Buick - Lesabre :: 2003 - Trans Started Shifting Hard / Sputtering Lightly In High Gear
Feb 15, 2012
My car recently started running overtemp not much, but enough to bother me. I flushed the system with no change. after about a week with continued symptoms, my trans started shifting hard between 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd, and running rough in general, sputtering lightly in high gear. I assumed it was running over temp with the rest of the car, so I replaced the radiator and the radiator cap, yet still am having the same problem. Is it still related to the cooling system? if I replace the water pump will i solve my problems, or is it really a hidden trans problem? I'm fairly certain the trans has never been serviced, and I'm reluctant to do so given the high milage, 174,000. The fluid is full, but its very thin, and no longer red, its sort of a pale yellow.
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After I start my Lesabre when cold, after about 15 minutes or so it starts idling high, usually about 1500 , but sometimes it's as high as 2300 while stopped at a light. And a few times it has been 3-4000 rpm after putting it into PARK. After it starts idling high it starts shifting late. If you shut the engine off and immediately restart it, it usually starts idling fine again temporarily. Engine has normal power and runs smooth and idles smooth. It has also randomly died a couple times while driving at 30-40mph but then immediately restarted as if there was no problem.
It has a P0121 code which is "throttle position sensor switch A circuit range/performance problem". It also has a P0420, "Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1) ", which I'm not sure is related to the issue because the check engine light had been on a long time before the idling/shifting issue started happening. Like in the neighborhood of a year and a half before the current issue, but it ran fine the entire time and got 30+mpg on the highway.
First thing I did to troubleshoot was to test the TPS and it seemed ok. Voltmeter readings were .4v with throttle closed and seemed to advance smoothly up to 4.4v at WOT. But, I tested it before the engine was hot and I don't have a Oscope. I then used some carb cleaner and shot it around the injectors and a few vacuum inlets to check for vacuum leaks, to no effect. Engine runs quiet and I don't really hear any vac leaks.
Next, I cleaned the idle air control valve which was pretty dang dirty, but that didn't seem to resolve the issue, although it may have had a slight effect because the issue seems to come and go some while driving now, but I'm not totally sure. I also tested the connector at the IAC and had voltage on all 4 pins between .4v - 11.4v approximately.
Lastly, I got the engine to reproduce the problem and then pulled and then reconnected these sensors one at a time while the engine was idling high:
MAF Sensor
TPS
IAC
Intake Air Temp Sensor
This didn't have the slightest effect on the engine... I'm thinking it might actually be the TPS or IAC but I don't want to just start replacing stuff without knowing damn near certain it's going to resolve the issue. Could a vehicle speed sensor cause this? How I should proceed from here? :?
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its 94 degrees outside and I take a ride then when I park the 2003 Buick lesabre v6 3800 custom , I shut it off in my driveway, then as I walked past the car I notice a rubber type high heat smell through the seam in the hood its like a combination of heater or radiator hose and belt rubber smell yet when I open the hood no leaks no extremely hot belt and the hoses just feel normal hot the car runs fine ,no noises oil is high on the mark not low on antifreeze nothing , I just got this car in the early spring and never noticed it until now mid Summer high heat weather .is this normal?
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I have a problem in the form of a 2000 Buick LeSabre Custom with the GM 3800 series II engine. After 245k miles, it has begun to show it's age in some very unaffectionate ways. It has been stalling, sputtering, hesitating, and unwilling to start at seemingly random intervals. And, such is my luck, there has been no 'check engine' light on at any point during this saga. Here's the chronology of events spanning 6 months:
The first symptom I experienced was occasional sputtering, mainly while going uphill. This began to occur shortly after the spark plugs were replaced during regular maintenance. So I replaced the spark plugs again, and also the wires, fuel filter, and fuel pressure regulator. Plus I gave the MAF a good cleaning.
But the problem persisted, and grew to include intermittent stalling when I would come to a stop. Undaunted, I replaced the ignition coils, and swapped in a used ICM.
The car, obviously displeased with my choice words toward it, began to not start every now and then. It would just crank to no avail. So I would try again after an hour or two and it would immediately start as if nothing was wrong. Fearing that I or my wife could be left stranded I replaced the fuel pump. It continues to stall every once in a while and it still sometimes sputters at low rpms. A lot of times it just wont idle at a constant speed.
So then I replaced the crank sensor and I cleaned the camshaft sensor too. Guess what? It's still intermittently sputtering/hesitating when I accelerate from a stop. And I have noticed that it will also sputter while idling in park as well. It's like it's misfiring, but with no engine codes. I'm not happy.
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1999 Jetta MK4 with only 124k miles on it. Everything is fine with the car except when the car shifts from 2nd to 3rd it is jerky/violent/forceful everything else is good with car except check engine light is on but I don't really care about that and I'll go check with autozone to see what the code is. I am able to feather the gas when I know its going to shift and I can make the shift pretty smooth. My question to all the experts is does this mean that this tranny is on its last leg or does it still have a lot of life left in it. My old Cabriolet did it for years and never was a problem.
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I have a 2005 F150 S Crew and have been maintaining it regularly. I started having a jerking while accelerating lightly or in between shifting then the overdrive light comes on and then flashes trans fault on dash. I took it to the local tranny shop who fixed the problem however about a year later it started doing it again. What the problem could be before I have to spend another bucks?
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Our 2004 LeSabre has the following symptoms - there's a clicking that occurs whenever the car is in motion, the car occasionally hesitates/bucks when shifting between gears (but not always), the radio sometimes does not go off when the keys are taken out of the ignition, we're losing about a quart of oil about every 2500 miles but there is no sign of a leak on the ground, we also seem to have reduced mileage (using more gas).
In this corner, Mechanic 1 (high price) - replace front lower control arms, sway bar, and bushing, front end alignment, throttle body gasket and EGR tube, oil pan gasket replacement, ignition switch replacement, brake fluid and coolant flush. $1900
In the other corner, Mechanic 2 (low price) thinks it's just the spark plugs and wires that need to be replaced, the wires, replace air and fuel filter, and PCV valve - $450
We had the oil changed about 2500 miles ago, replaced the air filter then. The oil change place suggested a coolant and brake fluid flush. I've used mechanic 1 in the past and they have replaced my head gaskets a couple of times and I suspect they are ripping me off.
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, My 1997 Buick Lesabre transmission slips at random when I shift into overdrive. I have my mechanics look at the transmission and have them drive the car to recreate the problem and what do you know the car doesn't do it. I made a post about this problem a while back and it wasn't the A/C that was the problem. I do not drive fast in the car and I checked the Transmission dipstick and the fluid is still red and at the full mark. I brought my car to Auto zone to check the codes but all i get is a loose gas cap.
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My Buick has started acting weird and I've had a hard time figuring out what's going on. As I understand it 94' was the transition year for the OBD1 and OBD2 sensors, therefore auto zone and o'reilly haven't been able to pull codes on my car. It runs off of OBD1 codes but has 16 point OBD2 sensor pins.
Here's the problem: When the car is started it revs up to 2000rpm at idle, when shifted into neutral the rpm jumps up to 3500. In drive and reverse it goes back down to 2000rpm. While driving the car is hard to stop and surges when I take my foot off the break, it also gains speed on flat ground without touching the gas pedal. After driving the car when I put it back in park it revs back up to 3500rpm and is quite noisy.
I've replaced the mass airflow sensor, cleaned out the entire throttle body (there was a little carbon build up but not too bad), replaced all the vacuum hoses(that put a stop to it for about a week), and I'm still having the same problems. I recently replaced the a/c pump because the bearings went bad but I don't think that would cause any problems like this.
I have a very, very slight gasket leak on my valve covers but it's been like that for the last few months and the car was acting fine. The car has done this before but it usually stops after you drive it somewhere. The hotter it's gotten out the more often it started happening and now it's not stopping like it did before.
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I have a problem with my 2003 Ford Focus ZTS. It has a 2.0L ZETEC engine and is automatic. I recently replaced the Starter, Alternator, and battery cable because the car was having some current issues. All parts are brand new, non-refurbished. The car cranks fine but is now sputtering. When I drive it, it seems like it has a hard time switching out of first gear and and will hit 3-3500 RPM before the gear shifts.
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I have a 2000 LeSabre and every time you start the car and then push the gas pedal down it's hard to push, then it will break free and work normally for the rest of the drive, but the next time you get in to go somewhere else, it will do the same thing. If you "POP IT" real quick with your foot it will work just fine until the next time. Is this a cable issue?
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1991, F-250, automatic, 150,000 miles, two tanks. Used mostly for towing an RV plus some pleasure. Not in daily use. A month ago I parked it and a few days later cranked it up and found it wouldn't run over thirty MPH. There was some high pitched backfire in the engine compartment and the trans. wouldn't shift. I parked it and the next day it wouldn't start. When I turned the key on the fuel pumps (either tank) ran continuously. Towed to a garage (I am not a Mechanic). They have replaced the fuel pressure control, checked all pressures and it still won't run right. The problem is intermittent. My tranny man said the trans was good. My mechanics don't know what to do. I bought it in 1998.
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99 Buick LeSabre ... I only have one low-beam working, the other low-beam bulb went out today ... When I switch to high-beams, the high-beams come on, but I cannot turn them off via the manual light on/off switch on the door panel ... The Twilight Sentinel works properly, and will shut off the high-beams per switch setting ... During the daytime, the high-beams will just stay on till I turn off the car, manual headlight switch won't turn them off ...
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2000 powerstroke 4r100 transmission. It has 155k just had it rebuilt and the shop is having a night as am I. It was shifting hard and the o/d off light would start flashing after you drove it a while. Its still doing the same thing and the shop checked the whole wiring harness and replaced the accumulator twice believing they got a bad re-manufactured one. The only code I can pull is a 605 pcm read only memory error. Could the cause be a bad pcm? The shop doesn't seem to have a clue at this point and I'm out 2500. IV taken it back twice now and Iv driven it a total of 35 miles since the rebuild...
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My friend has just brought a truck and has lost 3-4 gear in the auto trans. We have the PO782 code coming up. Is there something in particular we should look at first.
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Tranny started acting funny recently...shifting hard into reverse at first, then last night it was like it was stuck in high gear or slipping on the way home. Limped it home and took the following codes:
P0743 TORQUE CONVERTER CIRCUIT ELECTRICAL
P0750 SHIFT SOLENOID A MALFUNCTION
P0755 SHIFT SOLENOID B MALFUNCTION
P0760 SHIFT SOLENOID C MALFUNCTION
P0765 SHIFT SOLENOID D MALFUNCTION
P0962 PRESSURE CONTROL SOLENOID A CONTROL CIRCUIT LOW
P0966 PRESSURE CONTROL SOLENOID B CONTROL CIRCUIT LOW
P0970 PRESSURE CONTROL SOLENOID C CONTROL CIRCTUT LOW
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My excursion's trans is slipping on the 25hp tune up high in the RPM band and shutters when up shifting. I have dropped to stock most of the time, but I know i am on borrowed time.
I had a JW trans in my e99, and there is no question on the durability and performance of the transmission. The price has gone up a lot, but that's maybe not the big issue.
I live in the mountains and spend a lot of time pulling and just driving in that 40 to 60 mph range over mountain passes. That is basically where I spend ALL of my time.
The distance between 3rd and 4th is driving me CRAZY! I have researched everything from swapping to a manual, to PCS controllers, to trying 4.11 gears, to overdrive units.
Swapping Manual: ZF6 is the obvious candidate, but I have read the swap is not probably something I have the skills or tools to do. I have also read that the performance of the ZF6 is sub par. But it seems like it would give me my 3.5 gear that I am looking for.
PCS Controller: Looks cool for a way to have control besides using the tree shift. Maybe a compromise on not swapping in a manual.
4.11 Gears: I get pretty excited thinking about the low end torque etc. I go off road almost every week, and like I said, I hardly go over 75 mph. But once in a while I do. Right now, the truck turns about 2300- 2500 rpm at interstate cruising speed. Looking for 4.10s rpm in that range to compare? Also, how bad of a fuel economy hit would I take? What is the cruising rpm of 4.10's between 60 and 65 mph, or in general what is the rpm change?
Overdrive Unit: I have always been interested in more gears, but I read about someone who installed one behind a 7.3 and didn't have they great of results. To the point where he said it wasn't worth it.
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My sons 97 LeSabre runs and drives like a top most of the time. Twice now though over the last three months it has died on him. Both times the car stalling out has been preceded by a high pitch whining noise that seems to be coming from the fuel pump. The first time, it would restart and run for a few minutes with the whining sound then die again. We towed it and let it sit a couple days and found that cleaning the MAF sensor may fix it. We did this and it worked.However, yesterday afternoon he and a couple friends ran into town, about a 20-mile drive, to run a couple errands. Drove around in town for about 30 minutes and it started the high pitch whine from the tank again and made it a couple miles across town before it died again. Pushed it around the corner to a gas station and parked it. A few hours later, my wife and I went to go get it, didn't know if I would have to push it or tow it, but I turned the key and it started immediately with no whining noise, so I drive it the 20 miles home without incident. The outside temperature yesterday was in the mid 90's and humid, and thinking back to the first time the car did this, the weather and circumstances were almost identical? When used to go to work out, or to work, or just little drives around there seems to be no problem. The car has even run this 45-50 mile round trip without incident numerous times, but at different times of day with cooler temps, and some lengthy waits between driving times.Does this sound like a fuel pump or sensor that could be failing? And why would it only act up under high temp situations? Almost like it was vapor locked, it had plenty of fuel, and didn't make a difference earlier in the heat even opening the gas cap to relieve any pressure? Completely stumped here?
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The truck:
2000 4X2 F150
4.2l V6
280k miles/ some towing
The problem : The trans has a hard time getting into 1st gear. When you put it into gear you have to rev it to about 3k (when it's warm, 4k when cold) RPMs at which time you feel a definite engagement and it goes through the rest of the gears just fine. Once it's warm it will do stop and go traffic as long as you start it with the OD off.
The background : Orobably the stock motorcraft filter on there, and I don't think the oil has been changed in the life of the trans, but I do know that it's never been ran low on fluid. I took a gander at it and found a plug where a gear type speedo went on older models to be loose and leaking. tightened it up about two full turns. also noticed what looks to be a leak where the main case meets the output shaft housing. now I know neither of these are the cause of my headache but I do wonder if the second leak might be a sign.
The research : I've been looking for almost a week now for a solution. I've been all over TCCoA, Explorer Forum,10 pages of search here on FTE and various other Ford based websites and have come across a single thread with the same symptoms but the OP never came back with a solution.
The plan : A fluid/filter change (and flush) is definitely in the plans as well as inline filter for my own satisfaction. from what I've read the stock 1-2 accumulator is known to go bad on some of these and if I have the pan off might as well check anyways.
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I've been having some issues with the way my car is running today. Drove to the store, and he was fine. On the way home, he hit 4rpm and then dropped extremely fast. Then I stopped at a red light.. I went to go, hit maybe 2.5 rpm and it made this high pitched squeak and shifted really hard. I made it home fine after that, and no lights are coming on. I just changed my spark plugs not even a month ago.
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1994 Buick LeSabre Custom 3.8 Litre V6 with 103277 miles.
It runs smooth when idling in Park, rough when I put it in gear when I am stopped (either drive or reverse) has hesitation when accelerating, it smooths out again when driving then it starts to drive rough at about 55 MPH.
Mechanic told me it was the plug wires. I replaced those and the plugs. This fixed the hesitation when accelerating issue, but the other issues remain (now even seem a little worse) I thought the plugs and/or wires were bad, so I rechecked the gauge on the plugs and traced to make sure I had the wires hooked up right. Everything seems in order.
I have added fuel injector cleaner, and changed the oil, oil filter, spark plugs, spark plug wires, air filter, flushed the radiator, and changed the thermostat. (For a tune up since it has admittedly been a while)....
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