Another Intrigue w/ Tranny troubles

1999GX/3.5/107,500 miles here.

So, I drove up to VT last weekend - about 90 miles on the highway doing 70ish in cruise control. Got off in Brattleboro and headed west up and over the hills to Wilmington (should've got off 91 in Mass. and drove up thru the valleys, but anyway).

My phone rang, so I pulled over to answer it. Not sure if I may have pulled over when the tranny was in mid-shift or something, but when I got going again the tranny acted up bigtime. Sorry if I don't know the proper terms, but it was like triple-bumping into gears. First, second, probably 3rd.

The SES came on, and it shifted all screwy like that perhaps 6-12 times as I continued to my destination. I got to a garage but it was 4pm friday and they were busy. Said they'd charge $70ish to pull the code, so I said 'screw it' took care of what I had to up there and headed back to CT, hoping I wouldn't end up having to call AAA.

It's been shifting as smoothly as ever in the 150 or so miles since the goofy shifts episode. SES went off after bad shifting stopped.

Got to a tranny center today and they pulled a P0742 "tcc circuit stuck on" and P1811 "max adapt and long shift" code out (if I'm reading his handwriting correctly).

I have read other tranny threads about seafoam transtune and the shift kits some of you have used with success. The mechanic I spoke with seemed honest, but claimed seafoam swells seals, didn't think much of shift kits I don't think, and ultimately said I was probably looking at $2000-$2500 of work. Even if I didn't have a few other 4 figure expenses right now, I think I'd just opt to be rid of the Olds before paying that much.

Would I just be thinking wishfully that this could be a one-time occurrence and the vehicle reprogrammed itself to fix the problem? The tranny fluid was changed at 90,000 miles (107,500 now). Level is full and the fluid looks good. This is the only time it's done anything like that, though I have had occasional hard shifts into 3rd at around 40mph.

The tranny guy said it's just a matter of time before it does it again, and that not doing something could mean higher repair costs in the future. I was actually planning to move to VT this month, so it could not be a worse time for this nonsense! I'll have to use the car for more trips up there, maybe even one tomorrow.

So that's my story. Any advice/opinions would be appreciated. I've only put 33K on this car over the last 7 years. I've heard about the trannies having issues, but at 107,500K? COME ON NOW!!!:banghead:

Welcome to the forum-

The P1811 is a very common code and issue with all GM 4T65E transmissions including your Intrigue.

The hard shifting occurs when the transmission goes into high pressure mode to protect itself from slipping.

When the car is shut off it resets the counter for this code. That's the reason why it seemed to go away. Unfortunately it didn't go away, it just didn't happen during that specific driving cycle.

I have a 2000 Intrigue with the P1811 that's currently awaiting a shift kit. I thought I'd try it, just waiting for some help to get it installed. I like many others have payed shops for the pressure control solenoid, only to have this issue come back 10,000 miles latter.

My 2000 Intrigue had this issue at 72,000 and roughly 84,000 miles, so it can hapen with low mileage cars.

I've tried the seafoam transtune as well. It really didn't do much to improve this issue. Didn't really cause any other problems that I noticed either. Seafoam from what I understand is a cleaner, not a seal swelling enhancer. Since it's a Minnesota product, there's lots of people up here that use it, and it's readily avalible at nearly all parts stores. The product for the transmission is different than their engine treatment, so make sure you have the right product if your going to try it.

Good luck and keep us posted with results

My 2000 has gotten the P0742 (TCC PWM solenoid stuck on) code for years. It's worse in hot weather. I'd cringe as the tranny slammed into higher gears on upshift (never downshift, as I recall). It was always a P0742 error code, never P1811.
You asked if the PCM "reprogrammed" itself. Normally, after I shut off the engine, and the engine/transmission cooled somewhat, the car was "good to go" until the next time a few days, weeks, or months later. The SES light would remain lit for the next 2 (or 3?) good (non-P0742-incurring) drive cycles. This usually meant the next 2 or 3 drives, with SES light lit, and car shifting normally.

I considered a shift kit, but wasn't sure it would help, because they were discussed mostly with regard to fixing the P1811 "long shift" problem, which my car didn't show. Last fall I finally sprung for a ZZ Performance transmission shift kit, after thinking about it for years. They recently upped the price from $30 to $40. Add $10 shipping and the total cost is $50. I was surprised by what the kit consists of: six nylon spacers, of which you (normally) use only four. I happened to have a whole drawer full of them left over from some basement project or other.
One double-sided page of instructions came with the kit. No pictures, no drawings, no diagrams. I searched around on the web, regarding the P0742 error code and shift kits, and found the following link very useful -- it has pictures that helped a lot. I just checked, and the post is still there. The guy is using a different shift kit (metallic spacers), but the kits are similar, and the general process is the same. The description and pictures of his progress, and the accumulator, assembled and disassembled, were just invaluable to me. In my opinion, the kit instructions should definitely have come with similar pictures -- no good reason why not, and it would be a great improvement.

Here is the link:

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/ls4-performance/628840-shift-kit-install-very-detailed-56k-go-watch-movie.html

Despite the name of the link, I didn't find any movies, but the pictures were good, and very helpful.

The spacers modify the 1-2 shift and the 2-3 shift.

The job was a bit messy working with those accumulator pistons. You drain the fluid out of the accumulator at the start, but as I recall, it's recommended to fill the accumulator cylinders with fluid as you put it back together, so do it outside, on an absorbent surface, keep your mouth closed, and don't ever have your eyes in the way of the fluid.

As to results...so far, real good. I was a bit disgruntled about the kit (maybe you can tell), but I must say it is working well. The quicker shifting is a treat. It's not rough or annoying, just satisfying. Best of all, I think the P0742 episodes are rarer. One occurred last fall, but the slamming on upshift was much less evident. That was a good thing; hope it's permanent. I was going to wait to report on this, until this fall, after a summer's hot weather, including towing my boat, but maybe this info will be of help to you guys now.

BTW, I've used Seafoam TransTune the last two times I swapped out half my tranny fluid. As suggested, I used half the can beforehand, as a cleaner, and the second half with the new 7 qts of fluid. For what its worth, their website makes a big point that Transtune does not operate by swelling the seals in the transmission.

How much was the PCS replacement? I know I read somewhere that replacing it doesn't necessarily fix the problem, but seeing as how I only put like 4000 miles/year on the olds, getting another 10,000 miles might be a good option if it spared me an expensive rebuild or whatever they wanna do.

How risky do you guys think it is for me to continue driving it without having work done? I'm planning to move about 100 miles away in the next few weeks so this is the worst time for me to have to deal with this, or buy a new car! Would I risk doing damage or even breaking down? Just upped my AAA membership to include 100 mile tow just in case.

Is there no chance this could just have been a flukey occurrence? The road it happened on was very hilly/windy so the trans may have been working thru the gears far more than is usual. And it has been shifting normally since then. Sorry for all the Qs, but I'm stressin' over this, yo!

fhofstra-

Thanks for the post. I've seen that post over at ls1tech.com that you posted, and it does have pretty good pictures.

There's also a lot of posting by BNaylor over on the Grand Prix forums (link is at the top of this forum) on the P1811 issue. I just haven't gotten around to it. It's still pretty cold here in Minnesota, and that car is no longer a daily driver. I hope to get around to it latter this spring, when I can have reasonable temperatures in the garage!

Googabee- Not sure what to suggest, as I'm not familiar with the other code that your getting. The pressure control solenoid is located under the side cover of the transmission. There is a fair amount of labor to get at this $50.00 part, as part of the engine cradle must be lowered to remove the cover for access. That's why the local shop was around $700.00. I'm just disapointed that it happened twice within a 12 month period.

Tranny shop ended up doing it the second time under their warranty. They really were pushing for a rebuild, but at that time I wasn't willing to put $3K into the Intrigue.

These issues seem to get worse as the transmission gets warmer. In the short term stoping the car and cooling everything down may work, but it's anyones guess as to how long.

Well, just took a 170 mile round trip up north and back again. Pretty much all highway with CC set at 70. Still running and shifting smooth as could be, must be about 320 miles or so since the goofy shifts and SES. Maybe I'm pushing my luck, but I can't afford a rebuild or to be without the car right now. If it breaks down I'll have to see what its options are so far as selling/fixing.

Thanks again for your help, guys. Just figured I'd update while my thread's still at the top.

Well guys... I've talked to 3 tranny shops now. Two of them say $2000 fix just based on P0742 and P1811. The third guy was pretty abrupt on the phone, said 'those are bad codes to have' and that he'd need to have a look. I'd guess he'd ask the same or more, but I didn't like his demeanor on the phone so I don't think I'll drop the Olds off there.

One guy I talked to for like 5 mins and he was very helpful. He said I could drive the car another month without worrying about doing more damage or getting stranded. That contradicts what the anti-seafoam guy said on tuesday, but I like his answer better so I'm gonna put off dropping the bread for a while. I'm already looking at $3-4000 in dental and moving expenses right now!

Just another update but please feel free to share any thoughts!

googabee -
Just an additional comment - as I said above, my trusty Intrigue has had these P0742 errors irregularly for years. I certainly dreaded feeling them come on. The hard shifting would last (at least) until the next cooldown and engine start, but then, usually be OK. After it did happen, it would not happen again (usually) for days or weeks. While it was doing this, I always tried to time having my foot off the accelerator at the instant I'd guess it was going to upshift, just to try to generally reduce strain all around. I'd also sometimes try to run (around town) in 3rd, or even 2nd for a bit, just to prevent as many of those slamming upshifts as possible. Or shift manually 1,2,3, since that way you can insure your foot is off the accelerator.
Hard to say, but based on my car, yours may also be able to withstand some of those P0742's. Mine sure did.
And despite my mixed feelings about the kit I described, it does appear to be working well, and more to the point as far as you are concerned, I think that it has reduced the number of P0742's, and their severity. That's what you are looking for. In that light, $50 for the kit, plus a filter, 7 quarts of Dextron VI, and maybe a can of Transtune, is pretty cheap.
As an acquaintance would say, "HTH but YMMV" (Hope this helps, but your mileage [experience] may vary).
Good fortune with it.

Thanks fhofstra, very good to hear! I may well end up trying that... has to be worth it if it could save $2K!