2002 Saturn SL1 4 cyl Automatic 116000 miles
Hi-
About three years (fall 2007) ago my '02 Saturn SL1 had a transmission leak and the fluid leaked out while I was driving. The service center at the dealer repaired a gasket and replaced the fluid - immediately after that I felt like the transmission didn't shift the way it used to.
I took it in a couple times and they couldn't find anything, neither could another dealer they referred me to.
A year later (fall 2008) the car started falling out of gear and it would buck violently until I took my foot off the gas. This was a sporadic problem that once again the dealer couldn't reproduce or find cause for. Increasingly over the next year it would happen more often and the car was shifting worse and worse. It sticks in gear and the engine revs until it finally jumps into gear.
Since about fall 2009 until now it has gotten really bad. I have developed a special way of driving to deal with it but I'm just waiting for it to die one day. I no longer can accelerate normally - between 0 and about 45 I have to give a little gas, ease off as I approach the next gear, and then immediately after it changes gear I have to let off for a split second, and then go back to giving gas and proceed this way until I get up to 45, after which things are fine. If I don't do this, it sticks and jumps all over the place and falls out of gear and bucks a lot. If I do this, it only falls out of gear once in a while.
In January and independent garage drove with me and found some codes that made it seem some of the solenoids weren't working right. That's the only diagnosis I've received.
My question is - does anyone know what it could be and if it's fixable, and also could it have been caused by the transmission leak? My car was under warranty at the time of the leak. I'm planning on taking it in today but wanted some other opinions since I've had such a bad time with the mechanics I've gone to.
Thank you.
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Monday, June 21st, 2010 AT 7:10 AM
