Transmission problem from a standing start

[polarzak]

My wife's 06 seems to have developed a transmission problem. In stop and go traffic, when she takes her foot off the brake and onto the gas peddle, the transmission revs, and then a major clunk into gear and off she goes. Otherwise the transmission shifts normally at other speeds. She says this only happen in stop and go traffic, and when the car is at normal operating temperature. I just took it out when she got home, just stopped at a stop sign, and then when I pressed the gas, the engine revved as if it was in neutral, and then banged in gear. Again it was fine, through the rest of the shift ranges.
I have seen some posts similar to this but can't find them. Searching the web, the results always point to the Pressure control solenoid valve. I am definitely not going to fix this my self, but if I understand from my reading, the could be a relatively cheap, in car fix for 3 - 500 dollars. Or, the transmission needs to be removed and over hauled. If anyone have help me determine if this it an inexpensive fix (simple replacing the valve wit the transmission i car) or pull the tranny and the expense that goes with it. The car is in great shape otherwise, and hoped to get it through the winter and buy a new vehicle in the spring. That said, I did see a lovely new Chrysler 300 today, and if this is a big, expensive transmission job,.... bye, bye Lucerne. Thanks for your help. BTW it has the AT65-E transmission and the fluid/filter was changed last year. Thanks. (maybe another good flush and fill might help?)

 

[jemhanlo]

I had a similar situation with a 2007 Silverado. When attempting to accelerate from a complete stop, I experienced a very abrupt jolt from 1st gear to 2nd. It felt as if the transmission was slipping slightly as well. The jolt due to the shifting felt like the truck had been hit from behind almost. All other gears were fine. The service engine light appeared as well. The code indicated input shaft speed sensor. While the sensor was fairly inexpensive, it required the transmission to be removed. The repair was approximately $1,300. 3K miles later the transmission failed at 81k miles. While the Lucerne is of course not a Silverado, both are GM which leads to similar technology. Your experience as mentioned earlier is similar to mine. I would be cautious not to invest too much as nobody cares to throw good money into something that is bad. Good luck to you.

 

[polarzak]

Thanks for the reply jemhanlo. That jolt from behind is exactly what it feels like in the Lucerne. There are no service codes, so it could be anything. Taking it in to the transmission shop on Friday morning and see what they say. I expect it to be expensive -transmission work never seems to be a simple repair. Although I had the fluid changed at the recommended interval, depending on what they say, I might just ask for a flush, filter and fluid change. Might be a cheap fix.

 

[SD73]

I had a similar problem with my 06 Lacrosse with the 4T65E. I did some searching and found a number of people had some success using Lubegard. I wrote their tech support and they recommended either the red bottle or platinum bottle for my slamming issue. It apparently swells some of the seals. In my case it's worked well for about 10k that I've driven it since it first started happening. If you use it with the the 4T65E the amount to use is 1oz per qt of trans fluid. which is 13.5 ounces in my case.

 

[polarzak]

Thanks SD73. Never been a fan of additives, however Lubguard reads well on paper and gets good reviews. Might be worth a try if they come back Friday and say I need a $1,500 tranny job.

 

[Johnscsx]

Polarzak,

You might want to get several estimates from different repair shops. Often times they won't charge you anything for the diagnosis, and that will give you a better idea of what needs to be done. If it's too much money, just torch the whole car, and collect the insurance money. 🙂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7vPcrIzhT4

 

[polarzak]

Polarzak,
If it's too much money, just torch the whole car, and collect the insurance money. 🙂

Thanks for the advice, (will do) and the morning laugh.

 

[Johnscsx]

Hey, seriously, here is a data point for you in your decision making process. You can buy a remanufactured transmission for that car from Rock Auto for $1,120.79

http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=4765044&cc=1432895&jsn=8&jsn=8

I suspect any good mechanic could install it in less than two days. Probably less than $2500 total, including labor & shipping, if you use a small independent mechanic. (And probably less than that.)

 

[ironllama]

Taking it in to the transmission shop on Friday morning

Let us know what they say! I've had this issue for a year now and the trans fluid/filter change only fixed it for 3 days before it started up again.
The place near me wanted a lot of $$ to diagnose. With no codes present (and they couldn't replicate the issue) I figured I would return there when it got really bad but now it's not a big priority for me.

 

[polarzak]

Well the transmissions shop says it is only a worn motor mount. I told him I know that and and I know it was causing a little clunk sometime upon acceleration. I said what about when you step on the gas, nothing happens for a second, and them bang into gear like the car is hit from behind. Says it never happened on his test drive. So, I am in a real quandary. I probably will get the motor mount done, but I am positive that is not the real problem. I could be wrong, but if the problem continues with the new mount, am going to go buy a new car. With winter coming, I don't want my wife stranded somewhere with a car that has 322,000 on the clock. She loves it, but I worry. Will let you know if the new mount does anything .

 

[Johnscsx]

Firestone recently told me that my Lucerne engine mounts need to be replaced. The mechanic says he can feel the clunk when he starts out from a dead stop. I have trouble feeling it, then again it was probably a gradual problem and I'm used it now. Fixing it ain't cheap. You got to support the engine from the top, then drop the subframe underneath. I think he told me 3 or 4 hours labor. There are three mounts on my Northstar, two for the engine and one for the transmission. Mounts from rock auto totaled about were at $200, and I can buy an engine support for less than $100., so about $300 total to do it myself. Firestone wanted about $900 to do it all.

Open the hood and check out how much the engine moves when you rev it. If it's pulling on the cables and hoses connected to it, then it may be time to replace the mounts

 

[polarzak]

Firestone recently told me that my Lucerne engine mounts need to be replaced. The mechanic says he can feel the clunk when he starts out from a dead stop. I have trouble feeling it, then again it was probably a gradual problem and I'm used it now. Fixing it ain't cheap. You got to support the engine from the top, then drop the subframe underneath. I think he told me 3 or 4 hours labor. There are three mounts on my Northstar, two for the engine and one for the transmission. Mounts from rock auto totaled about were at $200, and I can buy an engine support for less than $100., so about $300 total to do it myself. Firestone wanted about $900 to do it all.

Open the hood and check out how much the engine moves when you rev it. If it's pulling on the cables and hoses connected to it, then it may be time to replace the mounts

Yes, I can feel the little clunk/shutter, whatever it is, when I first start off, and probably it is the mount. The shop wanted $400 for just one, installed. The 3.8 has one on the bottom and one on top. I can get the bottom one (supposed bad one) for around $150.00, and for my car, according to the transmission guy, about a half hour to replace. The general shop up the road will put the mount in for me for $50 or so dollars. Probably something I can do myself but have made a promise to myself that any repair than needs me under the car, "ain't gonna" be done by me. (except changing the oil) My wife planned to take the Lucerne next week to Vermont, to visit family. She wanted to take it, loves the car, but I asked her to take the newer car. I would feel better not worrying about her breaking down. In the mean time I will have her car, the Lucerne, for a week, (next week) and drive it around a bit, and see what the general soundness of the car is. The car seems in great shape, no rust, shiny, clean, but she doesn't have an ear or feel for things like I do. Will check your suggestion to see how much the engine actually moves. Also plan to drop into the dealer...I hear one of those new cars calling me. In the meantime, I have I daughter's 09 Ford pickup in the garage for a rear brake job. I thought drum brakes went out with the dinosaurs - apparently not with Ford. Hope I can find my spring tools.

 

[Johnscsx]

Well the transmissions shop says it is only a worn motor mount. I told him I know that and and I know it was causing a little clunk sometime upon acceleration. I said what about when you step on the gas, nothing happens for a second, and them bang into gear like the car is hit from behind. Says it never happened on his test drive. So, I am in a real quandary. I probably will get the motor mount done, but I am positive that is not the real problem. I could be wrong, but if the problem continues with the new mount, am going to go buy a new car. With winter coming, I don't want my wife stranded somewhere with a car that has 322,000 on the clock. She loves it, but I worry. Will let you know if the new mount does anything .

It sounds like it may be your throttle position sensor. Those things tend to wear a lot between the idle position, and when you first start to give it gas. On my old chevy it would act up when then engine was cold, about a mile away from home, and then the problem would go away as the engine fully warmed up. I thought it was the transmission, but I figured I would try the TPS first, and that turned out to be the problem. It was an easy cheap fix. I don't remember what I paid for the new TPS, maybe $60? The part is common to a lot of GM vehicles, I remember that. If you have that many miles on it, it's probably due for a new one anyway.

 

[myfreeaudi]

Polarzak,

You might want to get several estimates from different repair shops. Often times they won't charge you anything for the diagnosis, and that will give you a better idea of what needs to be done. If it's too much money, just torch the whole car, and collect the insurance money. 🙂

Love the Youtube video, it brought some cheer to the maybe expensive trans clunk problem.

 

[lfdal54]

This is for a 2011 Lucerne. Column shift if it matters. From a standing stop, if I lightly step on the gas, no bumps, no reving for the 1-2 upshift. If I hit the gas reasonably hard, then there's no reving, but a very abrupt, really quick 1-2 upshift. All the other up-down shifts are fine. Just trying to get a feel for what's going on before I let the shop at it. Trans fluid looks and smells good, but is original. Car has 58k on the odometer. Was my mother-father-inlaws car so never driven hard. Any suggestions much appreciated.

 

[Mad_Coachman]

This is for a 2011 Lucerne. Column shift if it matters. From a standing stop, if I lightly step on the gas, no bumps, no reving for the 1-2 upshift. If I hit the gas reasonably hard, then there's no reving, but a very abrupt, really quick 1-2 upshift. All the other up-down shifts are fine. Just trying to get a feel for what's going on before I let the shop at it. Trans fluid looks and smells good, but is original. Car has 58k on the odometer. Was my mother-father-inlaws car so never driven hard. Any suggestions much appreciated.

I think you should start your own thread for better exposure. This thread is from 2017 so copy it to to your clipboard and paste it into a new thread of your own.
😳 😀 😎

 

[2007LucerneCXL]

Assuming it's a V6 3.9 it has the 4T65-E transmission which does have some issues. Considering the mileage it may have the original fluid and filter those may be the first thing to have changed. The bump type feeling is more often once the vehicle and transmission is fully warmed up so that would be something to note when it occurs.

The other way would be getting a professional transmission scan to see if there any transmission codes, trans code won't trigger a CEL, and proceed from that point.

 

[lfdal54]

Thanks for the responses. Checked it with my code scanner, nothing there. Then took a good look at the front motor mount, and it was shot. Replaced motor mount, all is well. Do think I'll get the fluid and filter changed soon though. Decided to get the OEM mount as I really don't trust aftermarket for some stuff. Although with such low mileage maybe I should have tried aftermarket, pretty awful life for a mount in a gently driven car.

 

[2007LucerneCXL]

Glad you found the problem and unfortunately the mounts are a issue. I would stay away from the less expensive aftermarket mounts as they seem to be hit or miss with more on the miss side.

 

[G-93835]

Thanks for the responses. Checked it with my code scanner, nothing there. Then took a good look at the front motor mount, and it was shot. Replaced motor mount, all is well. Do think I'll get the fluid and filter changed soon though. Decided to get the OEM mount as I really don't trust aftermarket for some stuff. Although with such low mileage maybe I should have tried aftermarket, pretty awful life for a mount in a gently driven car.

I'm having the same issue with a very similar 2011, gently driven by my grandpa. Thanks for the info. Hoping mine is the same. Been getting worse for over a month. Today was really bad so I started reading these.