My transmission/flares when shifiting from 2nd to 3rd gear. I bought the car used and drove it that way for about a year. I finally had a used transmission put in and it is doing the same thing. The fluid level is fine and the check engine light is not on. I don't seem to be having any other problems except the D4 light on the dash is out, could this be related?

 

The CEL is to engine trouble codes as the D4 light is to transmission trouble codes (see service manual at link in my signature). Check whether the D4 light has been removed or the wire cut. When fixed, you may be able to retrieve a transmission trouble code. Regardless, the used transmission you purchased seems to be bad.

 

Is this a common problem with these transmissions? It seems like there might be something else going on since the new (used) transmission is doing the exact same thing the old one was doing. Could the shift solenoid or the control module be bad?

 

You need to fix the D4 light so that you can retrieve any potential trouble codes. AutoZone may also be able to pull transmission codes with an OBDII scan tool (free of charge). The previous owner may have disabled the D4 light so as not to reveal a transmission problem. Another possibility is that the Civic originally had a manual transmission and an auto transmission was swapped in without changing the ECU.

 

Welcome swh95, id say check out general civic talk and transimission threads. You will prob find a person with same issue and their solutions.

 

I fixed the D4 light, which appeared to be burned out. It is on and solid. One thing I failed to mention was the first time it shifts up through the gears after it has set for an extended period it shifts perfect. Could something be getting hot and not allowing it to shift from 2nd to 3rd correctly?

 

Try to retrieve a transmission trouble code as shown in the diagram. You might also want to try flushing the transmission and the filling with genuine Honda ATF. As you mention, it could be a problem with a shift solenoid.

 

Hey, I am having very similar problem. I was wondering if anyone has figured out a solution that works for this.

I have a 1998 Honda Civic LX with automatic transmission. I have about 115K mileage so far. I am experience slippage in gears when accelerating.

The check engine light translates to P0730 "Incorrect Gear Ratio".

In terms of a potential solution, The only thing I found on the internet was that, Sonnax has developed a replacement spring 88894 that has a wire diameter larger than the oem design. This supposedly reduces the stress on the spring, preventing future breakage. I don't know if this works or not. Any one know anything about this?

Transmission fluid is fine.

Honda says to replace linear solenoid. I have not tried this because from reading many many reviews, that does NOT seem to work.

Another caveat to this problem is that when the engine is cold, the transmission works fine. So this is in the morning when you start up the car. You can't even tell there is a problem shifting gears. After about 10-15 minutes when the car warms up, the harsh shifting occurs, and the transmission looses almost all the grip. You have to manually shift the gears to get the vehicle to move. Example, when you're at a stop sign on a hill in D4, the car will roll back.

So this tells me this problem is highly sensitive to temperature.

So as a temporary solution, you have to manually shift the gears from D2 to D3 to D4 when accelerating. I've been doing this for over 4 months now, and it is working for now. I'm now starting to notice that once in a while when I am driving, I smell oil burning and sometimes the smell of a skunk (probably grease and oil), which is a sign that the clutches may be burning or some other part sizzling.

Any thoughts?