akuma69

Hi guys,

I have a prelude 1998 model auto. It had 140000 km on it when i bought it 1 month ago. Now it has like 142000kms.
Car was kept by a old bloke so its in very good condition aesthetically.

Having the car for 1 month now, i noticed a few little things with the transmission. I know the auto trans on these aren't too strong. So i thought to mention my car symptoms to get your opinion. To see if my transmission is dieing or not.

My car symptoms:

1. When I start the car, i put it on D4, and drive off, 1 second after the car starts moving, i hear a 1 second "grrrr" coming from somewhere underneath the car. After that it doesn't happen again. I stop the car(engine still running) and drive off again, the sound doesn't happen. I turn the car off, start it again, drive off again, then the sound happens again.

Another thing i tried is, i turned the car off, turned it on, put it on reverse, started moving the car on reverse, i heard the same 1 second "grrr". I brake to stop the car (engine still running), I shift to D4, and drive off, i dont hear the sound.

So the sound basically happens whenever the engine of the car is turned off, and then on, and then when the car starts to move (either in D4 or reverse).

Does this happen to anyone else? is it normal?

2. I turn the engine on. I put the car on D4. Its all good. But when i put it on reverse, i hear a small "clat" sound. I put it back on D4 (makes no clat sound), and then back on reverse, i hear the clat again. The sound isn't loud. But can be heard. Its a kind of "tap" sound. Is this normal?

Apart from the above mentioned symptoms, the car runs fine. Gears change normally. I dont thrash the car. Its used mainly as a cruiser going from A to B. But sometimes i do floor it to hear the vtec. So is my above symptoms normal or something bad?

Thanks for the help guys. Appreciated alot.

Dog_of_War

Hate to say it but there are a ton of posts on auto trans on 5th gens - and what they all say in a nutshell is: if you own an automatic 5th gen - then do a manual swap as soon as you can afford it

The automatic trans in 5th gens are prone to malfunctions and are problematic at best. Once it starts to go out on ya, then just get the tranny swapped out to a manual - I wouldnt put money back into an automatic transmission if I were you.. sorry bud.

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-Aaron

VoltaLude

one of my preludes i had 4th gens S light started to flash and a few months later it stooped going reverse..I think it was from a drink that got spill over my dash but yea..

thought it was the TCU but na had to replace the gearbox on that one.

going manual is the best option if you have to change the whole gearbox, better start saving up

lviii

#1 is definitely normal - it's your ABS system performing a self-test.

#2 sounds normal too - if your tranny is shifting into gear relatively smoothly and without delay, then it's not time to worry. At the same time, keep your fluid changed at conservative intervals. I believe Honda recommends changing the ATF every 30k, but I personally do it once a year with Honda ATF. If you don''t know when the fluid was last changed, you should probably change it. Fresh fluid may even quiet the clat you mentioned to some extent.

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Current
01 Prelude Base SS (Is that my tranny ticking? )
98 Prelude SH (FGP and loving it! )

VtecLudeDude99

Mine does the EXACT same thing, with 156K on my 99 SS lude, so dont worry man... The clat sound in reverse and the grrr sound when moving fwd in D4 and everything... As long as I have the "brrrfff" sound coming from the VTEC, I'm good to go

Trust me, I thought the same exact thing when I heard those noises

Lude Acts

Actually

VTEC goes "Bwaahh"

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