2001 civic autotransmission - hesitation

Greetings,

I just acquired a 2001 civic ex with low miles. A much nicer ride than
my 93 CX hatchback. The only complaint is that the transmission is
always in third or fourth after a low speed corner (city driving) and it
sort of needs to double clucth itself to kick down to second. Hesitates
too long. This is my first Honda automatic, I hope this isn't par for
the course. Is this common and what's the fix??

Thanks,

B.

 

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It's perfectly normal. It wouldn't hurt to get the ATF changed, just to
prove to yourself that it's been changed. Use only Honda Z1, and do it
twice. It never hurts to be a little early on a fluid change, since you
don't know everything about the car's treatment.
You'll eventually get better at tapping the gas at just the right moment
to force it to downshift just when you need it.

'Curly'

 

A little early? The manual calls for something like 100K miles, no
time interval. The car is nowhere near that. The fluid isn't bright pink
though.

B.

 

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When in doubt, change it out . . . If the tranny fluid is unknown, or
might look a bit burnt, it could be that the car's been "To Hell and
Back" Previous owner may have 'added' something to it, or used some
non-Honda fluid along the way :-(. Change it yourself, drive it a week,
change it again. I'd just change it because it's got all the break-in
crud swimming around in there, and maybe some accumulated moisture.
Corrosives and abrasives make for a bad mix in something as marvelous as
a Honda tranny. Six or seven litres of Z1 is really cheap insurance.

'Curly'