Honda's Nonplanetary Based Transaxle

The Honda CA, F4, and G4 transaxles are used in many Honda and Acura cars. These transmissions are rather unique in that they do not use a planetary gearset to provide for the different gear ranges. Constant-mesh helical and square-cut gears are used in a manner similar to that of a manual transmission.

These transaxles have a main shaft and counter shaft on which the gears ride. To provide the four forward and one reverse gear, different pairs of gears are locked to the shafts by hydraulically controlled clutches. Reverse gear is obtained through the use of a shift fork, which slides the reverse gear into position. The power flow through these transaxles is also similar to that of a manual transaxle.

Four multiple-disc clutches, the sliding reverse gear, and a one-way clutch are used to control the gears. These are designated by the gear they activate: first gear clutch, first gear one-way clutch, second gear clutch, third gear clutch, fourth gear clutch, and reverse gear.