trans problems

[kingdong]

i have a 2000 pontiac grandprix se ipurchased back in 2002. had problem from the start with trans switching gears hard took it to trans shop.now after warrenty has ran out same problem but now trans makes a whining noise. had to 2 used trans put in recently, same problem. whats the odds of three trans having the same problem i need help baaaad!

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by kingdong

i have a 2000 pontiac grandprix se ipurchased back in 2002. had problem from the start with trans switching gears hard took it to trans shop.now after warrenty has ran out same problem but now trans makes a whining noise. had to 2 used trans put in recently, same problem. whats the odds of three trans having the same problem i need help baaaad!

What other symptoms do you have? Other than the whining sound how are the upshifts and downshifts? (Harsh, etc.?) Were all the trannys replaced for the same problem or various? Does the whining sound go away if you turn the ignition off for a short while and then re-start. Highly unlikely you had 2 - 3 bad trannys but possible.

[dirkdiggler66]

Originally Posted by kingdong

i have a 2000 pontiac grandprix se ipurchased back in 2002. had problem from the start with trans switching gears hard took it to trans shop.now after warrenty has ran out same problem but now trans makes a whining noise. had to 2 used trans put in recently, same problem. whats the odds of three trans having the same problem i need help baaaad!

I agree with bnaylor3400, its hard to believe that you could have 3 bad trannies. A couple of things that happened similar to me so I first, Is your SES light on? If so, I would have it scanned by a good tranny shop and make them drive it. My 1st problem with mine was the TCC solenoid went out and the car drove like I was pushing clutch in and out while driving. After that, my car made a whining noise and the speedometer would stop working and my car would jerk again. Scan showed the speed sensor malfunction, replaced that and everything is working so far so good on that point. But on each problem my SES light was on.

[kingdong]

Originally Posted by bnaylor3400

What other symptoms do you have? Other than the whining sound how are the upshifts and downshifts? (Harsh, etc.?) Were all the trannys replaced for the same problem or various? Does the whining sound go away if you turn the ignition off for a short while and then re-start. Highly unlikely you had 2 - 3 bad trannys but possible.

yes all three tranes had the same problem i just had another one put in and it has the same problem as the others.

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by kingdong

yes all three tranes had the same problem i just had another one put in and it has the same problem as the others.

Thats bad news and mind bogling. Do you still have the whining sound and harsh shifts? Maybe its a problem external to the tranny causing it.
Some glitch in your ECU/PCM that is forcing the tranny to go into high line pressure. How many miles on the car?

I researched some of the other "W" body forums (Century, Regal, Impala). Your problem is not unique. Others have gone through more than one tranny, PCS, TCC/PWM solenoids and the same problem persists. Basic symptoms: whining sound, harsh shifting, etc. Turn it off for awhile and it may run fine for a short period of time and then acts up again.

I've been working with a friend that has '01 Impala LS and the problem is identical to yours. We put in a PCS solenoid and did everything within reason short of swapping the tranny out. I am not confident that a replacement or rebult one will fix the problem. Your situation bolsters that.

This may sound far fetched but we have reason to believe that the CAT convertor went South and may be the root of the problem. Before the whining sound starts along with the harsh upshifts I noted in freeze frame data that there was a pending DTC code of P0420 and it seemed coincidental. About a mile down the road later it turned on the SES light. The odb-ii scanner revealed a pending DTC code of P0420 which is CAT convertor operating below efficiency. We didn't have this before but the weather warmed up quite a bit. BTW - The whining and harsh upshifts do not start until we make a trip of at least 5 miles leading me to believe that it is a closed loop mode problem. I'm trying to find out whether this type of code will cause the tranny to go into high line pressure. Regardless, we are in the process of having a new CAT convertor installed. If nothing else rule it out. Talk about grasping for straws.