When my Rdx is cold in the morning, it shifts very hard from first to second. And the slower I go, the worse it is. One thing I have found to mitigate it is to put the trans in S mode and let it shift on its own. It raises the shift points a little higher, but not too high since its cold.
It's a weird hard shift. It's not like it bangs or clunks. But it's a feeling of something winding up under tension. It builds up like its rising up and then just drops off suddenly and violently, that's where the hard shifting comes in. And again, it is when cold and the gentler I am being, the worse it is. In the mornings, I try to take it easy on the vehicle and not do any hard accelerations with high rpms. But by going easy, it's resulting in these hard shifts. And it only seems to be from first to second.
Also, has anyone noticed how much the torque converter stays locked up late into a slow down? In other words, I am traveling 55 mph and begin to brake for an upcoming stop sign. At around 30 mph, the torque converter unlocks and there's a change in drag from the motor which forces me to have to compensate and modify my braking force. The thing I find strange is the amount of drag this causes on the motor all the way down.
Please advise.

 

have enough fluids?

if you do, take that sucker in... somethin ain't right.

 

Mine does the same thing, except mine is only what I would call a slightly 'firmer' shift, not a hard shift. And this stops after driving about 3 blocks. Mine is clearly a little 'worse' when it is 20-degrees in the morning vs. 60 degrees. So ...

What year RDX, how many miles, when did you last change the ATF (if ever), which ATF did you use (if changed), first or second (or nth) owner, does the problem continue for several miles, until the vehicle is obviously warmed up, how cold is cold (+50 or zero or -40), etc. Not enough data to even begin to guess your problem.

And how is your 1-2 shift (cold) if you use the paddles to force a shift? any different?

Finally, this is difficult to explain, but if I let the 1-2 shift occur when the car is basically at idle as I approach the end of the alley behind my garage, the shift is more firm than if I simply apply just a 'touch' of throttle. And I mean just about less than 1/16 of full throttle, then the shift is less firm. That is what I usually do, and do not consider that to be agressive throttle use for a cold car.

It can be difficult to describe what FIRM/ HARD shift is for one person, because that may only be a 'normal' shift for another person.

 

Dc, to provide some details:
2012, 14,500 miles. Never had ATF fluid changed (took delivery march 2012). Problem occurs for a couple miles down the street. I live in town so I pull out of the driveway, and after half mile of driving, I have stopped 3 times. The coldest it has been has been 25 degrees. I keep it in my garage over nite and tho it's not heated, a garage doesn't get as cold as outside. And I have been driving in S early to keep it from happening. Another thing is I try to drive gently in the morning so as not to be hard on the vehicle until it warms up and the easier I am on the pedal, the harder the shift. So if I were to put the pedal down, it feels as if it wouldn't shift as hard as when I gently apply throttle.
Before my Rdx, I was doing the tuner car thing. So I have a good sense of hard shifts.
I have noticed u folks on the forums don't understand what dealer repair shops are like in Michigan. They are terribly stingy and basically useless. The less they tell you, the better it is for them. I have fought over easily demonstratable issues and they would continue to deny there was a problem, even when non auto people can see and hear the issues.
Hope this helps.

 

Since it was doing it again today, I would refine my description. When it shifts, it's like a lunge forward. It builds up rpms and then it lunges forward as it shifts. And yet, the more throttle I apply, the less likely it is to do it. I also let the vehicle warm up for about 3 minutes too before driving.

 

At 14500 miles you shouldn't be having any problems, and the rpm build and lunging sounds like slipping clutches (low fluid) or bad electronic control.

The very first step is fluid level. There is a long, involved procedure for this, but you can get a very good reading if you just check it cold and on a level surface. Check in your garage in the morning.

Do this soon. If your ATF is low, it can do severe damage.

 

Also, take a look at the "D" in your shift indicator near the fuel gauge. If the PCM has stored a fault code for the transmission, the "D" will flash.

 

just this morning I pulled up to a stop light and I could tell the car held 3rd or 4rth and didnt want to down shift and by the time I came to an unusually more than difficult stop the car wanted to lunge forward as it finally downshifted. All maintenance has been performed it just surprises me.

 

FlopMeister, I know it's been quite a while but did you find out the problem on your 1st Gen RDX tranny?
My car is doing the same as your tranny and I came across with your thread, appreciate any advice regarding these, I'm getting frustrated each morning I started to drive mine as it jerks from 1-2 shift and feel also the same when it downshift from 50mph. Thanks.

 

Check if metal pipe that cools atf is loose or has rust on the metal washer (sign of corrosion or rust) - this is attached in the radiator. This might be the culprit of loosing some transmission fluid and can affect the performance of your transmission.

You might need to replace your radiator soon.
See the link below:https://acurazine.com/forums/1g-rdx-...g-broke-901820/

 

thanks Pandaman. I don’t notice any sign of atf loosing though. Would you able to tell me where exactly on the radiator that pipe is located at?

 

Check the link i've included in my.previous comment. There is an image that will show it.. unfortunately you will need to remove the plastic shield under the radiator in order to see it... This is only applicable to your situation if you are loosing atf - might be you are noticimg it but you are loosing atf gradually.

 

Got it. I'll take a look this weekend. Appreciate your advice Pandaman.

 

I was experiencing similar issue with my “new to me” 2017 RDX. While accelerating, HARD shift from 2nd to 3rd. Seemed like car was searching for 3rd but couldn’t find. RPMs would soar in 2nd, eventually would hard shift into 3rd, and entire vehicle would lurch. Also experienced during deceleration, but not nearly as hard. Could not re-create on demand. Hard lurch happened every 10 days or so. Couldn’t figure out rhyme or reason to when it would happen. Finally after several months of this, car registered an error which dealer was able to read. Turned out to be defective 3rd clutch transmission switch, which they replaced under warranty. Unfortunately took months of driving with hard shift before error code presented. Acura is aware of issue, so likely your dealer is familiar. If still under warranty, covered repair once error code presents. If out of warranty or you don’t want to wait on error code, will likely need to pay out of pocket. Thrilled to finally have resolved! Was really ruining my driving experience.

 

My warranty repairs related to this issue

Transmission Pressure Switch & Gasket Replaced 3/16/12 21,158 $0

My maintenance related to this issue

Transmission Fluid Flushed & Washers Changed 12/13/17 129,392 $109

Hope it helps let me know if you any further questions

 

I wanted to share my experience as well. Two weeks after purchasing my 2017 certified preowned vehicle last year in 2019 I began to experience the "jerking" between lower gears. Every time I would bring it into the Cerritos Acura Dealer, I would turn off the car. When the technician would get in and test drive it, the problem would not present itself. So I started taking videos to have proof of the behavior. In addition, I realized that if the problem started again and if I did not turn off the car, I could recreate the issue. Once the technician experienced the jerking (according to the service manager this is an official term used by Acura), they were able to get an error code. in this case it was a 3rd gear solenoid. Fortunately it was covered under warranty. I also found an older service order from the original owner in the glove compartment. The original owner also was experiencing the same problem, but the technician wrote it off as cannot reproduce the problem most likely because they did not keep the car on while the problem was presenting itself.
Somewhat glad to hear that my case was not a one off, but it does create a challenge when trying to troubleshoot and not have it reoccur in front of the technician.

 

My torque converter was replaced at 25K miles. No more hard shifts at any speed. Now it is a true Precision Crafted Performance vehicle.
Old torque converter P/N: 26000-6B8-315
New torque converter P/N: 26000-6B8-325