2010 Honda Civic Torque converter shudder

2010 HONDA CIVIC
111,000 MILES • 4 CYL • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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SARA PETERS
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I bought my used Honda civic with 59,000 km. I did regular oil changes and all, and also the day I purchased it I was told my car would let me know anytime I needed a service, the only service it ever needed was oil changes. A few months after I noticed imy car shaking in the front end when driving between 25-30km. Thinking it was my tires I waited till winter when I put brand new winter tires on it continued shaking occasionally at that speed. I took my car to my honda dealer and they test drove it, they told me that it was probably my tourque converter shudder. They also told me I should go to my local honda as the job would take a day or two. My dealer also told me this was covered by my warranty. When I went to my local honda dealer though, they told me I neglected to change my transmission fluid. They changed it for me but my car still shook on my way home after the service, although much less then usual. Is this a quick fix or permanent solution? Is my local dealer just trying to get me out of their hair or make this problem my 'fault' so they won't have to fix my car using my warranty?
Oct 20, 2015 at 2:24 PM
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RIVERMIKERAT
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I hate when sales people tell less informed buyers that their car "will tell you when it needs servicing." That only tells you when the engine oil needs changing, nothing else. Like brakes, tires, or transmission stuff. At 59km, some things should have been done by the store you bought it from, one of which should have been flushing the transmission.

From your limited description, the second shop could be just trying to get you out of their hair and get away with not honoring your warranty, but if you've ignored basic maintenance items such as changing the transmission fluid, they do have legal recourse out of the warranty contract.
Oct 20, 2015 at 3:26 PM
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SARA PETERS
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Thank you for your quick response! I've been really worried about this. Could you tell me if my torque converter is bad after it's been making my car shake? Or could it actually be just the transmission fluid? Is that something my dealer can actually look at and know that it's bad or do they just go according to how my car drives? Also how often is a transmission fluid change recommended?
Oct 20, 2015 at 8:09 PM
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RIVERMIKERAT
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Changing the transmission fluid is recommended either when it needs it or at ar5ound 50k miles.

It's possible that not changing the transmission fluid caused internal problems in the transmission.
Oct 21, 2015 at 11:35 AM
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