Gigem891

Car is a 2001 Accord Ex Sedan, 2.3L auto-trans w/ only 68K miles, bought 10 days ago from used dealer. Car looked awesome and test-drove fine. Now having cold-start transmission faults.

Have researched similar model years, might not have purchased based solely on what I have read, but......

Only when tranny fluid is not warmed up: I experience multiple shift problems, most importantly 1/2 up-shift pause in D4 (and D3), whereby clutch will activate, but RPM's continue to rise until about 3500-4000 RPM's, and then the 1-2 up-shift is of course hard at that RPM, even during gentle acceleration. Also happens on 2/3 sometimes, and has even happened on 3-4 a few times.

While I looked under car during test drive, I didn't see drops of tranny fluid on lower tranny case until I got it up on jacks at home for Honda fluid drain/flush procedure as possible solution so there's a small leak. The magnetic drain plug was well-coated with metallic grime and metal shavings, and the drained fluid was not clear, not brown, but thicker and slightly milky. I will assume this was mostly from the hard shifting when not warmed up properly, the only "preventative solution" I've found so far. If I drive around 10-15 blocks with low RPM's in manual 2nd gear, it operates fine after that when moved to D3 or D4.

A 3x fill-run-drain procedure seems to have helped a bit, but has not solved the problem which again, ONLY HAPPENS DURING FIRST 15 MINS OF DRIVING. After that, it shifts almost imperceptibly throughout the rest of the regular city driving job workday. After warming up....its a real dream to drive.

ECM codes from my reader are: P0730 - Gear Ratio Incorrect(a generic code)
and P1750 - Mechanical Fault in Hydraulic System

Is this a fluid flow problem somehow related to the multiple sensors and solenoids? Would an ECM/TCM flash procedure do any good? I read one post somewhere else where they said that this problem is mechanical and can ONLY be fixed from the inside through rebuild/repair.......Is this a FACT?

Please, please advise: I know its a "bad model year" for Honda transmissions, but has there been any identification of the actual problem at all besides replacing the entire failed units with similar units which have not failed 'yet' ? Has anyone heard what reputable, independent rebuilders have discovered which 'Honda' will not state, admit, or publicize?

Other than, "Take it to a trusted, independent transmission shop for diagnosis and repair", what can I possibly do in this situation?

Thank you very much

Gigem891

Nevermind. I finally dug up an excellent write-up of complete, specific diagnostics for the various transmission problems that these "wonderful" cars suffer from and I'll work it from there.....feeling like I shoulda' bought a Toyota after all the sickening reality I know now from researching these model years. There aren't enough cuss words......