Civic LX 1.7L

• Automatic transmission
• 90,099 miles

The "FINE LINE" between the transmission and the catalytic converter.

A few weeks back, the started showing signs of a problem. The car would jerk from first to second gear. It also seemed to have problems going past 100kph.

As the days went on, it became evident that the problem wasn't going to go away. I brought it to "Mechanic 1". He told me that it was a transmission problem, judged only by a road test.

I brought it to "Mechanic 2" for a second opinion. He too said that it was a transmission problem. He said that because I had an tranny flush for the first time (which he did at 140 000kms), and said it was not good for a car which has never had a flush to have one so late. I guess he could have told me that before he did it right? Anyway, he said the new oil was causing the tranny to "slip" and that it probably broke the seals for the valves. He put a liquid called "Re-Seal" in the oil and said it is a "wait and see". Yeah right, he isn't the one who would be stuck on the highway with his wife and two kids at 9pm at night calling for a mechanic who would obviously be at home with his wife and kids. (which actually happened by the way thanks to another problem just a month before this one).

So I brought it to a recommended (from a friend) transmission specialist. They took it for a 5 minute drive and said, "Nope, it wasn't the tranny, it was motor performance issue. They told me to go to "Mechanic 3", and I did.

Finally "Mechanic 3" said he hooked the car to the computer and it spit out for readings all related to the motor. Hip Hip Horray, A+ for the Transmission specialist.

"Mechanic 3" manually deduced that the problem went all the way to the Catalytic converter and found that it was blocked. He said that a new one was in order, including the Oxygen Sensors that came with it. A job worth $1700 after tax and labor. He said I can't just go anywhere because the laws in Canada are very strict about pollution control and a typical US import would not pass the computer test. He told me that the dealers hold on to these and other parts for a long time before releasing them to the general mechanic population.

So the end result is that I have no choice but to have "Mechanic 3" do the work. I only hope, after reading all of the "Transmission complains" here on the website, that I don't end up writing about a tranny complaint as well.