Tranny Will not drop into drive or reverse

Tiny
JRMBDL
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 SATURN VUE
  • 2.2L
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 180,000 MILES
Took my car out xmas morning and stopped at 7-11. Pulled out of my parking stall and put my car into drive, and the car went into "neutral", I was able to shift from park to call gears but the tranny did not engage the gear. Im getting no warning lights we have had the vehicle for about 2 weeks, and haven't noticed to much wrong, no grinding, no gear slippage or delays, We just had the clockspring changed which they disconnected the battery which I dont know if it has any impact on this issue with the computer, being that the car had been on the road for 3 days since that part is changed. For 3 days no issues. We have checked the tranny oil and needed to add 2 bottles was getting low, and was a darkish brown but did not detect any metal particles in the oil. As well we checked linkage and thats not an issue. I also read online that maby the filter needs replacing and if you let your engine run for 30 min in neutral that this would heat up the oil and make is thinner and see if you can shift gears, that didnt help. We are going to take it to a mechanic tomorrow but was hoping to see what else it could be before I walk in to the shop.
Wednesday, December 25th, 2013 AT 7:32 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
How did you know it was 2 qts low those transmissions are not just check the dipstick?Also wheres it leaking fluid from?If it was low?Also those transmissions are known for belt/side cover failures really common have replaced a lot of them.
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Wednesday, December 25th, 2013 AT 7:58 PM
Tiny
JRMBDL
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
Well I checked the dipstick and was half so I added about half of the jig, checked again and ended-up adding the rest its sitting alittle under the full line. I did look for a leak and could not see anything obvious, and I havent checked it yet as I hit some black ice 3 weeks ago in my old car and totaled it. Just been sooo busy and trying to rest and get xmas ready, slipped my mind to check when I bought the car. I did some digging and yes GM had a recall or something in the vti trannys which I have in my car. But I didnt know if my car fell into that category of failure. Should I just skip taking it to a mechanic and take it to a tranny shop?
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Wednesday, December 25th, 2013 AT 8:10 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
Iam confused there isnt a dipstick on the vti transmission there is a level hole screwed into the middle of the tube. Where is there a dipstick?
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Wednesday, December 25th, 2013 AT 8:14 PM
Tiny
JRMBDL
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
Right between the tranny and engine close to the raid. If that makes sense, I had a mechanic that was passing through 7-11 tell me that and helped out with the tranny fluid.
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Wednesday, December 25th, 2013 AT 8:18 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
Please post a pic of the engine compartment sounds like you have a different application then your sayings.
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Thursday, December 26th, 2013 AT 8:43 AM

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