Transmission trouble

[tommie frazier]

how bad is this? any estimates on cost of fixing?

my car seems to slip out of gear and into neutral. only when the engine is not warmed up.

So, I start it, put it into reverse....ok, now it's in reverse, back out of the driveway, put it in gear and wait a second.....and now it's in drive.

stop at the stop sign....and it's not in gear....OK, back in.

after a few minutes of driving, it is fine. but any stops (or when you stop accelerating) in the first 2-3 minutes it has started to slip out of gear.

[Wannabe Actuary]

obviously you have an automatic....
cost will vary by car (age and model)...you might have a choice of new or rebuilt. Put it this way, it's not a 500 job....likely a few K, but I can't say for sure.

[ahow]

My sister's Dodge Avenger cost ~$1500, but my dad knew the guy that owns the shop. I would guess bare minimum of $2000...

[Wannabe Actuary]

if it's slipping out of gear, could it have something to do with the gear ration settings and perhaps not need a whole new tranny? not sure, but a shop could tell you what the problem is and give you an estimate for a minimal fee (relative to the repair cost - i.e. 75 bucks). They'll usually waive that fee if you get the work done there.

[Griffin 7]

Man, everyone is having trouble with cars this week.

[3rookie]

Originally Posted by ahow

My sister's Dodge Avenger cost ~$1500, but my dad knew the guy that owns the shop. I would guess bare minimum of $2000...

Ditto. The key is finding a mechanic who is trustworthy. There are many mechanics who work for themselves who specialize in (your car company). Ask friends where they take their cars.

Owned a 4x4 SUV. Transmission was slipping. Dealer said $2600, new transmission. GM certified mechanic who owned his own shop said $500 total for repairing cracked solenoid ($150), and 3 other long overdue services. He said the car would eventually need a new transmission, but if maintained well should get another 30K miles. It did, and then I sold it. I miss him.

[Griffin 7]

Originally Posted by 3rookie

Ditto. The key is finding a mechanic who is trustworthy. There are many mechanics who work for themselves who specialize in (your car company). Ask friends where they take their cars.

Just start tearing it down and fixing it yourself. Whenever you run into problems, just post the questions here.

[yankeetripper]

Originally Posted by 3rookie

... ut if maintained well should get another 30K miles. It did, and then I sold it.

your the reason i prefer not to buy used cars

[SamTheEagle]

Originally Posted by yankeetripper

your the reason i prefer not to buy used cars

I bought mine off of the daughter of an old woman who had just died. It was 2-3 years old and only had 12,000 miles on it. Sweet deal.

[tommie frazier]

wow, so the price estimates are not that encouraging.

how much worse will it get if I ride it out for a little while? I assume it could at some point just slip out of gear at a less than opportune time, or fail to shift into gear at all-correct?