i have an 87 maxima. Does engine temp have anything to do how it shifts. It's an automatic. It sems that if the car is not warmed up it will not shift into the last gear.

 

Yes, on these cars the engine temperature effects whether it will go into overdrive. Are you driving in extreme cold? Is the engine taking a real long time to warm-up? If you car isn't warming up, then you got some overcooling. Possibly from a thermostat stuck open.

S

 

thanks for the info. Yes it takes long to warm up and i am in about 20 dergee temps. I will change the thermostat asap. Thanks again

 

Yeah my car pulls that crap too, If i don't think about it and just let it warm up for a couple minutes and i try to drive at 55 and up it wont lock into Over drive. Its really annoying because it'l hold at about 3500 until it gets halfway up to temp. Then drop to 2.
Oh well

 

I have the same problem with my '88. I changed the thermostat, but the same thing happens, so be forewarned. I've resorted to putting cardboard in front of the rad. I've also found that if you don't run the heater it heats up fine, but if you crank the heat on, it's almost as if the heater is too powerful for the car - the temp gauge drops and the tranny drops out of overdrive.

If it really bugs you, there is a fuse in the fuse panel you can pull, and then the car will shift into overdrive regardless of how cold it is. I found this out by accident when one of my cooling fans shorted out and blew the fuse. I noticed I was getting overdrive right away. It's a 15AMP that says 'transmission/cooling fan motor'. You lose your cooling fans, too, but if it's -15celsius (it is where I am) and you're highway driving, you probably won't need the fans. Be warned that I have no idea if this will damage your tranny. I personally don't do it.