How smooth is the car supposed to shift?

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Old Jun 6, 2008 | 04:35 PM
  #1  
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How smooth is the car supposed to shift?

On a good working tranny how does it feel when the car shifts?

For mine I can feel the car shifting, it's not a hard shift ...very soft but you can still FEEL it shift. Would this be normal? Or is the car suppose to be super smooth?

Sorry I'm just scared of the transmission deal...It was horrible when It happened to my old V6 accord so I am just hoping this one will last a bit longer. Thanks.
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Old Jun 6, 2008 | 04:46 PM
  #2  
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yes u will feel it ... its not a cvt tranny ... from the way u describe it seems like ur tranny is fine
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Old Jun 6, 2008 | 05:00 PM
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normal
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Old Jun 6, 2008 | 09:22 PM
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It's normal but you might want to check your engine/trans mounts.
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Old Jun 7, 2008 | 12:36 AM
  #5  
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when driving mine and i pull onto the freeway, mine feels like someone stuck a shift kit in it when it shifts gears. altho normal around town driving i can hardly feel when it shifts.
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Old Jun 7, 2008 | 09:54 AM
  #6  
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Super Smooth, I doubt it. I can feel everytime the car shifts, not rough at all. I think I pay to much attention to the car period,lol.
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Old Jun 7, 2008 | 11:03 AM
  #7  
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mine shakes me really hard ussually when i shift in 3 rd. any sugestions ?
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Old Jun 7, 2008 | 02:23 PM
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Mine does that some days worse than others but you can always "feel" it.
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Old Jun 7, 2008 | 03:28 PM
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my car feels like its gonna launch me out the sunroof if im haulin ass goin from 2nd into 3rd.... other than that... its OK.... but im pushin around 170k so mabey its just gettin old??
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Old Jun 7, 2008 | 03:37 PM
  #10  
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Originally Posted by DEPTLS
my car feels like its gonna launch me out the sunroof if im haulin ass goin from 2nd into 3rd.... other than that... its OK.... but im pushin around 170k so mabey its just gettin old??
Good to hear. I remember the old Acuras like the legend are still running strong nowadays with over 200k on them.

I hope these can be like them.
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Old Jun 7, 2008 | 03:43 PM
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Originally Posted by ts_vaj
On a good working tranny how does it feel when the car shifts?

For mine I can feel the car shifting, it's not a hard shift ...very soft but you can still FEEL it shift. Would this be normal? Or is the car suppose to be super smooth?

Sorry I'm just scared of the transmission deal...It was horrible when It happened to my old V6 accord so I am just hoping this one will last a bit longer. Thanks.

After several years of ownership and one failed unit all I can say is it is all
over the place. What you describe sounds normal. My experiences:

- Normal: Hard shifts when cold. Not extremely hard but what I would call abrupt.

- Normal: Once warm (after 2-3 miles of driving) fairly smooth shifts under
light throttle but harder under heavy throttle.

- Normal: Unit "drags" when coasting most noticed at 25 - 35 mph. When
in 4 - 5th gear it is dampened enough not to notice but in 3rd it feels more
like a manual tranny with an engine braking effect. THE only automatic I
have ever had that feels that way. Very annoying when trying to guess
how to coast to a red light for example.

- Normal: Unit appears to have TWO engagement points. One right away
when shifting into drive and a second final one 1 - 2 seconds later. I hate
this.

- Not normal: Unit clunks loudly when shifting from park to drive or drive
to reverse.

- Not normal: Unit slips shifting into 2 - 3 gear. You are about to join the
dead tranny club.

This is my second tranny with the Feb 05 fix and so far it is holding up
nicely. It appears the number of failures have fallen drastically in the
last year. I only hope we do not see a rash of reoccurances in another
year or so when the replacements all get around 50K or so on them.
That seemed like the top of the bell curve for the original failures.

/Steve
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Old Jun 7, 2008 | 03:51 PM
  #12  
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Originally Posted by vinovelo
After several years of ownership and one failed unit all I can say is it is all
over the place. What you describe sounds normal. My experiences:

- Normal: Hard shifts when cold. Not extremely hard but what I would call abrupt.

- Normal: Once warm (after 2-3 miles of driving) fairly smooth shifts under
light throttle but harder under heavy throttle.

- Normal: Unit "drags" when coasting most noticed at 25 - 35 mph. When
in 4 - 5th gear it is dampened enough not to notice but in 3rd it feels more
like a manual tranny with an engine braking effect. THE only automatic I
have ever had that feels that way. Very annoying when trying to guess
how to coast to a red light for example.

- Normal: Unit appears to have TWO engagement points. One right away
when shifting into drive and a second final one 1 - 2 seconds later. I hate
this.

- Not normal: Unit clunks loudly when shifting from park to drive or drive
to reverse.

- Not normal: Unit slips shifting into 2 - 3 gear. You are about to join the
dead tranny club.

This is my second tranny with the Feb 05 fix and so far it is holding up
nicely. It appears the number of failures have fallen drastically in the
last year. I only hope we do not see a rash of reoccurances in another
year or so when the replacements all get around 50K or so on them.
That seemed like the top of the bell curve for the original failures.

/Steve


so what if it feels like its launching between 2nd and 3rd?
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Old Jun 7, 2008 | 09:40 PM
  #13  
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i personaly tought is not normal but u prove me wrong
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Old Jun 8, 2008 | 12:14 AM
  #14  
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From: Baltimore, MD
Originally Posted by vinovelo
After several years of ownership and one failed unit all I can say is it is all
over the place. What you describe sounds normal. My experiences:

- Normal: Hard shifts when cold. Not extremely hard but what I would call abrupt.

- Normal: Once warm (after 2-3 miles of driving) fairly smooth shifts under
light throttle but harder under heavy throttle.

- Normal: Unit "drags" when coasting most noticed at 25 - 35 mph. When
in 4 - 5th gear it is dampened enough not to notice but in 3rd it feels more
like a manual tranny with an engine braking effect. THE only automatic I
have ever had that feels that way. Very annoying when trying to guess
how to coast to a red light for example.

- Normal: Unit appears to have TWO engagement points. One right away
when shifting into drive and a second final one 1 - 2 seconds later. I hate
this.

- Not normal: Unit clunks loudly when shifting from park to drive or drive
to reverse.

- Not normal: Unit slips shifting into 2 - 3 gear. You are about to join the
dead tranny club.

This is my second tranny with the Feb 05 fix and so far it is holding up
nicely. It appears the number of failures have fallen drastically in the
last year. I only hope we do not see a rash of reoccurances in another
year or so when the replacements all get around 50K or so on them.
That seemed like the top of the bell curve for the original failures.

/Steve
Just wanted to say this is a great description of this tranny I gotta say though, I enjoy the dragging the tranny does for you. It helps when going down hills, and also sounds pretty awesome if you have an exhaust setup.
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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 07:38 PM
  #15  
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Originally Posted by AcurazinesFinestTL
Super Smooth, I doubt it. I can feel everytime the car shifts, not rough at all. I think I pay to much attention to the car period,lol.
Me and you Both, but I find my car to shift pretty smooth!
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Old Jun 9, 2008 | 09:38 PM
  #16  
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I finally decided to just launch my TL-S from a dead stop while at a traffic light on a 55mph road (I've only been driving my car a week). I wasn't sure what to expect but I pretty much experienced precisely what vinovelo described above. Glad to hear it's normal.

It was pretty smooth and I was surprised to have the car basically peel out as it went from 1st to 2nd. It never skipped a beat and the car shifted smoothly until I let off the gas at about 65mph. It was nice to feel the power that this car has for a luxury sedan and it just made me fall in love with this car all over again, lol.

I know what you mean and I was concerned as well, but while I can "feel" it shift when going from 1st to 2nd and vice versa, it's not a jerky motion and it's quiet as can be. I can just tell it's shifting. I think based on the above, you're good...until you "hear" it clank or slip.
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Old Jun 10, 2008 | 01:15 AM
  #17  
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Originally Posted by gorne
mine shakes me really hard ussually when i shift in 3 rd. any sugestions ?
What do you mean shake hard? Hesitant to shift into gear?
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Old Jun 10, 2008 | 01:58 AM
  #18  
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i'd say mine shifted pretty smooth but i can still feel it.. i just switched to redline D4 atf today and now sometimes from a stop it shifts hard from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd i hope its just temporary
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Old Jun 10, 2008 | 02:40 AM
  #19  
03bl AC k CL's Avatar
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From: Freehold, NJ
for what its worth i get harsher shifts when my AC is blasting... my tranny and motor mounts were replaced as of 10/06 too... so dont sweat feeling your shifts its fine.
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Old Jun 11, 2008 | 10:25 AM
  #20  
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i am starting to get a stuttering from second into 3rd. ???
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Old Jun 11, 2008 | 11:11 AM
  #21  
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From what I've read on here, that is the first sign of impending doom.
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Old Sep 28, 2008 | 12:05 PM
  #22  
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Originally Posted by vinovelo

- Not normal: Unit clunks loudly when shifting from park to drive or drive
to reverse.
Anyone else wanna help me answer this question.

I'm getting a slight surge from the car when i shift from Park to Drive. The car itself will move even if i have the brakes applied + parking brake.

Is this the transmission? Engine mounts?
02 TL-S w/71km on it.
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Old Sep 28, 2008 | 12:40 PM
  #23  
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sounds like a brake problem!
If the trans has a long delay- say more than 2 seconds engaging into Drive fron N
like going from Park to drive, if it wont go when you put it in D5 or it revs as it slowly accellerates- those are trans realted symptoms

A surge would be more like the change in engine vacuum is affecting the brake vac powered booster
Thunks are often engine mounts

Have you checked the brakes - a real inspection?
and the park brakes are just tiny drum brakes inside the rear brake rotor- if not mashed on hard with the pedal, they are not going to hold it on a hill
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Old Sep 28, 2008 | 12:45 PM
  #24  
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you may have the vac boosted front and rear motor mounts, not sure about canada cars

Those have a tendancy to leak out the special fluid inside and then have a vac leak surge that no one can find!
Normal mounts are just rubber- these are fluid filled for super smooth ride, and the vac assist ones get stiffer when it feels a jump on the throttle- cool eh~
Broken mounts are often found when the trans goes out, because an acura tech knows to look for the signs of it- they see so many a month that its easy to spot.

A strange fluid- a few drops on the garage floor- under the radiator- are really the fluid from the front mount
Check those out too
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Old Sep 28, 2008 | 04:57 PM
  #25  
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Brakes were recently done. Front rotors and pads. Tons of pads on the rears.

When putting from (P to R), and (P to N) the car doesn't move.
However, when going from (P to D5) or (N to D5), you can feel the car surge forward a little even with parking brake on.
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