Just got a used honda rancher form a friend It won't come out of 5th gear. Is this a common problem with the rancher es? What does it take to fix it?

the es uses a solenoid to shift, it can be manually shifted too, there should be an emergency shift lever in the tool kit, put it on the exposed shaft and try and get it to shift. es models do not like to shift many gears when stopped. Always down shift them as you are coming to a stop. Also the transmission uses the same oil as the motor, a good cycle rated synthetic oil will make it work better too.

i have a 03 es doing the same thing.the solenoid clicks like it is downshifting,but dosen't shift.mine was shut off in 5th gear.i have tried rocking kicking and pulling.nothing works.when i pull this one down, i'll let you know.the manual shifter does the same thing,you can shift down,but dosen't come out of gear.