I have a 94 accord with 170K miles and an automatic transmission. I am noticing a small buck when the transmission is downshift right below 20mph (2nd to 1st perhaps?). It is random. I think It happens it more after I have been driving for a while. It is stronger pulse than I feel with the higher gears downshifting. The higher gear shifting feels normal to me. I have drained and filled 3x already and changed the lock-up and shift solenoids. I checked the mounting brackets also and they don't look cracked. Any suggestions?

 

At first thought i also was thinking bout the shift solenoids but since you replaced them , did you also replace the filter gasket under solenoids??..
Don't know how bad of a harsh shift , kick down you are experiencing but could also be the 1way ( sprag ) clutch,,, starting to go bad ,
you might want to chk pressures also,, D4 lite on dash doesn't come on right ??

 

Thank for the feedback nomad2020. The kick down is not big but noticeable and annoying to me. I noticed this after replacing the vehicle speed sensor that went bad. The new speed sensor seems to work fine using the speedometer as a reference.
The solenoids came with new screens. No D4 coming on. These are no transmission leaks. I think I will try an additive. I think at this point I thing I have nothing to lose trying an additive. What do you think?

 

You said you replaced tranny fluid ,,you did use Honda tranny fluid,,,, ATF-DW1 ,, right? Personally i am not to keen on using additives but you might want to get other people's opinions
if you do decide to use it, try Lucas LUC 10009,,cost around 12-13 dollars but again get other people recommendation ....

 

I used Castrol Transmax Import Multivehicle transmission fluid that claims it is compatible with Honda transmissions. I have been using it for year without any issue. I am guessing by your note that this is a bad idea? How many times would I have to flush the system with Honda brand?

 

You are correct the Castrol Transmax is compatible ,, is suppose to meet all recommendation ,,at this point unless someone has a better suggestion you might want to try
an additive and see if it helps ,depending how many ozs you are adding you might have to drain some tranny fluid ...

 

Have you ever cleaned the egr ports on your intake? That can cause a stumble at around 2000 rpm.

 

I checked and cleaned the ERG with no improvement. I broke down and added a 2oz tube of Lube Gard Instant Shudder Fixx. I did notice an improvement but not a complete fix and I will continue to monitor the gear shifts.

I feel like I have babied this car and I hate to see that the transmission is failing. When I did the ATF change, the magnetic plug had some metal but not a considerable amount, leading me to believe the transmission was OK. Before all of this happened, I thought I could get 100K more miles out of it based on the odometer readings for similar cars I saw at junkyards.

 

I found the problem. I had replaced the speed sensor because it failed a while back. After I replaced it I noticed the rough downshift. I was looking under the hood yesterday and I noticed a cable that connects the throttle to the automatic transmission was under the air intake hose. This prevented the connection to the transmission from completely closing. Not sure what this is called but from what I read it affects AT pressure. I removed the air intake hose and put the cable above this hose where is is supposed to go. It was my stupid mistake. Problem solved. I think what I learned besides to be more careful is that the castrol multivehicle ATF should be just fine (at least with my car). I really have not had any issues with it for several years. I hope this mistake I made helps someone someday.

 

I think it's a valued lesson, not a mistake. Thank you for sharing.
Ted