Hi i am new on here i have a automatic 1996 nissan maxima that has a hard shift from 1 to second gear, like when i first start out from park it dodnt shift till like 6000 rpm, the i let off the gas and it shifts fine from there or when at stop sign, has like a hesitation. was told could be trans sensor. Please someone let me know what it is? as its my daily driver. i love the car. motor only has 76,000 miles and 150,000 on body.

 

Have you checked the fluid level/condition (red is good, brown/black is bad -- must be checked with engine running) to rule that out? I only ask because you didn't mention having checked fluids.

 

park it running/warmed up on a flat surface and check the trans fluid condition and level, first thing to do

 

sorry i didnt mention that. yes the trans fluid is red as the day i put it in two years ago when bought the car and swapped motors. when cold shifts at a lower rpm but i was told possible 1-2 gear sensor or something of that nature.

 

I had a similar problem. Mine would delay the 1-2 shift, but it would shift around 3-4K rpm. It never got as high as 6K. I ended up replacing the tranny solenoids with the "updated" kit. That fixed the problem. If you decide you're going to go that route, I can dig up the TSBs and part number (the kit was only around $90, as opposed to new solenoids which run somewhere around $200-300, I think).

 

one of your solenoids is bad. Usually the 1-2 shift is the first to go and then on down the line as you can imagine. If you swapped the motors its a simple job. Hard part is getting the tranny out and if you dont think that is hard then you are good to go