ecm/ ecu problem?

Well Hello CR-V'ers,
This is my first time posting to this site... I have quite a Honda query and was hoping maybe someone out there could help me. I am fairly car literate but this CR-V is posing quite a problem lately...
I have a 2002 that has been flippin' awesome for the past several years, but recently I have this problem with gear slippage. From first to second gear it revs way up and if you don't back off when it should shift it goes up past 2500 or so then KA-bang catches third. It went to a shop that told of a ECM failure but that was as far as they could go, $190(talked down to $100). Then it went to the Honda dealer that changed and flushed the transmission fluid and said there was a failure code with the oxygen sensor. The car ran fine for a few hours then back came the 1st to 2nd clunk. It's a very intermittent problem so I figure it shouldn't be a physical problem with the transmission, as the clunk would always rear it's ugly head. So I thought about it and the 'ol brain is in contact with the transmission. So I disconnected the battery for about fourty-five minutes or so to drain the brain, hooked 'er back up, programmed the stereo code, and drove off for a little re-education with the ECM. Stunning how well that worked until later that night when Ka-bunk.... back to square one. Now I guess I'm asking if anyone else has had a similar problem, and if it is possible to reboot the brain by electrical starvation, or does it need to be reset by computer.
The little devil didn't want to show the nice men at the Honda shop how she was bitchy about 1st to 2nd so he could only suggest I hope for the best. Other synptoms are, this strange drop from about 1500 to 900 then quickly back to ...say, 1400 RPMs when let off the gas. And perfect gear switching when in 2. Oh and the stale odor, which I attribute to discarded snacks by the young one(that's been solved).
I really hope someone out there can give me a hand with this... I don't wan't to get a new transmission if I don't actually need one... yet.

-Jer.

It is general consensus by conscientious A/T experts that flushing the A/T is not a good idea! Sediment particles can be stirred up I think is the reason which can cause problems.

Dealers with low morals or that are sold by the flush vendors on the process love to do it given half and excuse because it is so profitable! Here come the "we never had a problem " responses :D. I can already hear them coming...

However in your case since your A/T is already screwed up it probably did not hurt to try.

Sorry but that is all I got. If flushing, getting rid of a particulate source or cleaning a valve body does not fix it, it is a little beyond me. And electronic A/Ts I think no longer have valve bodies...

I suspect that changing the brains which may be the ECU may not fix the problem either. You need to find a real expert that can figure what is actually going on without just trying to fix it by replacing components in a trial and error method.

If you do go that route you might ultimately end up with "Replace A/T"!

Good Luck!

-Rg

There are plenty of different possibilities, but I'll just throw this into the mix: there have been known issues with the throttle position sensors on your model year CR-V. Eventually you'd expect to get a DTC P0122 for a faulty TPS voltage value, but until the sensor degrades to the point of going out of range on it's feedback, you won't have a MIL or trouble code stored but can have all kinds of shift point and other drivability concerns. If the TPS turns out to be the fault, it is still not a cheap repair, but less than the cost of transmission replacement - particularly when transmission replacement isn't needed.

If you can find a technician you trust, he/she can test drive the vehicle while recording data with the HDS scan tool and then line plot the TPS parameter - if the TPS voltage isn't smooth, then that may well be worth investigating further.

Interesting! Line plot as a smoothness filter!

I believe that my AutoTap software will do that for you automatically. If it monitors the TPS as one of the parameters which it should.

-Rg