I've been reading threads on transmission problems but I'm still confused. I bought a 2002 maxima a month ago and it's shifted fine around town. Today I took it on an interstate trip and it did fine for the first 70 miles. Got off the exit and the last 20 was city driving. It was slipping on take off, hanging up in 1st gear, missing 3rd altogether, you name it. Got to my destination and the car sat an hour. Started driving back and it shifted and drove fine. Got close to home and same deal, slipping, really didn't want to go in overdrive, etc. Its about 90 degrees today and it seemed like that's what was hurting it. Fluid level is fine but condition isn't good. Car has 190k and the guy said the fluid has been changed before but it had to be 100k miles ago. I've read a lot about tranny coolers on here and is this one of the reasons? I'm thinking about changing out about 6 quarts tomorrow and adding some Lubegard Red in it. Anybody think that's a bad idea in my position??

 

Drain, pull pan and check for wear (metal shavings and dust), clean pan and reinstall, refill with ATF and the Lucas treatment.

 

Oh and don't flush it...

 

Yea, I wanted to be as gentle as possible. I was thinking of just pulling the line off the radiator and swapping out the quarts that way. Then drive for a week and see how it does. To be honest I'm a little gun shy though. I just went through this with a 2004 Grand Prix a year ago. Shifted funny , dropped the pan, replaced filter, a week later it was a paper weight. I'm frozen in fear now........

 

Id try something a little simpler first.I had a similar intermittent issue where my tranny wouldnt shift out of 1st gear or the torque converter would lock/unlock several times or not lock up at all when hot unless I let it sit for a while then restart.It ended up being the revolution sensor on the drivers side of the tranny.You have to pull back the plastic inner fenderwell to get to it.It takes about 10 minutes or less.That fixed my issue a few years ago.If youre worried about it failing I'd just let 4-5 quarts drain out then just refill it.

 

Great info. I went and read some threads on that sensor and it sounds similar to what I was dealing with. Would that sensor throw a code? A p0430 code has my service light working overtime so I wouldn't know until I can get it scanned. Rockauto sells the Dorman brand for 75 or is this a OEM or else part?

 

Dorman one is fine.

 

O/D light on the dash would blink sometimes if I saw it fast enough.It finally threw a code after a while.

 

It may have been flashing but I was too busy freaking out :laugh. Guess I will throw this sensor at it and see what happens.

 

Believe it or not seafoam transtune really cleans them up.

It sounds like a waste of money, but I recently used it on a POS honda v6 with over 200k. Shifts were very delayed, then it was slamming into gear. I thought it was toast b/c it's a pos honda. I put a whole bottle in that ****er and within a month it was shifting fine LOL (gradually got better).

 

Never tried the seafoam stuff before. I used Lucas on the Grand Prix but it was on its death bed already so it didn't do much. I've driven manuals most of my life and got sick of shifting and been driving automatics lately. I've found it difficult to find a used car that had its transmission serviced regularly. People get this glazed over look when you ask them about transmission fluid. Like it never occurred to them that it should be changed.

 

I forgot about revolution sensor. Yes, definitely check that first because it is so simple and fairly cheap. Make sure you go OEM with a new sensor.

 

when I had a 2003 auto it did that. I was going to install a trans cooler but then I found my 6 speed and sold it a year ago.

New owner still has it and tranny is fine...

 

Had a similar problem on my 00. Turns out the filter screen was pretty gunked up, and was preventing proper circulation of fluid - and running entirely too hot. Replaced it at the same time that I did the rear main seal, transmission has been strong since (knock on wood).

 

Yes, this sounds like the revolution sensor..NOT THE SPEED SENSOR( With the big green wheel)....It usually happens after coming off the highway at local speeds.

 

Thought I would post an update. It took a week for the sensor to come and I drove about 200 miles in that time. Transmission acted up twice in that 200 miles. After driving at highway speed for 10 miles, the first time I stopped and tried taking off it was slipping. Rest of the drive it shifted fine. The other was leaving for work in the morning it acted like it was confused on the 2-3 shift and drove fine after that. That one was weird cause I had only driven a few miles. Maybe it was getting worse? I've driven the car for a few days with the sensor and it's been fine but it's so random I guess we will see. Another weird thing was it developed a whine in 1st gear taking off that went away after it shifted to 2nd. I would describe it like a differential whine. Now that the sensor is installed I don't hear it?? Maybe it's a placebo effect, . I was gonna drive it for a week before I messed with fluid. Want to see if it acts up first.

 

Hmm...that kind of sounds like solenoids at this point. Unfortunately..they are not cheap and you have to drop the pan to get to them (lose ATF fluid).

 

You may be right. It wasn't over 90 degrees for once so I did a quick drain and fill today. Man was it bad, the fluid looked like 10k old oil . Only got 3 1/2 quarts out and replaced it with the Mobil 1 and added my Lubegard. 1-2 shift is real shady in my opinion. Is it possible the fluid being so old makes it prone to overheat and maybe that's why it would start shifting weird? The real test would be to take it on a long drive but I just don't feel like wasting the gas.

 

Given the condition of the fluid definition do not flush. People have had success with seafom trans tune.

Did you drop the pan or not? It is a bummer if you didn't drop the pan because any filings or shavings could have given you an indication of the overall transmission condition.

 

My 2k was doing the same. I ended up having to replace the speed sensor, and solenoid pack. Also installed a tranny cooler. It has been shifting perfect ever since. I was a bit nervous opening a transmission up as I had never worked on one before. It was an easy job and didn't take long to do it all.

 

This is my recommendation for the OP, but it comes down to cost. Solenoids are around $300.

http://www.nissanpartsasap.com/nissa...artcode=31940N

Then you have the cost of the fluid. The transmission pan gasket and probably want to replace the transmission screen while you drop the pan. Transmission cooler and hosing.

Total job cost will be around $400 to $450 and it is still no guarantee the transmission will be saved by doing all of this which is unfortunate.

 

I think you made a good call on the solenoid. I've been driving locally since I installed the sensor and the drain and fill. Didn't drop the pan by the way, just drain plug. It's been shifting ok but I haven't taken a long trip so I wasn't for sure if the problem was solved. About two days ago the whining sound in first gear came back which I thought was odd. Then yesterday it made a few funny shifts. Then today I start the car and put it reverse, nothing. Acted like I was in neutral. I revved it to about 2k and it snatched into gear. I put it back into park and tried again and it did the same thing. Once I got in the road it shifted weird at first then went to normal. Drove about 10 mins and when I got back reverse worked normal. No slipping at any point thru all of this just bad shifting and not going in reverse until revved. Was reading up on solenoids and it sounds like symptoms of sticking possible. Would doing a complete fluid exchange help free it up? All I've replaced is 3 1/2 quarts and added the Lubegard red so far. I'm sure the fluid is still pretty nasty.

 

Car sounds like a rock tumbler in park and neutral now. Drove the 15 miles home and towards the end it starts making this grinding noise. Acted like maybe it was in too high of a gear in the parking lot but when I manually shifted to first it continued to make the noise. It drove fine the last few miles but now it grinds in Park and neutral. Drop it in reverse or any forward gear and it goes away and sounds fine. Popped the hood and it definitely is coming from transmission. Does this follow the solenoid theory??

 

I guess change the thread title to" Death of a transmission". Locked up in 3rd gear a few miles from home and won't come out. Park its in 3rd, neutral its in 3rd, drive its in..... You get the picture. Had to bail out and have the wife pick me up and leave the car in a parking lot. I'm hoping I can go back later when traffic thins out and limp it home. Which I have read about the "limp home mode" but I don't know if that's what I'm dealing with now.

 

Feel like I wanted to give this thread some closure. Transmission kicked out a 0744 code according to scanner. Torque convertor failure of some sort. Only has first and third gear. I guess I've given up hope of it being electrical. Shop down the street will rebuild it for 1500 so I guess I'm going to roll with that. So the moral of the story is just stick with manual transmissions...........

 

No, not necessarily; the morale of the story is "change your AT fluid frequently". Moreover, be aware that to change the fluid completely (i.e., all of it) you have to do three consecutive drain&fill's in a row.

It looks like your car was neglected. I change my fluid every 15k miles, and every 50k miles I do the "3 consecutive flushes" regiment. Car shifts like new and I feel the "3 consecutive flushes" thing is a major factor in keeping it that way. About a year ago, I dropped the pan and I was pleasantly surprised how clean my tranny was. Very few metal shavings on both magnets.

 

Yea, the neglected aspect was obvious. You can just replace all the fluid at once using the transmission line from the radiator which is my preferred method. I was being paranoid not to shock the transmission and my paranoia was confirmed.