I have a 97 ES with 103,000 miles. I heard the ES tranny was weak and when the car shifts out of 1st it is a little hard, nothing extremely bad but it's not smooth. The other gears seem fine. Is this just an ES thing or is this foreshadowing transmission failure? Thanks

 

Sounds like you need to get a ATF power flush and refill soon. When was the last time you did this for your auto tranny? If never is the answer, get it done ASAP.

 

how often should it be done?

 

30 to 50k mile intervals.