Hello all. First post here. I tried searching to no avail but as are many forums, I hope someone will correct me if it has been asked before.

Car: 1995 Accord EX 4 Door / 2.2 V-Tec / Auto Transmission / 175000 miles
I have owned this car for less than 3 months. Bought from a friend of a friend for $1500. Speedo didn't work so I replaced the speed sensor with the help of this site. Replaced battery, antenna mast and added roof racks. So far, I'm loving the ride. Cheap transportation which is what I was after. Needs a paint job

The issue: If I come into a rolling stop or a turn without stopping, the car surges like it's trying to downshift. After this the car will not go into 4th gear. The car, I believe, thinks it's in 4th already and never attempts to shift into overdrive/4th gear. This will not correct until I come to a complete stop. However, if I make it downshift with my foot in these instances, it responds normally and shifts as needed. There are no other shifting issues that I've noticed and I drive approximately 140 miles per day.

Any and all help is appreciated.

Chief

 

Recheck your wiring, the VSS is what is what the TCU uses to base its downshifts on.
Verify there are no codes stored in the ECU/TCU.
There will be a two wire blue connector under the glovebox door. There will also be a three wire one, but ignore this. Jumper the two wire blue connector with a wire. Turn ignition to II(ON) and record any codes from the CEL, D4 or ABS.

If there are no codes.

The connector to the VSS may have some slight dirt or corrosion at the connector. Verify with a voltmeter that the ground, power(5V) and reference(signal) circuits are working.
If the original speed sensor was gummed up it would also not function properly and this was probably the reason it stopped functioning. If you do take it apart, be careful there is a small drive pin that can fall out, clean the disc and recheck.

Move on to the two magnetic pickups located on the right side cover of the transmission. Main shaft and counter shaft speed sensors.
If these two are covered in ferrous materials, the TCU cannot get a proper reading and will not upshift or will have erratic upshifts. Remove the 10mm bolt, twist the sensor a few them while pulling them out. Clean off the ends, relube the O rings and reinstall.
VSS is supposed to control downshifts, but I would not be surprised that the TCU still monitors the shaft speed sensors to prevent grinding.

One more point, since the car upshifts when you give more throttle. If the TPS has a dead spot the TCU will not recognize it and will not allow for an upshift. Backprobe the TPS with a voltmeter(signal) and note if the voltage change is linear. Reference will be 5V and ground will be the other. Sorry, don't recall wire colors at the moment.

Verify the transmission throttle cable is properly adjusted(as well as the pedal throttle cable). There should be no pre-tension and there should be no slop in the cable. As soon as the throttle blade begins to open the cable should begin to lift the lever on the transmission. Adjustment is done down on the transmission. 12mm open end wrench. Same for the pedal cable. A note; AT cars may have a bell crank for the pedal cable that is not directly connected to the throttle blade. So even if you take the play out of the pedal cable, there will still be a slight gap/delay before the throttle actually opens. Adjust the trans cable to when the throttle blade begins to open(rotate) not when the throttle cable begins to move. Personally, I've taken this factory slack out of my own car. AFAIK this does not affect anything, other than remove delay from when the pedal is actuated and the engine responds.

Upper pair of solenoids are for the lockup converter.
Front pair of solenoids are the gear shift solenoids.
These can be pulled off and check the screens for any gunk buildup. If you are careful you can reuse the 'O' rings.
Sensors can be directly checked via battery voltage. Disconnect from the harness and use a jumper wire to actuate each solenoid. They are grounded through the drivetrain/body, so only Battery voltage needs to be applied to the solenoid terminals. They should make an audible click when powered on/off.

And finally. If the car has 175Kmiles, make sure your ATF is changed. Often times people forget or neglect the transmission and these transmissions(H4A) are known to go 200-250Kmiles before they show symptoms. But this is from the sump pickup becoming impacted with junk, the transmission itself doesn't fail usually. I would recommend changing out the fluid first with cheap Dexron III by the gallon to help flush out the system. Drain, refill, and drive 3X. Make sure to get through all the gears(including reverse). When refilling make sure to place every gear(including Neutral) in gear for a few seconds before placing back into Park and rechecking fluid. If you live in a hilly area I would recommend to fill the trans up to the top of the hash marks on the dipstick. I would also opt for a hydraulic cleaner such as Tran-Tune to help remove any varnish or potential sticking of accumulator valves.

If the transmission starts shifting normally again, replace the Dexron III with Honda ATF fluid.

FWIW, the Honda ATs are more like MTs than typical ATs. There are no bands or planetary gearsets. Rather than a shift fork there is a solenoid and clutch pack. It is possible to grind gears with the Honda AT like an MT.

I think that covers the basics.