I have a '05 EX sedan (auto) that I picked up used. My biggest gripe with the car is the transmission. Are the civic auto's normally sluggish? This is my second civic, the first was a manual and I loved that car. I'm just not used to having to plan getting on the gas so much in advance in order to give it time to downshift and actually apply "power"? The wife's '02 accord (auto) is nothing like this? I'm not planning to do a lot of mods (I have other toys for that) but can this be helped? Or just suck it up and curse the wife for pushing me into an auto?

 

all automatics are sluggish compared to their manual counterparts.

They use a torque converter instead of a clutch, which instead of directly transferring power like a clutch uses turbines and fluid to transfer power from the flywheel to the gears.

read this:
http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2086594


if you don't read it, at least skim it and watch the video.

 

Thanks trustdestruction for the reply. I've driven plenty of manuals and automatics and I understand the difference in operation (not being snippy, just qualifying my statements). I expected some loss in performance I just didn't expect how sluggish the civic was to respond in more spirited driving. Others (accord, maxima, blazer...) I've owned have just been more responsive to lead footed driving I guess? Maybe the shift points in the civic are too economy oriented? I was more curious if this was normal or if I should be trying to diagnose a problem. It may be obvious to others, I've never had the need (with an auto) I guess, but I started downshifting in corners on the way to work this morning and it was definitively more responsive so there is hope. I just need to take control away from the ECU...

 

Well the thing is, you can't really compare a Civic (stock, that is) to an Accord, Maxima, or Blazer and expect it to be similar.

The Civic has a 1.7L 130 BHP engine, whereas the Accord more power, and you may be referring to the V6 model; the Maxima has a 3.2L engine I believe making quite a bit more power, and then the Blazer is what, a V8?

 

I'm not comparing the acceleration, obviously it's underpowered compared to a V6 or V8. I'm asking about the hesitation and delay in downshifting when left to it's own decisions. You basically have to bury the accelerator, wait a sec, and then the car down shifts. The other cars/trucks were smoother to transition, and didn't seem to require WOT. Yes, I realize that the civic is designed as a lower level economy car and no, I don't expect the same level of "sophistication". It's fine for casual driving, I'm just trying to get an idea if this is normal or signs of a problem.

 

Oh, the delay is normal.

Really though, i'm surprised you notice a difference between the delay on the Civic and the delay on other cars. I've driven an automatic Civic, Galant, Impala, Maxima, 2 Ford Explorers, a Saturn, and probably a few others I can't remember, and they all had relatively the same delay.

 

I'm probably just being overly critical, likely just a result of not getting what I wanted (manual tranny).

Thanks for the responses though.