1997 Honda Accord LX


The car has had a slightly hard shift between gears for a while. Didn't seem to bad at all. Drove fine one day, got in it today and the shifter is stuck in park. I used the lock bypass to get it in gear. It goes in reverse and it goes into first but will not shift past first. It shifted into second a few times at high rpm but now no longer shifts past first. If i put the gear shift in 1 i can get it to manually shift into 2nd every time by pushing the gear shift to 2 at the appropriate rpm. No error codes. Not sure if its solenoid or the transmission just shot or some third thing. Any input would be appreciated.


I saw a few post about the switch for the shift lock, however my brake lights do come on when i press the brake petal.

*So something is also killing the battery within a day.

 

Has the trans fluid been changed regularly? Try changing to maxlife fluid. do not flush the trans, do not over fill. Just empty what comes out the drain and replace that amount, then do it again at your next oil change. I would give the shifter mechanism a good cleaning, it isnt hard to take apart. Then lube with lithium grease. My wife spills all kinds of crap into the shift of her accord, soda, coffee, cheetos, coins, dog hair, etc.

 

kimo,

What is your status? Honda auto transmissions are known for long-term failure, I'm rather fearful mine will go out soon enough though I baby the car, drive like an "old geezer," and change the fluid every 60K miles and I got it from an old couple at 60K.

Like schreps posted, DO NOT FLUSH THE TRANSMISSION, as it seems that will do more harm than good. Here is a video on that.


Did you try taking this shifter apart and cleaning/lubing like schreps suggested?

 

I've been working on this for a while and Long story short I replaced the transmission with a junkyard trans.
and a JY computer


Kept all the JY sensors and solenoids on the trans so now i have replacements. Unfortunately, I immediately got a code P0730. The "new" transmission acts similarly to the previous one. Only shifts inconsistently at high rpm around 5K barely goes into 3rd and 4th sometimes. But i can put it in 1st and 2nd manually no problem. Luckily I get a free exchange for a defective transmission so, I guess it's back to the junkyard. Better than nothing. For whatever reason, the shift lock is still refusing to disengage. I don't know if it's related but it's not really on the top of my problems list.

I'm pretty sure this trans is toast but just in case someone knows something better than me before I head back out and pull another one.

 

So the throttle position sensor was the culprit. It was registering between 3.8 and 4.5 volts at all times. Within range but way to high so as to not throw a code. I guess if your on the gas (or the computer thinks you are) it also activates the shift lock. Replaced the tps and everything is shifting just fine.