1998 Other Saturn Models won't go into reverse

Tiny
PATTYMELT
  • MEMBER
  • 1998 SATURN
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 127,000 MILES
A few months ago my 1998 Saturn SL II reverse gear stopped working. I've read that this seems to be a common problem. Do you have a suggestion for a quick, temporary fix? I am in California and getting ready to "retire" the car through the state. This is a program where the State will purchase your car for $1,000.00 if it fails the smog test in order to remove older, less-efficient cars from the road. The state will not take the car if it doesn't back up 30 feet. I am looking into Lucas Oils Tranny Fix to see if that might work. The car just races when shifted into reverse, but other gears work fine. All I need is for the tranny to engage in reverse for 30 seconds. Got any ideas?
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 AT 6:09 PM

7 Replies

Tiny
RASMATAZ
  • MECHANIC
  • 75,992 POSTS
If its electronically controlled transmission -could be a problem with an actuator/shift solenoids, transmission range sensor or the transmission control module/PCM
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Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 AT 6:52 PM
Tiny
PATTYMELT
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
This is not an answer to my question. All this information is readily available on your site as well as others. Can a technician (or anyone else) specifically answer my question?
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Thursday, June 19th, 2008 AT 2:42 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 52,298 POSTS
Hi, has the car been scanned for trouble codes?
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Thursday, June 19th, 2008 AT 3:03 PM
Tiny
PATTYMELT
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
No, it has not. It has a lot of miles on it and leaks a lot of oil. Prior to the reverse going out, it was making a noise when I put it in reverse. I spoke with my mechanic after the reverse stopped working and he gave me a quote of between $1100 and $1600 to fix it. Due to the high mileage, I opted for the California retirement program so I can get $1,000 to buy something else. I just need a temporary fix to get it into reverse, if possible.
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Thursday, June 19th, 2008 AT 3:57 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 52,298 POSTS
Its sonds like the transmission is damaged internaly and can not be fixed cheaply, sorry :-(
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Thursday, June 19th, 2008 AT 5:22 PM
Tiny
PATTYMELT
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Any thoughts on the use of Lucas just to make it temporarily engage?
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Thursday, June 19th, 2008 AT 7:22 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 52,298 POSTS
I dont think it will work but you never know. Let me know what happens
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Friday, June 20th, 2008 AT 11:04 AM

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