# What causes a car to shift harshly into gear?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-causes-a-car-to-shift-harshly-into-gear/16981>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [July 20, 2008, 9:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-causes-a-car-to-shift-harshly-into-gear/16981 "2008-07-20T21:10:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![oldsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e0b2c6/32.png) [@oldsfan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldsfan)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2008, 9:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-causes-a-car-to-shift-harshly-into-gear/16981/1 "2008-07-20T21:10:45Z")

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This is only a symptom when the car is parked. If I shift into drive, the car kicks or jerks slightly and is ready to go. Same thing for reverse. No problems after the initial shift – car runs and drives perfectly and smoothly. Thanks for your help

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**Author:** ![disastar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@disastar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/disastar)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2008, 11:01pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-causes-a-car-to-shift-harshly-into-gear/16981/2 "2008-07-20T23:01:53Z")

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Is this a mid-90s Honda?

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**Author:** ![joe71c10](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/joe71c10/32/867_2.png) [@joe71c10](https://community.cartalk.com/u/joe71c10)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2008, 12:08am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/what-causes-a-car-to-shift-harshly-into-gear/16981/3 "2008-07-21T00:08:46Z")

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Does it idle too high?