My car is a 2005 Sebring sedan with a 2.4 DOHC. It is rare that this problem occurs, but it has happened several times over the past few years. The problem only seems to occur during very cold weather. Last winter I thought the transmission was gone because of other issues. I took the car to a transmission shop. They phoned me and told me that the transmission was good and that the car needed a new PCM. They installed a computer and that fixed it. Until now, I thought that this no shift issue had also been solved by replacing the computer. It has been very cold here for the past few weeks. The other night when I drove my car the temperature was -17 F. The trans was working okay.

Today, I started my car after having the block heater plugged in for a couple of hours. I live in a rural area. When I got on the highway, I noticed that the transmission would not shift out of 2nd. I pulled on to the shoulder and turned off the ignition, then re-started the engine. I found this would help when it did this a few years ago, while the old PCM was still in the car. Once I started the engine, I put in in D and lightly stepped on the gas. The transmission still wouldn't shift out of 2nd. However, when I took my foot off the gas and let the car slow down, I felt it downshift to 1st. I then put my foot on the gas and when it reach the right speed, the trans shifted to 2nd. I gradually increased my speed and this time it shifted to 3rd at the usual shift point. It worked normally after that, shifting to 4th and 5th at the proper speeds and had no more issues.

The trans has ATF+4 in it and is filled to the correct level. I'm wondering if this is a computer problem again or if this particular issue was ever a computer problem. The old PCM did fail, but it was causing all sorts of other issues.

There are no codes being shown. Could this be the computer again? Could it be a sensor or something else?

 

Trans is full of oil,as you say. BUT have you had the pan off and replaced the filter yet? Did the Check engine light come on when this happened? I have heard that when using a block heater that SOMETIMES the difference between engine temp sensor read temp compared to ambient air temp read sensor was too large for computers parameters, and can cause concern you describe. Basically your ride went into limp mode.

 

Another possible DIY effort is to replace the solenoid pack. It's not particularly difficult but you need to do it carefully so as not to allow dirt to get in there. You can find information on the internet and here on the forum about it. You can probably find the part for less than $100.

 

Thanks guys!

No, the "Check Engine" light did not come on. The filter and fluid were changed 25,000 to 30,000 miles ago and I am planing to change again this coming spring or summer. However, I think this problem did occur when the filter and fluid only had 5,000 miles or so on it a few years ago. It has happened before and I think it did happen while the fluid and filter were still fresh. I had thought about removing the solenoid pack and cleaning all the little screens, etc. Maybe I will try a new pack.

 

thanks man