2000 Concorde staying in low gear and no speedo...Found the problem
 

Wife left out in the car this evening but soon thereafter called me saying something was wrong. She had pulled off the road only a couple of miles away from the house, so I headed that way. I traded automobiles with her, and had her follow me home. The car seems to be staying in low gear (not shifting) and the speedometer stays on zero. The tach and other gauges seem to be fine. I am heading out to check the fluid now, but was curious as to whether anyone had any ideas on what could be wrong if its not the fluid. The engine light also came on. Could it be a vacuum hose or something. I sure hope so. Any input would be awesome. Thanks!!

RE: 2000 Concorde staying in low gear and no speedo...help
 

I am not real familiar with a concorde, but what you describe could have been caused by the Vehicle Speed Sensor circuit not working. I don't know where on the trans it is, but you can look at the trans to see if everything is plugged in all the way. You can also look at the wiring to see if it is rubbing on anything and gotten cut. That is some simple stuff to check, maybe someone more familiar with concordes can help.

Good luck,
Mike

RE: 2000 Concorde staying in low gear and no speedo...help
 

[align=left]Found the problem. The outside speed sensor had failed, causing the car to enter "limp in" mode. The car is still driveable when this occurs, but at a very low speed since the car will not leave 2nd. Again the symptoms are no speedometer, and the automatic transmission would not shift. There are two sensors on my Concorde. The outside speed sensor, and the inside speed sensor. Both were located on the drivers side of the transmission (transaxle?). I raised the drivers side of the car and removed the front drivers side wheel. Both sensors can be viewed from underneath. From what I have read, sometimes cleaning the connection (snap on plug) can remedy this issue. In my case, the sensor was bad. Under $17 for the part at Advance Auto Parts. When looking at the sensors from underneath, the one closest to the firewall was Outside speed Sensor. The connector has a clip on the side that needs to be pulled outward to release. I used a 1" deep well socket for removal and replacement. Do not overtighten. Somewhere on the web somebody mentioned about the same torque as a sparkplug. These units are made of plastic, so I would not think they would take extreme torque. After snapping the wire connector back on, you should be in business. The car now shifts fine, and the speedo is working again. The only thing left is resetting the check engine light. I was hoping this would clear automatically, but obviously it needs a clearing code.

Remember....outside speed sensor, 1" deepwell socket, drivers side, sensor closest to firewall. At least thats the story for a 2000 Concorde LXI with a 3.2L
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