2004 civic 1.6 A/T engine/transmission problem

[amir20]

Hi! It's my first time posting here at tsikot because I have this problem with my car again specifications are

2004 Civic 1.6 A/T/ Bought this 2 years ago second hand.

Well here's the problem. I'm not sure what it is. I'm fairly new at owning a car so I'm not sure about the source exactly. My best description of my problem would be:

"I need to step on the gas pedal more (2x or 3x more) than I did 1 year ago, to get that same amount of speed or acceleration"

this may be relevant so I'm gonna post this here: How I step on the pedal -> I usually step on the pedal at about 1/10th of the entire depth of the pedal (10/10 is HATAW at 5000rpm) Fuel efficiency conscious kasi ako and was a new driver back then.

The funny thing about this is that is progressive. It's getting worse as time goes by thus I am now trying to research further. I was on the way home from work when I noticed that I was stepping on the gas pedal harder than usual, this was a year ago. I thought it would be gone soon or something. TODAY I'm getting really pissed because of this "weakness" from my car.

I also noticed that my car stop accelerating at 60(70 sometimes)kph. A year ago my car still accelerates beyond 80/90kph. keep in mind that I dont move my foot from the gas pedal at 1/10 position (ganon naman kasi ang kotse diba? kahit di mo galawin ung gas pedal aabot at aabot yan ng 90/80kph) TODAY I usually drive at 3/10 or 4/10 position and still feel "sluggish acceleration"

I have never had any engine problems like kuma-kadiyot/kajot (pano ba spelling?), weird noises, over heat (I once drove to the airport and back home to fairview without turning off the engine and had no problems), namamatayan etc.

[[archie]]

Transmission problem kung ayaw na humatak. When was the last time did you replace the atf? What atf did you use? What the mileage of the car?

[amir20]

Transmission problem kung ayaw na humatak. When was the last time did you replace the atf? What atf did you use? What the mileage of the car?

humahatak naman po kung kailangan. kaya pa naman mag 120. Umakyat nga po kami ng antipolo na 5 kami + bagahe. naka D3 nga lang (which is tama lang naman I guess) Recently replaced ATF kasama change oil (yong pinaka maganda, Helix ata) within the last 2months siguro. ATF po from Shell. Mileage at 70000ish

[[archie]]

Nagstart ba yung problem yung change atf?

[cityfolk]

Maselan ang Honda sa mga fluids lalo na sa atf. Baka kailangang i-flush out yung atf at palitan na Honda oem atf.

[Egan101]

I do hope that there's nothing wrong with your tranny. Honda cars are quite selective with fluids (ATF, PS). Some people experienced problems with their tranny when they used a different brand of ATF.

Also, try to check your throttle body. It might need some cleaning. A dirty throttle body and air filter will reduce power (hatak), causing you to press the pedal harder to obtain optimum speed.

[amir20]

I do hope that there's nothing wrong with your tranny. Honda cars are quite selective with fluids (ATF, PS). Some people experienced problems with their tranny when they used a different brand of ATF.

Also, try to check your throttle body. It might need some cleaning. A dirty throttle body and air filter will reduce power (hatak), causing you to press the pedal harder to obtain optimum speed.

Thank you po for the replies.

*egan - san ko po mapapa check yong throttle body and yong tranny? you mentioned fluids - I'm guessing PS is power steering. not sure if relevant pero ung PS fluid ko from Shell din. If I remember correctly the last tune up I had (which was in within the last 2months) inisprayan ng compressed air ung air filter ko, not sure if that cleans is or it needs more cleaning pa.

*archie - hindi po, problem start about a year ago na. just recently changed my ATF from Shell within the last 2 months. I felt no change after changing the ATF

*cityfolk - I do remember the guy from shell saying marumi na ata yung ATF ko and dapat na nga palitan. Hopefully di kailangan palitan 1k din yung ATF

I'm not sure if relevant pero kasi my battery is due for a change - I was thinking na dahil A/T baka ma-affect nung battery yong computer box which would affect engine power/transmission blah blah blah - again NOOB lang po so mejo nanghuhula lang. hehe

DAFUQ! I just read this from another thread

My Honda City 98 was fine until nagpa sales talk ako sa Shell at binuhusan nila ng ATF ang power steering ko. After 1 or 2 days tumagas ang hose ko and then may nagsabi sakin na sensitive ang Honda and dapat Honda PSF lang gagamitin ko which ngayon ko lang nalaman. Pano po bang dapat gawin ko ipa-flush lang yung ATF na galing sa Shell tapos palitan ng Honda PSF? Or papalitan na yung part na nagli-leak? Saan po kaya magandang ipatingin kung anong mas magandang gawin? Ayoko po kasing maloko na kahit hindi naman dapat palitan ganun ang sasabihin sakin.

[[archie]]

There is no relevance yung battery to ecu. You can always try to put honda atf muna then see if it made a difference, if not, well, as feared, it's a tranny major problem. Hanap na ng reliable a/t surplus. Mahirap repair kit, ilang buwan lang sira. Or tiis na lang hangang bumigay ng tuluyan. Sulitin mo na lang sir yung tranny hangang buhay pa. Hehe

[oj88]

Things I would check:

1. Tire pressure - Follow the tire pressure guidelines found on a sticker usually on the driver's side door jamb or user's manual
2. Engine oil and filter- When was the last time it was replaced? What brand and viscosity of the oil? Are you using an OEM or replacement oil filter?
3. Air filter - When was the last time it was replaced? Are you using OEM or replacement? What's the current condition?
4. Spark plugs - When was the last time it was replaced? What's the brand and part no. of the plugs you have now?
5. ATF - Definitely, drain and refill with Honda ATF-Z1. I'd go as far as draining and refilling a few times in a span of several days to get rid of the Shell ATF
6. Throttle cable - Check if it needs adjustment. If there's too much slack, you will need to depress on the accelerator pedal more to get to your desired engine response
7. Check Engine Light - Did the CEL ever lit up while the car was running?
8. What fuel are you using?

So far, that's just a few off the top of my head. I'm no expert so I may have left out a few.

[amir20]

1. Tire pressure - I follow this naman po. 30 psi ( sometimes 31 pnp lagay ko, off topic questions whats the difference if mataas or mababa from whats on the sticker, which btw is 30)
2. Engine oil and filter- bought the car 2years ago 2nd hand. since then I haven't replaced the oil filter. papa check ko if needs replacement when I have my breaks repaired soon. If by engine oil po you mean yong pinapa Change Oil - I have it replaced on time (every 5000km) I use the best oil from Shell (Helix I think around 3k php). Kahit after change oil po I did not notice any change.
3. Air filter - I havent replaced this and I cannot say what the condition is as well. AFAIK every tune up nililinis ng Shell yong air filter. (ini isprayan ng hangin)
4. Spark plugs - not sure about the brand it was from shell (magandang klase DAW yon per the last time andon ako) it was last replaced a year ago same time as my 2nd to the most recent change oil. Didn't notice any change when this was replaced
5. ATF - yong sa suggestion niyo po dito - did you mean have it replace by honda today and after a few weeks, pa replace ulit ng honda ang ATF?
6. Throttle cable - does this mean the cable attached to the Gas Pedal? (sorry, super NOOB). Per my tune up shell told me "OK naman yong silinyador"
7. Check Engine Light - I've never seen the engine light light up while driving. mostly pag-nag start lang or pag pasok ng susi
8. What fuel are you using? - was using shell nitro+ then switched to fuel save unleaded. didn't notice any change naman.

Maraming salamat po oj88. I really appreciate the help. Tanong niyo lang po if you have further questions

*archie - sana that is not the case haha. Where do I have the tranny checked? kaya ba ng shell yon or sa CASA kailangan? Thanks po

[oj88]

1. Tire pressure - I follow this naman po. 30 psi ( sometimes 31 pnp lagay ko, off topic questions whats the difference if mataas or mababa from whats on the sticker, which btw is 30)

If it says 30 PSI, it's best that you follow it. It is generally better on tires to be slightly over-inflated. Under-inflation causes tires to overheat, they wear faster, makes the car sluggish, and consequently, uses up a bit more fuel.

2. Engine oil and filter- bought the car 2years ago 2nd hand. since then I haven't replaced the oil filter. papa check ko if needs replacement when I have my breaks repaired soon. If by engine oil po you mean yong pinapa Change Oil - I have it replaced on time (every 5000km) I use the best oil from Shell (Helix I think around 3k php). Kahit after change oil po I did not notice any change.

The oil filter must be replaced with every change oil, given our conditions here. There's no easy method to check the filter's condition so for simplicity, it is replaced together with the oil. You didn't mention what viscosity your Shell oil is and whether it's mineral, semi-synth, or fully-synth.

3. Air filter - I havent replaced this and I cannot say what the condition is as well. AFAIK every tune up nililinis ng Shell yong air filter. (ini isprayan ng hangin)

Paper filters should also be replaced typically every 6-12 months or every 5-10k km. Your manual would have a periodic schedule on when to check and/or replace this filter, among others. If the filter is 2 y/o, like your oil filter, these could be factors that contribute to the lack of power you're experiencing.

4. Spark plugs - not sure about the brand it was from shell (magandang klase DAW yon per the last time andon ako) it was last replaced a year ago same time as my 2nd to the most recent change oil. Didn't notice any change when this was replaced

Let's just assume for the moment that the sparkplugs are fine and they're of the correct type. But if you want to be thorough, you may want to go ahead and remove each of the sparkplugs and see the condition of the electrodes. Here's a rather long read on how to find out the condition of your engine by looking at the sparkplug electrodes along with ways to identify if it's faulty. It's boring... you've been warned: Spark Plug Analysis - Technical Information - NGK Spark Plugs Australia

5. ATF - yong sa suggestion niyo po dito - did you mean have it replace by honda today and after a few weeks, pa replace ulit ng honda ang ATF?

At this point, you can just buy the Honda ATF-Z1 from casa and have your car serviced someplace else. It's really up to you. Do note that you'll be needing several liters of the stuff if you intend to replace the ATF a few times. Your manual might say something about the ATF capacity to give you an idea how much you'll need.

6. Throttle cable - does this mean the cable attached to the Gas Pedal? (sorry, super NOOB). Per my tune up shell told me "OK naman yong silinyador"

Yes. If there's a bit of play/slack, you really would need to press deeper on the gas pedal than usual. If your mechanic says it's ok, then let's just asume that they are.

7. Check Engine Light - I've never seen the engine light light up while driving. mostly pag-nag start lang or pag pasok ng susi

That's both good news and bad news. Good, at least your car doesn't have any major problems with the emissions control (ECU, sensors, etc.). Bad news, it's going to be a bit harder to diagnose certain engine problems if the computer doesn't even know a problem exists.

8. What fuel are you using? - was using shell nitro+ then switched to fuel save unleaded. didn't notice any change naman.

Back when I was still using Petron XCS, my car goes into a situation I like to call the "Zombie Zone" wherein it just wasn't producing any power between 2k-2.8k RPM, no matter what gear I am. I experimented by switching to Petron Blaze and once the computer assimilated to the change after a few tank-fulls, my car stopped being a Zombie. I know it's not conclusive but you may want to try it out (ie. go back to Nitro+ or even try Blaze), just for the heck of it.

[dr. d]

have you been observing your rpm? are you experiencing less kph readings with higher rpm readings? your AT might be slipping..

[[archie]]

Umm... Casa will definitely tell you to replace the whole thing. Hehe. I'm not that familiar with a/t specialist shops kasi kung may problem a/t namin, we just wait for it to die and replace with surplus. Let's wait for others na may kilala na a/t specialist.

[amir20]

Umm... Casa will definitely tell you to replace the whole thing. Hehe. I'm not that familiar with a/t specialist shops kasi kung may problem a/t namin, we just wait for it to die and replace with surplus. Let's wait for others na may kilala na a/t specialist.

maraming salamat sir *salute*

[Egan101]

*amir20 - if you're within Sucat area, I can refer you to the mechanic I have my Accord serviced. He's quite good with Honda AT cars. You can look him up within some threads here (Mel Casaba).

With regards to ATF, just buy from the Honda casa and have your tranny serviced somewhere else. There's a shop in BGC area that does some sort of ATF dialysis if you want to get all that ATF replaced in the system in one session. You might need around 8 liters of Honda ATF, which is a bit costly at around 650 per liter plus the cost of the dialysis job. Or you can do 3 rounds of normal ATF replacement, once every month for the next three months as normal ATF change only replaces about a third of the fluid in the whole tranny (at least you need not pay the cost of the dialysis).

For air filter, replace it every 10k or earlier if it gets dirty before reaching 10k. You can even do this yourself without going to a shop or mechanic. Just pop open the air filter box and check the air filter monthly. Blowing air into the air filter will not clean the whole thing. Just replace it since aftermarket models are quite cheap (300 pesos).

For the throttle body, you need a mechanic on this one unless you have dedicated tools at home. You might also need to buy a throttle body gasket as the existing one might be torn when the whole throttle body assembly is taken apart for cleaning. Also, ask the mechanic to clean the intakes as well and adjust the throttle cable as needed. Make sure to get a new air filter when you plan to have the throttle body assembly cleaned.

Also, since you mentioned power steering fluid, I do hope that the Shell shop you got your car serviced didn't put ATF or those one formula fluids (indicates in the bottle for use in PS or ATF systems) in your power steering system. Honda cars have specific fluids for ATF and PS. Heck, even their CVT-model cars have a specific fluid (there are horror stories of people having their old Jazz/City CVTs serviced with ATF fluid only to have their tranny broken).

[[archie]]

From the start, I've guess atf is not honda. There are many who made the fatal mistake but it's reversible naman basta hindi patagalin. Do dialysis kagad, to make sure that honda atf na buong tranny.

[Egan101]

For spark plugs, just buy NGK Platinums (200 each). They are good for 10k KMs. If you want a better one, you can use Iridiums at around 600 a piece.

For engine oil, a viscosity of 10w40 would be just right for our local weather conditions. There are some semi-synthetic and synthetic brands which have that viscosity. Honda mineral oil is 10w30 while their synthetic oils are 5w40 or 0w20.

[amir20]

NOW ayaw naman mag start ng car ko. Was gonna use it earlier pag turn ko ng key it makes the same sound as a gun na wala ng bala. Tried 5 times earlier and 5 times now ayaw parin mag start. I tried and check stereo works fine, all my lights (hi/low/fog and signal) still works as well as the radio.

Patay na ba yong batterya? *_*

my fuel tank is half empty

[Egan101]

Baka yung starter solenoid mo bumigay na, since oks pa electricals mo. You can still start the car by asking someone to ground the starter solenoid while you turn on the ignition. However, you need to have that broken solenoid replaced.

[[archie]]

NOW ayaw naman mag start ng car ko. Was gonna use it earlier pag turn ko ng key it makes the same sound as a gun na wala ng bala. Tried 5 times earlier and 5 times now ayaw parin mag start. I tried and check stereo works fine, all my lights (hi/low/fog and signal) still works as well as the radio.

Patay na ba yong batterya? *_*

my fuel tank is half empty

Yung sound ba "tik tik tik"? If yes, dead battery.