1997 V6 Camaro won't downshift unless driven recently?

Asked by Mrdavis15 Aug 25, 2016 at 10:11 PM about the 1997 Chevrolet Camaro

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Recently bought a 1996 V6 Camaro.... not sure if it is base or rs...The car
typically runs and drives fine, it only happens first thing in the morning(or
when the car has set for a few hours). When the car is started first thing in
the morning, the car shifts up fine, but won't downshift under second gear.
Here's the kicker, if we drive the car around the block, turn the engine off
for a few seconds and then start the car back up again, it drives fine for the
next few hours. This fixes the problem every single time without fail! We
can drive the car for the rest of the day just fine after this... unless we let it
sit for more than a few hours(more than 3 typically) then it will do this all
over again. What in the world could this be? Security? Computer? At first
we thought maybe a valve was getting stuck open, or maybe it needed a
solenoid replaced... but the consistency with it "fixing" itself makes me think
it might be a computer problem?
The check engine light is on as well as the security. check engine codes
didn't point towards anything from the transmission...

4 Answers

10

have your transmission filter checked. Once the trans fluid is warm and the mesh in the filter sort of gets warm it open up and allows the fluid to move easily......NOT your computer at all. Do it before winter ( depending on where you live ) once the weather gets cold your problem will only get worse! New trans filer and fluid, flush wouldn't be bad idea..let a professional do it for you.

Transmission filter was checked and replaced, has new fluid, and has been flushed. We also replaced the solenoids in it... My grandfather is a transmission mechanic and is completely confused by it, his guess was limp mode but that doesn't seem to match what's going on here. It never fixes itself until the car has been completely turned off. We can drive it for an hour and being warm doesn't fix it, only after it has been driven and shut off does it fix the problem... We can let the car run for hours and it won't downshift but a quick run around the block and turning it off "fixes" it.

*by let the car run for hours, I mean we can let it run and warm up forever and it will drive terribly every time.. but if it's driven a block or more and then shut off it drives normally after that. Also, when it shifts into second gear if it hasn't been driven, it shifts really hard. If it was driven recently and turned off, it shifts normally and doesn't shift hard into second.

Did you ever figure this problem out? I have the exact problem on my 3.8 Camaro, only now it stays in this limp mode you're describing even after I hear it up and shut it off and turn back on.

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