Car not downshifting all the way to first gear when stopped.

Tiny
CHEVYAL25
  • MEMBER
  • 1998 BUICK SKYLARK
  • 50,000 MILES
I have a 98 Skylark 3.1l with around 50k miles that has just started to be driven after sitting a while. I've probably ran through three tanks of gas after it had set for 5 or so years without being driven much. I have two situations in question but I believe they are connected.

When shifting from P to D and goosing it a bit there is a slight hesitation. If the headlights are on you can notice that they dim quite a bit like the car is about to die and then it goes. I realize this could be many different things. I've tried cleaning the MAF, it did seem to run better but didn't fix this issue.

After you drive it and it has a chance to shift out of first it won't go back into first automatically once stopped. It seems as if will shift down to second though. I can manually downshift into first and it shifts down fine (although still with the hesitation as stated above).

I don't know much about how an automatic transmission works, only really ever had to deal with manuals.
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Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013 AT 8:08 AM

3 Replies

Tiny
HMAC300
  • MECHANIC
  • 48,606 POSTS
Clean the throttle plate on both sides with choke cleaner and iac hole. Scan for codes and check trans fluid level. If it still continues to not go into first have a trans guy look at it. Replace the belt and tensioner and clean battery terminal ends and have battery checked for condition including load test.
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Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013 AT 8:30 AM
Tiny
CHEVYAL25
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Thanks for the quick reply.

Are you saying that a dirty throttle plate could cause the transmission not to shift back down to first? Would this be because the RPM's aren't going down low enough to cause the downshift?
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Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013 AT 8:59 AM
Tiny
HMAC300
  • MECHANIC
  • 48,606 POSTS
No the throttle plate being dirty may cause your hesitation, not saying it will fix it. I said to check trnas fluid and if that doesn't cure it have a trans guy look at it. It may bea governor problem, or valve body problem. Hard telling because it sat for so long.
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Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013 AT 9:39 AM

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