Honda Foreman Forums banner

2004 TRX400FA Trany Problem... Need some help!

19K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  walterkr0306 
#1 ·
I have a 2004 HONDA TRX400FA GPS wich i just picked up the other day. I went for a short ride just to try the bike out, and found a problem with the Hondamatic trany.

Here it goes...

When in AUTO mode and quickly stoping from... lets say 2nd or 3rd gear... when I give it gas right away, it seems to get stuck in the middle of 1st and 2nd gear. You can hear the gears grinding and the engine just keeps reving. I have to let off the gas and wait till the gear goes in. It only happens changing down into 1st.

Also.. i've noticed that the bike seems to hold 1st gear for quite a while at full throtle before going into 2nd, its quite a harsh shift.. not as smooth as 2nd to 3rd, 3rd to 4th...etc.

Riding the bike lightly in the trails, everything works great.

It's almost as though its slow in shifting 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 1st under aggresive riding.

In ESP everything works great.

Picture this...
Your going along pretty quick in 3rd or 4th.

Aggresive stop while turning the bike sharp.

Aggresive acceleration (as if starting to do a donut)

instead of spinning the tires, or accelerating, i get the gear noise/grinding until i wait for the gear to go in.


Seems like the shift motor is just realy slow from 1st to 2nd.

Is there a trany reset procedure? Or is that only used after replacing parts?

Sorry if this is confusing... just don't know how to explain the problem.

Thanks in advance for all your help!!!
 
See less See more
#3 ·
QUOTE ("Honda Mechanic":3l83ejvv)
Is your bike in this serial number range ... Has your bike had a new ECM installed for this problem ..


The previous owner said he had all the recals done. If he has.. is there a chance that has to go in for a 2nd time? If i call Carter Motorsports and give them my serial number, will they be able to tell?

BTW.. where in Canada are you? just curious, b/c people told me to join this site just to talk to you...lol.. your very popular
 
#4 ·
If the up-date was done (done right) there should have been a punch mark made at the end of the serial number .. Your dealer can tell you if it was done by your serial number ..

The dealer should be able to tell you if the whole up-date was done including the clutch weight set (which would mean that the stall test failed) ..

If you would like to see the Honda PDF service bulletin covering this up-date give your email address and I will email it to you..

Here is a pic of where the punch mark should be ..
When the picture opens click again for full size ..

 
#5 ·
My 04 did teh same thing. Called honda and they said to bring it to my dealer to get a diagnoists. It was recalled 2 years ago and now doing the same thing, well they determined it was the same and fixed it for FREE, parts and labor. Picking it up next week Ill let you know if it was fixed right.
 
#6 ·
QUOTE ("Cory1410":hf7rp2j6)
My 04 did teh same thing. Called honda and they said to bring it to my dealer to get a diagnoists. It was recalled 2 years ago and now doing the same thing, well they determined it was the same and fixed it for FREE, parts and labor. Picking it up next week Ill let you know if it was fixed right.

Right on.. thank you!
 
#7 ·
Ended up picking it up today. Everything works now. They replaced the ecm, clutch weights, couple o rings and nuts, and changed the oil (to get to the clutches). 4.1 hours in labor all FREE, didn't pay a dime, they even covered the cost of the diagnostis. Hope it works out for you.
 
#8 ·
I bought a Rancher AT last saturday for my wife. I rode it some sunday and while it was in full auto I could not tell when it shifted gears. Did they change something between 04 and 06? Even when shifting with the es mode it shifted way smoother than my foreman does.


How does it work anyway? Does it have real gears?
 
#9 ·
Its the hondamatic, fully sealed unit in the motor. Yes it has gears. It is a CVT tranny, thats why it was smooth. No it is the same as 04s, some 04s had an issue in auto it "bogs" in auto and won't move hardly b/c its stuck in a higher gear. Mine is smoother in es than my old 350es rancher too.
 
#10 ·
Im getting a new Rancher AT soon, im sure that honda fixed this problem as soon as they knew it was happening, i trust them so i will stil buy.
 
#12 ·
I juught an 04 with 800 miles. i dont know how the tranny is supposed to operate but in ato it tops out at 38 and in esp it tops out at 30. I am running 2's but still when its in auto it sounds like it is stuck in fourth gear because the motor is extremely loud. it also keeps killing the battery with in 2 days of sittin up, so I have ordered and rectifier hopefuly that will fix my charging problem, but any thought on my transmission?
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top