Sometimes when I put the car in Drive, it doesn't engage. I even give it several seconds, but I can't feel it engage - and then if I hit the gas, the car acts like if it was in neutral. Reverse engages and works every time. After a couple attempts of moving it from Drive to Reverse to Park to Drive, it will engage. After it does, the car runs fine and shifts through all the gears as normal on my way to work. It also works fine after stopping at traffic lights and it doesn’t shudder at all. It's only that initial engage in Drive that seems to be the problem.
I've noticed it only when it is cold outside - 30/35 or below, and after the car has been sitting overnight. Letting my car warm up for a few minutes doesn't make a difference.
I have a 2004 GT. The transmission fluid level is good. It has 135k miles on it, and the transmission fluid has never been changed - but as far as I can tell, the fluid looks fine. I was advised by some friends to not change the fluid because of the amount of miles on it and the fact that the fluid has never been changed previously.
I've read a few topics on here that were similar to my problem and some that reference these sites.
No Forward Cold
Wont move in D or 3 only
It seems like the problem I'm having is (somewhat) less serious than those. Any ideas?
