shift problems
 

2002 Honda Accord LX - Automatic - 4 Cyl

First thing in the morning i start my Honda and everything works fine. after about 10 minutes of driving, Drive 3 and Drive 4 hesitate seriously to the point where i get barely any to no acceleration when trying to accelerate from a stop. sometimes it acts like its in neutral. 2nd gear works ok, but eventually hesitates too. 1st gear always works. the Drive 4 light on the dash under the speedometer blinks, even if im in Drive 3 or 2nd. the problem seems to only be from 0-15mph because after that, every gear works as if there is no problem. in fact i feel safer driving it on the freeway than on the streets because it runs flawlessly at speeds higher than 15mph. so again after letting it sit all night, first thing in the morning, i start her up, and no problems at all until i drive for about 10 minutes.

The check engine light has been on for awhile, but recently the maintanence required light came on. i got the tranny serviced, it seemed to help alittle but still have problem. in order to drive my honda i have to drive it like a stick shift. start in 1st gear, then as i speed up shift into 2nd, then to drive 4.

before i drop some serious money, i would like to be prepared. anyone have any ideas what could be wrong with my baby?

thanks