Shifting Late On 2001 Honda Civic

Will my timing belt really break if I don’t change it? I have an 01 Civic with 120k miles.

Yes. It will. Maybe not right this second. Maybe not tomorrow. But it will eventually break. Belts do not last forever (whereas a timing chain may last the life of the car).If you do not get it replaced, and it does break, it could cause catastrophic damage to your engine. Seriously.The belt connects the crankshaft, which moves the pistons up and down, to the camshaft(s), which open and close the valves in the cylinder head(s). They are meant to be timed together (this is what “engine timing” is) such that the pistons move up and down while the valves open and close. When a piston is at the top, the vales for that cylinder are supposed to be closed. If they are open, the piston will contact the values, and bend/destroy them. If this happens, your engine is horked, and will require fairly extensive work to get fixed: assuming it’s just bent valves, you are looking at cylinder head work, which could easily cost a couple thousand dollars.The timing belt is what keeps the pistons and valves from touching each other. If the belt breaks, the crankshaft and camshaft(s) are disconnected, the camshaft(s) will stop spinning and just leave some valves hanging open, and the crankshaft will keep spinning and shove a piston right up into those open valves. Not good.Sure, getting a timing belt replaced can be expensive (on the order of a couple hundred to maybe $500 dollars, depending). However, it will be cheaper than cylinder head repair. Also, you will be good to go for another 90,000 to 105,000 miles (or whatever the interval is supposed to be).I highly recommend you get it done.Edit: I read the other answers, some say you need to change it at 60,000 miles. THIS IS WRONG. They are talking about the accessory drive belt, which attaches the alternator, A/C compressor, power steering pump, etc. - which should in fact be replaced every 60,000 miles. But if it breaks, it won’t ruin the engine, it will just scare the sh*t out of you. The timing belt interval for your car according to the dealer maintenance schedule is 110,000 miles. The water pump must also be replaced as part of this service, so plan to pay around $500 to $700 depending on the shop. I know. It’s A LOT of money. But you are 10,000 over the schedule, and like I said above, if it breaks, you are looking at a cost of significantly more. Like it will kill-your-car-dead significantly more. If you want to keep driving the car for many more miles, then trust me, suck up the cost and get the work done.

Why does my car momentarily lose power after shifting gears?

You've asked several questions here...and also given some information that may have an impact on the answers you might get.   You mention that the clutch is about to "go".  If this is the case, it is typically manifested by "clutch slip" which is when you press the accelerator and the engine speeds up, but the car doesn't go any faster..i.e. the clutch is "slipping" against the flywheel/pressure plate without transferring the increased rpm of the engine to the transmission.  If the clutch is indeed slipping, then this phenomenon is most noticeable right after you change gears, because your putting more demands on the engine (i.e. accelerating) and attempting to put more torque from the engine into the transmission (via the clutch) which causes it to slip more than it might in steady-state driving at a constant speed.   If you are experiencing a slipping clutch you most likely need to replace it and afterward the car should accelerate smoothly and there will be a synchronicity between engine speed and car speed.Now, if your clutch is NOT slipping and your experiencing a perceived loss of power after shifting gears, it may just be that the engine rpm are dropping off too far before you reengage the clutch and resume acceleration.  If this is the case, you may be taking too much time between disengaging the clutch (by pressing the clutch pedal) and re-engaging it (by lifting off the clutch pedal)  When shifting gears, the clutch pedal should be pressed and released fairly quickly as part of a smooth, movement synchronized with moving the shift lever from one gear to the next. If you are pausing in the middle of the shift, or taking too long to reengage the clutch, the engine rpm will fall and the engine will be making less power than it was at the higher rpm level it was when you initiated your gear change.  The idea is to keep the engine in a range of rpm that produces enough power to smoothly take up the level of acceleration you're trying to achieve while changing up through the gears.

What causes my automatic transmission to delay gear changing?

Delay as in slipping or delay as in staying in the lower gear longer than normal?In the first instance it is an internal problem and your transmission will need surgery . You may have too low a fluid level due to a leak and if that is not taken care of sooner rather than later your transmission will be toast .In the second instance it could be a sensor. Your transmission is told when to shift based on inputs from various sensors . The two most important sensors are the VSS ( Vehicle Speed Sensor) and the TPS ( Throttle position Sensor) .A good transmission shop will nail the issue . You may have a code that is not illuminating the MIL but could be stored in the PCM. You will need a scanner with data stream .

Will too much transmission fluid cause it to not shift?

Depends on what “too much” means. Automatic transmissions already take a large volume of oil. If you checked you transmission fluid first thing in the morning without starting your engine, you would find it way overfilled. Truth be told, that is the time to have the oil so overful. As soon as you start the engine, the transmission begins filling the torque convertor and all the passages in the valve body and case. Check the fluid now(in either park or neutral depending on manufacturer) and it will likely be a half quart low due to the fluid being cold. Once transmission is up to normal temps that half quart low is now right on the full mark.You would need to be quarts over full before it created an issue. Almost impossible to happen. Because it registers so far over full when checked without engine running, someone putting many quarts beyond full is highly unlikely to even happen. A quart over won't hurt anything.Quick way to remove a quart or litre is to open the return cooler line and drain a quart or litre. If you choose to run the engine to speed it up, it won't take much more that 10 seconds.

How do I fix my Honda Accord transmission problems?

When it comes to Honda automatic transmissions, when problems occur, replacement is a must. Transmission failure is common in years between 98–2003 in many models. Usually there are rough shifts and eventually second gear goes out as it is the workhorse of the transmission. This is only evident in the automatics. If you love driving Hondas, I suggest learning to drive a stick as that is where the company seems to excell.I have replaced 3 honda transmission. One in my 95 accord, 00 civic, and my brother's 98 accord V6.Vehicles with the V6 or the newer K-Series engines with automatics are succeptible to failure due to the greater amount of horsepower applied compared to the older 4 cylinder models.CarComplaints.com is evidence alone of the problem. Honda eventually provided warranties and rebuilds but the problem persisted. The company still fails to acknowledge that there is an issue.If you have an older Honda, go on Craigslist and find one for a decent price and pay someone to put it in or do it yourself if you have metric tools, a jack, and jackstands. (Honda Service Manuals are online, look on the Honda Tech forums) Have a friend help you and drop the transmission from under the car after unbolting and disconnecting all clips and fluid lines. Dont forget the shift cable as well. You may need to loosen some things at the shifter assembly portion inside your car if confident enough that you can put everything back properly. Take out bolts holding transmission to engine while jack is under it. After it is free from engine lower it and pull away. Reverse to installIf you have a newer Honda, you go to the dealership if you are under warranty and inform them of the problem. If not, try to find another transmission online that is not too expensive and pay a shop to install. Newer vehicles have more sensors than older models and require higher levels of expertise.