Any car people who could give me a little help?

[LeftyMom]

I have a '97 Saturn SW1. It's driving fine but last night my "service engine soon" light came on. I put one of those diagnostic dealies on it this morning to check the code and it came back reading the following:

Trans Fluid Sensor A CKT Range/Perf

Can anybody help me narrow down whether that means there's just something bad with the sensor or if that means there's something wrong with the tranny (I kinda doubt that, it is driving fine) and maybe get some idea of what repair costs should be before I take it in to the shop?

Thanks. :)

[XemaSab]

1. Let me tell you what I've learned:

When you park the car, make sure the lights are turned off.

When you help your friend jump her car after she's left her lights on, make sure your car doors are locked when you are finished.

That is it.

[LeftyMom]

2. !

:rofl:

[Oeditpus Rex]

3. Do cars still have transmission fluid dipsticks?

I can't make heads nor tails out of that code, so all I can think of is to manually (no pun intended) check the fluid. :shrug:

In the old days of wooden wheels and stuff, this had to be done with the engine warmed up and idling, the tranny in "drive" and, o' course, the wheels blocked. Dunno if that still holds, though.

[LeftyMom]

4. I checked the fluid

It's fine as far as I can tell.

[Oeditpus Rex]

5. k

Then you know as much as I do. :shrug:



Dog, I miss cars you could work on. Good thing I still got one.

[LeftyMom]

7. My Dad had an Impala when I was a kid

I know all it's downsides, the lack of safety features, the Hummer-esque gas milage, but I sure miss that car sometimes.

[Oeditpus Rex]

8. What year?

[LeftyMom]

10. '67

Like this but metallic pea soup green

http://www.hubcapcafe.com/ocs/pages01/chev6703.htm

[Oeditpus Rex]

15. I didn't think '67 was a good year

for full-size Chevy styling. It was like they combined '65 and '66 — kind of the best of both, but I never liked that forward-slanted front end or the big quarter-panel rise.

I had a '66 that was very much like this. Same color. Dog, I loved that car. :cry:

[Harley Quinn]

6. Well, as the daughter of a mechanic...

it's probably just the solenoid thingymajig.

I would have it checked out though. If it's a computer issue, those can only get worse. (Hence, more expensive.) The diagnostic shouldn't be pricey, and can save you a bit in the long run.

[flvegan]

9. What was the error number?

58 or 59?

[LeftyMom]

11. No number, just that text.

:hi: Hi sweetie. Autozone wanted a $183 deposit to use thier tester! Can you belive that?!?!

[flvegan]

14. Your transmission fluid sensor experienced

a large change in transmission fluid temperature.

When you checked the fluid did it smell burned? Was it still reddish? Is there enough in there?

When was the last time the tranny fluid and filter were changed?

[LeftyMom]

16. Let's see

Fluid looked fine, there was enough of it and it was the usual color. Last time it was changed? 90K checkup, back before I got the car (I bought it at 104K miles) probably about 3 years ago. Is that bad?

[flvegan]

17. It's probably due, but I don't think

that 34k miles would be enough to really break the fluid down to upset the sensor like that. Is the car running hot at all? Could be that the cooling line is partially blocked if the car's running at a normal temp, I guess. Do you have a separate transmission cooler (it would look like a small radiator in front of the regular one)? It might be obstructed or covered in road debris.

You'll likely need a mechanic to take a look at it, anyway. Sensor could be fried, too.

[LeftyMom]

18. The car's not running hot.

I'll try to get it in to a mechanic this week (I'm sooooooooooooo looking forward to telling my Dad it needs to go in.) I figured I'd need to but I wanted to have some idea of the problem so I didn't get hosed on the price. Not that anybody'd take advantage of a young woman who wouldn't know a transmission fluid temperature sensor if it ran up and bit her on the ass. ;)

[sarge43]

12. How many miles do you have on it?

Check your maintenance manual to see when and if a trans fluid change is due. Some of the warning sensors are mileage keyed.

[LeftyMom]

13. It's at 134K. nt