I own a 2002 Honda Accord LE and live in central Indiana. Over the past couple winters, when I start my car after sitting outside in the cold, the first time I come to a stop sign, my car tends to lunge forward as if it is struggling to down shift. Since I know it tends to do this below freezing, I plan ahead for the lunge and push on the brakes to prevent hitting anyone in front of me. If I allow the car to warm up for a couple minutes, it does not lunge at the first stop. Any ideas?
Lunging forward at a stop is not a good sign for the transmission. What your feeling is the line pressure in the transmission coming up,(lunging), and then being lost.
First thing to do is check the transmission fluid level and condition. If the level is low add fluid to the proper level. If the transmission fluid is dark and has burnt odor to it, it means the the transmission fluid is burnt, and needs to be changed.
Tester
How high is the idle speed when it is cold? When was the last transmission fluid change? If never, your probably overdue.