Immediate Transmission Help Requested!!!!

[ZGadson]

I bought my car used and from the start I noticed that the transmission slipped on occasion when taking off at a moderate pace. It would slip between 1st and 2nd gear.

Today I was taking off slightly faster than usual when I felt a jolt as if someone rear-ended me but there was no one behind me. The car (even with the gas pedal to the floor) started slowing down until a crawl. It still moves when you give it gas (going forward and when in reverse) but I can't go much faster than idle speed.

When I felt the jolt, the AT check light came on steady, the CEL light came on, and the traction light came on, just about everything.

The car is still under warranty (drivetrain only) so Im wondering if I should cough up the dough for a tow truck to take it all the way to an Infiniti dealer (which is an hour away from me) in hopes that it is the transmission that needs repair).

I was told by my mechanic friend that a "clutch pack"was bad. Could this be what happend to my car? Clutch pack go out?

[MinisterofDOOM]

Definitely sounds like the transmission failed...I would take advantage of the remaining drivetrain warranty.

The fact that the car still has reverse is a good sign, though.

[ZGadson]

I had the car towed to the dealer for $225 which isnt too bad. I then called the dealer when the car got there and was told that the transmission "looks" good which makes them think the engine computer went bad (but thankfully that's also covered under the powertrain warranty).

This still worries me because the car (even before it died) seemed to slip between the 1st and 2nd gears during acceleration. Could this be because of an issue with the engine computer or could it still be the transmission itself acting up?

Im just worried that I'm going to get the car back and the gears are still going to catch.

[maxhopper]

It could be the problem with the ECU causing the rough shift condition. Just an FYI, the ECU is covered under factory emissions warranty for 8/80 (or 7/70 for CA).

[ZGadson]

I called earlier today for an update on the car and the service tech told me that things are leading them to believe the ECU is dead. Im still concerned that the transmission needs work as well, but Im afraid they're not going to touch it if they don't have to.

[ZGadson]

So I have my car back now. Apparently the ECU was not accurately reading the signal sent from the gas pedal. The dealer replaced (under warranty) the throttle cable and the mechanism that tells the ECU how much gas to give the engine. This has also seemed to fix my transmission slip issue between 1st and 2nd gear. The car also takes off much faster because since I've had the car, the ECU was never getting a signal saying the gas pedal was completely depressed.

[maxhopper]

Great news!