Having trouble with transmission shifting in the first ten minutes of driving

RMURPHY20199

MEMBER
2005 HOLDEN ASTRA
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
200,000 MILES

Hi I'm having troubles driving my vehicle for the first 10 minutes at the start of a day. It's really confusing!
It drives no higher than 20 kph and the gears drag out way longer than normal. All of a sudden it will kick into gear like normal then slow back down and do it again for about 10 minutes. Before I know it, it will drive like a brand new car for the rest of the day. I have tried warming it up for a bit before driving but it made no difference.
I have had a full major service (All oils transmission fluid flushed and replaced, spark plugs filters) done on it. Also thinking that was the problem, it didn't do a thing. Please help it's sending me insane.

1 Reply

STEVE W.

MECHANIC
13,000 POSTS

It sounds like the internal seals of the transmission are getting worn and hardened. It's something that can happen over time and if you are in extreme hot or cold areas a bit faster than it normally does. The warn seals don't work as well and transmission fluid gets pushed past them instead of doing it's job. After the engine runs a bit and the transmission warms up the seals tend to get more pliable and start sealing and suddenly the transmission works as designed. Then when you park it, they cool back down and stiffen up and things don't work again. Now if this just suddenly started happening one morning when it was working fine the day before then one of the seals in the front pump or rings on one of the apply pistons has broken, as it warms up and swells it starts working in much the same way.
For either reason the repair is the same, a transmission refresh or replacement with a rebuilt unit.