98 Neon-Transmission Problem?

[Mints]

I'm trying to get some information before I take my car in to a mechanic. My husband doesn't really know much about cars and I want to be able to tell if I'm being screwed over. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a mechanic I can trust. But, I haven't had many problems with my Neon, either.

Lately the car has been VERY jerky when I go from park to reverse. Now, it's only in the morning, and not every morning either. But, when it happens, it shakes the whole car. It has 86,000 miles on it. I just recently had a tune up and oil change. I want to keep the car until at least February, but I don't want to end up replacing the transmission on a car I'm only going to have for another 6 months. I've had the head gasket replaced (about 2 years ago) and haven't had any other problems. I did have a slight oil leak, but that was fixed when I had the tune up (the mechanic said something about an oil pressure thingy).

I've read on a website that Dodges tend to be picky about the transmission fluid. I'm pretty ignorant about cars (can you tell?), so I don't even know if they would have done anything with the transmission fluid at the tune up. I have checked the transmission fluid and it isn't low.

Any thoughts as to what might be going on would be appreciated. Like I said, I want to be as informed as I can be before I take it in. Sorry for being so long winded.

[KatWoman]

First thing I would check would be your tranny fluid. The dipstick has a yellow handle and is labeled "transmission" and is toward the back of your motor on the right side (your right when facing the engine). Check your fluid level, if it's only at ADD on the stick try adding a 1/4 quart of ATF+3 or ATF+4 fluid....you can pick this up at the AutoParts store. Make sure what you get is labeld ATF+3 or +4.

Do you know if the car has ever had a transmission service? Changing the tranny fluid and filter is just as important as getting your oil changed except that this service gets done typically every 2 years/30,000 miles. You may be in need of a service. They change the fluid, filter, pan gasket and adjest the bands inside the tranny as necessary.

If the above 2 things don't help you may need to look into it further. I've personally never worked on a tranny yet so as much as I hate shops I would try to find someone who can recommend a good tranny shop if it comes down to that.

For more info too, the forums at www.neons.org/forums/ has a lot of knowledgable people too. There are also regional forums where you post for references to a shop.

[RedNeon]

You might have to warm up your car before shifting the transmission. My old Neon had the same problem but after I warmed up the engine it was fine. I sold the car shortly after that problem, so I'm not sure if the new owner have the same problem.

[Mints]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have checked the fluid and it's fine. But, I've never had a transmission service done. I didn't even know it existed as something that needed to get done. So, I will definitely ask about getting that done. It could just need to warm up a bit. It's only happened first thing in the morning after it's been sitting all night.

I'm taking it in tomorrow morning, so we'll see.