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Transmission problem while driving car in second gear


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Hi Guys, 

I am here with my bad experience to share and desperately need an advice on my car problem. 
I have recently bought a used 2004 Nissan Maxima few months ago, with a very first experience of buying used car in Dubai, and guess what happen it has been jerking when I am driving a car in 1st or 2nd gear. Honestly this seem very pathetic and scary to me. I think it's a bad quality issue from the manufacturer.  

I never expected this type of quality from Nissan, which seems very famous in Dubai. 
Anyways since it's my car now, so I have to resolve this issue. Can anybody please help me with possible repair solution and approx charges for fixing it? 

Edited by jabbarali
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Hi jabbarali,

I asssume the car has an automatic transmission?

If so, then this kind of problem is almost always  caused by dirty transmission fluid that causes some of the moving parts in the valve body to stick, thus causing the jerky shifts.

The valve body is the part of the transmission that regulates gearshifts, and it is full of small valve shuttles, ball valves, springs, and other small moving parts that control and regulate the flow of the transmission fluid. So when transmission fluid becomes old, dirty, or contaminated, the fluid breaks down, and causes the formation of sludge, varnishes, and gums that can prevent critical parts from moving freely.

This can also happen if the engine has overheated before you bought the car. The transmission fluid is cooled by a seperate circuit in the radiator, so if the engine has overheated, the excessive heat has destroyed the additives in the transmission fluid which can cause sludge to form, and so  interfere with, or prevent  the movement of critical parts. 

Your first step must be to check the colour of the fluid. If your transmission has a dipstick, pull it out and check to see if the fluid is dark in colour. If it is dark, the fluid is old. Fluid in good condition must be bright red, transparent, and it must not have a "burnt" smell.

 Sadly, the bad news is that replacing the fluid will not always fix this kind of problem, since old fluid can cause some parts to stick so much that the only way to free them is to have the transmission taken apart to replace sticking parts. Nevertheless, my advice would be to replace the transmission fluid with the correct grade and type for your car, and to see if this fixes the issue. You must also replace the filter, so I suggest you take your car to a repair shop because you need to remove the oil pan to access the transmission filter. 

However, do NOT have the transmission flushed with any sort of machine because if there is sludge present, the sludge could be forced into small oil passages where it could block some circuits permanently, and the only way to fix this is to replace the transmission.

You may need to replace the fluid a few times to get rid of all the old fluid, but if you do not notice an improvement after the second fluid replacement, a third fluid replacement is a waste of money, and you will have to have the transmission repaired by a specialist repair shop. It is possible to replace the valve body alone, but this is usually just as expensive as replacing a complete transmission, which can cost thousands in any currency.

NOTE: If the car jerks all the time while it is in first and second gear, the problem could also be caused by  issues in the software that controls the transmission. The only way to confirm this is to have the car diagnosed with suitable diagnostic equipment to extract all the fault codes in the fault memory.

I hope this helps you, but replace the fluid first before you do anything else, and please post the results of the fluid replacement. I would like to know how it turns out, and it may help other members with the same or similar problems. 

 

Edited by treks
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