Maybe it's just about time?

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

I got a 1994 Cutlass Ciera as a high school graduation present this past May. It’s my first car. It was owned by a little old lady before me, and obviously wasn’t used much. Up until recently the car has run fairly well. The only bump in the road was when I had it inspected in June and needed the breaks repaired. It wasn’t until last night that I had a problem.

I was running errands, and everything was fine until I stopped at a red light leaving a parking lot. When I went to press down on the gas peddle to go, it felt almost stuck. I really had to press down, and it took a few moments for my car to rev up and go forward. Once it managed to get going, it was alright. But as I looked down, I saw that my speedometer was at 0 (although, my car was clearly moving) and my check engine light was on.

Any suggestions on what I should do, and what the problem might be? I think I’ll be calling AAA later to have it towed to the nearest repair shop, where depending on how much the repair is going to be, I’ll either repair it, or sell it and get a new car…

2

Guseeses: Speedometer Cable And/Or VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor) Or Speedo Drive Gear ?

A cable runs from the transmission to the back of the speedometer. As the vehicle moves, the cable turns and causes the speedometer needle to move, indicationg the speed.

It does something else, too. It also attaches to the VSS, a sensor that tells the engine computer how fast the vehicle is moving so that it works in relationship. Your VSS is probably either located where the cable connects to the speedometer or the other end at the transmission. Your computer isn’t receiving the proper vehicle speed information.

We hope the problem is as simple as a cable or VSS and not something in the transmission that drives these. Perhaps an easily serviceable small plastic replaceable drive gear at the transmission is the culprit.

I throw out these guesses to get a discussion started.

CSA