2004 Mazda Tribute Transmission not working in drive

Tiny
MIKIE12345
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 MAZDA TRIBUTE
  • 6 CYL
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 78,000 MILES
Hey Guys,

A few months ago I pulled up at a traffic light and tried to pull off. When I press on the accelerator, the engine revved, but the car didn’t move an inch. I placed it into park and then drive again and all was well. I took it to a local garage the next morning, but of course nothing was wrong with it ($100 wasted for them checking it). They suggested that they flushed the transmission fluid and add additives as this can sometimes repair them. I agreed and it has been fine for about 3 months.
Yesterday we placed the car into drive and nothing happened (same as before) so we tried the park, then drive again, but this time drive would not work. We had to drive home in 2nd :)
My question is do you think that we need a new transmission or can it be repaired? (Is it the transmission)? I have checked all the fluids today and they are all full.
I really don’t want to pay $3,500 for a reconditioned transmission and installation if possible so any advice you can give would be VERY much appreciated.
After reading a little last night, someone suggested that the bands (I think that’s right?) Might need tightening.
FYI. Reverse works perfectly, and I know that this usually goes before drive. The transmission is an automatic. Reverse, 1st and 2nd all work without any problems and none are hard to put into gear. Drive seems a little sloppy - very easy to place into gear so I hope this information helps.

Thanks for any suggestions guys as I will be calling around about this tomorrow and would like to have some basic knowledge before I get completely ripped off.
Monday, August 31st, 2009 AT 3:15 PM

2 Replies

Tiny
MHPAUTOS
  • MECHANIC
  • 31,937 POSTS
HI there,

What you need to do first is go get a transmission test and report from a specialist transmission shop, they will have the equipment to diagnose your problem, there is no way any fix in a can will repair any transmission fault, all they do is cover up or temp ease any problem, as you have found out the problem is back, and unfortunately the repair bill may be more now than if you took it to a trans specialist first.

Mark (mhpautos)
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Monday, August 31st, 2009 AT 6:27 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 48,363 POSTS
It sounds like it could be transmission speed sensor but it must be tested and it sounds like the problem is intermittent so replacement might be a better option, please get back to us so it may help others.
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Monday, April 11th, 2016 AT 9:42 AM

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