forester gear hesitation

[gordonjones]

when shifting our 99 forester (automatic) from reverse into drive there's a
couple second "hesitation" until the gear kicks in... often resulting in a
bit of a jerk since i've already started applying gas. in general, i guess
the transmission feels "loose".

any thoughts what could be the culprit... torque converter was one
suggestion.

thanks in advance.

 

[DAW]

We have a 2000 Forester with 50,000 miles, which was showing same symptoms
( and would shift hard from 1st to 2nd also). Transmission fluid was low, so
I had it flushed and filter changed. Has been running fine since. I suspect
the biggest culprit was the low fluid, but the flush and filter change
improved the problem also.

 

[LT]

Do others also recommend having their auto trayys flushed? I've heard it
can be harmful.
LT