jdeleo

Transmission hesitates in 2nd gear...should I drain the ATF or will this be the nail in the coffin?

therealjgall

My thought is that at this point replacing the fluid wouldn't do much for you. If the transmission's on its way out, a fluid change won't make much difference, and it'll just cost you 300-400 dollars that you could put towards a new transmission.

barnett468

Exactly what do you mean by "hesitates".

How many miles?

How old is the fluid?

Does it still upshift and downshift shift thru all the gears?

If the fluid is old and brown etc, the first thing I would do is change it . Valvoline Max Life full synthetic dexron/mercon is what I used and many others use it also . Wallmart has it as well as most other auto parts stores . Honda recommends DW1 but they only had it at the Honda dealer which is more than 30 minutes from me so I found the Valvoline just a couple miles away.

If the old fluid is bad, you will need to drain it then fill it 3 times and maybe 4 times to get all the old fluid out if the fluid from the 3rd drain still looks dirty . I drove the car a few miles after each time I refilled it so the new oil could get thru the entire trans plus it can clean it out a little . The problem with doing this is that the trans will be blazing hot after this and it will take several hours to cool down enough before you should brave draining it again so you don't get burned by hot parts or hot trans fluid.

Skirmich

I would like to know your maintenance procedures..
How long has the ATF being inside? In what scenario do you feel the Hesitant Shift, Under Power or Letting of the Gas? Do you have any Check Engine codes pop up?

What you could be feeling is a tired A&B Solenoid which depending on Mileage and Wear can be struggling to shift the gear as 1st and 2nd share the same Clutch Basket until it shifts to the next 3/4th.
If the Solenoid is wore down it could probably need a replacement but I asked your Maintenance records because it can also be a clogged up screen making it difficult to shift.

If you don´t have a Specific P0740 and Slippage it doesn´t mean its dead already.. Just needs some TLC.. Worry when the Transmission start slipping because that is a sure tell sign the trans is on its way out.