Hey everyone,

My Honda Accord 2001 is having an issue where it's giving me a hard shift when it goes into second gear. This will typically only happen if (1) the car is accelerating at a higher RPM right before it shifts, or (2) the car slows down at a stop light, but takes off before it shifts fully down into first gear.. The transmission fluid is full. Does anyone else have any experience on what this problem could be, or something I could look at?

 

First thing I would do is to pull the solenoids and clean out the gaskets with brake cleaner til they are shiny again.

 

Check for any stored codes first.
98-02 ATs don't always set the D4 lamp off. P1738 '2nd gear clutch pressure switch' is one of those codes. I would check the 2nd gear pressure switch it is on the bellhousing on 4cylinders and buried between/underneath the air intake hose and distributor. If it is leaking or gummed up with junk it can cause a delayed hard shift. And it might not even set a code, but it is the most likely suspect. As long as the engine is in optimal tune, an out of tune engine will cause erratic or harsh shifts as well.