4 year old honda needs new transmission?!?
 

My friend has a 4 year old honda civic (manual) with an extended warranty and 116K on it. Recently she was told that she needs a new transmission because of some bearing, not because of transmission fluid levels. She asked in the past at regular maintenance times if she should have her transmission fluid changed and the mechanics have not specifically recommended it verbally or on her receipts. Honda says her warranty will not cover this problem because she did not have her transmission fluid changed at the recommended 96K-however the mechanic also stated that this transmission (bearing) problem is not related to her transmission oil! Does anyone think she should have to pay for this or does anyone see a way she can get out of it? by saying the transmission fluid has nothing to do with it but not allowing it to be covered under warranty because of the oil is like saying it's not covered because she didn't get her tires rotated or something else that's irrelevant, don't you think?116,000kms=72,000miles

If your friend hasn't followed the Honda recommended maintenance schedule, then she has voided her warranty. Sorry!

First of all 116,000 miles on a Honda transmission is not very many miles. It is a lot of miles on a clutch though and generally the clutch is linked with the transmission as one unit when in reality they are two.The only bearing I know of that isn't in contact with transmission oil is the throwout bearing or pilot bearing if your car even has one of those. My '85 CRX and '90 Prelude didn't have pilot bearings (bearings riding on the output of the crankshaft and the input shaft of the transmission). The throwout bearing is the bearing that normally sits inside the bell housing of the transmission doing absolutely nothing until you depress the clutch pedal. When you press the clutch, the bearing is thrown out toward the clutch springs (hence the name) and spins against those clutch springs as it depresses the springs disengaging the transmission from the engine. Over time, that bearing can fail depending on how much use it gets or even how much use it doesn't get. Coupled with typical clutch wear (which usually ISN"T covered by warranty) and you have transmission repair needed only for the clutch and not the transmission.Aside from the car's maintenance needs, all owners should acquaint themselves with the owner's manual kept in the glove box. That manual will tell you the maintenance and intervals that maintanance is required. While you don't have to have that done by Honda, you do need to have it done and if you expect anybody to pay for failures, you better have that work documented! Otherwise, you leave them an out for not having to pay. Honestly, would you pay if such circumstances were presented to you? There are a lot of cars out there and such practices could bankrupt you!Anyway, understand the nature of your car's problems so you can deal better with having it fixed. My bet is that the problem is your clutch, not your transmission and old transmission fluid is not bad like old engine oil is. It would have had to have leaked out to cause a failure from lack of lubrication. Otherwise, 116,000 miles is just not that bad.Good luck!