What's wrong with my car? My Honda Auto's engine light comes on and drives like it's stuck in the wrong gear?

Question

Is there anything I can do to try to help my car, or just to maybe understand what's causing the problems so that when I take it to a mechanic they won't try to Bamboozle me. I've been looking into Automatic Transmission problems and I don't know whether I just need to check or fill the car up with transmission fluid.

The car just feels like its about to cut out, this only happens after I've been driving the car for about 30 mins or so, and I have to put my foot down hard on the accelerator. This is when the engine light comes on.

What are the possible engine problems, does it sound costly, its only a 1994 Honda Concerto, so is it worth taking it to a garage? Can I do anything myself to fix or find the problem? Or do I just send it to the grave yard?

Answer 1

i had this prob with renault clio it was lack of fluid or pressure  in the auto gearbox i think they managed to fix it for me. not sure of the cost as they did it for free having done some work to the gearbox a year or so earlier. best thing is to go to an automatic gear box centre they will tell u for free whats wrong and how much will cost.  with mine i found that when the light came on if i stopped and turned off the engine then turned it on again it was ok.

Answer 2

AutoZone will be able to tell you what the code is on the "Check Engine Light".  They'll do it for free, I'd go there to have the code read.  

You definitely need to check the transmission fluid to see if there's still fluid there and secondly to see what color it is.  When its new, it's pink.  If its black, it needs to be changed ($50 to $80, I think).  

If you're driving and it feels like its going to die, then it may be related to the fuel system or the electrical system.

Answer 3

need to check transmission fuild. if it is brown, need to replace. about 100 ..

Answer 4

Dawn, I had the exact thing happen with our 04 Toyota Camry. The check engine light came on and it started doing weird shifting patterns. Instead of starting off in low gear it left stop signs in second gear. It also wouldn't shift out of third gear.

Believe it or not the culprit was the *anti-knock sensor. This devise normally retards the ignition timing when spark knock or pre-ignition takes place because of carbon build-up in the combustion chambers or gasoline with a low octane rating. Darned if I know why it severely effected the shifting patterns but it did!

Answer 5

Transmission more than likely if it feels like its stuck in one gear.

Answer 6

I have no idea but I also have a Honda (a Passport) and my check engine light is always on and evey once in a while, I will put it in a gear, and it will stick in the wrong one and drive real funny.  I wonder how many people have this problem.  Sorry that I have no answers for you though.

Answer 7

a honda transmission is a computer controlled manual really. if the check engine light is on and you are having acceleration problems, this could be the problem. i would definitely take it into a shop and get the cpu scanned for the information. a good tech will be able to remedy the problem with a fair amount of effort.

Answer 8

wait for scan...can't know anything until then...may be easy fix...spark plug/wire   loose battery cable

Answer 9

Sounds like the engine management system is changing over to "Get home mode". This mode is build in to the engine management so that if something is badly wrong with the engine it will allow you to get either to a garage or home.

You need to take the car in to a garage and get them to scan the ECU to see what faults there is registered.

Ja.

Answer 10

Any garage should have diagnostic equipment & will be able to plug your car in & tell you what's wrong very quickly & give you a quote.

You can then decide if you want to spend the money. Until you know the problem, you won't know whether it'll be a very cheap, vary dear or any price in between repair job!

Answer 11

14 years old, sounds like its knackered. It will be cheaper to buy a newer secondhand car than having it repaired