The transmission in our 99 SE has been very spongy at best - especially between first and second. The rest of the shifts have been OK, but first to second is getting quite sloppy. As the transmission gets hotter, it gets worse. Saturday night we drove 115 miles to the casino. About 5 miles from the casino we stopped at a couple stop lights, upon acceleration there was quite a lag to go into second gear. The way home was the same way.

So...yesterday I had to disconnect the battery to change my passenger side headlight assembly. I hoped in the car today to go to work and it seemed to be shifting great! Granted it was 40 this morning (vs. 50 Saturday evening). Could disconnecting the battery for an hour really have helped the shifting?

For what it'* worth, the car will roll 167,000 on the way home today. No check engine light, either.

It sounds as if, at least for the moment, it has solved your problem. When the battery is disconnected, the PCM goes into relearn mode until it learns your driving style. Perhaps the standard provided higher pressures? Just a guess.

Did you clean the cables thoroughly? Are cars are known to have bad battery cable corrosion problems, and it will make them run like crap.

You know, Bob, you may be onto something there. It makes sense that it could have been electrical/corrosion related.

Other than that I didn't post in this one before now because I couldn't think of any reason that made sense.

Of course the real test will be the test of time.

I did not clean the cables...and I should have since I know all about the corrosion concern.

I'll pop them off again tonight and give them a good scrub with some baking soda and a wire brush. The battery was replaced 2 years ago and has never been disconnected ever since then.

I guess I figured that, but just the simple removal and replacement of the cables will sort of "clean" the connection a bit. It would be a good idea to clean them up good and check for corrosion under the boots while you're at it.

maybe even pick up a new lead washer between the ends. Give it that "fresh" feeling