First, I'm not a big fan or expert of automatics; we inherited the '98 EX 4-door F23A1 with automatic. The ATF is nice & pink, not burned, no smell, not leaking. Not due for changing, per the manual anyway. It was maintained by a dealer before we got it, so I gotta assume they used Honda ATF.

Are the shifts supposed to be so 'slushy' at moderate throttle? When its in a gear its nice, but the shifts seem to take longer than I think they should (almost a second); they aren't real crisp. They are a bit sharper when accelerating harder... Does ATF influence this very much? Should I switch types? Should I worry about it at all?

 

shifting should not take a second but most people complain that the shifts are harsh due to the timing not being retarded during the shift process....