Transmission Help

[caliguy78]

Hi. I have not been on here in quite a while. I own a 2005 Vibe with an Automatic Transmission with 75,000 miles. For the last several months, I have noticed what seems to be a slight slippage during acceleration. Withing the last couple of weeks, there has been a whining sound that appeared to be coming from the tranny when it was in park. The whining sound changed as I applied gas. Also, when I would put it in reverse, there was a delay before there was any engagement. Last night I was driving it and I noticed I was loosing power and revving high. I stopped at a stoplight. After that it would not move at all. I tried all of the gears. I had it towed home. My first thought is that the transmission is dead. The tow truck driver said it may the axles auto-disengaging? The Axel theory did not make much sense to me so I though I would ask the experts over here I have changed the tranny fluid twice. I last changed it a week ago and now there is a slight burn smell. If it is the tranny, what are my most cost effective options? It is sitting in my driveway so I obviously don't want to tow it from shop to shop just to get opinions and quotes. I am a mechanical person, but I have never removed a FWD transmission before.Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank You

[skimask]

Axles auto disengaging?(removed)?That's a good one. Surprised he didn't tell you to change the tail-light fluid too.When you changed the tranny fluid, did you also change the filter?What type of transmission fluid did you use? Exact type...not generic terms.

[star_deceiver]

Fluid level? Leaks? Sounds like there's not enough fluid and the torque converter's running dry.

[caliguy78]

Unfortunately, I am at work so I don't have the exact bottles in front of me. It was a green bottle from Autozone for imports. It said it was for use with transmissions requiring T-IV fluid. I did not drop the pan to change the filter. I just did a drain and fill because I had the plug.

[caliguy78]

Fluid levels are good, and there is no leaking. I checked the fluid levels several times since I changed the fluid.

[caliguy78]

I called a few places and I found a transmission for $850 that has 45,000 miles. I found cheaper ones but they had really high mileage. One shop quoted me $450 labor. How difficult is it to pull the transmission myself? I have worked on cars before but never worked on a FWD.

[star_deceiver]

I've never seen a post here on pulling an automatic. Many on the manual though. Should be fairly similar.

[ColonelPanic]

When the auto went in the Vibe I had, I was getting that whine in park as well. Kinda sounded like I was kicking a goat. I shortly thereafter lost all gears. The dealer told me the pump must have picked up some metal shavings from somewhere and that shot that junk all through the tranny.$850 doesn't sound bad if you can keep the labor in check by doing it yourself. Huge project though, good luck!

[djkeev]

Don't sweat changing the "filter" for it isn't a filter, it is only a screen to prevent chunks from getting picked up by the oil pump.I'm NOT a fan of using generic oils in the Variable transmissions. Modern units are just too fussy and need the proper additives and lubricants they were designed to have in order to work properly. I won't say that's your problem but it is food for thought.Before yanking the unit, take the time to jack up the car, pull the transmission drain plug and then pull the transmission oil pan off. What you find in the pan will be a HUGE clue to your next step. There is a magnet in there, it will have metallic "hair" on it, that's normal.You'll find a minimal quantity of "gold" dust in the bottom of the pan, again it's normal.IF you find a large amount of gold dust or chunks of metal, thin metal slivers, etc, you've got problems. If you find just minimal normal wear signs and nothing serious, I'd suggest putting it back together and putting in some Toyota T IV oil.It would also be good to know more about when it slips. You say on acceleration? Ok, form a dead stop? In first gear? when it shifts to 2nd Gear? When in 2nd gear? when it shifts into 3rd? when cruising and depressing the pedal it slips? What speeds? How's it do on the highway at normal cruising speeds? how's reverse? Does it slip? Go for a ride and pay very close attention to WHEN it slips and what the driving conditions are. This is a BIG clue to what is wrong.There are also diagnostic tests that can be done using a tool similar to the OBDII tool that will tell a wealth of information about what your transmission is doing.Also try disconnecting the battery for 20 minutes and then hook it back up. Doing so the computer will forget how you drive and start from a default setting. Does it still slip?Do you tow anything? Towing is horrible on an automatic transmission, I don't care what people say about it, excess stress and over heating are common.Dave

[caliguy78]

Right now if I put it in any drive and try to accelerate, the car only moves about 10 feet and then nothing. It acts as if it is in neutral. Could that possibly mean that there is still hope?I can't drop the pan until Saturday but I will do that to see how much was collected on the magnet.

[star_deceiver]

What about 2,1 and reverse?

[caliguy78]

1st, 2nd, and Reverse do the exact same thing :

[star_deceiver]

As Dave suggests, this is what you may find when you pull the pan (this is from a Saab but I can see your screen being just as clogged):

[djkeev]

Probable cause when there is slippage in all motion ranges...1. Line Pressure Low2. Low Fluid3. Shift cable damaged or out of adjustment4. Torque Convertor Stator damaged5. Valve body gaskets damaged6. Manual valve in the valve body is binding or stuck7. Check balls in valve body stuckMOST likely, it isn't a worn internal failure but a control failure or a pump failure. Of course a bad pump could end up damaging internals.IF it were me and I didn't have the tools, I'd tow it to a shop and have them do DIAGNOSIS only, put a pressure gauge on the unit and report to you what the pressures are at normal operating temperatures. Also have them pull the DTC codes and report to you what they say.I'd for sure drop the oil pan and read the internals first though. Get a new pan gasket and a new filter screen, go ahead and replace them, the screen isn't all that many $$'s. The oil pan (don't rinse or wipe it out after you drop it) will read like a book and tell you much about the health of the unit. Take a photo of what you find. BTW, The transmission filter screen looks NOTHING like what is posted here, it looks like a normal trans filter but instead of filter medium, there is a screen. It could very well be clogged like the photo here which is the reason this filter screen is being shown. If the screen is clogged, the pump could be starved for operating oil.If the debris pile isn't excessive, the fluid is not badly burned, worse case scenario you need a pump or a torque converter. Dave

[star_deceiver]

03-06 Matrix transmission filter and gasket: I was trying to find a pic of the internals of the auto transmission... before pics. The Saab pic seemed to be clearest of what a clogged screen may look like.

[DraziWDragon]

had this problem in a jetta.while driving, the car would "go into neutral" then shift back into gear when revved.Or it would rev and take off like it was a cvt tranny.reverse worked perfectly but drive was slipping bad.would get a burning smell when it slipped also.the clutches in the automatic tranny, DO wear out. you can rebuild the tranny.I had to drive through town to get home, in reverse. drove past a cop and pulled over onto a sidestreet before he got in his car and found me.Told him my tranny went and i was getting the car out of the road so i can have it towed home, hes said "good luck" and left...i didnt know whether to be pissed off or laugh at the "quality" of my town's police department.

[caliguy78]

I was finally able to remove the transmission pan. There was a delay, because my wife delivered our daughter 3 weeks early Anyways, here are the pics. The filter itself has a lot of fine particles in it as well.

[sideshowalan]

Congratulations to you and your new family !That picture may be more zoomed in then it looks like, but those are some hefty chunks. What is that circle in the last picture?

[djkeev]

That "circle" in the last picture is the magnet with the metal "hairs" attached to it. While that quantity of metal hair isn't highly unusual, sadly the chunks of material lying about in the pan are high unusual and will spell $$'s to you as an owner.You've had a catastrophic failure of some internal piece or pieces. You are due for a removal and a rebuild or replacement of the transmission.Sorry.If you are mechanical, it's only a transmission and isn't rocket science. With the aid of the Helms manual, some precise measuring tools and a small pile of standard tools along with a special tool or two, you can rebuild the unit yourself. It will still cost you a fair bit of change for new clutch packs, new seals, maybe a new pump and with all that debris, probably a new torque converter as well.Are those larger bits magnetic, aluminum or are they fibrous?Congrats on the birth of your child!! Always a fun time, sorry it's coupled with the premature death of your Vibe.Dave

[zaxellord]

Congratulations on your child. Isn't 75,000 miles early to be having transmission issues?