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Transmission not shifting?

Tiny
WOODY_HO
  • MEMBER
  • 1991 HONDA ACCORD
91 Accord Transmission not shifting when cold. It will be back to normal after warm up few minutes.
Wednesday, February 7th, 2007 AT 5:01 PM

38 Replies

Tiny
BRUCE HUNT
  • MECHANIC
  • 3,754 POSTS
I would bet that a mechanic would have an unfair advantage over us. They would possibly know by glancing at the car if the tranny is automatic or manual. I am guessing that this is automatic and I would like to know what kind of temps we are talking about. Secondly, have you considered replacing the fluid and filter as a small amount of moisture as in water from condensation could be causing problems with flow from ice, etc. Check out this guide to help us

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/automatic-transmission-problems

Please run down this guide and report back.
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Thursday, February 8th, 2007 AT 10:14 AM
Tiny
WOODY_HO
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
1991 Honda Accord Automatic Transmission won't shift and stay in 1st gear. Mileage of the car is about 120K. Engine size is 2.2 Lite. The problem won't show when the car is warm up for about few minutes. I am living in New York, and temperature is about 30-40 in winter. Thanks your advice.
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Friday, February 9th, 2007 AT 9:36 AM
Tiny
LADYMICHELLE92
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 1991 HONDA ACCORD
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 98,000 MILES
I can not get the car to shift out of park. I have to put my key in the shift override on the shift area to get it out of park.
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 11:55 AM (Merged)
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
Hi ladymichelle92,

Check if the brake lights are working. If they are not, it would cause the interlock to prevent the gear shift from being shifted out of park.

Brake lights failure can be due to a faulty brake switch or a blown fuse.
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 11:56 AM (Merged)
Tiny
JAMES P
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
  • 1991 HONDA ACCORD
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
Putting the car in drive it acts like it is sliping down shift to first drives fine as long as you manualy shift. Try to leave it in drive and come to a stop it acts like it is sliping
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 11:56 AM (Merged)
Tiny
RASMATAZ
  • MECHANIC
  • 75,992 POSTS
How's the transmission fluid condition and level?

The transmission is slipping, have the TPS and VSS checked if okay-bring it in and have the transmission pressure tested to find out more-
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 11:56 AM (Merged)
Tiny
MATTHEW SCURRY
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 1991 HONDA ACCORD
Transmission problem
1991 Honda Accord 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 85.000 miles

auto trans doesnt shift will shift manueally started not shifting sometimes when I pushed sport button on side of shifter then just quit shifting all together help please
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 11:56 AM (Merged)
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
Hi matthew,

Does the S mode light blinks after driving?

Did you check the ATF level and condition?
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 11:56 AM (Merged)
Tiny
AXE41
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 1991 HONDA ACCORD
Transmission problem
1991 Honda Accord 4 cyl Two Wheel Drive Automatic

my 1991 honda accord Lx suddenly stop shifting, it would not shift out of first gear?
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 11:56 AM (Merged)
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
Hi axe41,

Does manually shifting it from 1 to 2, D3 and D4 works?
Is the D4 or S light blinking?
Was any work carried prior to this happening?
Did you check the trans fluid level?
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 11:56 AM (Merged)
Tiny
COGGSDALE4
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 1990 HONDA ACCORD
  • 2.2L
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • MANUAL
It is stuck in 4th gear. I can move the shifter in every gear while off. Engine running I can put it in 4th gear the car will move. If I put it in another gear the car won't move and cuts off.
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 11:57 AM (Merged)
Tiny
HMAC300
  • MECHANIC
  • 48,601 POSTS
Try shifting at trans with engine off at trans with cables disconnected. See if linkage at trans is screwed up or cable broken. If it just happened this may be what is wrong.
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 11:57 AM (Merged)
Tiny
GOSSMAN548
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
  • 1990 HONDA ACCORD
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 200,000 MILES
My son accord won't shift out 2nd gear. You can manually select 1st or 2nd. In D3 or D4 it stays in 2nd. I can't get it out of S mode. Nothing happen when I push the sports switch, on the shifter
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 11:57 AM (Merged)
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
If the S mode indicator is blinking while driving, an error has been detected by the TCM.

You need to retrieve the trouble codes.
Flip up the passenger carpet under dash and locate a round sight glass.
Turn ignition switch on and note the blinking pattern to get the trouble code.

Quite often when transmission fails to shift for the year model, it is due to a faulty TCM.
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 11:57 AM (Merged)
Tiny
GOSSMAN548
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
The S light doesn't blink. It's solid.I, m having a hard time finding the wire to jumper to get codes. Does the wire unplug from something, or is it a loose wire. The interlock relay and stick shift solenoid chatter, with the ignition on.
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 11:57 AM (Merged)
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
For the year model, the TCM should have a LED light.
Flip up the passenger side carpet.
Turn ignition ON and note the blinking of the LED from the view window (round hole) on the ECM cover.
Count the blinking of the LED to get the code.

Under the shift lever there is only the interlock solenoid. Does it chatter only with the brake pedal depressed? The solenoid is not linked to TCM. Only to the brake switch and gear shift position.

Is the D4 and other indicators lights working correctly?

Erratic shifting could also be a fault with the TPS. Get it tested for smooth movement and correct voltage.
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 11:57 AM (Merged)
Tiny
SQUIZZERS
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
  • 1990 HONDA ACCORD
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 327,000 MILES
My 1990 Honda accord had a shifting problem. I took it to a transmission shop and they said that my computer may be bad. I got a couple of different computers and tried them in the car. They were probably the wrong ones because the car had trouble idling. I finally ordered a computer with the exact same numbers as the one that was originally in my vehicle, but it won't start. I am afraid that I may have messed something up while I was trying different computers. What can I do to possibly reset the car so it will run? (It is fuel injected)
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 11:57 AM (Merged)
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
Hi squizzers,

Thank you for the donation.

The Engine Control Unit ( ECU ) and Transmision Control Module ( TCM ) arer 2 different components. There are no settings required when replacing the components.

Did you recheck the ECU and TCM wire connectors?
Did you test if sparks or fuel is missing?

https://www.2carpros.com/kpages/first_things.htm

The above links provides information on how to go about testing the various components.

Were trouble codes retrieved prior to removing the the ECM and TCM?
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 11:57 AM (Merged)
Tiny
SQUIZZERS
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
I made sure that the wires to the ECU and the TCM were connected properly. The car has fuel and the spark plugs are good.

Prior to removing the ECU, there were no error codes. I have a repair manual and it says that a zero code is the sign of a faulty ECU so that is why I replaced it.

After I put the new ECU it was giving me a trouble code that indicated that the ELD was bad. Would this cause it to not start?

I just replaced the distributor rotor because the other one I had was cracked but it still doesn't start.

Thank you so much for answering my question. This car has been giving me problems for near a year and I just want to get it running. It's my first car btw.
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 11:57 AM (Merged)
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
A fault with the ELD would not cause non starting.

Did you check the fuel pressure? A faulty PGM-FI main relay can cause the fuel pump to stop working intermittently and the non starting.

If the engine had not been running for a while, the compression might drop. Get a compresison test done to see if the pressure are within specs.

Remove the spark plugs and pump a little engine oil into the spark plug holes to increase the compression and retest.

When the distributor was replaced, did you check the firing order?
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Saturday, September 26th, 2020 AT 11:57 AM (Merged)

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