My car has two problems. The first is that sometimes if we have to accelerate very quickly, or sometimes if we have to go up a very steep hill and the car has to shift, the engine begins to miss and eventually dies. It has always started again…so far. The second problem is that occasionally when the car is put into reverse it doen’t actually go into reverse for a few seconds, and when it does shift it is with an almighty BANG! It can usually be avoided by keeping my foot on the brake until I actually hear the car shift, but why does it do that?
Let’s see, do you have a Model T or a 2009 Rolls Royce? It could make a difference. Total miles and year as well would help.
Has the CEL (Check Engine Light) come on? Have you kept up with all the scheduled maintenance like air filter, plugs, oil changes w/ filter etc? Has the transmission fluid ever been changed?
Okay, I guess I forgot a few of the pertinent details, but the sarcasm-not exactly appreciated. I’m the tired and stressed out mom of a child with special needs, forgive me if I’m a little scattered.
The car is a 1995 Saturn SL2, with a little over 130,000 miles on it. The only regular maintenance it has received is oil/filter changes, and no I cannot remember having the transmission fluid changed. Please let me know if there is any more information I need to add.
Sounds like the transmission is on the way out due to lack of maintiance and you probably killed the fuel pump because you didn’t change the fuel filter,big dollar items.
Thank You for the information.
By having the routine maintenance performed, your Saturn may be brought back from the brink. The routine stuff which hasn’t been done is (partially): air and fuel filters; spark plugs (maybe, spark plug wires); automatic transmission fluid and filter. Have these things done (skill level: novice mechanic), and see how it runs. Then, get back with us.
Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate the info on how to (hopefully!) make my poor car better.