Have a 2003 Saturn Vue with a variable transmission (rebuilt). It will only go in reverse even when in drive,or natural.
Was this the same symptom the transmission was rebuilt for or something else? Does the fluid smell burnt now? Are there any trouble codes associated with the transmission?
Read TSB 05-07-30-004 about internal leaks in the forward clutch.
oops. throwing good money after bad. the CVT trans on those vues is renowned for failures. there are 1/2 dozen vues for sale on CL everyday for peanuts with bad cvt trans. saturn used to warranty them but due to age, the 02-04 vues that had them are mostly all gone now. even a used cvt trans sells for 2k. buy it and you might get a couple thou miles till it dies again.
I don t know anything about these CVT trans. that being said, could it be something as simple as the linkage ?
Id have to check on the Burnt smell, i handed off to my uncle to take car of, and no it got rebuilt because it completely stopped moving.
I, too, would check the linkage. Make sure that when the manual selector is in Drive that the transmission selector arm is in the Drive position. In fact, with the engine ‘OFF’ and the wheels chocked, have a helper move the selector inside the car while you watch the selector arm on the transmission.
If the problem is not with the linkage, the problem is probably a jammed reverse clutch assembly. How the reverse clutch would become jammed would be odd since reverse is only used intermittantly and not at full throttle. The usual mode of failure of these transmissions is the belt and pully components. Since you have reverse, those are working as well as the final drive. You could have a transmission shop check the line pressure as I assume the fluid pump is still operating.
So, in conclusion, if the linkage is not the problem the transmission will have to come out and a second rebuild is most likely in the cards.
Let us know what you finally find out and what cures the problem.