Car won't shift in the frigid cold temps

[Kelemvor]

Howdy,

I have a '99 Grand Am (Automatic) and live in WI. My car has a problem that when it's really cold out (below 30), my car does not like to shift. Generally I can start it up fine and start to drive but can't get going very fast. I end up going 15 mph with my RPMs rev'ing and it just won't shift. After going for a bit it then shifts up a gear and then gets stuck again. Then after a bit more it finally gets up to the normal gear so I can actually hit 40.

This morning I went out (was in the teens) and I backed out of my driveway going about 5mph. Drove down my street at about the same speed (was a fast as I could go). I then came to a stop sign and had to wait for a car to go by. After that, I couldn't even get going. I tried shifting from reverse to drive, tried the numbered gears, etc and nothing helped. I finally had to rev the engine way up and the car started moving about 1 mph. Eventually I was able to slowly get going but I thought for a bit I'd have to get a push.

Once I get going and get up to speed, everything works fine. Also I tried letting the engine warm up for 10 minutes once and the engine was nice and warm but the transmission still wouldn't work right.

I asked a few people and was told to change the tranny fluid and that might help. I called a mechanic and he actually said he doubted that would help and he thought some seals and things weren't working right until it heated up.

I'm at a loss and am looking for any advice or thoughts on what the problem might be. I know my car is old and will have to be replaced soon but other than this issue, everything seems to work just fine so I'm hoping this is an inexpensive fix.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Sounds like something is up with the shift solenoids sticking when it's cold as far as it getting stuck in a gear. The revving up a lot just to go 1 mph, then that suggests either an issue with the torque converter or with the clutch packs. Either way it's not good or likely to be cheap.

ZV

 

[Kelemvor]

Sounds like something is up with the shift solenoids sticking when it's cold as far as it getting stuck in a gear. The revving up a lot just to go 1 mph, then that suggests either an issue with the torque converter or with the clutch packs. Either way it's not good or likely to be cheap.

ZV

The one today where I couldn't even move has never happened before. Normally I can go just fine in 1st gear but it just won't shift into 2nd until I've been going for a little while and then the same to get up to 3rd.

 

[Yowen]

yeah doesnt sound good. My car actually has trouble getting into gear at any temperature, but at this point I just wait a few seconds and it still will, but its the beginning of the end.

Automatic transmissions aren't fun when they break...

I have a volkswagen which equals me having to get a new car as trannies for those are way to expensive. But your grand am you might find something cheap or may be able to get a rebuild for a decent price. If the thing is still worth investing in. Maybe you can find some people with similar problems on a forum, which I am sure there are as there is a lot of those cars sold.

 

[BlackTigers]

My car did everything you jsut mentioned.

Then my transmission exploded. Burnt out the clutch packs because the fluid wasn't flowing while cold.

 

[IcePickFreak]

Wouldn't be a bad idea to change the tranny fluid & filter if it hasn't been done in awhile. What does the transmission fluid look like?

 

[Vette73]

Have you checked the level BEFORE starting cold?

Could be a little low and the cold themps make it even lowwer.
If that checks out then change the filter and the fluid in the pan, NOT a flush. And see if that helps.

 

[Yowen]

yeah... NOT a flush. Those are scary.

 

[exar333]

I had a '92 Pontiac back in college that started doing the same thing at about 155k miles. The car limped-along for a few more months, but then the transmission got really bad and died completely. If I was you, I would start looking for a new car now, and trade it in while it is still driveable.

 

[LTC8K6]

I'd get the fluid and filter done first and go from there.

 

[soydios]

I've got a '94 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0L 4-spd-auto (~140k miles) that does this same behavior. Best guess of the mechanic was that some seals are getting loose. It's been doing this for almost 10k miles and hasn't worsened, so I dunno.