I recently bought a 1995 LX with 123K miles on it. All the gears shift hard when cold. It smoothens out a bit when warm. I am hoping that a transmission fluid change would help. Anything else that I can do?

Thanks,
Gopal

 

Not that I can think of. Is it the 4cyl or the V6?
My 95 V6 shifts pretty hard sometimes.
Try changing the fluid 3 times. Only about 1/3 of the fluid comes out on each change. You need to rive it for a few minutes between changes to get the fluid circulating again. You still won't have 100% new trans fluid, but it should be something like 80%

 

It is a 4 cylinder. Sorry I missed mentioning that.

Yes, I realized that only 75-80% fluid would be new. I have also read that flushing the transmission is a no-no for Hondas.
Is there any way that all the fluid can be replaced? Can the dealer do it somehow?

Will replace the fluid and report how it went...

 

I had the same problem and what I did was to change the fluid (just 1 time), and added some lubegard. Shifts are now, more or less, silky smooth. The Lubegard is something recommended by Honda and it is incredibly effective

 

Thanks!

Where did you purchase Lubeguard? I checked at the local Autozone and it wasn't to be found.
And which one did you use and how much? Did you just top off or substitute for the Honda ATF?

LubegardĀ® ATF Protectant (or) Lubegard High Friction Modified ATF Supplement.

(from: http://www.getautohelp.com/automotive_products/)

 

ATF Protectant...the one in the red bottle. Just add the required amount, per instructions, to bring fluid up to required level. It's available at most Transmission shops....that's what they really use to "fix" your tranny. If u can't find any nearby u might have to order online. Another thing, give it at least a month to do it's thing. Everytime you drive shifting will become smoother

 

Thanks a bunch! I'll hunt it down locally... I'm not a big internet purchase fan.

 

fyi, it isn't recommended by honda.

 

Thanks for the heads up! But this leaves me confused. So should I just change the fluid (replace with Honda AT fluid of course, thrice with one week gap).

Also 1, is there a way to replace the fluid completely (4x replacement leaves ~20-25% old fluid still circulating)?

I read at couple of other forums that Hondas generally do shift hard. Is that true/normal?

 

Have a look at this: http://consumerguideauto.howstuffwor...a-accord-2.htm. It is recommended, and it works very well. There are allkinds of cranks online....do your own research and don't rely too much on the opinions of others