Honda Car Forum

My daughter's 93 Accord (160,000 mi) acted weird last Wednesday, we had it
towed, and when I (finally) checked it today, the only thing I found was a
bit too much transmission fluid.

A few weeks ago, she said something was acting odd on her car. I went out
to check under the hood and I saw that the transmission dipstick was out of
its holder and resting an the crossmember and the opening for the dipstick.
I was surprised that it hadn't dropped onto the road. Worried that dirt
might have gotten in there, I drained the fluid and replaced it with more
Honda auto trans fluid. Granted, I checked the fluid level when it was not
all that warm and the car was on a slight angle (in the driveway).

She had driven it steadily for a number of days, then she called this past
Wednesday and said that it had barely gotten moving from a light and that
the "D" indicator on the dash was blinking. I was out of state so I
arranged for a tow truck to take it home so I could check it later.

Today I drained the fluid and checked it ... looked great... put it back but
checked it carefully on level surfaces to make sure it was not overfilled.
I have left it low in the cross-hatched area when hot. It runs great.

SO, any ideas what might have happened? Overfilled/foamed up? The old tow
truck driver said "malfunctioning sensor", but I wouldn't know which one
that could be. Could a "vent" be clogged, blowing out the dipstick a few
weeks ago and causing it to malfunction this past week? The manual I have
says something about a vent.. but where is it?

My daughter doesn't want to drive the car - no faith in it now... (I had to
replace the engine a few months ago after the camshaft snapped... the PO had
not cared for the car well.) Before that new brakes, tires, window
regulator, etc. Maybe I will just have to take it to CarMax and sell it.
But with some door scratches I wonder whether I would get much for it!

If it is something simple I would sure rather not just dump the car for
wholesale.

TIA.
--
KWW

The trans dipstick on my daughter's 98 Civic was very loose when I checked
it so I replaced it. The old one was kind of stiff and did not grab the
opening very well. If your PO did not take care of the car very well, he
may have never changed the trans oil or may have put in non-Honda fluid.
Good luck.