Two problems related to transmission solenoid have been reported for the 1998 Honda Civic. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
1998 Honda Civic ex w/ 55,000 miles. Vehicle began shifting harshly @ 53k. Brought to dealership, reported dtc p0730. Dealer recommended replacing automatic transmission for over $4000. Found TSB 00-012 which recommended flushing transmission & replacing linear solenoid. Followed TSB recommendation. Helped for 2 days but problem returned. TSB 00-012 suggested Honda might offer goodwill consideration for cars out of warranty. I asked dealer to split the cost with me which I have heard has worked for some other people with this same problem. They referred me to centralized Honda cust srv which denied my request. Meanwhile I have found the following information on several transmission rebuilder sites regarding my transmission model (b4ra): "common complaints in the a4ra, b4ra, and m4ra transmissions are harsh upshifts, downshifts and forward engagements, while reverse engagement is fine. These problems can be caused by a broken cpc (clutch pressure control) valve spring. The spring is located in the secondary valve body, and not available from Honda. Sonnax has developed a replacement spring 88894 that has a wire diameter larger than the oem design. This significantly reduces the stress on the spring, preventing future breakage. " to me, this suggests that this model of Honda transmissions contains a faulty part, resulting in much higher than normal transmission failures. I believe that Honda should stand behind their products & extend the warranty for the automatic transmissions affected by this problem & not just provide random goodwill assistance to a select few who complain the loudest. Honda's denial that this is even a problem (even though there is a TSB identifying a huge group of potentially affected cars & transmission rebuilders have seen the problem so often that another company has actually seen fit to create a better replacement part) has turned me from a virtual Honda evangelist to a very dissatisfied customer who would be hard-pressed to purchase another Honda.
Transmission doesn't shift properly vehicle slips while driving causing the rpms to go up. Dealer said nothing wrong would not put on computer went to them 3 times same complaint same reply went to aamco transmission they put on computer said there was a problem, went to auto repair shop they found a code bad solenoid took to dealer 4th visit they replaced a solenoid problem still there. Cant sell car driver too bad so im stuck. All this occurred before warranty ran out now warranty is out. Transmission does this every time it gets driven.