2017 with 140k miles not shifting into overdrive gears!!

7764 Views 140 Replies 24 Participants Last post by Bill_R, 25 d ago

silkiechicken

Discussion Starter · 4 mo ago

So I've had the tranny judder issue in the past which was "fixed" with 3x DF... and recently, in the last maybe 20k or so miles, have had some hard shifting, so did another 3x DF which seemed to "fix" the issue.

Well, today, after about 220 miles of freeway driving, I pulled over to fuel up and get some snacks. Getting back onto the freeway I quickly realized that the truck would not shift into overdrive as it just sat at ~3000rpm at ~60mph and did not shift. No error messages on the display. So took the next exit, stopped, and restarted truck. Problem went away.

Dog decided she needed a potty break just 10 minutes after getting back on the road, so exited and shut down the truck for about 5 minutes. When I went to merge back onto the freeway, same issue with not shifting into OD once up to speed and thus I took the next exit and restarted the truck. Went another 30 miles or so and reached my second to last destination of the evening with no issue.

Will be plugging in the scanguage for the last 50 miles of the trip... but any ideas what might be going on? Could this be one of the pressure switches I've been reading about on here?

Reactions: 1

21 - 40 of 141 Posts

Pleease

· #21 · 3 mo ago

silkiechicken said:
So update on the situation. No, not stranded yet. lol

Commuted all week without issue on the OEM battery, which is a trip of roughly 43 miles each engine cycle, about an hour of on time, mostly in 6th gear with minimal traffic. Despite scanguage reading battery at 11.9 when sleeping, which is lower than read at the battery terminals, it starts up no problem in 30-40F weather and the alternator keeps it charged up on and off as expected during the drives.

Then yesterday, after about 2 hours and ~40 miles of traffic, traveling between periods of stop and go, slow roll, to free flowing, and back to stop and go... the issue popped up again. I mean, I get it, I too despise traffic. I was trying to pay attention and what I noticed was that there was a solid clunk of what I assume was the transmission, when I was rolling somewhere between 20-30mph. I was not sure if I was accelerating or decelerating, as it was slow rolling traffic, but immediately after the clunk I looked at the scanguage and it was in 3rd gear. I could have been accelerating and it had problems downshifting, or I could have been slowing down enough that it wanted to downshift. I really can't say for sure, as I was just feathering the throttle to scoot along in the congestion. Anyway, immediately after this audible and noticeable clunk, when traffic started moving faster, I was no longer able to get into 5th and 6th gears. Almost as if I had the D4 button pressed, of which it was not pressed. So I pulled off at the next exit, shut down the truck, counted to 20, restarted, and off I went... for another 23, 123, and 76 miles, with minimal slow downs and with no issues.

We will be getting a new battery this weekend and I'll keep everyone updated on how this all goes. I quite like the radiant red color....

Crossing my fingers that the battery fixes it....or you get the radiant red

.

silkiechicken

Discussion Starter · #22 · 3 mo ago

Well I have a new battery installed and we will see how this goes!

@OldGuyTruck That is an interesting angle to go at this issue. We were thinking about finding all the Honda dealerships along my commute route and if it happens again, pull into their service department and see if they can do any sort of diagnosis when it is in the "broken" state.

@Pleease LOL. Thanks! I actually sat in one yesterday and although it's a pretty color, I prefer the more basic RTL that I have now. The hood sits a bit high so I see the windshield washer spray nozzle and the hood itself before the road, instead of just steering wheel/dash and lip of hood before the road. I am not 100% sure the battery will be the fix, but always good to start from the easy stuff first!

Reactions: 2

Pleease

· #23 · 3 mo ago

silkiechicken said:
@Pleease LOL. Thanks! I actually sat in one yesterday and although it's a pretty color, I prefer the more basic RTL that I have now. The hood sits a bit high so I see the windshield washer spray nozzle and the hood itself before the road, instead of just steering wheel/dash and lip of hood before the road. I am not 100% sure the battery will be the fix, but always good to start from the easy stuff first!

I have a 2019 RTL and like the forward visibility too; had wondered if the taller square front end of the 2020-23 models affected the view - thanks for the report on that.

silkiechicken

Discussion Starter · #24 · 3 mo ago

@Pleease I'm only 5'2"... so it might not be that noticeable for those who are taller and can currently see the hood.

Reactions: 1

Pleease

· #25 · 3 mo ago

silkiechicken said:
@Pleease I'm only 5'2"... so it might not be that noticeable for those who are taller and can currently see the hood.

We had a 2007 Ridgeline that my wife liked fine, but usually didn't drive it because it "seems kinda big", but when we test-drove the 2019 RL she said immediately "I'd hop in this", because forward visibility was much better.

Reactions: 1

silkiechicken

Discussion Starter · #26 · 3 mo ago

New battery installed and so far so good with some jaunts around town and freeway hauls of 72, 190, and 42 miles. Only thing I noticed was that when the alternator is taking it's breaks while we are rolling down the freeway, is that the battery hovers around 12.6 (measured via scanguage) instead of ~12.2 or so. (Scanguage reads ~0.2V lower than at the battery) I really don't remember exactly where it rested on alternator breaks when I had the old battery, but it for sure was not in the mid 12's, it was in the low 12s. I am cautiously optimistic that this may all have been a battery issue!! Literally, time will tell.

Reactions: 3

Steve Jordan

· #27 · 3 mo ago

silkiechicken said:
New battery installed and so far so good with some jaunts around town and freeway hauls of 72, 190, and 42 miles. Only thing I noticed was that when the alternator is taking it's breaks while we are rolling down the freeway, is that the battery hovers around 12.6 (measured via scanguage) instead of ~12.2 or so. (Scanguage reads ~0.2V lower than at the battery) I really don't remember exactly where it rested on alternator breaks when I had the old battery, but it for sure was not in the mid 12's, it was in the low 12s. I am cautiously optimistic that this may all have been a battery issue!! Literally, time will tell.

I sure hope so!

Reactions: 1

silkiechicken

Discussion Starter · #28 · 3 mo ago

Well... I'm back to post disappointment after two weeks of hopeful optimism. Battery wasn't the issue.

Today on my commute to work, about an hour in on the drive. I lost the overdrive gears again. I was freeway cruising for about 40 minutes, then 20 minutes into stop and go traffic. As stop and go traffic was starting to ease up into a slow roll and my foot was feathering the gas, the transmission went clunk. When I tried to accelerate, I could no longer get into 5th or 6th gears. The truck was stuck in 4th. There was no safe place to stop and restart the truck, as I was about to enter the express lanes, so I just stuck in 4th the 6 miles to my exit into the city. When I got onto city streets and slowed to stop at a light, I noticed that the transmission would not downshift. It was stuck in 4th until a complete stop. I was able to shift into neutral and reverse. As I accelerated to the next light, the transmission would go from 1-2-4, in a not exactly smooth fashion. I don't recall loosing 3rd before... so that is possibly a new symptom? I made it into the parking garage where it now sits until this evening when I attempt to get home.

See less See more

Reactions: 2

Pleease

· #29 · 3 mo ago

silkiechicken said:
Well... I'm back to post disappointment after two weeks of hopeful optimism. Battery wasn't the issue.

Today on my commute to work, about an hour in on the drive. I lost the overdrive gears again. I was freeway cruising for about 40 minutes, then 20 minutes into stop and go traffic. As stop and go traffic was starting to ease up into a slow roll and my foot was feathering the gas, the transmission went clunk. When I tried to accelerate, I could no longer get into 5th or 6th gears. The truck was stuck in 4th. There was no safe place to stop and restart the truck, as I was about to enter the express lanes, so I just stuck in 4th the 6 miles to my exit into the city. When I got onto city streets and slowed to stop at a light, I noticed that the transmission would not downshift. It was stuck in 4th until a complete stop. I was able to shift into neutral and reverse. As I accelerated to the next light, the transmission would go from 1-2-4, in a not exactly smooth fashion. I don't recall loosing 3rd before... so that is possibly a new symptom? I made it into the parking garage where it now sits until this evening when I attempt to get home.

Ah man....was hoping for better.

Reactions: 1

stevem5215

· #30 · 3 mo ago

Hope you make it home. I would imagine you are looking at a new transmission. This one has gone to the end of the line for you. On the good side it made it to 140k. That's more than a lot of people have gotten out of them.

silkiechicken

Discussion Starter · #31 · 3 mo ago

stevem5215 said:
Hope you make it home. I would imagine you are looking at a new transmission. This one has gone to the end of the line for you. On the good side it made it to 140k. That's more than a lot of people have gotten out of them.

Thanks! We might have to start a thread on highest mileage original G2 6-speed transmissions. LOL

In theory I have a "lifetime limited warranty" of which I am planning on testing.

Reactions: 2

14v6

· #32 · 3 mo ago

It still remains to be seen if this is an actual mechanical issue. It seems like you drove a lot of miles between incidents. Still, with all the maintenance that you do per the MM (and even more with the DW-1) I would have expected your trouble free timeline to be a lot longer. Hope you warranty saves you the cost of a new trans if it comes to that.

silkiechicken

Discussion Starter · #33 · 3 mo ago

14v6 said:
It still remains to be seen if this is an actual mechanical issue. It seems like you drove a lot of miles between incidents. Still, with all the maintenance that you do per the MM (and even more with the DW-1) I would have expected your trouble free timeline to be a lot longer. Hope you warranty saves you the cost of a new trans if it comes to that.

Well we called the dealer and the summary is that we should bring it in when it is in a "broken" state, because so far the issue is intermittent. Since the issue has always occurred after the vehicle has been running for quite some time, and then right after a stop or a bout of traffic, I plan on sucking it up and doing more commutes during "normal" hours so if the problem does happen, I can drive straight to the dealer when they are open. The dealer is about the midpoint of my commute, so in theory I'd be at most 30 miles away dragging around in 4th gear. I really was hoping for a quarter million mile vehicle, but we'll see, it might be with a new transmission. And we'll see what the dealer honors or not. They could not say anything definitive on the phone for what is covered or not without a diganosis, and the service advisor said that records show I've only been to them 4 times. But I assured them I have a written listing of maintenance as per the MM and then some.

zroger73

· #34 · 3 mo ago

I'm still holding out hope for a faulty pressure switch based on the transmission shifting fine in between failures. Which one? Couldn't tell ya. If you had a "hard" failure like a burnt clutch, failed piston/seal, etc., I'd expect the symptoms to become permanent and accompanied by a DTC.

Reactions: 4

silkiechicken

Discussion Starter · #35 · 3 mo ago

I am considering the idea of throwing parts at it... and changing all the pressure switches...

Reactions: 1

longboat

· #36 · 3 mo ago

I'm with @zroger73 and think it's issues with one or more pressure switches. They probably gonadotropin more often than the transmissions themselves.

Good news is that you likely won't come near redline at legal speeds in 4th, so you can drive all the way to work and back in 4th. You will just use more gas. But you'll also feel like you're in a race car - LOL!

Reactions: 2

Bill_R

· #37 · 3 mo ago

zroger73 said:
I'm still holding out hope for a faulty pressure switch based on the transmission shifting fine in between failures. Which one? Couldn't tell ya. If you had a "hard" failure like a burnt clutch, failed piston/seal, etc., I'd expect the symptoms to become permanent and accompanied by a DTC.

longboat said:
I'm with @zroger73 and think it's issues with one or more pressure switches. They probably gonadotropin more often than the transmissions themselves.

Good news is that you likely won't come near redline at legal speeds in 4th, so you can drive all the way to work and back in 4th. You will just use more gas. But you'll also feel like you're in a race car - LOL!

I’m with @zroger73 and @longboat , I think it is a solenoid/pressure issue, maybe several that are causing the issue. Been watching your post concerning this issue and was really hoping that you had it taken care of. I’m no where in mileage where you are, but hope the diagnosis is something simple like a couple solenoids to correct your issue. Wishing you the best of luck with getting it figured out and corrected.

Reactions: 2

silkiechicken

Discussion Starter · #38 · 3 mo ago

Well, the truck started up and drove home like nothing was ever wrong. I'm going to purposefully drive in traffic, during the operating hours of the dealership, the next few commutes to see if I can trigger the problem again, and have the dealer see if they can read real time, what is going on.

@longboat LOL It is certainly louder going the speed limit (60) in 4th gear and I totally watched the MPGs start to drop for those 6 miles I was pretending to be a race car.

Reactions: 3

Pleease

· #39 · 3 mo ago

longboat said:
I'm with @zroger73 and think it's issues with one or more pressure switches. They probably gonadotropin more often than the transmissions themselves.

Good news is that you likely won't come near redline at legal speeds in 4th, so you can drive all the way to work and back in 4th. You will just use more gas. But you'll also feel like you're in a race car - LOL!

Hah - will have that Vtec howl going on at 45mph

Reactions: 3

silkiechicken

Discussion Starter · #40 · 3 mo ago

Well the truck is at the dealer which I bought it from.

I worked a half day and made it a mission to cause the tranny to error out during shop hours. Took off into the evening commute just after 3pm and after an hour I got off the freeway near the dealer and started doing loops around the dealership on the highway. I was about to give up when CLUNK it happened! LOL. I called the dealer and told them I was on my way.

I pulled in and was met by the service advisor and a very green tech. They brought a laptop out and hooked it up without turning off the engine. I offered to drive them around to show them the issue, but they declined. The computer was not connecting and so the tech said they had to turn off the engine and turn it back on for the laptop to read anything.... so that is what they did. Of which I had warned them, the issue disappears upon restart, but they did it anyway. Attached is a picture of their laptop screen from after that restart. (I did offer to drive around again to show them the issue to try to recreate the issue... but it was also declined the 2nd time.)

Computer Font Rectangle Personal computer Operating system

The service advisor and green tech didn't know what to make of the readings and said they hadn't seen the missing overdrive gears and 3rd gear before... so they went back and grabbed someone with more experience. The "old timer" who came out looked at the screen and commented that something was wrong with the transmission, not exactly sure what (solenoid, blockage, sensor), but that he was surprised that I made it to 140k miles. LOL. I asked him if he has seen tranny issues and he replied yes, but usually starting more at like 30-40k miles. I gave this tech our personal service history listing, highlighting tranny services, and also my documentation on the tranny issue. At first he was confused on where I found what I handed him, and I said, that's my personal documentation for this truck, and they took a photocopy of it to add to their records. This more experienced tech said that he would be the one taking this job tomorrow. I asked him how long he has been wrenching on cars and he replied 20 years.

As for the warranty thing, neither the service advisor or techs knew "anything" about it, despite the dealership sales side advertising "Lifetime Limited Warranty". The service advisor said I might have to talk with finance. They did notice I did not have my service done there, except the timing belt, but I showed them my records book. I suspect they may say it is not enough "proof" that all service was done. But with dates of every fuel up plus MM codes, I feel like that is something hard to fabricate and backdate for 6 years.

In any case, it is $170 diagnostics fee and $35/day rental in a purple HRV. They said they would cover my first two days... and we'll be in touch. (And that they would do the three open recalls while they had it.)

*A funny side note about the HRV, they brought it around to me with the low tire pressure light on. I brought this up before I left and they were confused. I took my tire pressure guage from my truck and went around to find 3/4 tires at 28PSI, and the front passenger tire (also missing a valve cap) at 19psi. They pumped it up and looked for a nail which they did not find, so I asked if I could grab my tire pump from my truck. They seemed amused that I not only had a tire pressure guage, but that I also had a tire pump.

See less See more

Reactions: 5

21 - 40 of 141 Posts