Hello,

I have a 2006 Monte Carlo with the 3.5. I have owned the car since 2006, and now it has 172,000 miles on it. Fluid and Filter were changed at 100,000 miles.

This morning when going to work, the car did not want to really go anywhere when putting it in drive [D]. It was odd.. It didn't slam into gear, I pushed the gas, and the revs would go up, but the car would just creep. Actually I think the pitch in the road was moving it, as I never felt anything engage.

So I put it in reverse, and it drove just fine. I put it back into [D], and it wouldn't move. Well sitting in the street, I had to get it back into the driveway, and I wasn't going to go in reverse all the way around the block, so I decided to manually drop it into [1], and it went ahead driving forward.. I was able to get it back into my driveway using [1] and [R].

When I got home from work I went through the gears. Here is what I noticed, moving through the gears with my foot on the brake.

P - Started here, of course
R - Felt the transmission engage
N - Felt the transmission disengage
D - Nothing...
3 - Nothing...
2 - Felt the transmission engage
1 - Felt the transmission engage (Or it was still engaged from moving past 2)

The car did sit for about a month because I was on business & vacation.

Fluid is full... It's not as red as when I replaced it. It's like an amber color..

I noticed the the transmission was shifting really smooth yesterday. I never felt the car shift that smooth. It was eerie. I could feel that it was shifting, but it was smooooooooooth. I also watched the tach, and I could see that it was shifting.. the revs would go down as I accelerated past shift points, and it wasn't winding out, going down the interstate.

If the car needs a transmission rebuilt, I think I will go ahead with it. This is the first major problem, and the car is still in great shape except for some rust showing up where the body folds into the wheel wells.. sure it is starting to rust, but I know the cars history, and I could stick just as much money taking a gamble on another used car.

 

Did you smell the transmission fluid that was on the dipstick?? With it being discolored, something is going on. If you did not smell the fluid, I would go check it again and see if you notice any kind of burnt smell. If the transmission is slipping, which it sort of sounds like it is, it will get the transmission fluid extremely hot and cause it to smell burnt. If you have a shop you trust or a dealership you have a good relationship with, I would have them check it out.
Hopefully others who have had transmission issues will post also to give you more advise.

 

I had it rebuilt and the shop showed me the tore apart transmission.

A piece of metal come off the transmission forward apply band.

The following URL actually sums it up:
4T65E No Movement D and 3 ranges only

Anyways, that little part also went into the planetary gear, and chewed that all up.

 

Wow sorry to hear about that :-(

 

Ahh, not too worried... I figured I would share the outcome, in case other's down the road have the some symptom.