Transmission troubles

i have an automatic 1995 Accent. when i put my car into drive or any of the lower gears, it just sits there, i have to turn the key a quarter turn forward and drive will engage. I have to hold the key like that until i hit about 8 mph then i can let it go. I also have to do this at every stop sign or complete stop. Can anybody tell me whats this is or at least point me in the right direction.

Thanks, and advice will be greatly appreciated.

Maybe your torque converter crapped out on you.

wow, i have never even considered that, i was thinking along the line of maybe a shift nuetral lock, or something electronic. Do you think the torque converter would cause these troubles?

Thanks for the help!

I'm sure you figured it out already that when you're turning the key 1/4 turn forward, you are accually engaging the starter. And when it's in drive it will start to move forward. This is a sure way to kill your starter or perhaps chip the teeth off the fly wheel! No, please no!

Now when you're driving does it act sluggish when you accellerate? Does it rev higher than it should and sometimes feel like it's not getting the power to the wheels? I don't have much experience with automatics, but I think it would feel like a worn clutch. Slipping, especially when going uphill.

Also how long has this been going on? Since it started getting cold outside? Does it ever work properly now (speratic or constant)? Did it start gradually or just all of a sudden start happening?

I'll try to help you out as best as I can.

Hey, Thanks alot for the help so far. When it urn the key, it does not get turned far enough to engage the starter, cuz when i sometimes slipand and turn it to far, i can hear the starter grind. It has been doing this since around 50,000 miles. It now has 74,000 on it. And it is a constant thing, ever since it started doing this it hasent stopepd. And as far as putting power to the wheels, if i am cruising at any speed and i push the gas in all the way, it will slip out of gear. Then i can wait a second and it goes back into gear. Also when i am at high RPM's like if i turn off overdrive and am at like 65-70 i can push the gas all the way in and it will stay in gear and not slip. I have cinsidered having the tranny power flushed, but am not sure if it will help. I also checked my oil level in the tranny and its fine. I also thought maybe it was the torque converter, which someone previously posted, but the only thing i dont understand is what the key turning has to do with the torque converter?

Thanks for the help, i dont know what else i can do?

Does it happen to have a remote starter hooked up to it? If it does I'm going to guess that it has something to do with that. If not, then maybe the ignition should be opened up and checked for loose wires or something bridging connections. I'm not too familiar with your car, but there may be some sort of sensor on the transmition that may be fouling. We're leaving to visit family for x-mas today. I'll check for your response before we go, but if I don't hear from you, then I'll check back after the holidays.

there is no remote starter, but i think it is a shift nuetral lock. I had a friend look at in from Gordon's, our local garage and that is what he said it was. im not really sure what else it could be, Taking the ignition off and checking for loose wire is always a good idea. When i have my lights on and open the door my alarm doesnt go off, so i am thinking maybe there is a sensor in the ingnition that tells the transmission what to do? thanks for the help though.

Bump Ttt

bump, TTT