Questions and Answers

Chevy Lumina Shift Whine Q. A year ago last October I purchase a 2000 Chevrolet Lumina 3.1 liter with 33,000 miles. After I had it for a few weeks and usually after I had been driving for over about 20 minutes, the transaxle would shift hard and make a whining noise. The dealer even kept it for a few days and said there was nothing wrong. I think they said they also tried reprogramming the transaxle?

After a lot of discussions with the dealer and a number of fluid changes, the car dealer put in a factory rebuilt transaxle. Now with 60,000 miles, the transaxle is starting to do the same thing. About every week it shifts hard between all the gears and whines when it goes into this mode.

The frequency of these episodes is increasing. It now happens about every two days. If I shut the engine off for five minutes and start driving again it usually goes back to normal shifting. The fluid level is correct. I haven’t changed the fluids since the rebuilt was put in.

Any ideas what's wrong?

A. It sounds like the transaxle is going into a default shift mode to protect itself. If this is true it should have left a DTC in the PCM. Don't be affraid to get back to the dealer and see what they can do for you.