Auto gear malfunctioning with engine and gear signal blinking on the dash.

While driving, engine and gear signal will blink, then the engine rpm will goes up suddenly for a few second, when this happen, sometimes engine will stop too. Why? What is not working well?
My car has an automatic transmission.
Experienced mechanics share their insights in answering this question :
Hi there. There is an issue with the engine causing the indicator lights to flash. There has been a loss of communication between the engine and the transmission and the computer will try to fix the situation. However, if the situation is not fixed, then the computer will shut down the engine to prevent any damage. Check the harness to the transmission and make sure that its plugged in and that there is no broken wires. Check the harness to the computer and make sure that they are connected with the locks on. Check the battery and make sure that it has a full charge. If the battery is low, charge it up and recheck the situation. A low voltage battery will cause the engine and transmission to malfunction making them lose connectivity to each other. If you need further assistance with your engine revving and stalling, then seek out a professional, such as one from Your Mechanic, to help you.

How to Identify and Fix Common car Problems ?

Our sources include academic articles, blog posts, and personal essays from experienced mechanics :

This may be related to many different things such as a bad oxygen sensor (this monitors the activity of the catalytic converter), a bad or dirty idle air control valve, or potentially low fuel pressure.
A low transmission fluid level is one of the most common causes of this problem. A slippage or improper engagement of the gears may result in the drive (D) light blinking.
Hello there, when the D light is blinking on the dashboard this means there is a transmission fault. Many different issues can cause this fault. The most common would be a low transmission fluid level, a mechanical transmission fault, a shift solenoid, or a pressure switch.
A blinking check engine light will show up on your dashboard is almost always correlated with engine misfires. A misfire means that the engine is dumping uncombusted fuel into your car`s exhaust system. Engine misfire is a serious issue because it can quickly raise the temperature of the catalytic converter.
Some of the most common sensors that lead to engine stalling include the mass airflow sensor (MAF), engine coolant temperature sensor (ECT) and manifold absolute pressure sesnsor (MAP). The idle air control valve (IAC) and exhaust gas recirculation valve (EGR) are also well known for causing engine stalling.
What Does the Automatic Transmission/Automatic Gearbox Warning Light Mean? The automatic transmission warning light means there`s an issue with the transmission, possibly the fluid temperature, fluid level, or pressure.
Explantion: If a system warning light lights up while you are driving, you should stop in a safe place as soon as possible and investigate the problem before deciding what action to take.
Honda dashboard warning light symbols and meanings

Red or amber lights are the most critical and indicate that there may be a problem with the vehicle. Blue or green lights are informational for the driver and are designed to let the driver know that a system, such as cruise control, is on or running.

A steady glow typically means something less serious but a flashing check engine light indicates that your vehicle`s engine is in serious trouble and service is needed immediately. If your check engine light is flashing in your Honda Civic, we highly recommend not to drive the vehicle and schedule Honda service today.
Some common causes include a dirty fuel filter, a bad throttle position sensor, or a problem with the oxygen sensor. Slow acceleration can also be caused by a number of other things, so if you`re not sure what`s causing the problem, we recommend taking your car to a mechanic so they can take a look.
If your engine revs up as you press down on the gas but your vehicle doesn`t accelerate as much as you`d expect, you may be dealing with transmission slipping. If you`ve ever tried to accelerate on ice, where your engine revs but your vehicle goes nowhere, you know the feeling.
There are a range of reasons why your car is juddering when you accelerate. Your vehicle could have dirty fuel injectors, a damaged fuel pump, a blocked catalytic converter, a faulty mass airflow sensor, broken spark plugs, or even an accumulation of moisture.
This sensor controls ignition timing of the engine and when it fails the computer does not know when to ignite the cylinder causing the engine to stall and not start correctly. I would recommend having a technician from YourMechanic come out and replace the sensor.
Transmission Range Sensor (TR)/ Transmission Position Sensor

The Transmission Range Sensor tells the PCM the position of the transmission shifter. The PCM uses this information to control which gears of the transmission to enable or disable.

Bad habits such as parking without the handbrake, changing gears incorrectly, and shifting an automatic transmission before the car comes to a complete stop can cause your transmission to wear out prematurely.
The check engine light is usually the most serious and feared warning because of the kind of damage it can signal. This warning often indicates the potential for serious engine damage. When ignored, your vehicle could suffer from a blown head gasket or a seized engine.
There are 3 different categories of warning lights; red, amber and green: Red warning lights mean you should stop the car as soon as it`s safe. Yellow warning lights mean that action is required. Green warning lights are for information only.
It works in the same way: an amber light warns of a problem with the electrical system, which could include the batteries, motors or wiring, a red light indicates a more serious fault, so the car may shut down or operate with reduced power.
If all of your lights have come on then that may be an indicator of some sort of serious malfunction with the vehicle. The fact that it appears to be running fine is a good sign. However, I would refrain from driving it until you can figure out what the issue is.
The risk of carrying on driving is that the engine could overheat and performance will suffer. The car may even stop entirely, with a high likelihood of serious engine damage. So there you go. It`s really important that you take these lights seriously.
If you bought your Honda brand new, a card was included in booklet along with the owner`s manual and maintenance guide. The card has your Honda radio code on it. It says `Anti Theft Identification Card`. It also has your radio`s serial number printed on it.
When that warning light triangle with an exclamation point pops up, there`s a simple explanation. It means that there is something wrong with your Honda vehicle`s Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA®) system. This system helps to stabilize the vehicle during cornering if the car turns more or less than desired.
There are two main types of dashboard warning lights: red and orange. A red warning light generally indicates a serious issue with your car. You should act quickly if your dashboard warning light is red – it could be an overheating engine, low engine oil pressure or a braking system problem.

Relevant Questions and Answers :

the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue

Auto gear malfunctioning with engine and gear signal blinking on the dash.
ANSWER : Hi there. There is an issue with the engine causing the indicator lights to flash. There has been a loss of communication between the engine and the transmission and the computer will try to fix the situation. However, if the situation is not fixed, then the computer will shut down the engine to prevent any damage. Check the harness to the transmission and make sure that its plugged in and that there is no broken wires. Check the harness to the computer and make sure that they are connected with the locks on. Check the battery and make sure that it has a full charge. If the battery is low, charge it up and recheck the situation. A low voltage battery will cause the engine and transmission to malfunction making them lose connectivity to each other. If you need further assistance with your engine revving and stalling, then seek out a professional, such as one from Your Mechanic, to help you.

Engine malfunction light, reduced engine power, engine powered down
ANSWER : Hi there. There are a lot of things that can cause this on your 2012 BMW M5. I usually start by scanning the computer for codes to see what comes up. If there are not codes then I load test the alternator and the battery to see if they are failing. Low voltage in the electrical system will cause this. If that is fine, then it is usually caused by a failing throttle body. I have seen a lot of these fail due to the motors in them hanging up. If the problem is only happening intermittently, this can make the issue hard to duplicate, but you can still have tests done on the car. If you are going to have this fixed, consider YourMechanic, as a certified mechanic can come to your home or office to test the vehicle and diagnose the Engine Malfunction Light.

Dsc malfunction, engine service soon, and engine malfunction reduced power.
ANSWER : The most common cause for the DSC coming on is a speed sensor at one of the wheels not working properly. The Check Engine Light comes on anytime a critical system is having a problem. The reduced speed is due to the engine control module that has not seen a major failure of a critical function and going into failure mode. You need to have the Check Engine scanned for codes and diagnosed. Once the scan is done and code is retrieved, then a pinpoint test for the code(s) will locate the cause of this problem.

My manual car won’t go into gear, it turns on and the clutch goes down perfectly fine. It happened after my gears grinded, the car
ANSWER : If the clutch mechanism is releasing properly, and the shift linkage is not malfunctioning, your transmission will have to be removed from the vehicle and inspected. Once a transmission has been removed from a vehicle, if the problem is a broken or worn part or parts, and the transmission has 100,000 miles or more, the most cost effective approach is to just simply rebuild the whole transmission. There are transmission rebuild kits that are sold just for this purpose. Rebuilding a transmission is no big deal and is indeed easier in many respects than rebuilding an engine. You can rebuild your transmission right in your own garage. You can NOT rebuild an engine in your own garage due to the highly specialized, and extremely costly, machine shop equipment required. Occasionally, mobile mechanics will take on a transmission rebuild job especially as once the mechanic removes the transmission from the vehicle, it is just simply a modular unit that can be easily transported to a mechanic’s shop and rebuilt right there and then returned to your vehicle. If you have further questions or concerns, do not hesitate to re-contact YourMechanic as we are always here to help you.

Can front wheel drive car engine power rear wheel drive
ANSWER : Anything is possible with enough engineering. The changes you are looking at would take major structural changes and would definitely not be an easy job. You could possibly consult a manufacturing engineer to get more details on how this could actually be carried out and whether it would be feasible.

Loose gearbox that won’t find 2nd or 5th gear, sometimes hard to differentiate between 1st and 3rd.
ANSWER : There are a couple of possibilities. The first thing that comes to mind is of course the shifter itself. There is a nylon ball and socket joint at the base of the gearshift lever that sometimes falls apart, making the feel of the shifter very vague. Additionally, there are links to the transmission shift linkage that involve nylon bushings and joints that can fall apart. Both problems are very common on your car. The other less common possibility is that you have a bad motor mount that is allowing the transmission to move around too much when you try to shift gears. either way, it’s not a big deal to fix, and probably won’t require expensive transmission work. If you contact Your Mechanic, they can send a technician to your home or office to check out you shifting issue and let you know what repairs it will take to correct it.

Gear Shuffling Problem in Vauxhall Vectra 52 Registration
ANSWER : Hi there. We don’t see a lot of Vauxhall Vectra’s here in the United States, so unfortunately, we’re not able to suggest a possible solution or cause of this problem you’re experiencing. You should consult with a professional mechanic in your home town to determine what’s causing the shifting problem you’re experiencing.

My manual gear box is starting to get a little bit "clunky" as i change gears, is there an additive i can add to the gear oil?
ANSWER : The first thing to do is to drain and check the oil to see if it has any broken chunks of metal or a lot of brass metal pieces that indicate the gears and synchronizers for the gears are bad. If no metal is found then replace oil with recommended oils for transmission. If metal is found then an internal transmission repair is needed.