Hi Guys, I've got a 93 Accord with 215k km. I'm having some shifting issues that are driving me crazy. when it first starts up, it'll shift fine, then after about 15-20 minutes of city driving, it will begin to shift hard into 1st from 2nd, and won't shift into 3rd until it reaches 3000rpm or higher, regardless of throttle position. If I turn of the car, and let it sit for an hour or so, it will return to normal until the problem occurs again. Any Ideas?

 

Are you keeping your ATF clean and with Honda fluid? If not, I'd start there. Our cars have no external filter to change, just an internal screen accessible only during a teardown. I've taken to changing my fluid every other oil change on my '91. It's only 3qts.

The Element we recently bought wasn't shifting as smooth as I thought it should. I did 3 ATF changes, each one after a short drive to get it hot. What a difference after that.

 

If you are still having issues after you follow oneprblmcat's advice the next step would be seeing if your pressure is correct in your transmission. There are several test ports you can use to check the pressure in your transmission. The details are available via google, and I'd be willing to bet there are youtube videos out there as well. NOW, if your transmission does not have Honda fluid in it you can skip all this and have someone rebuild it. There is no quicker way to kill a transmission than using the wrong fluid...the transmission shops would have a lot less business without people accidentally putting the wrong fluid in a transmission. Good luck.

 

I'm not sure about how clean the fluid has been in the past, as I've not had the car very long. but it currently looks pretty good. a little dark but not bad. would It be wise to change it out anyway?

 

Yes it would be wise to change it.
I would maybe change it 2-3 times in one day as oneprblmcat did. Just to make sure any old fluid is fully flushed out.

 

Found the problem. After i inspected the TCM i noticed some bad wiring just off the harness. many wires exposed, one not connected at all. as a temporary fix, i reconnected it with some electrical tape. the transmission is behaving much differently now.