[Float On]

I had a transmission go out at 25,000 miles (1,000 mile over the warranty). I also had one problem with that new transmission that was fixed by an additive. I can't remember the additive. It went on to do over 300,000 miles. The Durango with 200,000 miles has had a jerky transmission on low gears but for the last 120,000 miles they've said there is a problem but they can't pinpoint it. So I drive it anyway.

[Spartana]

Cathy my automatic transmission started to go out on a 2002 Hyundai Accent I had awhile ago. First the reverse gear started to not engage - eventually not able to go in reverse at all. I was able to live without reverse pretty easily but then eventually the other gears started to stick so I knew I had to do something. It was too expensive to repair at about $2000 (needed whole new trans which would have cost more than the value of the car) and there were other things wrong with it so I sold it for $1500. So you'll have to decide if the repair costs are worth it compared to the value of the car. Mine weren't. Plus I already had a second vehicle so didn't have to worry about buying anything new right away. Actually I sold it to the state of Calif for $1500 when they had a car-buy-back program to get older cars off the road and scrap them. So if you decide to sell, your state may have something like that. It was easier to do that then try to sell it with a bad transmission. I agree with the other's that $4500 sounds way too high. I'd get a second opinion. They were probably quoting you a price for a new transmission rather than a used or re-built one that came out of another car. That's usually what's used and are much lower cost at around $2000.

[CathyA]

Thanks everyone,

I really don’t want a new car. I do alots of dirty things with my car. Hahahaha…….What I mean is, I transport bales of straw, trees, bushes, lumber, furniture, etc. and I don’t want that stuff in a new car. Plus, the new Odysseys are a bit smaller I think, and I need the size. I haven’t seen any older Odysseys for sale………but I haven’t looked everywhere.

I don’t know why a transmission is all-or-nothing.

Are there reputable transmission places?

I really rust this Honda place. I’ve been going there since I got the car and they’ve been very upfront and fair.

Float On…….that’s awful about your transmission dying 1,000 miles after the warranty expired. Would they give you any kind of a deal on a new one?

I saw something on TV the other week. It was a car show, and they were driving around with some sort of device plugged in, and it was telling them exactly what the transmission was doing. Seems like the Honda place should have one of those. The service guy made it sound like the tech just drives it around and then decides if you need a new transmission. That’s weird, isn’t it?

The guy said that Honda doesn’t allow them to rebuild transmissions……..so maybe any little slip in it, they have to replace the entire thing.

I love this van, but it IS getting old. We don’t have a garage and I’m sure that’s aged it more than if we’d protected it. I’ve had it service every 5,000 since it was new…….but I guess it doesn’t help now. I could get the transmission replaced, then continue to have more and more parts go bad.

I would like to fix those other problems (mostly big leaks here and there and the timing belt), but I guess I’ll have to take it in and have them drive it, and then decide if I need to give it up.

It’s been awfully nice not having a monthly car payment!

[Gardenarian]

There are quite a few transmission additives (http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=transmission+fluid+additive&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=34134289642&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6171009787499986751&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_9o7fhjxawg_b) that you can try. Seems like it's worth a shot - less than $20, might solve your problems!

[jp1]

Cathy, you should call NPR's car talk. Not only would it be cool to 'know' someone calling in,but they usually give good advice.

[herbgeek]

Except that they've retired Car Talk, and are just rebroadcasting old episodes.

[jp1]

In that case let me revise my suggestion... Cathy, you should travel back in time a few years, and call the guys on CarTalk before they retired and ask their advice...

[ToomuchStuff]

Yeah, I have had transmissions go out and they definitely are an all or nothing thing-- one minute mild jerkiness, to bucking like a horse dead in the middle of traffic.

Why not go to a transmission place and have it checked out? My husband just had his differential replaced on his '86 ford f150, and it cost about 900.
4500 sounds really high.

When I replaced two transmissions, they were about 1500-2000 each.

That F150 is rear wheel drive. Those transmissions tend to be cheaper and MUCH easier to drop and replace.
Front wheel drive transmissions, are a bear, and even worse, once you start trying to pull them out of a van.


That said, it was either the 97 or 2001 Honda Oddesy van's that had HORRIBLE transmission issues. My brother had one and so did a friends daughter. Both got rid of them. (same year)
There was a sensor that would go bad, and due to the design, the ONLY way to replace it, involved rebuilding the transmission. They changed the design a year or two later after having a high warranty claim on them. NOW days, the cars have CANBUS, which means more computers, monitoring the vehicle, in an interconnected way. (not in 01)
Other things that go wrong in automatic transmissions, are metal (like a gear) shattering, running low on fluids (you can check that one yourself), and dirty fluid causing blockages.

[CathyA]

I did have an extended warranty on the transmission, but it expired at 109,000 miles. I was reading something yesterday that it's up to the individual Honda places, but sometimes they will agree to pay for part of a new transmission, if you kept up with all your services..........which I did. So I'll need to check that out. And I'll ask about the additives too.
But first, I have to take it back and let them drive it again, to assess it. Seems strange that the only way they have of knowing if it's going bad, is to drive it.

[rodeosweetheart]

His F150 is actually AWD. It was my dad's truck and he gave it to my DH, so we have to keep it limping along, for fear that if it goes, Dad goes.

[ToomuchStuff]

His F150 is actually AWD. It was my dad's truck and he gave it to my DH, so we have to keep it limping along, for fear that if it goes, Dad goes.

AWD? I doubt it, I would think 4WD. (4WD can be turned off, AWD can't) Either way, the transmission is mounted in a MUCH different way, and is MUCH easier to drop out of the vehicle.

[Teacher Terry]

I would wait and see what the total repairs would be and then decide. We just got rid of a 1999 volvo with 175000/miles because it needed a $4,000 repair. 2 months before we put 1,000 into it and the last 2 years about 2,000/year. We just decided it was time to give up. We had high hopes that it would last a lot longer & we loved no car payment but alas that was not meant to be>:(.

[rodeosweetheart]

Quite right, toomuch, it is 4wd, I misspoke. He has to manually switch it.