Transmission Traumas?

ashokvsharma

I have a 98 sonata which gives the same jerking motions. Any transmission shop is asking me 350-400$ just to see what the problem is!

I believe that this problem is caused by
(1) Driving frequent short distances
(2) Driving under extremely cold or high temperatures
(3) High Idling

Any help will be greatly appreciated on how to correct this without buring my pocket.

marquitta

PLEASE HELP!!! I have a 1995 Chrysler Cirrus. I just brought the car maybe a month ago. While driving a week after I brought it, the car kinda jerked and then wouldn't shift into gear. The Odometer was blinking on and off, and I couldn't read the mileage. I took it to a transmission shop, in which they told me, I needed a rebuilt transmissing and that it would cost me 1400 dollars. I paid the money, they fixed the problem and the car ran fine for maybe a week. A week later the car did the same thing, but only this time the odometer is still fine I can now read the mileage, but the car jerks and then wont go into gear. I took the car back to the shop and when I got there the mechanic drove the car and it was shifting fine, he told me something about this type of car sometimes you have to turn the car off for about 10 seconds and turn it back on and it should shift fine. Well again this happens often and turning the car off and on does work, but Im not sure this is normal. Well weeks later the trans totally went, it wouldn't shift into gear at all couldn't go in reverse or drive, well I had a warranty on the work so they fixed it for free. Now, I got the car back and it is still doing the same thing. I can be driving I feel a jerk and the Rpm needle goes all the way up pass 3 and then wont shift. I turn the car off then its fine for a little while then it happens again. Oh sorry let me not forget, when I was on the highway the car shifted fine, but at about 70 miles per hour, the Check Engine light turned on. Can someone please tell me, whats going on???????????

marquitta

Joe Im no professional because as you see I am looking for answers as well, but most places that specializes in transmissions, will diagnos it for free. I dont know where you have been, but i took my car three different places got three checks and didn't pay for any of them.

caroe

Hi, I have a 2004 Dodge Stratus, with 44000 miles. Our car began making a whine/ chatter noise. We took it to the dealer @ approx. 35000 miles. they checked the car and stated that Chrysler was aware of the problem but did not have a fix for at this time, but they would call as soon as they did. This was November 2004, I called Chrysler January 2005 because it was getting worse the Chrysler Rep. instructed me to call my dealer back. I called my dealer back, they instructed me to bring the car in. They were going to work on the transmission
They kept my car for 4 days with no work being done when we inquired to see if the work was complete. We found out no work had been started, because parts were on order. We took our car home and returned it when the parts came in 4 days later. With repairs made the noise was improved but that is when we noticed that you the gear shift could move from reverse, neutral, drive, and low by just touching the gear shift, and not by pushing the button. We returned the car to service and they stated that they could not duplicate the problem, and it was normal to go from drive to neutral
The clincher came when we saw an accident and was trying to lend assistance our car was parked on a hill and began to roll down the hill and off the side of the road into an embankment.
After speaking to the dealers General Manger he wanted to trade us into another car, which would put us further into debt.
Chrysler's position on this matter is that they "respectfully decline responsibility".
If anyone else has a similar problem with their Stratus please let us know

Never again burned Chrysler / Dodge owner times 4 but not again!!! :mad:

jakewilliams

Hi, I have a 2000 Saturn LS with an automatic transmission (purchased used with 76k miles, now has 94k miles) and I am having a transmission issue. Every so often (have not seen any pattern with regard to temp outside, temp of vehicle, or length of trip) the Service light will come on (not the Check Engine Soon light) and it will shift up very roughly. If I turn off the car for a few minutes, the light will turn off and the car will start shifting normally again. I took it to the local Saturn dealer and they couldn't find anything right away, they wanted to do more diagnostics that would have been in the hundreds of dollars. I tried taking it to Autozone but the ODB-II does not show any errors from the transmission, even if I turn off the car while the light is on and plug in the ODB-II right away. I just had the transmission fluid and filter changed, and it started happening again on the way back from the garage. Has anyone seen this before? I'm trying to figure out what is going on without paying a ton of money for diagnostics.

Thanks,
Jake Williams
Huntsville, AL

roadrunner44

I have a 98 Park Ave w/68K miles. The trasmission has begun to cause a shudder under heavy acceleration. Fluid is up, color and smell OK. Any ideas what my developing problem might be?

Mr_Shiftright

Transmission or engine mounts come to mind, especially if some oil has leaked on them.

the_kat

Hi fishing1000,
did you find out what went wrong/ happened after you replaced the transmission fluid of your 99 Escort? I am experiencing a similar problem. Please let me know if you did find out what went wrong/ happened.
Thanks,
The_Kat
(baraka_28@yahoo.com)

desi1

Good Afternoon,

For the last 2 days, it's giving me a strange problem. At times, when in neutral, the RPMs run high, around 2,000. The acceleration is good and it corresponds with the rpm, i.e., the clutch should be transferring the torgue properly. I can quickly speed up to 60 - as usual. However, at other times, the idling is rough, the car shakes, and the acceleration is very slow, even when I press the padle to the floor. There is a fluttering noise coming from the engine when this happens. There is no trend that I could observe when I shut the car off and start it again.

Could this be bad spark plugs? If not, any suggestions?

Car has about 90,000 miles and the plugs were change 4 year (=17,000 miles) ago.

Thank you,

SS

2000maxima

Hello, all. I'm new to this forum. I came here with a problem with my recently purchased 2000 Nissan Maxima. It's my first car. It has 166,000 miles , but looks great, never had any body damage, a new clutch, and new leather. That's beside the point. (5-spd Manual transmission).

The first couple days the transmission and engine ran flawlessly. The last couple days, when the engine is fully warm, I've noticed that when I am about to stop, as I go from any gear to the middle (neutral), the engine will do one of three things:

1. Idle at 1000 rpm until I am fully stopped, then it will go down to about 700 rpm.

2. Go down to between 250 and 400 rpm, then spring back up to normal idle range at about 700.

3. Go down to between 250 and 400 rpm, then cut out, causing me to have to start the car again.


I talked with some people at school, and I get a bunch of different answers. One has told me it could either be the battery, alternator, or ____ice convertor (something that controls emmissions?).

Another said it might be spark plugs.


Please let me know of what might be wrong and how much it may cost to fix. Thanks,

Parker Woodruff
(who is hoping not to spend much more on his first car).

Mr_Shiftright

Well everybody at your school is wrong, first off. Your symptoms sound sensor-related or perhaps a vacuum leak.

You need to have the codes read first off. Try Autozone, they will often read the codes for you for free.

Then come back here with the codes and we geniuses can do some "educated" guessing rather than shot in the dark stuff which really doens't make a lot of sense.

Once you have the codes, repost in "Technical Questions" not here, and be sure to give us, once again, year make model engine size and symptoms.

alcan

The high idle rpm sounds like a vacuum leak. Has the Check Engine light come on?

desi1

No, the engine light has not come on. The guy at Auto Zone said that there won't be any error codes if the light has not come on. Any thoughts?

lamg81

my car started accelerating very slowly, the rpm go up but the car takes a minute to get moving, i haven't changed the fluid recently but the color is red and doesn't look dirty

icrman

It sounds like an ISC problem. Not sure if that vehicle uses an ISC motor or not.
Idle Speed Control ----> ISC

If it is a motor the drive system can go bad on some vehicles, mine did one time. Mine was sporatic, till one day it stuck holding the throttle open. RPM's way up there 4000 or so. On the newer cars this takes over the function of what the old dashpot used to do, among other things.

mer71

Hi- have you found out anything else about this? I have a 3 year old Audi with a CVT and it's had problems since day one, but Audi has sworn until now that there was absolutely nothing wrong. Now that it''s out of warranty, they have suddenly "discovered" something wrong and are recommending a complete replacement of the transmission (which will cost more than the car is worth at this point). One of their mechanics told me "unofficially" that there have been tons of problems with this type of transmission, but that Audi will never admit to it. You are right that they are having problems and not coming clean with it!!!!!

frank22

Hi. My Chrysler New Yorker has a 3.3 litre engine, 6 cylinder, and about 45,000 miles on it. The transmission vibrates when going between 35 and 40 miles per hour. Seems to be struggling to go into over drive. Has anyone had this problem and what did you do about it?

raul2

I have an Accord EX 92 with 90K Miles. The Auto/Trans. start with small slippage when shifting from 1st. to 2nd. about 40% of the time. The rest of the time it works perfect. I use Honda trans-fluid. The repair shop wants to do a complete overhaul charging above $2000. Could it be the problem in the solenoids valves? Should I go for the complete overhaul of the Auto/Transmission?
Anyone had a similar problem?

df2000

Try drain and fill with dexron |||, it less slipery than honda atf-z1, may be it help.
Another way, some people try auto-rx (look on the web) in their tranny with good results.

raul2

The Honda manual recomend dextron II for this A/T. Do you believe I should try this before the dextron III ?

joe3891

Dexron III is backward compatiable, I doubt you can still find Dexron II. This summer GM is coming out with Dexron VI, it is also backward compatiable.

raul2

I found some Dextron II and will try it.
Do you or anyone know what function the lock-up solenoid valve and the shift control solenoid valve do on the Accord Auto/Trans.?

ashokvsharma

I had this problem on my Hyundai when I had done an oil change. I took it to Cottman's and they asked to me go for a rebuild which would have cost me $1000. I didnt and now after some miles of driving, the problems are gone!

It just that I am worried when I am going to get the problems back.

zosogod3

I have a 1992 Ford Explorer 4x4 with a rebuilt transmission. The problem is, when I park on any semblence of an incline, it won't shift into any gears. If I give it a little gas, the vehicle feels as if it wants to go somewhere, but it won't. The only way to get it to go is to give it a lot of gas (and yes, I know this is bad) so that it clunks rather loudly into gear. There is a small leak in the transmission, though I don't know where exactly, there is just a very small puddle on the driveway if it sets for a day or two. I keep an eye on the fluid level and quality, I add a little as I need to. The vehicle drives relatively smoothly as well, except for one condition. If i'm going 65-75 on the highway using cruise control, when the vehicle has to slow down after a small gradient and accelerate again, it shudders considerably until i tap the gas manually. I don't know if this sounds familiar, but if anyone can help me it would be greatly appreciated.

julian3

Car will shift while not running, won't when car is running. Have replaced master and slave cylinders. Any ideas?

Mr_Shiftright

If you can observe that the slave cylinder is actually working the actuator rod to the clutch's throw-out bearing, and giving it a good push, then you need a new clutch or something's busted in there.

The ONLY other thing I can think of is that your clutch disk is stuck to the flywheel, due to the car being inoperative for a while. There is a way to free it up but it's a bit adventurous. Basically you start the car up in gear, chug away in first, and then apply and release the gas pedal in the hope that you can free up the clutch disk. Be really careful where you do this.

jlinebaugh

I got this 1991 Chevy W/T 1500 (6 cylinder) about 7 months ago. The previous owner did not take care of the truck. It is an ugly duckling due to the paint in worse shape than most 30year old dead vehicles in a scrap yard. But it is my only transportation right now. When I got it, the engine oil looked like it had 20,000 miles on it and the transmission fluid has a funny smell, or maybe it is just old. I did not change the transmission fluid. The odom says 147,000 miles (if not tampered with) It leaks engine oil from somewhere and burns it. It does not leak transmission fluid.

Here's the problem. It has been working fine for the last 7 months I've had it. About every two weeks I will make a 300 mile round trip. About 3 weeks ago, I noticed that it was taking slightly longer to shift to 2nd gear. Then a few days later it took even longer, but once it shifted to 2nd it shifted to all other gears fine. Now, it red lines (or close to it) before shifting to 2nd and 3rd is slow to shift too but not as bad as first, not yet at least. Overdirve has quit working all together.

It downshifts fine. If I step OFF the pedal at 60 (not in overdirve of course) it DOES NOT stick in that gear and the engine RPM quckly goes down without affecting the ride--just like you would expect with any properly functioning automatic transmission/vehicle.

I heard from a friend of mine that if you drop the tranny fluid in an old truck I will start to have problems...well, I am having problems anyway. I did pump out through (transmission) dip stick 1 quart of fluid and replaced with Lucas transmission conditioner. I have been running it for 2 days and no change.

Is there a sensor or something that I could change? Change fluid/filter?...I do not have many tools or much money right now (about $100-$130) Please advise if you can. Thank you!!!! Jerry L

baxla

new here, so i apologize in advance if i am not following protocol.

1992 chevy truck transmission vibrates at idle. vibration goes away when i hit the gas, or come to a complete stop. engine is fine. runs very smooth. problem is worse in reverse. it seems to "chug" until i tap the accelerator. could it be the transmission bands or something? i know engines very well, not trannys.

also... it only does this after warming up. not cold.

thanks all

scoty

Hi there. I have a chrysler neon in the UK, automatic, yr 2000. It recently bled the transmission fluid all over the road due to a leaky pipe, and started to lose transmission power. When this happened I high revved the engine to get transmission to work (thinking I had a sticking problem), until I lost all transmission power completely - and then I realised it was a leak.

The shop replaced the transmission cooling system with one of their own and put new transmission fluid in. For first day there was no problem except that the revs seemed to be higher than before when changing up between 20-30 mph, and the move from a standing start seemed to need more revs to get going than before.

But today there has been a heavy vibration and delay when moving with medium to high revs from a standing start, and some kind of transmission slippage can be heard. I was worried that my high revs when the fluid leaked may have screwed the transmission - but reading this site suggests that there is a lot to understand about fluid, pressure, sensors, etc that could be my problem due to the shop fitting their own kit and fluid. Any diagnosis of this would be appreciated - and advice on what to do about it.

Mr_Shiftright

Good chance you might have damaged something, in particular the clutch disks. It would be good to know how the fluid looked when it was removed by the shop. If it was very dark red/brown and smelled like burning cork then you definitely have damage.

scoty

Thanks for the quick response Mr Shiftright.

I think most of the fluid was lost on the road - but it looked pretty clean (light purple) to me as is trickled away! I didn't smell anything afterwards but I did see a little oil 'smoke' when I revved the engine - though I think this was the leaking fluid burning on the radiator, where it was dripping down.

Is there any chance that it can't be the disks, given that it operated OK for a day without slippage? Assuming it is the disks, is this a major repair and is there any pointers I can give the shop to checking it out? They are specialists in automatic transmissions, and so I would hope they know about typical problems.

Is it ok for me to continue drifving the car or is this likely to cause further damage?

isellhondas

Sorry to tell you this but it sounds like that transmission is toast.

A transmission shop won't need any pointers. They can tell by driving it around the block. Maybe they can find a good used one to save some dollars since an expensive rebuild could exceed the value of that Neon if it's rough/high miles.

Mr_Shiftright

Given that the transmission was operated without fluid I think some damage is inevitable. You might have some excuse to check the electronics when you get delayed shifts or no shifts but for slippage like you are describing, it doesn't sound like an electronics issue.

And no, I wouldn't drive the car anymore if I were you.

Generally an automatic transmission is "overhauled" rather than rebuilt---that is, the parts that are undamaged (still in factory spec) are re-used and the damaged parts replaced. The variables include whether your pump is damaged and how much debris there is in the torque converter. With a rebuilt transmission, everything is replaced with new whether it is good or not---most shops don't do that, nor do you have to.

pjregal

02 Neon 50k miles 5 speed. I couple of days ago it started getting difficult shifting into reverse. As of today it will not go into reverse..Hot/cold engine..clutch in/out..switching from 1st then to reverse...NOTHING WORKS.. I have tried every imaginable variation. All other gears shift smoothly and feel no difference in clutch.....Any Ideas?.....I've never had a good experience with transmission repairs

spin360

Howdy! I drive a 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP with 158K miles. I've been pretty good about changing Trans Filter/Fluids every 50K miles. I'm about 4000 miles past my third Filter/Fluid change/Flush, and suddenly the last two days I've noticed that my transmission slips and shifts roughly between all shifts, but most notably from a dead stop and the 1-2 shift. When first accelerating from a stop, it "slams" into 1st. If I baby it, it will shift up to 4th gear with no problems and cruise along the highway fine. Downshifts are perfectly smooth when I coast to a stop. Interestingly enough when I first start the car, everything is fine... the problem seems to occur when the engine is hot. When I first drive away in the AM, shifts seem perfectly fine. Also the last few days, the temperatures have been 90+ outside, and I've been using the A/C, so perhaps the extra heat is a contributing factor? I see no leaks and the trans fluid is still pink with no bad smell. Is there any Trans. additive worth trying before I take my car to the local AAMCO or dealership? Thanks!

mommeeme7

Hi!

I have had my '97 Bonneville for about 4 months. Bought it used with no warrenty (of course). Had a complete check done before purchase and everything panned out clean. Here's the trouble.... about 3-4 weeks ago, we noticed a hesitation when going into reverse. Really didn't think much of it at the time. Then we started feeling it bog down while in OD, going up hill. We started putting it manually into D. I only use the OD on the highway anyway, and D around town or on windy back roads. (Lots of those where I live....)

Anyway, two days ago, when starting from a stop sign the front end shuddered really bad, had no acceleration and just sounded awful. After the shudder stopped, we got full acceleration and went on. Soon after, I noticed it slipping out of gear. Yesterday, we babied it around town but had some scarry moments when I couldn't get it to shift into any gear while going up a hill. Thats when I decided to PARK it!! My husband put some fluid in to see if maybe that was the cause. We just had it flushed about 6 weeks ago..... We took it for a short drive after that to see if that was the problem. Once again, it wouldn't go into gear so it got towed home. Luckily that was only about a mile.

Anyone have any suggestions? We live about 30 miles from nowhere here and I have to have a car. So the quicker I can get back on the road, the better!!

Thanks!
Becky

boom

Alright. First off, I'm new here, so hello all, and nice to meet you. Now, secondly, here is my quandary.

I'm sixteen, and I just recently purchased my first car . It's a 1981 (older than me!) Honda Accord LX, hatchback model, MT, with 680,000 miles on it, most of which are original owner miles. It has been serviced more than regularly by the sweet old woman who owned it, and hasn't needed any major repairs. We have the complete service records, and everything checks out. I've had the car for, oh, about 3-4 months now, and after learning to drive stick, the car drove just fine for the longest time. Just recently, I have noticed that the actual clutch pedal has alot more play in it, causing a shuddery ride since it basically tricks you into letting the clutch out too fast. Now, I've adjusted my driving style to compensate these last few days, but I'm wondering what could possibly be causing the problem. The manual will be here tonight, and I'm going to check it out. Anyway, any ideas are welcome.

Thanks very much,
--Boom

Oh, ps.. I have noticed that lately it kind of sticks going into fifth gear, and the gears are sometimes a tad noisy downshifting into 1st, but other than that, just the unusually loose clutch pedal.

ratinski

I have a 94 Chevy Cavelier. Tonight, when I was driving home, the gear shift suddenly felt loose, and I can't get it to go into fifth or reverse. Any ideas what might be wrong with it?

dgoodell

My car is a '93 Chevy Lumina with 96,000 miles. It sat in my father's garage for a few years before I reassembled it. It has a rebuilt engine and a bucnh of other stuff. Sadly I have been noticing some problems since this was all done. The speedometer is reading about 10% too fast. It seems to 'lurch' on the highway in the highest gear when I let off the gas, and seems to slow down a lot when I'm coasting and also seems kinda noisy although that could be my imagination Like it's lightly engine braking maybe?. The lurching seems possibly to be the locking solenoid. Also I think it coasts better in neutral. The problem that makes me most concerned is when I'm slowing to a stop there is an bad grinding noise coming from the front end. Just slowing down doesn't cause it, and it only happens just before the car stops. This is intermittent, but is occuring with more frequency now in the summer. In fact it MAY be connected to the temp, I don't think it happened at all in the winter.

Your thoughts would be appreciated. I don't know of the fluid or filter has EVER been changed either!!!

isellhondas

680,000 miles??

Or did you mean 68,000 miles? I have heard of Hondas racking up some tremendous miles so I guess it's possible.

Your description points to a bad clutch. Learning how to drive a stick on that car may have contributed to this.

If that car really does have that many miles, the price of the clutch probably exceeds the value of the car.

rai70

I have a Chevrolet Van Beauville 1993 G30 with a 454 V8 Engine and 4L80 Transmission. Because of poor gas mileage, I replaced the engine with a 6.2L V8 Diesel from a Beauville 1986 Van. Now, being all the computer harnesses disconnected the transmission is not working properly. Very poor torque... extremely slow driving uphill. What can I do???

kadiebug12

My sister bought a used 1996 Chrysler Town & Country Mini-Van 3 days ago. A mechanic sold it to her on behalf of the owner (the owner was older and naive about business matters). The mechanic indicated to her that he had always been the owners mechanic and had recently overhauled the transmission in the van. On the for sale sign, it even says "New Transmission". Well, she drove the car happily for almost 3 days and it was perfect. Then, she was on the freeway and the vehicle started to lurch and jerk, she exited the freeway and when she stopped the vehicle would all of a sudden no longer go into gear. No matter what gear she puts it in it's idle (though the engine sounds fine). The vehicle is inoperable. She called the mechanic who sold it to her on behalf of the owner and he said it wasn't his problem. So, she had the vehicle towed to her home today, not knowing what else to do. She is a teacher w/3 children so has a VERY limited income (plus she just paid cash for the van). I know she'll have to tow it to a shop for a diagnosis, but what we're wondering is, what are the chances that it's a part in the transmission that needs fixed vs the entire transmission. No previous slipping of gears, no previous lugging of the gears, transmission fluid was full and clear, but she did indicate when the van stopped, there was a "burning" smell. Thoughts/ideas on if it's the entire transmission that's shot or if maybe she just needs some part repair or something.

karigan

I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with my vehicle before going through an expensive determination process at the shop and was hoping someone in the know could perhaps help me figure it out.

My car recently lost its ability to operate in reverse. I have an automatic car and the reverse seems now to be neutral, neutral seems to be drive and drive is still drive. I'm wondering what might be wrong and how much it might cost.

I'm just looking for some information to help guide me along the way. I feel I've been taken advantage of because I'm a woman and I don't know really anything about cars.

Thanks so much for any advice.

Mr_Shiftright

Have her call her local District Attorney's office and/or Bureau of Consumer Affairs, or if that fails, go to Legal Aid and find out about Small Claims Court. DO NOT DELAY and don't let anyone else touch the transmission. The mechanic might think it's not his problem but he definitely has a problem, especially if he wrote the sign that says "new transmission" and especially if he sold a used car without a license. I'm not giving you legal advice, just pointing out areas that might prove fruitful to you. It's worth a shot. Even if not legally liable for some reason, the man should "do the right thing". Good luck, and sorry about this. Very lousy deal.

Mr_Shiftright

A diagnostic shouldn't be that expensive. You need good solid info before you make a decision. If you have to spend $100 for a diagnosis from a reputable shop then do it. Tell them beforehand that you expect ANSWERS, not "we don't know we have to tear it apart"---because once they tear it apart you have lost any freedom to make a decision---you HAVE to fix it. And if they say the trans is bad, you should request evidence to back that up. Good shops give you plenty of information.

Personally I think you're going to have to probably suck it up on this one but I hope maybe it's something electronic- or even linkage related--newer transmissions can sometimes do that.

stef8

I want to replace the synchromesh transmission fluid (1994 Cavalier 5 speed manual trans.) and I'm having a hard time locating the drain and fill plugs.

Could somebody give me a hint?

Thanks for your time!

alcan

GM Cavalier/Sunbird/Skyhawk/Firenza 1982-1994
Manual Transaxle
FLUID RECOMMENDATIONS
1988-94 5-speed manual transaxles use Synchromesh® transmission fluid, GM part no. 12345349.

The filler/dipstick should be here:
http://www.autozone.com/images/cds/jpg/small/0900823d800eec44.jpg

The drain plug is located on the bottom of the transaxle case.

stef8

Thanks Alcan for the infos!

Did it this afternoon, everything went fine.

alcan

Glad to hear it went well.

rai70

I have a Chevrolet Van Beauville 1993 G30 with a 454 V8 gasoline engine with a 4L80 automatic transmission. Because of the poor gas mileage, I replaced the engine with a 6.2L V8 Diesel from a Beauville 1986 Van. I left the computer in place and it is connected. The computer harnesses from the sensors and the distributor are disconnected. Now, the transmission is not working properly. Very poor torque... extremely slow uphill driving. What can I do??? Should I replace this transmission with a 700R4?? Or any other kind. Is there no way to make the 4L80 working??? Please help.