Do I have limp home mode?

slmonahan89

I have a 2004 Chevy trailblazer LS 170k miles . 

I recently had a bad transmission leak. Turns out I have some pretty bad rust underneath and it deteriorated my Trans lines. As soon as I noticed the leak I took it to the shop. Mechanic fixed the leak and told me I'm all set. He said the car is still shifting pretty weird because the new fluid needs to run through everything. He told me to drive it for a while and it will basically fix itself. Well, after driving I noticed I can not get out of second gear. It just revs really loud and runs really hot. And I'm afraid to over heat so I don't let it do that. I don't know anything about cars so I did a little research and found limp mode. It's sounds pretty much exactly what's going on with my car. My questions are:

Can a Transmission leak cause limp mode?
How do you fix it? 
How much do you think it will cost? 
Is that even what I have? 

I bought the cat used 1 year ago and have kept up with all the maintenance on it. 

Please help! And thank you in advance for all the input. 

slmonahan89

I forgot to mention, only after I got it back from the shop my "check gages" light blinks occasionally and I do not have a engine light on. 

elias

for your vehicle "check gages" means any dashboard indicator is outside of normal range. most commonly *low on gas*. so in your case it appears consistent with normal shop use of some gas to verify proper operation for whatever they did.

as for the limp mode, yes a malfunctioning transmission could cause it for certain transmissions but maybe not yours, and as far as i know, it's not usually the transmission which causes ECM to enable limp-home mode. the stuck-in-second-gear may or may not be limp-home mode.

regardless of any of that, the mechanic's initial story to you sounds like top-notch horse excrement.
consider to give mechanic a chance to fix it properly for zero dollars cost to you.
there may be additional repairs pending and/or he may be trying to fleece you. opinion of a second/trusted mechanic may be helpful either to complete repairs or determine what the initial mechanic was up to.

thecardoc3

elias said:

for your vehicle "regardless of any of that, the mechanic's initial story to you sounds like top-notch horse excrement.

Well that's just what the OP needed, more fertilizer....

elias said:

consider to give mechanic a chance to fix it properly for zero dollars cost to you.
there may be additional repairs pending and/or he may be trying to fleece you. opinion of a second/trusted mechanic may be helpful either to complete repairs or determine what the initial mechanic was up to.

Exactly how can you justify expecting them to do anything beyond repairing the leak for free? If it was still leaking, and that is from the cooler lines, then yes that would be something they need to address but fixing the leak doesn't equal being responsible for the rest of the transmission. On top of that if the transmission was in limp in, then the system would definitely code and the check engine light should be on and the O.P. stated that it is not.

To the O.P.
This probably does need to be looked at by a technician, and its very likely that the transmission having been run low on fluid may have resulted in internal damage. With an older transmission a lot of wear would be normal and sometimes they just don't tolerate any issues and quickly fail if something goes wrong like this leak. It happens, its normal, and it isn't anyone's fault. Just be glad that you have someone who can handle this for you because when treated like that last post suggested its a wonder anyone ever bothers to learn how. Its most likely that while the shop you used can handle fixing the leak, internal transmission repairs might be beyond them.

isellhondas

Elias response is exactly why top notch techs are leaving the business and shopw are closing. It's so easy to blame everything on them.

" It never did that before you workied on it!" Ever hear that Cardoc?

thecardoc3

I like the one "I never noticed it before", at least that can be true. It doesn't necessarily mean that it was or wasn't doing it, it just means that they didn't pay any attention to it.

Riyan17

If your vehicle is exhibiting reduced performance or entering a "limp home mode," it suggests a fault in its operation. Limp home mode is a failsafe mechanism in modern cars designed to allow limited functionality to get you safely home or to a service station. Symptoms may include reduced power, limited RPM, or warning lights. Consult your vehicle manual or a mechanic for diagnostics and repairs.