Started Three days a go. When I drive the car it doesn’t go in to gears but shows AT.
When I put the gear to R to drive back, as soon as I release my foot of the break it makes a big shaky move but drives back. When I put the gear to D to drive forward and push gas it doesn't go quick. It takes some time to start driving. It drives OK after that. When I put the Car on D, R, N, or P, it show AT but not D, R, N, or P.
My car has 250000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
Experienced mechanics share their insights in answering this question :
This kind of reaction is often a sign of low transmission fluid or a faulty transmission control solenoid. As you know, automatic transmissions use pressurized hydraulic fluid to change gears. Every time a gear change is required, the car’s computer activates a transmission solenoid, which directs transmission fluid into the valve body to engage the correct gear. When this is faulty or not working properly, this can cause a delay in gear shifting or in some cases cause the car to not shift at all. This type of problem is amplified any time the transmission is low on fluid creating a drop in hydraulic pressure. I would recommend having a professional from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and inspect your vehicle.
How to Identify and Fix Common car Problems ?
Our sources include academic articles, blog posts, and personal essays from experienced mechanics :
The throttle cables need checking. As we have mentioned earlier that changing the transmission fluid alone solves many transmission-related issues. But, if you change this transmission fluid and your auto transmission still won`t shift into the third gear, the throttle cables are the next suspect.
If the automatic transaxle warning indication/light illuminates, the transaxle has an electrical problem. Continuing to drive your Mazda in this condition could cause damage to your transaxle. Consult an expert repairer, we recommend an Authorised Mazda Repairer as soon as possible.
If the torque converter is broken, or if there is a low fluid level in the transmission, the converter will not do its job, and the car will be unable to maintain power at low speeds, which causes the engine to shut off.
Over time, dirt, debris and other tiny particles can accumulate in the transmission fluid, affecting its fluid properties. This can cause the vehicle to die when you shift into drive or reverse, allow a loss of power, transmission slip, rough shifts or even prevent the vehicle from shifting into gear at all.
Abnormal shifting: If you are experiencing problems with the way that your car is shifting gears, this could indicate a serious problem with your transaxle. This can manifest itself in a variety of ways, including hard shifting, slipping gears or failure to shift.
Turn off your vehicle`s ignition and wait patiently for 5 to 10 seconds. Start the engine and allow it to idle for several seconds. Switch off the ignition and wait patiently for another 30 to 40 seconds. Repeat these steps 2 to 3 times in order to reset your vehicle`s transmission control module.
Most commonly when the car stalls while driving, but starts right up after, the cause is an intermittently failing crankshaft position sensor or camshaft position sensor. The first step to diagnosing this problem however, would be to scan the engine control module to check for fault codes.
There are a large number of reasons why your car might stall while driving. It could be a dead alternator, a bad coolant sensor or lack of fuel, just to name a few. Is your car stalling while accelerating? If so, then it could be a major vacuum leak, clogged fuel filter or a bad fuel pump.
The most common reason your car starts then dies immediately is because of a lack of fuel in the engine. This often happens because there is a small amount of fuel in the fuel rail, which helps to start the engine.
Grinding noises, transmission leaks, burning smells, noisy idling, and shifting delays are all common symptoms of a clogged filter.
Maintain Proper Transmission Fluid Levels
The #1 cause of transmission failure is low fluid, which causes overheating. In automatic transmissions, it causes delayed engagement, harsh shifts, and slippage.
A healthy transmission shifts smoothly, and often you won`t even notice the change of gear. However, if your car shakes during gear shifts, something is wrong with your transmission.
Typically, when your transmission begins to fail you may start to notice some form of difficulty when changing gears. Occasionally you may hear or feel a clunk noise when you shift gear. Another sign of a rough shifting is difficulty in accelerating to the speed for the gear that it is in.
Transmission Range Sensor (TR)/ Transmission Position Sensor
The PCM uses this information to control which gears of the transmission to enable or disable. When the TR sensor fails it can cause wrong gear starts, no upshifts, or what feels like a falling-out-of-gear condition.
Drivers with transmission issues in their vehicles can experience bucking, surging, jerking, and stuttering in while changing gears or pressing the gas pedal. This may feel like a clunk or thud and your vehicle may also struggle to accelerate. Automatic transmission fluid is critical to your car`s shifting.
With the vehicle off, turn the key to the “on” position, but don`t start the car. Hold the TPMS reset button until the tire pressure light blinks three times, then release it. Start the car and wait 20 minutes for the sensor to refresh.
The TCM fuse is in the main fuse block and is probably 10 amps. If the fuse is blown, that is confirmation but the faulty fuse means there is a short circuit in the TCM and/or wiring that would have to be traced and repaired.
The transmission position sensor is usually screwed onto the side of your car`s transmission. As you move the automatic gear selector from park/neutral to drive or reverse, it detects the changes. It then enables and disables the connection to the starter motor circuit, affecting your car`s ability to start.
Shift solenoid B allows the transmission to shift between 2nd and 3rd gear. When the powertrain control module (PCM) records code P0758, it indicates that the PCM is unable to detect the proper change in engine speed or increase in ground speed that should occur during a 2nd to 3rd gear shift.
Faulty spark plugs can cause the car to exhibit starting troubles. Worn out plugs does not produce sufficient sparks, which is needed for starting the engine. This results in the engine to stall and fail to start quickly.
Shift solenoid B allows the transmission to shift between 2nd and 3rd gear. When the powertrain control module (PCM) records code P0758, it indicates that the PCM is unable to detect the proper change in engine speed or increase in ground speed that should occur during a 2nd to 3rd gear shift.
This may be a sign of low transmission fluid or a faulty transmission control solenoid. As you know, automatic transmissions use pressurized hydraulic fluid to change gears.
Turn off your vehicle`s ignition and wait patiently for 5 to 10 seconds. Start the engine and allow it to idle for several seconds. Switch off the ignition and wait patiently for another 30 to 40 seconds. Repeat these steps 2 to 3 times in order to reset your vehicle`s transmission control module.
This may be a sign of low transmission fluid or a faulty transmission control solenoid. As you know, automatic transmissions use pressurized hydraulic fluid to change gears.
Relevant Questions and Answers :
the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue
Started Three days a go. When I drive the car it doesn’t go in to gears but shows AT.
ANSWER : This kind of reaction is often a sign of low transmission fluid or a faulty transmission control solenoid. As you know, automatic transmissions use pressurized hydraulic fluid to change gears. Every time a gear change is required, the car’s computer activates a transmission solenoid, which directs transmission fluid into the valve body to engage the correct gear. When this is faulty or not working properly, this can cause a delay in gear shifting or in some cases cause the car to not shift at all. This type of problem is amplified any time the transmission is low on fluid creating a drop in hydraulic pressure. I would recommend having a professional from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and inspect your vehicle.
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.
My car will not start Intermittently. I purchased a new battery 2 weeks ago and yesterday the car wouldn’t start. Got a jump and
ANSWER : The issue you are having is probably due to an intermittent fault in the starter motor itself or a deficiency in the starter electrical circuit, for example a large voltage drop due to a poor ground or a high resistance connection. These issues can be readily diagnosed and resolved on a mobile basis if you request a hard starting diagnostic. If you request that diagnostic, the responding certified mechanic will get this resolved for you promptly. Based on Toyota’s Factory Service Manual, the battery should not be disconnected if the vehicle engine is running. The battery acts as a large resistive voltage sink and consequently taking the battery out of the circuit, while the alternator is still running, can create a voltage spike on the car’s electrical system which is not good for voltage sensitive components such as the engine computer. If you have further questions or concerns, do not hesitate to re-contact YourMechanic as we are always here to help you.
Vehicle won’t go into gear when running, when turned off, vehicle will go into gear but won’t start. 1998 Ford Explorer
ANSWER : Hello – your clutch hydraulics are the problem here. Check the clutch hydraulics fluid level – and it may share the same reservoir as the brake master cylinder (both use brake fluid as the hydraulic medium). If fluid needs to be added, that means that probably the clutch slave cylinder is leaking – this might be visible as a clear, but bitter-smelling liquid on the ground under the engine. I recommend a clutch hydraulics inspection performed by a mobile, professional mechanic, such as one from YourMechanic, who will come to your location, diagnose this problem, and give you an accurate assessment of damage and cost estimate for repairs.
My car stutter starts, but only after driving it for a few minutes.
ANSWER : Hey there. This may also be caused by what is called the fuel pressure regulator. This is a unit that helps to maintain the fuel pressure at the proper level. When this is not working properly, the fuel pump may be pumping properly, but the fuel may not arrive at the fuel injectors at the proper psi. When this happens, this can cause a lean fuel condition which may cause the car to hesitate, misfire, or stall. If you would like to have an expert pinpoint the issue, a certified professional from YourMechanic can come to your car’s location to inspect the hard start problem and confirm which repairs are needed.
My car doesn’t want to go up hills. It has slow acceleration, and feels like it’s not kicking into the next gear when I drive it.
ANSWER : Hi There,
What you are describing sounds like you may have a clogged catalytic converter. The catalytic converter converts toxic exhaust gases into less harmful pollutants that are suitable to be expelled into the atmosphere. When the catalytic converter is clogged, this causes these gases to be backed up into the exhaust system not allowing the engine to breathe properly. When this happens, the engine is forced to work much harder to expel these gases. This often results in the engine bogging down, hesitating, shaking and causing very poor fuel economy. This should also cause a check engine light to come on as the O2 sensors should be reading the incorrect amounts of oxygen in the exhaust gases if this is your problem. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and replace your catalytic converter.
What you are describing sounds like you may have a clogged catalytic converter. The catalytic converter converts toxic exhaust gases into less harmful pollutants that are suitable to be expelled into the atmosphere. When the catalytic converter is clogged, this causes these gases to be backed up into the exhaust system not allowing the engine to breathe properly. When this happens, the engine is forced to work much harder to expel these gases. This often results in the engine bogging down, hesitating, shaking and causing very poor fuel economy. This should also cause a check engine light to come on as the O2 sensors should be reading the incorrect amounts of oxygen in the exhaust gases if this is your problem. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and replace your catalytic converter.
Car won’t go into gear. 2002 Audi A4 Quattro
ANSWER : Hi there – Your symptoms describe the behavior to expect when your clutch hydraulics go out (clutch master and clutch slave cylinders). Check your clutch fluid level – it may be low. If the fluid level is low, this usually means your clutch slave cylinder has worn out, not unusual with your mileage, and should be replaced. I recommend a malfunctioning clutch inspection performed by a mobile, professional mechanic, such as one from YourMechanic, who will come to your location, diagnose this problem, give you an accurate assessment of damage and cost estimate for repairs.
My car stutters after driving it for a few minutes – 2002 Toyota
ANSWER : This may also be caused by what is called the fuel pressure regulator. This is a unit that helps to maintain the fuel pressure at the proper level. When this is not working properly, the fuel pump may be pumping properly, but the fuel may not arrive at the fuel injectors at the proper psi. When this happens, this can cause a lean fuel condition which may cause the car to hesitate, misfire or stall. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose your fuel pressure.
