99 camry hard shifting problem

Hey guys.
Recently, my 1999 Camry V6 XLE has been shifting from 1st to second really roughly. The other day, the check engine light was on, but is no longer lit when i start the car. The shifting in the rest of the gears SEEMS just a little bit rougher, but not much, than usual. Is it a problem with my clutch assembly? The car has only 40,000 miles on it and has always been driven smoothly (no redline shifting). I'd really appreciate your comments on this one. Thanks

Have you changed the gear lube in the transmission? New gear oil might smooth it out.

Nope, the only thing I do to the car is the regularly scheduled maintenance. If it were the gear lube, wouldn't all the gears be shifting hard?

Hard to tell. I would change the gear lube and find out. It might have gotten contaminated. This is the cheapest possible fix. Everything else I can think of involves tearing down the transmission.

Maybe someone else has a better idea. Seems like the clutch would affect all the gears also.

I would definatly go for new gear lube. Hard shifting happens, but if you let it go, youll end up with a new transmission, and not by choice....

It would be a good idea to find out why the check engine light was on,it's probably related.

Gear lube? Is that transmission fluid?

I hope so, otherwise, I dont think KY will work as good.

Gear lube is transmission fluid in a manual transmission. ATF is transmission fluid in an automatic transmission.

Thanks, surprised to learn they are different!