2002 Saturn Vue transmission wont downshift

OTTERDOG1

MEMBER
2002 SATURN VUE

Transmission problem
2002 Saturn Vue 6 cyl All Wheel Drive Automatic 162K miles

I have had my vue for five years and have had this problem before. Under dealer warranty they said it was dirty terminal blocks.I had it towed in four separate times at which time the dealer SAID they replaced the whole wiring system. The problem was solved for the next three years. Roughly Eight months ago, the problem started again. It is more pravalent in warm weather than it is in cold weather. The only I can get the car to downshift into low gear is to stop the car shut it off and restart it. This becomes very annoying in traffic.( As you could imagine). Any help in diagnosing this problem would be greatly appreciated

1 Reply

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

Hi otterdog1,

Thank you for the donation.

The control system is intermittently malfunctioning and the following are possible causes and corrections for this condition:

"� External valve body assembly (shift solenoid "2", shift solenoid "3", shift solenoid "5") - verify that all solenoids respond electrically. If there is no response, perform electrical diagnosis. If there are no electrical concerns, remove the solenoid assembly, and inspect the solenoids, "O" ring seals and bores for signs of damage and/or missing seals. If solenoids responded electrically and there are no bore or seal concerns, replace assembly due to a possible internal mechanical concern, and retest. If a concern is still present after replacing the solenoid assembly, replace the control valve body assembly.

"� Internal valve body assembly (M1 shift valve, M2 shift valve, U1 shift valve, U2 shift valve, shift pressure relay valve) - remove valve body assembly and inspect all listed valves and/or bores for wear, scoring, foreign objects and/or contamination. Replace control valve body assembly if necessary.

"� 2nd coast clutch, 2nd clutch hub and 2nd clutch sprag assembly - remove torque converter assembly, fluid pump assembly, 2nd coast clutch, 2nd clutch hub and 2nd clutch sprag assembly. Inspect all related parts and repair as necessary.

I believe trouble codes should be stored in the TCM and you need appropriate scanners to retrieve them

Try Autozone to see if their scanners can come up with anything. They provide free scanning services.