RaceLegend01

Hey guys I have a trans slip issue that's bugging me. When I first drive the car for the day, if I make any sharp turns or hard stops during about the first 10 minutes of driving, the trans will basically slip out of gear it seems then clunk back in once the rpms come up a little. If I take things slower there's no issues and after say 10 minutes it doesn't do it anymore, just the first time I drive the car. Never has issues any other time so its really been bugging me if this is somehow normal or if I have an issue. I was thinking low fluid but I had it flushed at the dealer not all that long ago so I wouldn't see why it would be low, and I know its a pain to check it. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions? I'd appreciate it, also anyone with the same situation as I haven't seen anyone else with this exact problem. I live at an apartment so access to working on it is limited, thanks.

jimkr

I can't offer a definite solution for you, but I can tell you that when I slow down and make the turn onto my street, if I'm very light on the accelerator the tranny does sometimes feel "unsure" of what to do (downshift, or stay in its present gear). It almost feels like it's coasting. Once I tap the accelerator, it seems to catch up and re-engage. I just figure it's normal, as long as the engine doesn't seem to be "free-wheeling" when u give it gas. I tend to keep a very close watch on my tranny since the 5R55 has a less than stellar track record at times. How many miles do you have on your car? I just turned 39,000.

RaceLegend01

I've got about 62000. It feels like it goes into neutral to me, but with pretty much any throttle goes back to normal. One time I took a turn and had to stop hard at a light, didn't notice it slipped out of gear and when I hit the gas the rpms shot up a bit like in neutral and then banged into gear, I know to be more careful now. I had a time in the past where I was going to work, within 10 minutes away, and when I got there and turns the car into a spot quick, stopped kinda hard, and then put it in reverse and it didn't go into gear, just sat in neutral somehow until I gave it gas and then it went into gear. Idk what the deal is.

RaceLegend01

you know that moment when your coming to a stop and the tranny unlocks, rpms come up a bit and then back down like normal? its like when I stopped hard it didn't give it time to do that.

jimkr

When slowing down for a light, the transmission doesn't go into neutral (or it shouldn't), what you're seeing/feeling is the tranny downshifting to first gear. If you hit the accelerator at just the right moment, the tranny MAY jump into second gear, which may seem like a sudden "jump" all depends on several different factors. If you stop quickly, you won't sense the downshift because the stop is more abrupt, but it still should perform the downshift. You would know once you step on the gas, the car will start in first gear again.

jimkr

What you describe in your second post ( about parking), THAT sounds like low trans fluid though. Even the dealer can mess things up sometimes. Did they do a complete fluid flush? Including the torque converter? Or did they drop the pan, and replace the filter, and only drained the case? If memory serves me right, the converter holds most of the tranny fluid, like 8 quarts or something.

Derf00

The dealership should be doing a flush of the transmission using a Rotunda machine flush. They hook up to the trans cooler lines (one in/out) and run clean fluid through it until the fluid going back into the machine is clean. This cleans out everything including the tranny filter. They recommend doing this every 30K miles or 3 years. whichever comes first. Tranny fluid condition has a huge impact on the tranny shifting.

It's $170. Start with that and see if it doesn't resolve your issue. These cars have what are called sealed tranny's meaning that a regular flushing interval negates the need to drop the pan and change the filter/gasket. This also means maintenance is more frequent (30K vs 45 or even 60K of a traditional tranny setup).

jimkr

Hey Derf00, just curious don't know how long you've had your GT, how many miles do you have on it? And have you had any trouble with the tranny? That's the only part of my GT that I'm concerned about, since I've heard/read so much negative info about this...BTW, love the quote!

RaceLegend01

yeah it performs the downshift normally when I stop. I did have a full flush done not too long ago, and it seemed to feel a little better after the flush, but then eventually got used to it or went back to normal. I'll check to see when exactly it was flushed. I know you can vent out a little fluid over time, but I couldn't see venting out enough over a short period of time to be low.

RaceLegend01

Just checked and had the full 16 quart flush done about 10,000 miles ago.