Okay, I'm sorry if this is REALLY redundant and you've heard this a million times before, but I'm not sure what's going on with my tranny and I thought it best to ask you knowledgable folks here.

About two weeks ago I noticed as I was parking in my driveway that after I put the car in reverse, stopped, then went to drive again, I pressed the gas and I wasn't moving. I moved the shifter to neutral, then back to drive, and it moved. This happened again a few days later.

Then last night something stranger occured--I was driving back from the grocery store going about 30-35mph on a flat road, and the RPMs jumped from 2000 to about 4000-5000! I let off the gas for a second or two, pressed down again, and it seemed to be normal. I then stopped at a red light a few hundred feet up, and when I hit the gas to go again, it was the same problem as in my driveway--I wasn't moving! I did the same thing, put it in neutral, then carefully back to drive, and it moved. I drove the rest of the way home with no problems whatsoever.

So my question is, is this a sign my tranny is dying? It seems to be randomly slipping from Drive to Neutral when I'm at a stop, and I've only had the one occurance of it slipping gears while in motion. Would I need a new tranny now, or is there a way to fix this relatively cheaply? I'm going to have to go to a mechanic soon, and I don't want them ripping me off, saying I need a $2000+ rebuild if I don't really.

Anyway, I'm not so knowledgable about trannies and stuff, so sorry if this question sounds overly simplistic!! Thanks very much. My car is a 93 auto GXE with only 77,600 miles on it.

 

common problem

check your fluid level with the car running if its low add and drive. if its fine my guess is you need a rebiuld

 

You having to move the shifter back and forth makes me think it might also be the shifter bushing, although when you were driving and it did it it makes me wonder. My 93 GXE did that, I'd put it in drive and it wouldnt do anything, and I'd sort of bump the shifter down toward D and it would go fine.

 

this is very common on the max. When you put it in did,just tap it a little towards "2" and it should engage....My tranny was shifting kind of slow from 2nd to 3rd when cold and everything is perfect now after I did a flush so may be that's all you need....

 

Thanks for the replies everyone.
I checked the fluid levels as you guys suggested. I just did the cold test, but it was below the "COLD" mark, and sorta BLACK. AGH!!! This tells me 1)I need to get a flush, and 2)I didn't have enough fluid in my car. I'm going to get a flush today w/ a new filter, and I'm hoping that will fix my problems for awhile.

 

I would recommend doing some tasks before thinking on a rebuild. My max has had some similar issues.

1) When you put the selector lever to “D” and it doesn’t engage on gear, the tray to push the lever a little bit towards the “2” with out pressing the lever button. If the transmission engages on gear there is a big chance the bushing is totally worn. Check the stickies.

2) If the transmission disengages the gear when coming to a stop, that could be something else, like incorrect fluid level or fluid is depleted, or something related to electronics.

Number 2 happened to my max last summer, the weather was really hot, and since you are in Hawaii I suppose you have warm weather by now.

I would recommend:

1) Install a tranny cooler to avoid fluid depleting due overheating.
2) Drain the ATF, only about 3 quarts will come out, add an additive like gunk transmedic or Lucas, refill to the proper level with ATF OR do a FLUSH.
3) Clean TCU connectors and under the hood connectors, check wiking web page for details on the stickies.
4) I you mind pushing the lever a little bit down to get the tranny engaged, replace the bushing. My tranny is been like this for several years.

You will feel the difference immediately.

 

same thing happens to me when i put the car in drive, i have to tap the shifter backwards a bit, and then it works fine... but sometimes, when i park on my inclined driveway, and i try to put the car in reverse, it really takes some muscle to shift it... and also, my dad's old maxima had the problem, when on a highway, it just slipped of ouf gear, or downshifted by itself, and revecd up to 5k.... he learned to let go of the gas and just keep on going... but my problem is that when its supposed to shift from 1st to 2nd gear, it takes a while, and my engine revs up to 5k, then it finally shifts, causing the wheels to spin... looks like i have a turbo or something... but what bothers me the most, is when i try to start off an intersectoin, the car starts shuddering, and it feels like its gonna stall, like it would if i had a manual... is the tranny gone, or should i just flush the fluid/replace filter... btw how would i do a FLUSH... i guess theres a difference between draininig it and flushing it...

 

My Maxima had bad shifter bushings and would sometimes not go from park to drive, without first going to reverse, or going to "1st" gear on the automatic shift PRND21. Occasionally climbing hills, the transmission would "slip", and rev high. So I was worried about a bad tranny. But in my case it was all fixed with the shifter bushings. On an old tranny, and all 3rd gens are old, I would NOT flush the tranny. Do a drop the pan, put a new filter and refill the tranny service. NOT a FLUSH! And I'd fix the bushings. You could try a auto tranny diagnostics test also-check some old posts.

 

Well, I couldn't get an appt until monday morning, so I'll have a tranny service center check it out then. I've driven it today and yesterday with no slipping problems at all. Pardon my ignorance but why is a flush so bad for a 3rd gen maxima?? I thought that was a good thing to do, as it gets out all the gunk and you fill the tranny with fresh new liquid.

Also, is driving in "comfort" mode better for your tranny than in "power" mode?

 

I looked through the stickies, and apparently missed what ever is there on the shifter bushings. Could someone direct me? Thanks!

 

Okay, I was told these were sealed transmissions and once they start to slip, the had to be rebuild, there was no saving them. Also they said you could not change the filter because it was sealed. You guys are saying I can change the filter? I turned my O/D off, it does not slip as much then when I have it on.

 

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Update on this. I took my car into a transmission shop last week. They did an inspection under the front end, computer diagnostics, and a roadtest. They found the shifter bushing was missing, and the fluid was dark brown. So they replaced the shifter bushing (as some people here suggested), put in fresh new fluid, and now it shifts smooth and I have no probs! Only cost me $100 total. Just goes to show, probs w/ the tranny do not automatically equate to needing a "rebuild".

 

Good it works for now.

Brown oil tells possibly of problems which new oil does not repair. Or severe overloading at some phase. Might also be that the solenoids are starved.

Still: Check out your computer system and CLEAN all connectors to take out the solenoid low voltage possibility.

 

Definately check the connectors on the TCU, it can only help. Also, consider a tranny cooler.