trans.not engaging except reverse or winter mode

[jarvis]

Bought a beautiful 99 ....astral? Silver.....with financing etc etc will be paying around $9, 000 for it.......at any rate second day I had it transmission stopped going into gear...fluid level is good... goes in Reverse...anybody with any ideas of an alternative easy fix bolt in transmission or what to look for in this one input would be greatly appreciated......cuz right now it makes really beautiful yard art.... lol

Am in wash state and would be willing to travel some to purchase a reasonable priced used ...but likley would be better off hitting up local wrecking yards for a trooper...
Maybe ????? Not sure yet .
..need to stack up some hours at work and get moola...
I think im going to need it.....
Thx
JARVX

[bartmanS4]

If it is driving in winter mode that indicates that it is not going into first gear. Winter mode skips first and starts out in second gear for less wheel spin.

[Marlin]

X2, sounds like first gear solenoid or the gear itself is toast.

[nocturnalVX]

It sounds like he knows what is going on (using Winter mode to bypass first AND second gear), and is using Winter mode to get forward motion. I did the same thing when my transmission went at @ 113,000 miles. Winter mode allowed me to get the VX to the dealer for repairs. However, my check trans light came on... did yours?

Good luck getting your VX fixed, and if the bulb is out on your check trans light... have the place you bought it from pay!

[jarvis]

trans light comes on with initial key on...seems all dash lights are good so far...and thx nocturnalVX for getting the gist of what i was saying......they will be looking into it wed.
seems like a long ways off but ...said they can look at no charge to me and normally an inspection of that caliber is very expensive.... but any needed repairs would be at my expense ....oh yippie ...do me a favor why don't ya ....seems to me all vehicles front and center ..AKA featured on site .it would be a given to do that type of checkup/inspection.

[nocturnalVX]

but it sounds exactly like what was going on when mine went, and I had lost 1st and 2nd gear... Thankfully Winter mode was available. It sucked in stop & go traffic. If I slowed too much, the Winter mode would cancel dropping me out of 3rd, and I would have to come to a complete stop to re engage Winter mode. Again... Good luck. My VX has been in the shop for weeks trying to figure out what has been causing the front axel binding under sharp turns ever since the transfer case rebuild last year...

[Triathlete]

Did you buy it from a dealer or private party? If from a dealer and it was only 2 days it sounds like they should be taking care of it on their dime. If not I would raise hell until they see things your way. Arizona has lemmon laws that cover buyers in those types of situations. Might check and see if your state is the same.

[jarvis]

Thanks folks ...I think it is first gear went out or is no engaging somehow.....just took it for a drive runs beautifully.....until I come to a stop....evidently from what I can tell the winter mode just starts you out and automatically kicks off after you pick up speed....if going slow enough and you put your foot in it it'll lose gear again...I believe its trying to kick down into first gear so.........not sure what the cost will be but I gave a really nice black blazer extreme for it.....and now am owing nearly $9000 on the vx ... over payed for it im sure....which wass acceptable to me because of how much I liked it......but not if an emediate catastrophic failure happens emediately after purchase....sheesh !!!!!

[jarvis]

K...so saw the second reference to winter mode button...or third I forgot..

From what peeps are saying this causes trans to start out in 3rd gear....trippy....but was hoping 2nd....pretty sure then that both gears didnt go out in the tranny itself at the same time then.....ssoooo....thinking maybe computer , or electrical, ???? Gonna keep reading and if the dealership trys to shun responsibility guess ill be opening it up next weekend if I get time.

Just not exactly sure at this time what I will be looking for specifically so I need to study and research some more in the meantime , and hopefully it will be something obvious visually.....likely not just by looking....at any rate I have resolved to keep my VX and not ask for my blazer back I just don't want the dealership to know how much I like it. Prob be shopping for a repair manual soon too so....oh....and ad a lot more metric tools to my box also.. {{{ DOUGH!! }}}

PS ...here's one for ya .. I guess I would rather have my VX in the driveway not running and making payments on it than my blazer paid off and running..

So I guess that makes it official I'm VX crazy ...lol

[tom4bren]

PM me your mailing address & I'll get a copy of the manual to you on DVD.

[jarvis]

Wow ...for reals ? Thanks in advance...lightens things up a little that someone would do that.......well today is when I'm scheduled for them to look at it....not really sure how I feel about that....I can do that myself....really would like them to fix the problem.....plus they get it over there and all pulled apart then what.... $$$
Really not in the budget for now....few weeks though...may just do it myself so I can see how all the particulars work exactly....although ideally I feel it would be fair for them to allow me to run it over to AAMCO have them fix it and send the dealership the bill. of course that would be in the perfect world wouldn't it...lol

[jarvis]

B T W has anybody here ever used aamco before and what was your experience ? I know their commercial use to advertise that they service transmissions and nothing but , ...so they're all geared toward probably any transmission you would bring them....no pun intended with the geared reference