not shifting into overdrive

[dos194]

hello everyone,i been watching and reading at this forum for some time now just taking it all in. alot of great ideas and feedback about products.i have a 2003 awd vibe with about 156k, all is stock, i did add the slotted rotors and semi matalic pads that work great.so, my o/d isnt shifting in no matter what i try. one thing is that when i start the car after sitting all night the fan will kick on, havent looked to see if there are two- one for the coolant and one for the trans. but its always on, warm start or cold. the o/d problem has happened three times now, and it usually goes away after afew miles or the last time it went away after sixty miles. any one heard of this or have had this happen to them. im all ears.thankx

[WaveAction]

i wouldnt know where to start since i dont own an auto w/ OD..have you done a tranny flush?btw welcome to the forums

[northvibe]

I guess im slightly confused. Will it not physically shift INTO drive? or does the O/D button not work? Will the car not drive forward?

[WaveAction]

i think he means it wont shift into OD, he mentioned that it goes away after 60 miles, so im assuming it does go forward..but just wont shift into OD when it should

[northvibe]

then how would it go forward..... I mean otherwise you'd have to shift into L or 2, but thats past O/D. Maybe with o/d off it shifts into drive?Once this is clarified, could be some linkage thing or probably a tranny issue with a sensor or malfunctioning hardware....

[djb383]

You say it goes away after a few miles................I don't believe the auto tranny will shift into OD until the engine reaches a minimum/certain coolant temp. The radiator fan will come on if the a/c is on or the dash switch is in the defrost position. With the a/c off and the dash knobs off, the radiator fan s/b off unless the engine coolant temp is high enough to turn the fan on. There's only one radiator fan.

[prathman]

The radiator fan issue sounds like a problem with the temperature sensor in the radiator. It's supposed to activate a relay to turn on the fan once the temperature gets high enough. That sensor is broken in my old Nova/Corolla and also results in the fan running all the time.It's possible that this also affects the activation of O/D in the transmission. *If* it only shifts into O/D when the radiator is between normal temperature limits, then the defective temperature sensor could also be responsible for that problem. My Nova/Corolla is a manual transmission so I don't have the O/D issue.

[ToolGuy]

Have you checked the trans fluid level? An indication of its color and smell will tell you if the trans is in trouble. If it smells burnt and is really, really black like black coffee, you may have an issue. Yours will be dark do not get me wrong especially if it has never been changed but it will not smell overly bad like if you have an issue. And better yet, have you ever changed out the transmission fluid? Could be an electronic issue or could be a valve body in the transmission issue... But the fluid level and if it was ever changed is also key here.The fan could be a bad or stuck relay or a computer issue telling it to come on. It could also be a result of a bad coolant sensor, tripping the fan.

[keithvibe]

Quote, originally posted by djb383 »You say it goes away after a few miles................I don't believe the auto tranny will shift into OD until the engine reaches a minimum/certain coolant temp. The radiator fan will come on if the a/c is on or the dash switch is in the defrost position. With the a/c off and the dash knobs off, the radiator fan s/b off unless the engine coolant temp is high enough to turn the fan on. There's only one radiator fan.x2... the trans won't shift in to O/D till the trans is up to operation temp

[Digger]

might try resetting the comp.

[ToolGuy]

Quote, originally posted by dos194 » or the last time it went away after sixty miles.thankxI do not feel it is a warm up issue and think this part of the statement is key. With 60 miles of driving, the engine is very warm. Plus this sounds like the first they have noticed an issue after 156,000 miles of knowing the car.

[Whelan]

Could be an issue with either the linkage or with the actual button itself.

[ragingfish]

More I read it, the more it is reminiscent of my G6's defective shift gate valve thingy...IMHO, you need to get it looked at sooner than later...if it IS mechanical, continuing to drive with it could be asking for big trouble.Just my $0.05 (damn US dollar is so weak)