1995 cutless/automatic won't shift in the cold

[MateoBsts]

Yea i have a question about my V6 automatic 95' cutless supreme w/ 120000+ miles on it. I've been having an issue with shifting in the cold for the past 3 years. Whenever winter hits, or it's generally below 50 degrees, i'm unable to shift my car until it warms up. No matter how hard I push on the shift button it won't shift until my engine's heated up between 150 and 200. I've never had this problem in the summer or when it's warm. Once I put it into drive I never have troubles shifting it to park or reverse, it's just the inital shift. Also, i have about a 15 minute window from when i turned off the engine to be able to turn on my car and shift w/o having to warm it up. I have no clue why it only sticks in the cold and why I have to warm it up to shift.

I did a transmission flush, oil change/filter, replaced air filter, and pcv valve but it didn't help it at all. I have no clue if it has to do with my transmission or if it has to do with the shifter or what. I'm at the end of the road because I have 20 minutes to get between work and school and i'm showing up late cause half of it is warming up my car just to shift it. If anyone has any options or ideas i'd greatly appreciate it! I've never head of this and have no clue what I should do and I don't want to take it to a mechanic completely clueless.

[Ian Szgatti]

You'll have to accept that in very cold temps, trans fluid does not perform well. It is extreamly viscous when cold. You might concider installing a remote starter. I love pointing out the window in the morning and warming the car before i get into it, for more reasons than my own comfort to.
It is very bad to jump into your cold car and expect to head out right away. Your fuel mixture for example is rich (more fuel) until the coolant tempreture sensor detects the engine is at operating temp. That means your fuel mileage is going to suffer when the engine is cold. A rich mixture can allow more raw fuel to enter the crankcase, diluting your engine oil, making it less effective. As the fuel becomes diluted, it is more likely to burn away in the combustion process, leading to premature fouling of important emmisions components like the 02 sensor.. which in turn will cause more fuel related problems.
If your car has a shift lock solenoid, it could be lazy in cold temps. There might be a by-pass switch... call a dealer and ask it's location.

[MateoBsts]

Yea that's the thing, it's 68 degrees today and my car was sitting there for only 40 minutes and i still had to warm it up for 10 minutes before I could even shift it. I have no problem warming up my car, i definitly prefer to, it just sucks when I'm in a rush and ALWAYS have to warm up my car. I'll definitly look into the shift lock solenoid but is there any other options or has anyone else ever heard of this occurring?

[maxwedge]

Originally Posted by MateoBsts

Yea i have a question about my V6 automatic 95' cutless supreme w/ 120000+ miles on it. I've been having an issue with shifting in the cold for the past 3 years. Whenever winter hits, or it's generally below 50 degrees, i'm unable to shift my car until it warms up. No matter how hard I push on the shift button it won't shift until my engine's heated up between 150 and 200. I've never had this problem in the summer or when it's warm. Once I put it into drive I never have troubles shifting it to park or reverse, it's just the inital shift. Also, i have about a 15 minute window from when i turned off the engine to be able to turn on my car and shift w/o having to warm it up. I have no clue why it only sticks in the cold and why I have to warm it up to shift.

I did a transmission flush, oil change/filter, replaced air filter, and pcv valve but it didn't help it at all. I have no clue if it has to do with my transmission or if it has to do with the shifter or what. I'm at the end of the road because I have 20 minutes to get between work and school and i'm showing up late cause half of it is warming up my car just to shift it. If anyone has any options or ideas i'd greatly appreciate it! I've never head of this and have no clue what I should do and I don't want to take it to a mechanic completely clueless.

Usually this is caused by a frozen shift cable, disconnect it at the trans and see if the shifter is still stiff, if so replace the cable and of course check the shift mechanism itself.

[ranger]

"No matter how hard I push on the shift button it won't shift"

I'm assuming that it is a floor shift? I have a '98 that has the same (?) problem and patience is about the only thing that works. I've disconnected the BTSI switch (that keeps it in park unless the braking pedal is depressed) -- it's still cranky in cold weather. It (mine) has another solenoid switch controlled by the ignition key, but I haven't be able to find anyone who can tell me how to remove the dash to lubricate and/or to replace that solenoid. We aren't the only ones having the problem (see other threads), but I haven't found an answer posted as yet. At this point in time, i don't believe it is the transmission (fluid or otherwise). Good luck - as I said patience (doesn't have to warm up, just continually apply pressure) is the only thing working for mine. So far, at least, it has always finally shifted from park.

Bill