Hi, I dont know much bout cars but, I have an automatic transmission civic EX 1997. When I'm accelerating, the car when going into 3rd and 4th gears it revs up for like 1 second before the gear switches. Just happened today, what's the problem?

The engine revs, then you can feel the gear switch and it keeps moving again. It's really annoying when Im going at higher speeds like merging into a freeway because the revs are higher.

forgot to mention, probably doesnt matter but today it also just became super cold. Like -35 windchill.

Sounds like it's slightly slipped. Check the transmission fluid. Is it still reddish or is it black? Change the transmission fluid & see what happens.

your tranny's probably about to die.
happened to me, it got worse and worse.
luckily i got it warrantied.

same thing happened to friends 95 accord, must be an auto honda thing

Alright....I looked at the tranny dipstick. The stick was slightly oily but not really wet, but I didn't see any drop of fluid between the lines, just oily. Then I came back 10 min later and saw a small amount accumalate on the bottom of the dipstick and it was still pinkish....is this the problem? Should I just top it off? How many quarts does Honda civic take?

Replace the tranny fluid. For a Civic, as far as I remember is about 2.5 - 3 quarts for the tranny fluid.

check to see if MT redline or royal purple makes tranny fluid for automatics, they should. i switched to RP and now my shifts are like butter.

but it sounds more like your tranny may be on its last legs. low fluid is usually accompanied by grinding, jerkiness, or notchy shifts not slipping. im assuming your civic is pretty high mileage.

I topped it and it shifts smoother again now. 3rd and 4th still jerk a little bit but I think it's because the Tranny fluid seems to be leaking from the hose where it goes to the radiator.

ehhh....you have a oil hose going into the radiator? are you sure about that? i dont think there are hoses for transmission fluid.

^I think he meant the ATF cooler. some atf coolers are built into the radiator.