Hi guys,
I recently bought a 1998 Honda Civic LX Sedan Automatic and have noticed that my car kind of jolts me (bucks me) sometimes. When I'm driving my Honda Civic and I happen to be coming to a hill, I'll let off of the accelerator to let it coast down the hill, but I'll notice that my car will slow down automatically when going down the hill, then it will kind of jolt me forward. Can anyone tell me what this is? Is it normal? Should I be worried? Thanks a lot for your help!

Eric

 

I know this might not be a big deal compared to some of the other problems people are having, but a reply would be deeply appreciated. It's my first car and I want to make sure I don't need to get something fixed with it. Thank you very much!

 

i have a 97 lx automatic too & mine does it too ---kinda feels like an exhaust brake on a big truck--this is my first honda &only put 200 miles on it so far ---i hope thats the way it should work --last thing i want to do is rebuild the tranny [:@]

 

Do you guys have your foot on the brake? Dont push so hard...

 

On an auto I would think it's just down shifting. Thats what it sounds like your feeling too me.
EDIT: auto=automatic; not automobile

 

no foot on anything[:@]

 

no, I don't have my foot on the brake...I'll just be coasting down a hill...and then my car will slow down...then jolt me forward a little bit...no idea what it is...it does it other times too..not just going down hills..like when I accelerate..it will jolt me when it's done accelerating...

 

its fine. its because hondas operate higher in th erev range than most cars, so your gears are a little shorter than a lot of cars, so its more abrubt when you let off of the gas. and hondas also have pretty high compression compared to other cars, so the compression braking effect you get from decelerating is more pronounced.

 

So as far as you can tell (from my description), the jolting/bumping that I'm hearing/feeling is just my Car shifting into different gears? I'm just wondering why it slows down when i'm coasting down a hill. My toyota corrolla 2000 sedan doesn't do that. Are they built differently? Thanks for the answers!

 

yeah, corollas are geared a little higher than civics, so they are a little smoother. if its a knocking sound, not just a somewhat abrupt slowing, then its possible its a worn motor or tranny mount, but im still betting its normal. throw it down a gear and try it again. is it the same thing, just more pronounced? and try it in the Rolla for comparison.