2000 Forester, transmission slips occasionally when put into D (Automatic).

G

gary.weston

I have a 2000 Forester. Its been pretty much trouble free from day 1
save for a goofy ignition coil back around 50k. Replaced under
warranty. Until now.

118K miles. Sometime after 100K miles I noticed the transmission
sometimes does not immediately catch when put into D. I had the trans
fluid changed at a local quicky shop (bad idea.. I know), and it seemed
to get much better, though it does happen.

I have been pretty good.. changing the trans fluid at ~50k miles...
though it may have been better to do it every 30k miles.

The other day I checked the trans fluid level. Seems the local quicky
shop overfilled the trans fluid too.. Is it bad to go beyond the full
mark? I plan to take it back to them anyway and tell them to drain it
to the proper level.

Unfort I don't have the gear at my house to take care of it myself.

Thankfully I just got a new commuter car.. so the Forester is going
into semi-retirement except for tooling around town and carrying stuff
from PtA to PtB.

Any ideas? Suggestions?

-Gary
 
Just make sure it is Dex 2 or 3 in the transmission and you already
checked the level. I assumed you did a pan drain and refill so you
exchanged ~4.2 quarts out of a total of 9.8 quarts. You may want to
consider doing another drain/refill in a 1,000 miles or so. JMTs
 
Not to give you bad news...but, ours did the same thing right before
100k miles. Took it to the dealer and they changed the whold
transmission. I had a 3rd party warranty so it didn't cost me
anything. I seriously doubt the whole tranny was bad, but we got a new
one nonetheless.

I have heard some people having good luck changing their trans fluid
out to the Amsoil synthetic. No personal experience though.
 
Well, I need to have it in the shop for new belts and a checkout
anyway. I'll have the trans checked out and for good measure. If the
trans looks ok, i'll have the fluid changed again to Amsoil synth or
Dex2/3 like you suggest.

I'm just a bit freaked as I don't want to replace the whole tranny. I
just bought a new car, and well... I don't want the expense of a tranny
for the other car at this point in time :)

These speedy places really freak me out now. Speaking of noobishness
(not really a word I know), I discovered that I checked the trans fluid
incorrectly.. The engine was cold and not running. So its likely the
fluid level was incorrectly read. I haven't had time to peek at it
again. Maybe tonight.

I'm not very auto-repair inclined.. but i'm trying to learn more so I
can eventually do my own basic maintenance in the future.

-G
 
I'm just a bit freaked as I don't want to replace the whole tranny. I
just bought a new car, and well... I don't want the expense of a tranny
for the other car at this point in time :)

Sometimes they replace the whole transmission because it is cheaper
than rebuilding the one you have due to the high cost of labor. It is
likely that the "new" transmission they put in is a rebuilt one --- but
this is rebuilt in a shop with much lower hourly rates than the
mechanics in your dealership.

-R.
 
Yeah i'm concerned about the expense of replacing the tranny right now.
Just dumped a pile into a new car (which I use to commute now). Need to
watch the budget a bit. The Forester sees very little driving now
(~1500miles/yr expected).. which is why the urgency has lessened for
me.

I checked the trans fluid again. I was checking it incorrectly before..
with the engine off. With it running the fluid level was a bit above
the full mark... but not excessively so. I had it changed out not too
long ago. Maybe <6k miles. It looks very clean (reddish). I'm
positive its Dex2/3.

I may be overdue to change the gear/diff fluid however. Could that
cause rough shifting such as this? I'm wondering if its worth paying
to have that done now.. or to just take it into a tranny shop and get
the whole workover. That may be better.. after 100k miles she should
get a 'spa' treatment.

I'm still rather green about troubleshooting car issues.. listening to
Car Talk and reading these forums helps a great deal. I'll get there :)
 

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