So a bit of back-story before I begin: About 4 years ago, I was driving on the highway when my transmission siezed. I could only go very slow, wouldn't shift gears, etc. I pulled off, checked transmission fluid and found it empty, so I refilled it and it drove okayish home. A couple days later I took it to a shop and the mechanic there said that the coolant(?) line had broke, draining my fluid on me. I had him replace that then flush and fill the fluid.

Slightly before then, and ever since, I've noticed that every now and then I cant drive from a stop without first putting the shifter in 1st or 2nd (this is an automatic, mind you), drive a few feet, then pop it in to either D. Once it's going, it'll shift perfectly fine up and down until I stop again. There isn't a rhyme or reason to when it'll decide to stop working properly. Sometimes it switches around in the same trip! It hasn't seemed to get better or worse in the past 4 years, and I'm no longer leaking ATF, so I'm a bit perplexed, as are others I've talked to about it.

I'd appreciate any help I can get! I own the Helm service manuals for this car, and I'm pretty decently versed in mechanics on it (for the amateur that I am!) but this issue has stumped me for years, and now that I'm starting to really restore the thing, I'm looking to fix all these long-standing issues. Thanks in advance!

 

Does D4 light ever flash? If yes, then use OBD1 procedure in DIY forum for Check Engine Code checks to get transmission code from flashing D4 light.

Loss of fluid may have caused some internal wear that can't be fixed easily. No way to know for certain. If it's drivable, I would keep driving while looking for a good used replacement transmission.

good luck

 

I wish the light flashed!
As of now, I haven't received a transmission-related code since the sieze up 4 years ago. Even when it doesn't move while I press the gas, I get no codes. It's as if the transmission doesn't realize there is anything wrong.

Maybe somewhat related, but both of the rear wheel sensors are damaged, and both have been since probably around then. I read somewhere that depending on the vehicle, it could affect shift points. I live in Ohio, so I'm just waiting for a decent day to get underneath and change them out, so I'm crossing my fingers that for some reason it uses actual wheel speed to determine something, and if the sensors are returning invalid data at some point (right now they're just dangling wires, they broke off the sensors a while ago) it's thinking something strange.

I just drove home from work and the transmission shifted from stop normally, it's very unusual, but definitely driveable, since it only affects motion from a stop, and I can drive by placing the shifter in 1 or 2.

Thanks for your response!

 

Did your mechanic use honda automatic transmission fluid? Honda automatic transmissions don't respond well to other fluids.

The ABS sensors should not have anything to do with the shift points of the transmission.

 

To be honest, I've no idea what he used. He was a college-town mechanic, so it realistically could have been anything and I didn't think to ask at the time. I'm recently considering doing a fluid change on the transmission, luckily this transmission comes equipped with a drainage bolt, so I shouldn't have too much trouble doing so.

I'll definitely have to keep in mind the Honda ATF though!

 

If you decide to do a drain and refill, use only Honda ATF.

 

Question about that though. Looking at my service manual, it specifies that I need 7.5qt for an overhaul, but only 2.9 for a change. What would account for such a large discrepency? Is that much fluid really left behind in the transmission when it's drained?

 

The difference is capacity of the torque converter and is not drained by removing the drain plug. Some do mutiple ATF changes (up to 3) to remove most of the old fluid.

good luck

 

And I don't think there would be any harm in pulling the shift solenoids and cleaning/checking the screen.

 

so what did the problem end up being with why u had to drop trans, into low gears?