Service Engine Soon Light, Car Shifting extremely hard, bogging, stuttering!

[JohnnyH1012]

Well, I just had a terrifying ride. My LeSabre has been incredibly reliable until tonight- while driving along going maybe 45 mph, I felt jolt or two and my LeSabre lurched forward, followed by the "Service Engine Soon" light coming on. After that everything went south. The RPMS stayed consistently low (under 1700), and every time it decided to shift it did so very hard with a hard-to-describe rubberband sort of feel. When I moved forward from a stop, the whole car made a terrible vibrating noise. Also, when I let off the gas at any given point it immediately shifted hard into a higher gear. I know these LeSabres have transmission problems, but my manual is telling me that this was likely a misfire and a resulting emissions issue. Although I said I "felt" the transmission before, that's only a guess as to if it was the transmission. I'll be taking it to Autozone tommorow for a scan, just to see what in the world is going on and get a basic idea. Does anyone have an idea as to what the heck is going on?

 

[HotZ28]

Usually, AZ can only do an engine scan for codes. You may have to take the car to a transmission shop for a trans scan. Evidently, you have a problem with one, or the other.

 

[steven_w]

is the "service engine soon" light or "service vehicle soon" light on?

 

[Buick Customer Service]

Hi JohnnyH1012,

We're very sorry to hear that you are experiencing these concerns with the transmission in your LeSabre. We realize that you're looking for the opinion's of other owners, however, we would be more than happy to provide an additional layer of assistance by reaching out to your preferred dealership to have these concerns addressed. If you're interested in this, please send us a private message with your VIN, mileage, contact information and the name of your preferred dealership.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best,

Ashley R.
Buick Customer Care

Well, I just had a terrifying ride. My LeSabre has been incredibly reliable until tonight- while driving along going maybe 45 mph, I felt jolt or two and my LeSabre lurched forward, followed by the "Service Engine Soon" light coming on. After that everything went south. The RPMS stayed consistently low (under 1700), and every time it decided to shift it did so very hard with a hard-to-describe rubberband sort of feel. When I moved forward from a stop, the whole car made a terrible vibrating noise. Also, when I let off the gas at any given point it immediately shifted hard into a higher gear. I know these LeSabres have transmission problems, but my manual is telling me that this was likely a misfire and a resulting emissions issue. Although I said I "felt" the transmission before, that's only a guess as to if it was the transmission. I'll be taking it to Autozone tommorow for a scan, just to see what in the world is going on and get a basic idea. Does anyone have an idea as to what the heck is going on?

 

[JohnnyH1012]

So an Autozone trip has informed me that my LeSabre is throwing a P0742 code, pointing to the TCC Solenoid in the transmission as a potential issue, or a potential blockage. The TCC seems to be a cheap part- however quite a bit of work to get the transmission down and out . Not sure if I'm going to take it to my dealer of 13 years or a cheaper but trustworthy shop down the road. Opinions?