00' Civic LX: Transmission Jerking (automatic)

[RaySar]

Hello all,

My 2000 Civic LX, automatic transmission seems to hesitate in the D4 gear, especially between 0-35mph.
Previously, I could always keep the gear in D4 and accelerate with no problems, but these days I notice the engine stresses to pick up any speed between the speed range.

To counter that, I currently drive on D3 gear if I have a lot of stop-N-go areas under 40mph (usually in between lights)... this is because, I notice speed pickup is normal and I don't feel the engine is working double time. Also I often drive at D3 until I hit the 35mph mark, and then let go of the accelerator and shift to D4 once have surpassed 40mph (knowing there will not be any stopping-N-going soon)... currently that works really well, but I feel its only a temp fix.

My concern is, what could the problem be that is causing my D4 gear and pickup to under-perform? What would you recommend looking into?

Other details:
Mileage: 139,000 miles
Regularly maintained, last oil change was in March, recent new timing belt and tires.
Usually drive 60-70 miles a day, driving habit is to coast the car rather than accelerating and then braking a lot, driven on flat roads in the Midwest region.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Joe Mason]

Automatic transmissions tend to just suck in general on these cars. Putting the gear selector in D3 is only keeping the car from reaching its fourth gear. It will start in first gear no matter if D3 or D4 is chosen. I can't think of anything that would cause the car to perform differently in gears 1-3 when the gear selector is in D4. First thing I would do would be to have the transmission fluid flushed professionally. Hope that helps. Let us know what you find.

 

[RaySar]

Automatic transmissions tend to just suck in general on these cars. Putting the gear selector in D3 is only keeping the car from reaching its fourth gear. It will start in first gear no matter if D3 or D4 is chosen. I can't think of anything that would cause the car to perform differently in gears 1-3 when the gear selector is in D4. First thing I would do would be to have the transmission fluid flushed professionally. Hope that helps. Let us know what you find.

Okay, well I will seek to get it done professionally. But is it naturally for the RPM to jump to 2.5 - 3,000 in the 1st and 2nd gear? The speed pickup has reduced significantly and I can't manage to maintain steady speed without having a lead foot these days. Its sad because the rest of the car functions so well, I just reached 141,000 miles