So my monte was low on tranny fluid. Dumped about a pint in and that filled it up. Took it for a ride and it seems to be shifting into 2nd and 3rd hard under 3000rpm. It's not a real hard jerk, but it is noticable when it shifts. Before it would just smoothly transition from gear to gear with a 3/10th second pause between gears. It does not shift "hard? when it is cold, only after it warms up. My question is, is this just normal shifting for a monte? It is a 2004 LS with 72K miles.

 

A. How many miles are on the car?
B. Any idea how long it was low on fluid?
C. Did you notice if the fluid in the trans looked dark or smelled burnt?

 

a.72,400
b. a month or 2
c. it was a little darker than new fluid but had no noticeable smell.

 

there could be a wear in the torque converter clutch, and it's pulling more fluid to try to overcompensate for that wear. It won't do it when the fluid is cool, because cold fluid tends to be a little more dense.

 

I know when the O/D trans in my '94 3/0 Dodge Shaodw ES was acting up this stuff called Trans Doctor made it operate like normal. Other then that, it wouldn't downshift.

The 1990s O/D trans Mopar used were notorious for failure. I'm told it was a hit or miss for getting a good new one from a guy who was a mechanic for a Mopar dealer back then.

But I poured in a bottle of the Trans Doctor and the transmission worked fine till I had it rebuilt.

 

So I drove it again today. It did not shift hard. When I filled it up yesterday the car was running. Could this have caused some air to get into the fluid and cause the hard shifting?

 

Any owner's manual I've read through requires the engine be at operating temps and running when you add trans fluid to the transmission.

 

So it started shifting hard again today. Let my dad drive it since he a GM tech. It needs a pressure control solenoid.

 

AHHH the common PCS trans problem. At 72k that's a little less mileage than the usual for it to go out.

 

So I have an intermittent hard shifting situation as well. I had the tranny cooler lines replaced, tranny fluid flush/fill, and it still does this periodically. It does seem electrical/computer related, because it only does ot once in a while. And if I stop, shut the car off, then restart, it works fine. PCS? If so, how can I verify this without taking it to a trans. specialist shop(if possible) Thanks!