I have a 2003 Civic LX with about 130,000 miles on it, auto transmission that's been acting strangely. It has had a bit of a rough shift for a while. At low speeds in particular, if I was coasting. it would feel like the transmission was in the wrong gear (the same feeling as if you put it in 2nd gear for a downhill.) Makes for bad city mileage, but highway mileage is in the upper 30s.

Recently, and somewhat inconsistently, when i coast going 25-40MPH or so the car feels like it's pulsing. Sort of like it's shifting between gears, or like I was tapping the brake and releasing it over and over. The RPMs seem to bounce very minimally, maybe 50 rpm either way. The car is fine as long as I'm giving it gas, and has no trouble shifting while accelerating minus the slightly rough shifts. This does not happen at highway speeds, only around town when coasting.

I'm really not sure how to describe it so I'm sorry if this seems rambling. No check engine light or anything. Any insights would be appreciated. I'm hesitant to take it in to a shop at this point since it's inconsistent.

 

Any stored codes? Sometimes, even when there's no MIL (check engine light) the ECU will still have some stored codes.

The "D" indicator isn't flashing either?


When's the last time you did any maintenance to it? Have you changed the fluid yet?

 

Haven't checked for codes. No lights on whatsoever. Changed the transmission fluid 9000 miles ago.