Thread: 02 GT engine/tranny issue?

Little question for you guys, when i step on the gas pedal to half when below 35mph, isnt overdrive suppose to kick in? And the same when over 35mph about 3/4 throttle? My GP has been fine for the past year or so, regular maintenance, oil changes when told to, and so on. Just within the past week everytime i step down and try to go, its bogs down and barely accelerates! On mon i attempted to pass a car on the thruway and when i got to about 3/4 down the "Service Engine Soon" light came on! I let off and it went away, but now anytime i try to get going, the car just revs up to 5k and it takes a good 2 sec to gain 5mpg....

Any idea whats wrong?

I have a feeling thats gonna cost me. Tomorrow when im at a vocational school, ill ask the auto tech teacher if they can check my computer.

Hypothetically, if it isnt a code issue, what else may it be?

No codes found, transaxle fluid is still red, but a hint of brown. Talked to my dad about and after school tmw im dropping her off at the dealership....

Cerick-Pardon the crappy explanation, but id assume that the car acts as the manual says when the car is under 35mph, and the gas pedal is pushed to half of its travel, thats that overdrive. When the car is above 35mph, and the pedal is pushed to its limit, that would be that overdrive. The car has over 138k miles on it and last i knew, at 100k the tranny was flushed as recommended. And for the shifting thing, shifting is a smooth "powerband" feeling as the overdrive would be the "sudden" burst of acceleration? right or wrong? And yes, i am 17, not to much car knowledge, but i know enough when the car is acting wrong. I will admit that i have also done somethings with this car that may have caused this issue, but im hoping none of it is the reason...

I think we need to correct something here... Overdrive is when the tranny's gear ratio is less than 1:1. What you're refering to is the car kicking down a gear right?

Things would be....and i know ill get .... for it cause its kinda abuse.....seeing how fast it goes(my brother actually had the car before me, and did this numerous times), doing a reverse donut on a snowy and empty parking lot(only did it three times then split), sometimes my passengers would be "funny" and put the car in neutral at a stop sign or red light and i wouldnt notice till i tried to go, and the daily abuse of a teenage lead foot driver.

matt-im starting to think from the way you guys are talking, that is exactly what i may be thinking overdrive is.

Allow me to explain: Overdrive is basically 4th gear on our cars. The car only goes into this by itself when you're cruising at 45+ mph. You can get it into overdrive by using cruise control at 44 mph as well.

The abuse probably has weakened the tranny. Try getting the tranny fluid changed out to Dextron VI and the tranny filter changed.

Pardon the crappy explanation, but id assume that the car acts as the manual says when the car is under 35mph, and the gas pedal is pushed to half of its travel, thats that overdrive. When the car is above 35mph, and the pedal is pushed to its limit, that would be that overdrive.

Doing as you've said would actually keep the car in second gear instead of forcing it to downshift into first. If you pressed the pedal all the way when below 35, the car downshifts into first. If you only press it halfway, the car will stay in second. Once you're above 35 MPH, no matter how far you press the pedal down, the car won't shift into first.

Now if you press the pedal PAST halfway when doing below 35 the car WILL kick down into first which might be what you're refering to as overdrive.

That could be it, and the more i think about it when i drive, the more i notice it drops down a gear then revs like crazy. Im hoping just a tranny flush and filter change is needed.

Thats normal if you're pushing the pedal to the floor. It will downshift to get the engine spinning to where its supposed to make the most power.

Well apparently according to the dealer tech's. Its the catalytic converter! ?

DAM IT! My car has 138k........ And i bet the dealer knew the whole time and didnt say crap!

Well, i actually just scored a new catalytic converter for under $220 at auto zone. And its direct mount! The dealer ship wants almost $700 for the part and labor. ha.

Its already bought. my car is stock, and not under my name, so im not gonna worry to much about upgrades until i own it.

The plan to install is take it to my vocational school tmw, i get out of my class for the day to work on my car, and its free to do. It seems simple enough to do.