Honda Transmission Problems Seem to Persist

Owners of select Hondas and Acuras have reported transmission failures in models recalled for transmission problems in 2004. Above, a 2002 Honda Odyssey, one of the affected models. Owners of select Hondas and Acuras have reported transmission failures in models recalled for transmission problems in 2004. Above, a 2002 Honda Odyssey, one of the affected models.

Despite a huge recall in 2004 and a class-action settlement in 2006, many Honda owners are still having serious problems with the automatic transmissions of their Accords, Odysseys and Pilots, requiring thousands of dollars in repairs.

In some cases, transmissions have failed on vehicles recalled in 2004 for a repair that Honda told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would fix the safety defect.

Meanwhile, some owners who got a warranty extension as part of the class-action settlement — in which the plaintiff’s lawyers got about $5.5 million — are having transmission failures now that the additional coverage has expired.

Angry owners of Accords — as well as Civics, Odysseys and Pilots — have filed a total of about 3,500 complaints with the highway safety administration, the Center for Auto Safety and CarComplaints.com, although there is likely to be some duplication.

Many of the complaints have come in the last year or two. In the last six months there has been a spike in the number of complaints filed with the Center for Auto Safety, according to its executive director, Clarence Ditlow. Of the 267 transmission complaints the center received in that half-year period, 169 were from Honda or Acura owners.

“It makes no sense except that there’s a huge Honda transmission problem,” he said.

Honda owners’ transmission problems are not a surprise to Dennis Madden, the chief executive of the Automatic Transmission Rebuilders Association. Mr. Madden said that in the 1990s there was a feeling that, “Wow, Honda really makes a great transmission. They last a long time.” But now, he said, Honda transmissions have a reputation as troublesome.

Consumer Reports’ 2010 reliability survey showed “major problems” with transmissions on the 2001–3 Acura MDX and TL, the Honda Odyssey and “to a lesser extent, Accord,” wrote Anita Lam, the magazine’s automotive data program manager. “Honda Civics and Pilots did not seem to share this problem,” she wrote in an e-mail.

Michael Wickenden, the owner of CarComplaints.com, said he had almost 2,300 complaints about transmissions on 2001–3 Accords, Civics and Odysseys, far more than about any other component, he said.

“Almost half of the transmission failures occur under 90,000 miles,” he wrote in an e-mail. “One in five break down before the odometer hits 70,000 miles. Many formerly brand-faithful owners write they won’t be buying a Honda again anytime soon.”

A Honda spokesman, Chris Naughton, said Honda “strives to build reliable vehicles, and the vast majority of our customers have positive experiences with their vehicles. When we identify a potential defect, Honda works to rectify it quickly and appropriately with minimum inconvenience to the customer.”

He also noted that the transmission problems “affect vehicles that were built over five years ago and do not affect recent or current Honda or Acura models.”

The 2004 recall covered about 1.1 million of Honda’s most popular models.

Honda told the safety administration that the problem was that “certain operating conditions can result in heat build-up between the countershaft and secondary shaft second gears.” That could lead to “gear tooth chipping or, in vary rare cases, gear breakage.” It is possible, the automaker said, that the transmission could lock up, increasing the chance of a crash.

The models covered were the 2002-4 Odyssey; the 2003–4 Pilot; the 2001–2 Acura MDX; the 2003–4 Accord V-6; the 2000–4 Acura 3.2 TL and the 2001–3 Acura 3.2 CL.

In its 2004 filing with N.H.T.S.A., Honda said it had two approaches to the recall.

For vehicles with 15,000 miles or fewer, the dealer would “update the transmission with a simple revision to the oil cooler return line to increase lubrication to second gear.”

For vehicles with more than 15,000 miles, the dealer would “inspect the transmission to identify gears that have already experienced discoloration due to overheating.” If discoloration existed the transmission would be replaced. If discoloration was not present the dealer would perform the revision to the oil-cooler return line.

It was not clear from the filing how Honda would know that vehicles with fewer than 15,000 miles might not have already suffered damage.

Mr. Naughton, the Honda spokesman, said the automaker had studied the issue and determined that only “prolonged operation” without adequate oil flow could cause the problem.

But some owners who had the recall work done say their transmissions failed later anyway.

In a complaint filed with the Center for Auto Safety, Jeremy Berens of Vienna, Va., said his 2003 Accord was recalled when it had fewer than 15,000 miles on the odometer. But it failed in December, with the mileage at about 67,000, as he tried to merge onto a busy highway.

“I was nearly rear-ended and had no warning,” he wrote in his complaint. “Honda has not properly fixed the recall that occurred in 2004 and are failing to recognize that a problem exists.”

He said Honda agreed to pay 40 percent of the repair after the district manager interceded on his behalf, but it still cost him $2,750.

Mr. Berens is not alone in his disenchantment. The N.H.T.S.A. Web site has some 570 transmission complaints from owners of 2003–4 Accords. Many refer to problems with second gear. There are just over 700 transmission complaints from owners of 2002–4 Odyssey minivans.

The safety agency can investigate if it appears that a recall may not have solved a safety problem. But the agency never started such an investigation.

Last week, Karen Aldana, a spokeswoman for the agency, said such an inquiry was now being considered.

Mr. Naughton of Honda said, “In those instances where customers experience a problem with their transmission, we encourage customers to work with their local dealer to identify and resolve the issue, which may be unrelated to the recall.”

The class-action suit that was settled in 2006 had been filed in the Superior Court of California for Alameda County. It claimed that Honda had misled consumers by selling them vehicles with defective transmissions. Honda denied those assertions but settled the case without admitting a defect.

What owners got was an extension of the warranty on the transmission to 93 months or 109,000 miles (whichever comes first), starting when the vehicle is first purchased or leased. The normal Honda warranty was three years or 36,000 miles (and four years or 50,000 miles for Acura).

The plaintiff’s lawyers received nearly $5.5 million in addition to about $256,000 in expenses, according to court records.

The models covered were the 2000–1 Accord; 1999–2001 Odyssey; 2000–1 Prelude; 1999–2 Acura 3.2 TL and 2001–2 Acura 3.2 CL. A small number of 2003 CL’s and TL’s were also covered.

But now most if not all those vehicles are past the 93-month time limit and some owners are unhappy, and poorer, because their transmissions are now failing outside the warranty extension.

“It is kind of upsetting,” said Justin Sexton of Annapolis, Md.

Last March Mr. Sexton bought a 2001 Accord driven only 31,000 miles from the estate of a family friend. He paid about $6,500. In late December, after driving it another 10,000 miles, the transmission failed. Now he’s looking at a repair of $3,000 to $4,000.

“I just graduated from school and am just trying to get a reliable car to get to and from work, basically,” he said in an interview.

“We should have looked into it before I bought it. But I just assumed because it was a Honda, Japanese, it would last forever.”