Ive been having some problems with my transmission lately. It started off with the whole ‘cant take the key out because it doesnt know that its in park’ deal… Then it simply would not go when in “D” or “S3”. It acted as though it was in neutral. I see that the shift selection switch ( im not sure thats the name for it ) is the cuplrit in those cases… im wondering if it go any farther than the park selection.
Ive taken it to a couple of shops, everybody wants to rebuild my transmission, but nobody has looked at this part of the system. Today I was messing around with the car, and I just thought i’d try it out with the selector in between drive and neutral. And it worked fine. But when I do this, it shifts 1st-2nd-3rd just fine… but vary rarely will 4th gear engage. When i let the selector drop into drive at a complete stop, it goes into gear but as soon as i release the brake it ‘gives up’ and feels like it goes into neutral (engine rpms change, etc)… But again… every single time (30+) i took off with the selector slightly in between the drive and neutral gears (nothing lit up on the dashboard)
I was hoping someone out there knows exactly how these things operate. Specifically, could it be that it is not shifting into fourth because it doesnt detect either ‘s4’ or ‘D’ on the electrical side of the system or what… Im going to take it back by a shop this weekend hopefully, but any input between now and then would be appreciated, because you guys arent after my money :)… Thanks a lot
Can’t answer your electrical problem but you are definatly dealing with a shifter problem. Don’t let anyone sell you a tranny till the shifter problem is taken care of.
did you check to see if your shifter cable has frayed?
if you look under the vehicle where it comes out of the tranny there is a protective sleeve that ends after about 1/2 a foot. when the cable wears out it usually frays right at the point where the sleeve ends.
if the cable looks ok then it might just need to be adjusted. you have to take up the center console for that.
Ive adjusted the cable, its fine… The TRANSMISSION goes into gear right when the selector says it should… I now have the Neutral Safety Switch (or gear position indicator, whichever you like) off as well, so its accessible…
So if i shift into drive, and move that switch to where it does not contact anything (ie -nothing lit up on the dash), it works fine, EXCEPT 4th gear does not engage… (im thinking the transmisison defaults to “s3” unless it recieves the Drive or S4 signal)
The car will go fine also if i have the transmission in drive (via the cable) but the selector in PARK, REVERSE, or 2ND… if i have the switch in neutral, drive, s3 or s4, it goes into gear, but it feels like it ‘gives’ up and goes into neutral as SOON as i let off the brake pedal… if i hold the pedal down just a little, just enough to give SOME resistance, but let the car roll, it will still work. Drive and S3/4 are the only modes that do this… 2nd gear works fine every time… and like i mentioned earlier, drive will work, as long as i don’t have that selector switch in drive/neutral/s3/s4.
Please, if anybody has any clue what this could be, let me know. None of the shops around here have a clue, and the one Acura dealership here can’t take the car in until next week sometime. I am thinking that the 4th gear problem MAY be the shift solenoid, but i want to get this Drive/S3 giving up when the selector is there problem figured out first, because the TCM may just not be sending the shift signal to the transmission… Thanks for the help…
Ive had the car parked for maybe 3 days because of a snow/ice storm here, and I brought it back out today, and everything worked fine. I could have the selector switch in drive and it would go… could even switch between 3rd and 4th freely with the s3 button. But, after a while it went back to having problems… not quite as bad as before, it would actually get up and go, but it would have some problems starting out in ‘drive’. It almost felt like the clutch was slipping, but again - as soon as i move the selector SWITCH off of the drive contact (to where nothing is lit on the dash), it takes off just fine…
Doesnt look like anybody has a clue about my problem, but i thought i’d post again just to check. Its going to be tuesday now before Acura can look at my car, they pushed back all their appointments because of the ice… I’d really like to know if anybody knows where i can get info on exactly what the TCM is doing in the selector positions, etc, because it really seems to me that the tranny is fine.
I had this same problem about a week ago. I live in Ontario Canada and it was pretty cold for a while, and my fourth gear did not work. Then it started getting warmer and the fourth gear started working again. I went to the Acura dealership for a diagnostic check and they said that it could be the GEAR SHIFT SOLENOID. Each gear in automatics has a shift solenoid, and if one gear is not working properly and the rest of the gears work fine, the it is most likely the shift solenoid. They sell for about $30 each.