Hi everyone
1991 Maxima 3 liter Auto, 110 000 km on clock (70 000 miles). Up to this problem, all has been fine ... a great car! Absolutely no symptoms prior (as far as I could tell).Symptoms: Drove 20 min no problem open highway Slowed for 3 min low-speed zone Went to accelerate back to open-road speed and found I had no drive. No unusual noises. Upon stopping, I tried all gears including Reverse; absolutely no drive. Engine going well. Stopped/started engine; tried overdrive On/Off, tried the Selector Switch on Auto, Economy and Power; no go. Checked transmission oil; appeared OK. Waited 10 min and managed to go about 50 feet ... happened a number of times. Go tow in to mechanic's workshop. Checked next day when fluid cold, still no go. In fact, doesn't move an inch now. Mechanic is talking thousands to replace gearbox with reconditioned; otherwise he'll just replace torque convertor for about half this figure. He has yet to even look under car ... just his gut feeling I think. He says he's experienced with other auto transmissions, but hasn't worked on Maximas, but says no problem ... he'll just order what's needed (eg: replacement transmission or torque convertor) and fix.
So I'm not very happy : ( In fact, having a little trouble believing he's not jumping to conclusions so I've spent last 2 hours on Web. Now I think I need to ask him (before ripping the thing apart!) to: Check fluid filter for blockage (is this external?) Check transmission cable for breakage Re-check fluid level What about an electrical/electronic failure stopping my request getting thru to the transmission? Are there any external solenoids which can be checked?
Do these sound reasonable? I'd really like some comments/ideas as to what could be wrong and what checks or tests should be carried out. I think there are some diagnostics which can be carried out using the Selector Switch, but haven't found anything about them.
What do you think? Thanks for any and every comment. I'm a real novice but would love to know more!
Graeme