94 Q45 shifts really goofy after sitting for about a week..

[elwesso]

I proceeded to accomplish absolutely nothing today..... My room mate was playing halo 2 so I decided I do something..... I havent driven the Q all week so i figured id take it out for a spin.....

Started it up, and she really didnt want to go out for a ride... Battery was a little low, but still plenty to crank.. It was probably partially frozen especially since it is in the trunk... Engine started up perfect though and had no ticking noises or anything weird like that..... You could just tell the old girl was saying "oh no you didnt, its way to cold to go for a ride now, wake me up in about 3 months"....

Whatever the case is, the transmission shifted really goofy..... when i first took off, it held into 1st gear for a while and then shifted... Same thing with second.. I brushed it off as it being really cold... I let the car warm up for at least 10 mins, closer to 15

I drove the car for at least 45mins (engine was running closer to an hour including warm up time).. on the highway as well for most of the trip....

The car shifts really hard 1-2 and it wants to hold the 2-3 shift longer than it should... you have to let off the gas in order for it to work... 3-4 was a little iffy too, had to let off...

Whats weird is when I woudl really get on it, like on an on ramp, it worked pretty much as it should... Still shifted really firm ...

I changed the fluid in the fall with regular ATF, i reckon that fluid has about 2k on it..... Obviously i have a transmission cooler and this level 10 transmission has probably 60k on it.. most likely less..

When I parked the car earlier this week, it shifted flawless... just as it always has since I bought it about 1.25 year ago.. Last year my Q sat in temps just as cold, only difference is I drove it almost every day... It only sat for maybe 2-3 days at most....

I hope this isnt the beginning of the end, however I think its my car telling me that I better not do this to her again next winter...

[FarFetched]

You should have joined your mate for a round of HALO 2 instead My OldLady is different every day. It seems like she has personality, (mood swings and such).Cheers!

[squeefoo]

Did you run the diagnostic ??

[elwesso]

Well I took it out again tonite, granted there was a lot of snow on the ground, but it seems to maybe be better..... We'll see.....

Thats what Im hoping it is, the old girl being a stupid b1tch.....

[Jesda]

Weather, electronics... sounds like how a Q shifts when there's a bad TPS or MAF connection.

[qship96]

sounds like the symptoms of early TPS going bad,had similar problem years ago- cheap and easy fix if thats the problem.

[gniknave]

Wes I'm glad you made this thread. I thought it was just me. When I got back from Indy and started my Q (after it sat for a week), my level 10 was doing exactly what you indicated. Even now when it's cold it tends to want to hold 2nd for a bit longer than normal. Once it's warm, all shifts are firm. I thought I was having a problem, but it seems like it might have something to do with the cold weather here.

Point being, maybe it has to do with your car sitting. I remember when driving your Q, it shifted exactly like mine did before I let it sit for a week...

[elwesso]

Hmmm.. Well at least I have a good TPS at the ready... I do remember getting a brief transmission malfuction light that was on for like just a second. Went out and checked the codes and got

1 2 3 B

which stands for, respectively:- Revolution sensor- Vehicle speed sensor- TPS- Pressure solenoid

I cleared the codes and none of them came back... We'll see what happens when I take the car out again... I think it might be due to low voltage that I got when I first started the car...... I should have restarted it and see if that did anything..... Ill take the car out later and report back.

[Rex]

... I think it might be due to low voltage that I got when I first started the car...... I should have restarted it and see if that did anything..... Ill take the car out later and report back.

This is what I was thinking, as we've all experienced electrical gremlins.

What battery do you have? Might want to put an Optima on the Christmas list .

[elwesso]

Took the Q out for another spin, and she seems to be just fine.. Stupid car... I attribute it to low voltage.. I did notice that the car about stalled when i turned on the headlights and defroster...

My battery is a duralast gold, and has a 3 year warranty, 1.5 are up... Might take it back to autozone and see if they can test it or something.