2004 civic 1.6 A/T engine/transmission problem

**amir20** · August 7th, 2013 12:35 AM

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]** · August 7th, 2013 12:44 AM

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** · August 7th, 2013 12:51 AM

Originally Posted by [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?

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]** · August 7th, 2013 12:56 AM

Nagstart ba yung problem yung change atf?

**cityfolk** · August 7th, 2013 08:36 AM

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

**Egan101** · August 7th, 2013 08:51 AM

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** · August 7th, 2013 01:51 PM

Originally Posted by 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.

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]** · August 7th, 2013 06:36 PM

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** · August 7th, 2013 07:12 PM

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** · August 7th, 2013 08:28 PM

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