Good news... they are going to fix my car.

I brought my car in for service today to have my slippage assessed. They had already ordered parts, after doing a short test drive last week. They called me moments ago to tell me that they were going to replace my solenoids in the tranny. They told me they had the incorrect parts afterall and they were overnighting the parts in for tomorrow. I asked if they found metal shavings in my transmission pan and the service advisor said he did not know. So they are going to let me keep my rental for a day on their dime.

Just wondering... are the new solenoids the equivalent of Don Cooper's VB upgrade? Almost looks like it from the TSB pictures and instructions.

 

Well.. my car now feels like what others have described the VB upgrade as doing. Shifts are firmer etc. Car feels like more of the torque is being used and when you let off the gas there is actually some engine brakeing. It also doesn't try to immeadiately shift into 12th gear when I'm cruising at 30 mph. Hit the gas and it downshifts with no hesitation. You getting the NEW NEW TCM too?

 

Woohoo!!! Congrats Paul! I've watched Don do the vb recalibration from start to finish and he didn't modify the solenoids.

 

So what were you doing in Texas or what was Don doing in Cali! I need to keep track of you.

Anyway.. does anyone know what is wrong with the solenoids? Perhaps Don's upgrade works around the fault in the stock ones?

 

Thanks for the additional info Kev. I guess the new solenoid valve assembly does something similar? Maybe it maintains higher pressure. I'm not sure if they are replacing my TCM again. I'll ask tomorrow. The TSB says to do the valve assembly repair first and then test. If slippage still occurs, install the new TCM.

So far, Gaithersburg Nissan (Maryland) has addressed every issue with my car, without argument. I give them high marks on all my survey's I return.

 

Jane and I flew him over to Cali to do our valvebodies.


I not sure, but I think the solenoid pumps fluid through the valvebody.

 

Wow.. you guys are all fancy. Did you make him an offer he couldn't refuse? Horse heads in his bed or anything?

 

Paul- I take it you had the original TCM replaced way back when....was the tranny still slipping to the point you could notice it pretty well? what prompted you to do the new TSB...was it because you saw it here or the TCM replacement didnt really make any difference....

I'm just wondering if its worth it to even visit my dealer on this....if I press and make a big deal about it they MAY replace it...I'm sure if I dropped it off saying I still sense a little slippage they'll just say "Seems fine to me" I'll bring up the TSB and they'll just say thats the only reason I think that there is slippage....wish I had a dealer near me like yours...

 

jnm, per the bulletin all the 2000 maxes are affected. Do you have any other dealer near you to try? I would say... I'm still feeling slippage (are you?). The new TSB shows solenoid as the first area to fix... not the TCM (although the TCM has been updated again). If your tranny is still feeling squishy it is definately worth it.

 

My transmission was slipping badly over the past few months, especially when the car was not fully warmed up. Sometimes even after 5-10 mintutes of driving, it slips under 75%+ throttle. I have shift delays up to 2 seconds long. (1 -> 2 shift) The original TCM helped for a good while. I was happy to see the new TSB. I knew I had a problem and the TSB confirmed it.

 

Punkdork... are you saying that you feel slippage after the new tranny install??

 

Paul...Cool stuff. Good you are getting your tranny fixed up. I went to my dealer and asked them to check mine out since it still feels mushy between 1st and 2nd. They said that they found nothing wrong. Mine doesn't slip between gears like you guys describe (1 or 2 sec shifts) but it is a bit soft. Well, if I start having problems, I guess I will be taking it to Rosenthal Nissan in Gaithersburg like Paul mentioned since I work in gaithersburg. I had the new TCM from the start, so maybe the tranny will hold up.

 

No no no I'm not having slippage... I was giving him a script to try with his dealer. Mine is GREAT now.. sorry for the confusion.

 

Well I am having some service done to my car and i took the service bulletin to them and they said that there was nothing wrong with my tranny. I got my car in december of 99 so i know that it has to have the bad tcm. So I dont' know what to do. I dont' want to have to go in there and be nasty. Any words of wisdom out there?

 

If you can feel major slip, make them go on a drive with you. If you are merely concerned and haven't felt slippage yet, talk to the Service Manager. The best way to get slippage I've found is to floor it up a steep hill.

If none of that works, take it to another dealer, rinse, lather, repeat.

 

The Solenoids were replace in my tranny and the thing shifts 100% better. The service manager stated that if this takes care of the problem then it is not necessary to change the tcm. They also replaced the front rotors due to warpage under the other tsb. Murdocks Nissan in Memphis, TN has been excellent. I have not had any problems with their service dept.

 

To follow through on this thread:

I brought my car in yesterday for my tranny service. It turned out they didn't have the right parts, but they gave me a free rental and overnighted the parts. I didn't have any metal shavings in my transmission pan, which is great. The replaced the solenoid valve assembly, fluid, and filter. Car shifts great now. They said that my TCM didn't need replacing. The one they replaced 7 months ago is okay.

They also replaced my head rests, since they kept becoming unclipped on the bottom.

Car is looking and running great. I'm 100% satisfied. Gaithersburg Nissan is fantastic.

Oh and my Autoweek came early today. Today is my day!

[Edited by Paul2kGXE on 02-01-2001 at 08:53 PM]

 

The shift is sooo much nicer isn't it? I was 2 inches away from ditching my car.. you probably saw the thread where I was gonna get an A4. Nissan saved a customer here and now I'm actually happy with my car!

 

I'm still fighting with my nissan dealership. The new WRX is looking nicer every day :P

 

Yes! and I was looking at the Passat. My dealer has saved Nissan from a defector.