My Honda will not shift into 3rd gear and seems to be stuck in Sports mode...You can manually shift it into 1st and 2nd but won't go into third??????

Hello. It seems your vehicle's transmission has to be rebuilt/replaced. Any automatic transmission that won't 'shift' from 1st gear into 2nd or 3rd gear has a 'worn' slave cylinder that 'slides' gears one way or another. 1st gear works yet 2nd and 3rd don't. Good luck and keep me informed; if you want to.

Soooo...some of you that have seen my posts and responses may be able to tell that I am a "Hot-Head"!! I graduated from Montclair State university this past semester and had my graduation at the IZOD center at the Meadowlands yesterday..long story short, I was in a really rough mood for whatever reason and when Im in one of those moods, I shouldn't be driving especially in north jersey. Anyway, I was ripping my car around in sports shift mode because i have a 2010 Forte Koup 2.4l Automatic 5-speed trans. I'm used to driving it and ripping it around in sports shift since i got the car a couple years ago. To explain this correctly, I drive the sports shift kind of like it has a clutch (but we all know it doesn't) meaning when I go from 1st to 2nd I remain on the gas but sometimes when i like to hear the shifting take place, i will let go of the gas and shift the sports shifter up into 3rd gear. this is definitely NOT needed in an automatic, I'm supposed to keep my foot on the gas while shifting into a higher gear. So after a while of screwing around and driving like a mad man trying to get to my graduation, i came to a red light and for some reason the tip-tronic would not let me downshift to 1st gear nor would the engine automatically downshift to 1st like it is supposed to and usually does. At this point I would only be able to take-off in 2nd or 3rd gear (very weird I know). So i pulled over, turned the car off and restarted it and it seemed to be fine, then I put it in tip-tronic again and it did the same thing: wouldn't let me shift down to first while coming to a stop and remained in 2nd gear. when i finally arrived to my graduation the Engine Malfunction (AKA check engine light) came on. i know this can be due to more than 100 reasons but has anyone ever experienced this before driving their automatic KOUP while driving in tip-tronic? I have an appointment at my dealer for Monday morning and can't wait to see whats wrong with it. Also when i was leaving my house this morning, i put the car in tip-tronic and took off it seemed to be fine, then when i came to a stop sign the same thing happened again where i couldn't downshift to 1st and when i took off in 2nd and shifted to 3rd the car threw itself forward whereas if someone was close to me in front i probably woulda hit them from behind (thank god I didn't). After that happened this morning, I pushed the shifter knob back into regular automatic drive and the engine seemed to lose almost all power meaning when I pushed the gas and even floored it, the car did not pick-up or go anywhere. What could be happening here?!?! Please someone HELP!!!

http://techauto.awardspace.com/transmission.html
this covers the symptoms and the repairs. to me it sounds like it could be the tcu. maybe a blown capacitor. hope this helps. and goodluck.

Sounds like your transmission is in limp mode. This is a fault mode in which the transmission either loses electrical power or the PCM deactivates all of the electronics. The transmission will default to max line pressure. The driver will have Reverse and 3rd, with manual 2nd available by putting the gearshift in 2 or 1 (doesn't matter). 1st, 4th, and TCC lockup will not be available. It will not hurt the car to drive it like this for short periods, but use manual 2nd to get the car moving, and be aware that the trans will generate more heat than normal while operating in limp-home mode due to increased torque converter slippage during 2nd gear starts and no lockup in 3rd gear.

The other from what you described, trans shifts 2nd to 3rd by itself in D or OD and locks the converter : ShiftA solenoid failed. Easy fix in the pan. Or a wiring problem from PCM to trans.. or PCM.

Thank you for using fixya and have your Safari scanned for the DTC codes that would indicate what issues your transmission is having to put you in to limp mode.

your linkage from the shifter to the transmission is out of ajustment, just tightin it up or loosin it witch ever it needs

This is a fault mode in which the transmission either loses electrical power or the PCM deactivates all of the electronics. The transmission will default to max line pressure. The driver will have Reverse and 3rd, with manual 2nd available by putting the gearshift in 2 or 1 (doesn't matter). 1st, 4th, and TCC lockup will not be available. It will not hurt the car to drive it like this for short periods, but use manual 2nd to get the car moving, and be aware that the trans will generate more heat than normal while operating in limp-home mode due to increased torque converter slippage during 2nd gear starts and no lockup in 3rd gear.

Trans shifts into gear harshly, car feels sluggish off the line, No 1st, 4th or TCC lockup available, Manual 2nd, 3rd and Reverse are only available gears, CEL is on: Transmission is either in limp-home mode or has lost electrical power. If there are lots of error codes in the PCM, check the under hood fuse that powers the transmission, and if it pops again, look for a short in that circuit like an O2 sensor harness touching exhaust. Otherwise, check PCM codes for a particular fault in the transmission causing the PCM to put it in limp-home mode.

No 1st or 4th available; trans shifts 2nd to 3rd by itself in D or OD and locks the converter : ShiftA solenoid failed. Easy fix in the pan. Or a wiring problem from PCM to trans.. or PCM.

Car goes into gear but feels very sluggish like the brakes are dragging, but it will roll easily (starts out in 4th gear), you manually shift to 2 to get it moving, once it's moving you put it back in OD and the car shifts 3rd to 4th on its own and locks the converter at the appropriate time: ShiftB solenoid failed: Easy fix in the pan. Or a wiring problem from PCM to trans.. or PCM.

IF the abs dash light is on and if the speedometer is sluggish or not working at all, it is probably a bad speed sensor on the transmission. and easy fix under $40 for the part. Mine was stuck in second gear for a while then worked then it stuck in first gear and i had the CHECK ENGINE light on.

• No 3rd or 4th gear: “3-4” clutches are worn out. R&R. The car is safe to drive (in 2) until you can get it fixed.
• Trans shifts into gear harshly, car feels sluggish off the line, No 1st, 4th or TCC lockup available, Manual 2nd, 3rd and Reverse are only available gears, CEL is on: Transmission is either in limp-home mode or has lost electrical power. If there are lots of error codes in the PCM, check the under hood fuse that powers the transmission, and if it pops again, look for a short in that circuit like an O2 sensor harness touching exhaust. Otherwise, check PCM codes for a particular fault in the transmission causing the PCM to put it in limp-home mode.
• No 1st or 4th available; trans shifts 2nd to 3rd by itself in D or OD and locks the converter : Shift A solenoid failed. Easy fix in the pan. Or a wiring problem from PCM to trans.. or PCM.

Check to see if your transmission is in the limp mode, which would only give you 2nd, 3rd and reverse gears. No 1st or 4th gear.

Transmission seems to be slipping and may need to be rebuilt. This transmission may be stuck in a high gear and the on way to repair is to have it rebuilt. Good luck and thanks for using FIX YA

ck ciggeret lighter fuse if it blows makes trans do funny things same with honda passport or trans controler going bad lighter fuse controls trans controler