Missing Gear

I have just test driven a 1998 Auto 2.2 Prelude (60K) and after testing out
the car I hard accelerated from some traffic lights in D3 with myself and 3
passengers and as the box changed from 1st to second it seemed to miss the
gear and rev and go into neutral, with me being nowhere near the shift. I
removed my foot from the go pedal and it settled into gear. Is this a
problem anybody recognises?

Ps the salesman told me it was my fault for changing gears so much :-S

 

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It sounds low on fluid, maybe.

Did you check the color and level of the fluid? It's quite alright to do
that when shopping for a car. I'd go so far as going back with a length
of skinny plastic hose and a sheet of paper. Suck out a half-ounce of
fluid and squirt it on the paper.

When it did shift under normal load, was it smooth, or solid?

'Curly'

 

No the guy was a bit rude blamed my driving, and I just saw big cash signs
if it went seriously wrong, after parting with my hard earned. I didn't
think of checking the fluid level or colour, as the fact that FHSH was
present, sort of covered the normal stuff for me. The fact that the guy, who
traded it to the garage, swapped it for a Ford Mondeo made me wonder if had
faced a big Honda bill.

It was a smooth (normal) change with no hard grab, after releasing the
accelerator, I will go back and check the fluid.

Thanks for the reply
Hamish

 

How do I check the fluid level of this box. I have asked a none Honda
mechanic, who says you have to run it in neutral and check the fluid, but is
there a dip stick on this cars gearbox?

Hamish

 

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Cold engine is OK, engine OFF, level ground. Dipstick looks similar to
oil dipstick, with yellow 'loop' for you to grab. Dipstick may be down
low, close to rad, on your left as you lean under hood. (I have a CRV,
so I'm not sure where it is) Have some paper towel to wipe it off with,
redip, check smell and color. Shouldn't be brown, but translucent red,
and no burnt smell.

'Curly'