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dancerjodiWhat happened was last night I drove for almost an hour with no problem. Then all of a sudden while accelerating at a lower speed (i.e. I had gotten off of the highway) the car was jerking - like it was slipping between gears or something inappopriately. I made it home fine.
I went in to talk with Brian about it a bit and we came out to check out the car. I revved the engine in park for a bit - nothing out of the ordinary. I put the car into reverse with my foot on the break and SLAM, it rammed into gear, jerking a bit and making a loud noise. I put into drive - same thing.
After some discussion we decided to try and make it out to the dealer in Natick. There is a mechanic that I LOVE in Waltham, but he doesn't do engine and transmission work. Given that this seemed to be the tranny, we headed to the dealer. I've always had good experience with them (and besides, if I did need a new tranny or something, they have free loaner cars).
I drove and the car did its jerking/shifting thing for about 15 minutes . . . the rest of the commute it was fine (dammit)! I was thinking, maybe its just low on fluid. I just had it checked/filled a month ago though, so if that is the case, there's a leak somewhere that I'd still want to check out. Don't want to fuck with the transmission right before winter.
So it sat there overnight and I dropped my keys in the door slot. I called first thing this morning and talked to a guy who I told the whole story to. But did he tell anyone? No! The mechanics got my key in an envelope marked "transmission issues" and didn't know what to look for. They hooked it up to the computer, checked fluids, and drove it around the block. They can't find anything wrong with it. I just got a call back from another guy who I told the whole story to again (he said "OK, that gives us something to look for". I did inform him though, that I had told the whole story to someone else at around 7:30 AM.
They are going back to look at it again (are going to let it run for a while to get it hot before driving - since the problem didn't start until I had been on the road for a while last night). We shall see what happens.
Why do I have the feeling that this is going to be a long drawn out (and expensive) process to figure out what the problem is? Its reminding me a lot of when my Contour was on its way out due to Head Gasket issues . . . at least *this* car lasted me longer before the problems started. :/
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no subject
Date: 2004-09-09 08:57 am (UTC)Sna?
Date: 2004-09-09 10:03 am (UTC)I have no idea what this means.
If you're suggesting a mechanic, I already have 2 (the Saturn and the one in Waltham). If I can't use Saturn I'm going to bring it to the guys in Waltham to suggest a local place. :)
Re: Sna?
Date: 2004-09-09 10:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-09 09:06 am (UTC)That's what my sedan does.
ESPECIALLY into reverse. if I'm not careful it SLAMS into reverse. if I am careful, it just drops, sometimes gently.
They're saying it's a "need to replace the part when it breaks" issue, and it WILL cost more than the car is worth. Much More. I should be saving to buy a new one if it falls down, goes boom.
That said - my car has been doing this particular thing for about 4 years. it's only NOW gotten to a point where it happens most of the time and Saturn can duplicate it. I think it happens when it's particularly stressed, like in stop and go traffic, on cold mornings, or after a long hard drive.
So just because this is happening, doesn't mean it isn't an easy fix now, that will have to be watched. My boy sometimes hesitates in traffic, whic is the scary thing, but not so I'd be "Must take to dealer NOW!" Maybe sitting all weekend didn't make your boy happy. it seems to happen more often when I'm due for an oil change/fluid top off. (Like, oh now. *grins*)
I hope they have good news. I would have told you to take it to Norwood rather than Natick, but hey, I drive from Quincy to Norwood rather than go to the (now defunct) Quincy dealer.
if they get weird, tell them about my sedan. Have them call the Norwood service - I KNOW they've seen this issue before. Jack is the head of service, and he rocks my little world.