2001 Honda Passport Power Train

THE CAR HAS A "HARD SHIFT" GOING UP FROM 1ST TO 2ND AND BACK DOWN PERIODICALLY. IT IS ACCOMPANIED BY A LOUD CLUNK, LOSS OF POWER, A JERKING OF THE CAR AND OCCASIONALLY A GROWLING SOUND IN THE FRONT END. DIAGNOSTICS ON THE COMPUTER IS NEGATIVE, ONLY ONCE HAS THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COME ON, BUT THE CAR HAS BEEN FOUND TO BE LOW ON TRANSMISSION FLUID THREE DIFFERENT TIMES IN 4 WEEKS WITH NO APPARENT LEAK. IT HAS DONE THIS ONLY ONCE FOR A MECHANIC AND THEY RECOMMENDED REMOVING AND REBUILDING THE TRANSMISSION. AMERICAN HONDA-CUSTOMER SERVICE STATED THAT I NEEDED TO TAKE IT TO A HONDA DEALERSHIP FOR DIAGNOSIS. IT WAS THERE TODAY BUT THEY DID NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG, EXCEPT THE TRANSMISSION FLUID WAS LOW AGAIN. THIS CAR IS A 2001 AND HAS 40,800 MILES. WE HAVE ALSO HAD TO HAVE THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER REPLACED AND THE SERPENTINE BELT REPLACED- BOTH VERY UNUSUAL FOR A CAR WITH SO FEW MILES.*AK

AFTER PLACING OUR 2001 HONDA PASSPORT IN "PARK" AND TURNING OFF IGNITION, AND REMOVING THE KEYS, AND EXITING THE VEHICLE, IT ROLLED DOWN THE DRIVEWAY. ON TWO DIFFERENT OCCASIONS. LATER IT DID IT AGAIN FOR THE GOODYEAR OIL CHANGE TECHNICIAN.*AK

IN DECEMBER 2002, THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT SLIP INTO FIRST GEAR FROM A COMPLETE STOP AND WHEN I WOULD HAVE TO SLOW DOWN FOR TRAFFIC AND ACCELERATE. THE TRUCK WOULD JERK INTO FIRST GEAR. ALSO, WHEN I PUT THE TRUCK INTO REVERSE, ONCE I SHIFTED THE GEAR INTO DRIVE, IT WOULD TAKE 8-10 SECONDS BEFORE THE CAR WOULD SLIP INTO FIRST GEAR. JANUARY 4, 2003, I TOOK THE CAR TO A REPAIR SHOP AND TOLD THEM THE PROBLEM I WAS HAVING AND THEY SERVICED THE TRANSMISSION, TELLING ME THAT I WAS LOW ON FLUID, BUT THAT THERE WEREN'T ANY APPARENT OR VISIBLE PROBLEMS. I DID NOT HAVE ANY FURTHER PROBLEMS WITH THE TRUCK UNTIL FEBRUARY 5TH OR 6TH, WHEN THE JERKING BEGAN AGAIN. ON FEBRUARY 10, 2002, ON MY WAY HOME FROM WORK I STARTED THE TRUCK AND IT TOOK ABOUT 20 SECONDS FOR THE CAR TO SLIP INTO FIRST GEAR. THEN AS I WAS GOING 55-60 MILES AN HOUR UP AN INCLINE ON A MAJOR EXPRESSWAY, THE TRUCK WOULD NOT ACCELERATE AND BEGAN TO MAKE A "MOANING" NOISE AND THE CHECK TRANSMISSION LIGHT CAME ON. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT THE TRANSMISSION LIGHT HAD EVER COME ON. I HAD TO QUICKLY PULL OVER ONTO THE SHOULDER TO AVOID BEING HIT BY A SEMI TRUCK THAT WAS BEHIND ME. I TURNED THE CAR OFF FOR A FEW MINUTES AND STARTED IT AGAIN AN THE TRANSMISSION LIGHT WAS OFF, BUT I COULD NOT ACCELRATE OVER 20 MILES AN HOUR. I SLOWLY DROVE TO THE NEAREST EXIT. THE NEXT DAY I TOOK THE CAR TO A TRANSMISSION REPAIR SHOP AND WAS TOLD THAT I WAS 3 QUARTS LOW ON TRANSMISSION FLUID, AND THAT THE CAUSE WAS THAT THE ACCUMALATOR IN THE TRANSMISSION WAS LEAKING. THIS CAR IS ONLY 2 YEARS OLD! THIS IS RIDICULOUS!

WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A DEAD STOP, THE TRANSMISSION FAILS TO SLIP INTO FIRST GEAR SOMETIMES. THE CAR WILL JERK A LITTLE AS THE TRANSMISSION ATTEMPTS TO GO INTO FIRST GEAR, AND THE "CHECK TRANSMISSION" LIGHT AND "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT WILL COME ON. AT THIS MOMENT, THE TRANSMISSION IS IN A FAILED STATE, AND YOU HAVE TO STOP THE CAR COMPLETELY, WAIT A WHILE FOR THE TRANSMISSION TO RECOVER (ABOUT 5-10 SECONDS) BEFORE YOU CAN TRY TO ACCELERATE AGAIN. THIS POSES A SERIOUS DANGER, ESPECIALLY WHEN ENTERING INTERSECTIONS. I'VE HAD A SITUATION WHERE I WAS TRYING TO MAKE A RIGHT TURN AND MERGE ONTO A BUSY STREET, ONLY TO HAVE THE SUV JERK ME FORWARD A FEW FEET, AND HAVE THE TRANSMISSION FAIL. I HAD TO COME TO A FULL STOP, LET THE CAR RECOVER BEFORE ACCELERATING AWAY. LUCKILY, THERE WASN'T A CAR APPROACHING, OR ELSE, I WOULD'VE BEEN LEFT HELPLESS (UNABLE TO ACCELERATE), AND WOULD'VE GOTTEN HIT. THIS PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED A FEW TIMES NOW, AND LUCKILY FOR ME, IT HASN'T RESULTED IN ANY ACCIDENTS AS OF YET. I REPORTED THIS TO THE DEALER, BUT THEY SAID THAT THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO UNLESS THEY CAN REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM WHILE THEY HAVE THE SUV.*AK