Let's talk transmissions

[Caretaker]

Ok, here's the deal. Former 626 owner very familiar with tranny slamming due to the infamous Ford Probe transmission. My '09 Vibe auto Corolla tranny is slamming when asking the tranny to downshift to second for extra power. It is most notable when the car has been driven for 20-30 minutes (ie: the fluid is nice and heated up) and occurs when the car is in 4th, going let's say 42 mph, and when I let off the gas and let the car coast, letting the RPMs go down to around 1200. Once I ask for more power or to pass or to climb a hill, the tranny hesitates and then slams down into second as it downshifts. The problem has caused me to almost have several accidents as I pull out into traffic and get the delayed response from the tranny. When I went to talk to my pals at Mazda who saw me through my 626 misery, my friend suggested that it was a PCM issue and the Corolla trannies had had this problem in the past. I took it in to my "tried to kill me once" Chevy dealer who did not smell any burnt fluid and could not replicate the problem (probably took it out cold and did not run it around for 30 minutes). My Mazda service manager pal also thought the fluid smelled like the normally unusual smelling universal Type IV fluid, but said that by no means should I stand for a tranny that is exibiting slamming. I probably will go to another dealer soon and try again. I am not aware of any TSBs on hard downshifts to second gear on the automatics. Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

[lovemyraffe]

Are the tranny's in the '09 1.8L the same as the '03-'08 Base?

[star_deceiver]

(I'm assuming the fluid is at the proper level) I'd say PCM or solenoid issue. Is it still under full warranty?Can you make the tranny slam on purpose at will? If you can, take the service tech or manager with you and scare the ____ out of him/her by doing it in traffic!!!

[Caretaker]

I sure can make it slam at will after the 30 minute warm up period. The car only has 28,000 miles.I just looked at my window sticker (in the drawer not on the car ) and it says the 09 Vibe's have the 5yr/100,000 powertrain warranty, so I am more than fine there too. I'll make an appointment to go on a joy ride with a tech. Thanks for the advice.

[lovemyraffe]

If it is the same tranny the PCM is a known issue. Get it taken care of sooner than later. Take advantage of that warranty.