Honda Car Forum

A friend is offering a 1990 Acura Legend L with 95K miles for a very
low price, but the transmission doesn't start in Low gear when it is
cold.

They have been shifting it manually until the car warms up and then it
shifts normally until it cools down again.

Two garages have given an opinion on it:
One suggested rebuilding the transmission.
The other thought it might be an electronic control problem.
One of the garages advised against changing the fluid. That seems
strange to me; it's the first thing I would do..

They have been driving it in the summer only for the last 3 years this
way and it hasn't changed. Other than the shift behavior when it is
cold, the engine and transmission perform as expected.

This car is a summer car used in the midwest, although it spent most
of its life in the SW and has probably never seen really cold weather,
but plenty of high temps.

It probably hasn't had the fluid changed for at least the last 30K
miles and maybe not even then.

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions you have,
Doug

Doug <Removehilandd@juno.com> wrote in
news:810s52p3vfb40e07mjibdbuvqnlvrfp6rc@4ax.com:

> A friend is offering a 1990 Acura Legend L with 95K miles for a very
> low price, but the transmission doesn't start in Low gear when it is
> cold.
>
> They have been shifting it manually until the car warms up and then it
> shifts normally until it cools down again.



Is the D4 light blinking?

This problem is sometimes a shift control solenoid, which, when bad, is
supposed to turn on the D4 light.


>
> Two garages have given an opinion on it:
> One suggested rebuilding the transmission.
> The other thought it might be an electronic control problem.
> One of the garages advised against changing the fluid. That seems
> strange to me; it's the first thing I would do..



It's possible for fresh fluid to cause gunk to break loose and clog up the
valve body, that's why they say not to do it.



--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

I talked with my friend the other day and he didn't say anything about
any trouble lights. If there had been any at any time, I'm sure he
would have remembered it and mentioned it.

He did say that the condition goes away after about a mile of driving
during summer temps in the mid-west. There hasn't been any
deterioration; car operates the same after 3 summers of manual
shifting when it is cold.

Thanks for the info

Doug
On 9 May 2006 04:06:32 GMT, "TeGGeR®" <tegger@tegger.c0m> wrote:

>Doug <Removehilandd@juno.com> wrote in
>news:810s52p3vfb40e07mjibdbuvqnlvrfp6rc@4ax.com :
>
>> A friend is offering a 1990 Acura Legend L with 95K miles for a very
>> low price, but the transmission doesn't start in Low gear when it is
>> cold.
>>
>> They have been shifting it manually until the car warms up and then it
>> shifts normally until it cools down again.
>
>
>
>Is the D4 light blinking?
>
>This problem is sometimes a shift control solenoid, which, when bad, is
>supposed to turn on the D4 light.
>
>
>>
>> Two garages have given an opinion on it:
>> One suggested rebuilding the transmission.
>> The other thought it might be an electronic control problem.
>> One of the garages advised against changing the fluid. That seems
>> strange to me; it's the first thing I would do..
>
>
>
>It's possible for fresh fluid to cause gunk to break loose and clog up the
>valve body, that's why they say not to do it.

ask him again, specifically if the gear indicator light (for Park ,Reverse,
Neutral, Drive#) of D4 is blinking.



"Doug" <Removehilandd@juno.com> wrote in message
news:qg5162hldvjc91soip9s3c1nli4s1j3e0d@4ax.com...
> I talked with my friend the other day and he didn't say anything about
> any trouble lights. If there had been any at any time, I'm sure he
> would have remembered it and mentioned it.
>
> Doug
> On 9 May 2006 04:06:32 GMT, "TeGGeR®" <tegger@tegger.c0m> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >Is the D4 light blinking?
> >
> >This problem is sometimes a shift control solenoid, which, when bad, is
> >supposed to turn on the D4 light.

I talked to my friend and asked him specifically about any blinking
lights or other fail indications. He said that he had never seen one.
I'm sure that is the case. Engineering types clue in on things like
this.

If Honda uses a separete closure contact to keep the light from
turning on, it still seems possible that the solenoid isn't
transferring enough to do the job, even thouth there isn't any
indication failure.

Given the fact that things haven't changed after 3 summers of driving
on both long and short trips, it looks like the problem isn't fatal.
I wonder what a real Midwest winter will do for the condition?

Thanks for the input,
Doug
On Sat, 13 May 2006 11:24:19 -0700, "James S"
<jameszx7@spambegonehotmail.com> wrote:

>ask him again, specifically if the gear indicator light (for Park ,Reverse,
>Neutral, Drive#) of D4 is blinking.
>
>
>
>"Doug" <Removehilandd@juno.com> wrote in message
>news:qg5162hldvjc91soip9s3c1nli4s1j3e0d@4ax.com.. .
>> I talked with my friend the other day and he didn't say anything about
>> any trouble lights. If there had been any at any time, I'm sure he
>> would have remembered it and mentioned it.
>>
>> Doug
>> On 9 May 2006 04:06:32 GMT, "TeGGeR®" <tegger@tegger.c0m> wrote:
>>
>> >
>> >
>> >Is the D4 light blinking?
>> >
>> >This problem is sometimes a shift control solenoid, which, when bad, is
>> >supposed to turn on the D4 light.
>

okay.

well, just to let you know, replacing the trans with torqueconvertor usually
goes for about $1800-2500. I had an 88 coupe when low gear was no longer
engaging correctly, clutchpack was suspected. Dealer and independent shop
won't do anything less than full swap so no little things would pop up
later. fyi.


"Doug" <Removehilandd@juno.com> wrote in message
news:ms5f62prvst3fcb9igjhubgcgfq9dqqdau@4ax.com...
> I talked to my friend and asked him specifically about any blinking
> lights or other fail indications. He said that he had never seen one.
> I'm sure that is the case. Engineering types clue in on things like
> this.
>
> If Honda uses a separete closure contact to keep the light from
> turning on, it still seems possible that the solenoid isn't
> transferring enough to do the job, even thouth there isn't any
> indication failure.
>
> Given the fact that things haven't changed after 3 summers of driving
> on both long and short trips, it looks like the problem isn't fatal.
> I wonder what a real Midwest winter will do for the condition?
>
> Thanks for the input,
> Doug
> On Sat, 13 May 2006 11:24:19 -0700, "James S"
> <jameszx7@spambegonehotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >ask him again, specifically if the gear indicator light (for Park
,Reverse,
> >Neutral, Drive#) of D4 is blinking.
> >
> >
> >
> >"Doug" <Removehilandd@juno.com> wrote in message
> >news:qg5162hldvjc91soip9s3c1nli4s1j3e0d@4ax.com.. .
> >> I talked with my friend the other day and he didn't say anything about
> >> any trouble lights. If there had been any at any time, I'm sure he
> >> would have remembered it and mentioned it.
> >>
> >> Doug
> >> On 9 May 2006 04:06:32 GMT, "TeGGeR®" <tegger@tegger.c0m> wrote:
> >>
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >Is the D4 light blinking?
> >> >
> >> >This problem is sometimes a shift control solenoid, which, when bad,
is
> >> >supposed to turn on the D4 light.
> >

James,
It's good to hear about some real experience on a similar problem.
Given the price my friend is asking and the replacement cost you
mentioned, it may still be a decent gamble.

When you had your transmission replaced, were you able to continue to
get it into low gear manually? or wouldn't it go at all?

As of now, it seems solidly just a warmup problem, but who knows what
will happen when the temps drops to below zero deg F.
Doug

On Sun, 14 May 2006 18:29:07 -0700, "James S"
<jameszx7@spambegonehotmail.com> wrote:

>okay.
>
>well, just to let you know, replacing the trans with torqueconvertor usually
>goes for about $1800-2500. I had an 88 coupe when low gear was no longer
>engaging correctly, clutchpack was suspected. Dealer and independent shop
>won't do anything less than full swap so no little things would pop up
>later. fyi.
>
>
>"Doug" <Removehilandd@juno.com> wrote in message
>news:ms5f62prvst3fcb9igjhubgcgfq9dqqdau@4ax.com.. .
>> I talked to my friend and asked him specifically about any blinking
>> lights or other fail indications. He said that he had never seen one.
>> I'm sure that is the case. Engineering types clue in on things like
>> this.
>>
>> If Honda uses a separete closure contact to keep the light from
>> turning on, it still seems possible that the solenoid isn't
>> transferring enough to do the job, even thouth there isn't any
>> indication failure.
>>
>> Given the fact that things haven't changed after 3 summers of driving
>> on both long and short trips, it looks like the problem isn't fatal.
>> I wonder what a real Midwest winter will do for the condition?
>>
>> Thanks for the input,
>> Doug
>> On Sat, 13 May 2006 11:24:19 -0700, "James S"
>> <jameszx7@spambegonehotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> >ask him again, specifically if the gear indicator light (for Park
>,Reverse,
>> >Neutral, Drive#) of D4 is blinking.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >"Doug" <Removehilandd@juno.com> wrote in message
>> >news:qg5162hldvjc91soip9s3c1nli4s1j3e0d@4ax.com.. .
>> >> I talked with my friend the other day and he didn't say anything about
>> >> any trouble lights. If there had been any at any time, I'm sure he
>> >> would have remembered it and mentioned it.
>> >>
>> >> Doug
>> >> On 9 May 2006 04:06:32 GMT, "TeGGeR®" <tegger@tegger.c0m> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >Is the D4 light blinking?
>> >> >
>> >> >This problem is sometimes a shift control solenoid, which, when bad,
>is
>> >> >supposed to turn on the D4 light.
>> >
>

heya Doug,
after the trans was replaced, all worked fine. About a year later it shifted
weird, took it back to my tech(independent), they checked it, and they
replaced the whole trans under warranty to make it easy for themselves.

When the trans was bad the first time, the days temperature was 70...so it
wasnt climate related. I had to shift it into D3 since the lower gear(1st)
wasnt engaging, then upshifted to D4 at posted speedlimit.

hth

"Doug" <Removehilandd@juno.com> wrote in message
news:dkug62ldo2rpernpre7rnj4rksj09a7nuu@4ax.com...
>
> When you had your transmission replaced, were you able to continue to
> get it into low gear manually? or wouldn't it go at all?
>
> As of now, it seems solidly just a warmup problem, but who knows what
> will happen when the temps drops to below zero deg F.
> Doug
>

James,
Again, thanks for the info.
One of my kids is considering buying the car, so I just pass on the
info. I'm not sure what I would do :-)

Doug

On Wed, 17 May 2006 11:21:23 -0700, "James S"
<jameszx7@spambegonehotmail.com> wrote:

>heya Doug,
>after the trans was replaced, all worked fine. About a year later it shifted
>weird, took it back to my tech(independent), they checked it, and they
>replaced the whole trans under warranty to make it easy for themselves.
>
>When the trans was bad the first time, the days temperature was 70...so it
>wasnt climate related. I had to shift it into D3 since the lower gear(1st)
>wasnt engaging, then upshifted to D4 at posted speedlimit.
>
>hth
>
>"Doug" <Removehilandd@juno.com> wrote in message
>news:dkug62ldo2rpernpre7rnj4rksj09a7nuu@4ax.com.. .
>>
>> When you had your transmission replaced, were you able to continue to
>> get it into low gear manually? or wouldn't it go at all?
>>
>> As of now, it seems solidly just a warmup problem, but who knows what
>> will happen when the temps drops to below zero deg F.
>> Doug
>>
>