Bad Brian

I have a 98 Civic. My previous 89 Civic was good in snow. The 98 came with OEM Firestones. It was dangerous in the snow, a real disappointment. I went to Mastercrafts with some improvement but then to the BFG Traction TA! What a difference! When the OEM Potenzas come off my 98 OBS(yeah original tires as the car has low miles) BFG Traction TAs are going on. Sears has them and Townfair has the pricematch. Read the reviews at Tire Rack, plenty of Suby and Honda owners swear by them. Check out the rating charts too. I live near Waterbury and all uphill from town. I have no complaints on the TAs.

My 98 OBS does have a FWD light. It is at the bottom left of the cluster. The ABS light is above it and the AT Oil light is to the right of it. Try a different fuse. Three tranny fluid changes fixed my problem but I did not have the code.

HEY GUYS, the Subaru is at least 90% cured after a second ATF change and getting the air pressure within 1/2lb. on all tires. ( Maybe it is entirely cured and I am imagining small shudders!) Believe it or not it still has the original tires. I would not have had my mom get new tires until the turning problem got taken care of but I also did not realize the relationship between the 2 issues of tires and torque bind. I will do another ATF change this week. Thanks to a dip in the driveway right in front of the garage I can drain the AT pan without jacking up the car or using the ramps! I just reach in and can reach the drain plug. Because the Subaru is running (and tomorrow I will replace 2 belts on it) and also the weather suddenly becoming seasonally hot here I have procrastinated on the Honda repairs since it is sitting out in the sun and cannot move. The Honda coil and ICM tested good, they are back in, but distributor is still open. I bought a new multimeter and eventually will go A-Z on all the helpful ideas i have gotten here and Honda-tech before I give in and have it towed someplace. Thanks again for all the input. I WILL RETURN AS NECESSARY!

This torque bind problem (now I know what to call it) has been on plenty of threads in the past I see. I changed the ATF, I got over 4 qts. out.The ATF looked like used motor oil but thinner. I took out the FWD fuse and took the car around the block, no difference, then I took it out for a longer ride to a school but teachers had stayed late and I could not do any figure 8s in the lot. I did make a point of doing low speed hard turns and there clearly is a difference but not completely cleared up. It is not my imagination so we will see how things progress. I also am still trying to get the new ATF to the correct level. I will check back in and thanks for the help.

No CEL or AT Temp lights! So, hopefully it will be the fluid. I have Plenty of Dexron III on hand because i was planning to change both cars anyway. The Subaru goes first! The car is a 98 and has only 55K, I doubt if any ATF change has ever been done, definitely none since my mom got it in 2001 with 38K or so. I hope the weather cooperates tomorrow or Wednesday. In reading some other threads on Torque Bind I saw something about doing backward figure 8s, is that preferred?

Okay, the fuse is in and she is moving nice and smoothly. Thanks again! I can drive the Subaru now until I find out how to get my CIVIC running, LOL. It quit on me Sat. evening. Apparently it is the coil but I cannot remove it because a terminal screw is stuck tight. Sprays have not yet helped and I will strip the head if I keep on trying. As much as I like Japanese vehicles my Chevy V8s and Dad's Fords and Lincolns were easier to work on although I did not always think so at the time.

thanks, that is a comprehensive answer!

sounds like the belt was put on wrong, and your timing is off a tooth or 2.

Auto. tran. On slow speed turns there is an obvious problem whereby the car seem to be fighting the turn. It almost feels like driving with all flat tires, loose tires, or tires pointing in different directions. I have put the car up to listen for wheel bearing noise, smooth spinning. The car has 55k and never been hit. My mom has owned it 8 yrs and in that time only she and I have driven it and only me for the past 5 yrs. so I would know of any incidents. Is there a center clutch or such that is part of the AWD that could cause this. Bushings? I cannot drive it AND walk beside it listening to isolate the problem. I would like to have an idea of the problem to A) fix it myself be somewhat informed and prepared when I take it to the non-dealer Subaru specialist near me, which I will be doing anyway for the timing belt.