2004 Civic Cold Weather Problem

I lease a 2004 Civic EX. Ever since the car was new there is this
strange problem that only happens when the car sits overnight in the
EXTREME cold weather, (a few days per year).

Car starts fine. Shift into Drive and the car just sits there, i.e.
does not propel forward. If you press on the gas the engine revs up as
if its in neutral. I have had the car back to the dealer on several
occasions and they finally experienced the same problem one cold
morning. They flashed the computer with an updated software and then
contacted the honda engineers who advised them to replace the
solenoids on the transmission, (whatever they are). The problem still
remains. The dealer states that this is a very unusual problem.

I have found an interesting "work-around" fix, in that if the car does
not initially engage into Drive I shift into reverse and back up a few
feet and then into drive and away I go.

I guess the reason that I'm looking for information with this problem
is that I'm thinking about purchasing this car at the end of the
lease, (6 months), as it really has been a fine vehicle with the only
exception being this very rare cold starting phenomenon. The car has
about 38,000 miles and has driven very well to date.

My wife feels that we shouldn't buy this vehicle as we do not need to
repair/replace a transmission and this cold weather problem could be a
sign of future transmission grief.

Any suggestions, similar complaints, or comments would be welcomed.

 

drain and fill the transmission fluid [don't flush] with honda fluid.
sounds like a slightly sticky piston in the hydraulics. if the reverse
trick frees it up, i'd leave it at that - will probably last for another
300k miles in this condition. the only "fix" is a rebuild, and it's
probably worth it, given the low level of problem.

 

==================================

Like Jim says, or the shifter cable is dragging at the tranny end, and
made worse when extremely cold.

Ever have troubles getting the key out or getting it to go into PARK?

'Curly'

 

"troubles getting key out or getting it to go into PARK?" --------Nope

Car runs great despite this one infrequent problem.

 

Right now I think it's either thick fluid resulting in slow movement inside
the valve body, or the cable's slightly out of adjustment.

But...
When the vehicle refuses to move, does the "D" light blink?

 

I have a 2002 auto lx, 70000km. When very very cold temps, around -25C
(happend 2 times this winter), my car did like yours did. Shift into drive
and the car sat there.However, mine did a jerk when putting into drive. I
then had to rev it above 2000 rpm to get it moving. However, my car had 2
tranny changes since I bought it used from the dealer with 65000KM. Thus my
2nd tranny is brand new, it solved my initial problem after the 2nd change.
I never though to ask the dealer about this cold situation cause I never
though I myslf would still have a problem after 2 tranny changes. Reading
your post makes me feel something might still be wrong with my car actually.
Anyhow, where I'm, trying to get at is the tranny fluid might not be the
solution. If there is something wrong, it has to be a tranny part which is
not changed when doing a tranny change. The last tranny was changed before
christmas. Anyhow, I'll give my dealer a call to see what they think of
this.

 

Strart using synthetic oils in your vehicles...solves this viscous issue in
cold weather

 

don't use so-called "synthetic" in your honda automatic transmission.
only use honda fluid - hondas have different mechanicals to other autos
and shift quality goes to blazes if you don't use the correct stuff.

 

There are no lights on the drive selector at all, thus no "D" light to
blink.