Diagnose my car problems

[wild_turkey]

I drive a 6-cyl auto SUV, that has just over 150K miles and is starting to see some problems.

When I first start up the car it has trouble shifting from reverse to forward, and it lurches a little bit at the first couple of stops. I've noticed that the RPMs shoot up a little bit just prior to the lurch, as if it's trying to go but maybe the transmission isn't working. After about a minute, the problem clears up and it drives just fine. It seems to be worse in cold weather, but it still does it a little bit on warm days. I fear that this is the transmission, but it doesn't make sense that it clears up. That leads me to believe that a fluid may be low and it works better after the car has been running. I've check the transmission fluid and it looks fine, what else could it be?

The second problem is that I have a bit of a screeching sound when I first get in the car and turn the wheel too sharply. It also seems to be related to cold weather, and the use of the heater seems to worsen the problem. Again, it goes away after the first minute or so. I suspected it was one of my belts getting old, but I took it to a shop and they said I don't need a new belt. I've put some belt conditioner on them just to be safe, but I can't tell that it's helping anything.

 

[cinchhorn]

I'm going to guess that you don't drive a lot of highway miles (100+/day). Take your ride to one of the lube places and have them change your tranny fluid and change your screen/filter. The screeching could be 2 things; 1) check your power steering fluid and 2) your power steering unit could be going out.
My Jetta made some noises when I turned the wheel and when I checked the reservoir, it was bone dry. Now I check it more frequently, especially since I have 193K on it.

Good luck!

 

[accuratehorn]

The lurching is probably what is calling "flaring" in the automatic transmission. Not a good sign.
Try changing the fluid-automatic transmission fluid is "high detergent" oil, and sometimes clean fluid will flush out some dirt that is causing a symptom like that.
The screeching is the power steering belt, may need a new belt, even if it looks OK, but may be the pump trying to sieze up, or could be low on fluid.

 

[wild_turkey]

In reply to:

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[accuratehorn]

If there is a small period of time between shifts where the engine speeds up but isn't really driving the car, akin to pushing the clutch in slightly on a standard transmission car, then the automatic transmission engages and works properly, that is what is called flaring. Either the automatic clutches are getting worn, or the pressure is not correct-the pressure can be incorrect due to a sticking part, there are little springs and check balls in different passage-so if you are lucky, something may just be sticking a little bit, and nice clean fluid may make the problem go away.
If you are unlucky, sometimes the clutches are pretty worn out, and the gunk produced when they wear is the only thing giving them and bite to make the thing work, and you change the fluid, wash all this stuff off of the clutches, and the trans fails to function. It can happen, but it was about to fail anyway.
You could try to get an educated opinion on it from a shop, although some places really sell rebuilds-if you could get an honest evaluation, you could know whether to get rid of the car or keep it going.

 

[Perham1]

When I first start up the car it has trouble shifting from reverse to forward, and it lurches a little bit at the first couple of stops.

As others have mentioned: transmission. With the number of miles on your vehicle it's probably more than just low fluid, but one can always hope.

 

[wild_turkey]

So what you guys are saying is, when they sleazy tow truck driver asked for $200 in return for my car (see other thread), I should've just told him to keep it? It was a good car when I bought it, but over the last couple years it's started to fall apart. I think I might need to look for something newer, cause I'd rather not pay for a new auto clutch or transmission on a car that's only worth $2-3k. Even once I do that, something else will probably break and I'm gonna get in the viscious cycle of paying more to fix the car than it's actually worth. (this coming from a guy that doesn't make car payments and tries to get every last mile out of his ride)

 

[Perham1]

Even once I do that, something else will probably break and I'm gonna get in the viscious cycle of paying more to fix the car than it's actually worth.

Don't compare the cost of repairs to the fmv (fair market value) of the current car, but compare it to the cost of getting a new(er) car.

There's nothing wrong with putting, say, $2,000 worth of repairs into a car that is "worth" $3,000. You don't want the repairs to be excessive, of course.

 

[Perham1]

Btw, the rule of thumb (don't know how correct it is) is that if your car repairs on a used vehicle approach 50% of what payments would be on a new(er) car, get the new(er) car.

 

[wild_turkey]

I don't understand your rule of thumb. You're saying that if my repairs will exceed 50% of the monthly payment on a new car, then I should just buy a new car? That doesn't make any sense.

 

[Perham1]

I don't understand your rule of thumb. You're saying that if my repairs will exceed 50% of the monthly payment on a new car, then I should just buy a new car? That doesn't make any sense.

Well, since I'm humble, I have to admit that it's not my rule of thumb. But yes, that is what I am saying. If a new car will cost $600/month, or look at it over 6 months or a year, and the repair costs exceed 50% of that amount, then this rule says to buy the new car.

I think it makes some sense.

 

[Bernard]

At some point late in the life of a car, you just need to realize that if you turn the key and put her in "D" and car moves, then no repairs are needed. As long as it's not a safety issue, just keep driving.

Bernard

 

[cinchhorn]

get it fixed?

 

[wild_turkey]

The power steering fluid was a little low, so I added some over the weekend. Can't really tell if that will improve the screeching since that only occurs briefly on very cold days. Time will tell.

Also had a transmission flush done, the old fluid was black according to the car place. When I had checked it on the dipstick it appeared brown, but either way, it wasn't pink like it should be. I think it's been about 50k miles since my last transmission flush, not sure if that's typical or not. It appears to be running MUCH better now, I didn't have any of the lurching or high RPM symptoms described in my original post. Hopefully this will remain true, because it's a huge sigh of relief to know that I won't have to buy a new car in the immediate future. (knock on wood)