Transmission worries..

[durrell]

Well I have had my truck since about November and this problem hasn't seemed to go away. When I take off and the truck shifts from 1st to 2nd it shift very rough. After looking through some of the older threads, it seems like some think this is normal. That's fine if that's the case. But then there is the fact that when I take off and have to give it a lot of gas, sometimes it won't downshift at all, and sometimes when I come to a stop..it just stays in 2nd gear and never downshifts to first. Now I did have a problem with losing first gear when I bottomed out the first time I took it off road, but this only happens occasionally. What really annoys me the most is the whole problem I have when I go to pull out quickly and it doesn't downshift, or when I'm driving down the road and I want to speed up and it just sits there a few seconds and then it downshifts when it's almost to the floor. Is it a Nissan thing, or should I be worried about my transmission? I don't know when the last service on the transmission was, or if it ever was serviced and I am at 91k miles. Would a transmission service (filter/fluid change) fix this? I'm stumped. The fluid doesn't smell burnt and it isn't discolored..thanks in advance for any help.

[dcobb]

Sounds like you need to get it checked out to me. How about manually shifting, does that work as expected?

[durrell]

Yeah I can manually shift fine. Today it seemed to be ok, didn't have any problems. I definitely do think I need to at the very least get the fluid and filter changed. Any estimates of what that might cost to have done?

[07Frontier]

It cost me roughly $80 here in Raleigh for fluid change and filter, IIRC. Let me know if you need the shop info. I had an issue where it felt like my tranny was slipping at cruising speeds. Had the fluid changed and the problem went away.

[durrell]

I can only hope it's that cheap here in Goldsboro..Raleigh is about an hour away so I'm going to check around here and see if I can find somewhere who will do it. Thanks for the help.

[berge]

why don't you just change it yourself. I added 16L (1drain/day-4days) of Mobil 1 full synthetic ATF for $90. It's easier than changing the engine oil and no jacking up like a car.

[silversuper]

isnt there some rule of not changing the oil if it hasnt been changed for a certain amount of time? i cant remember the specifics

[durrell]

I also forgot to add that when I'm driving down the road and it shifts into overdrive, when I give it some more gas to get it to kick back down into 3rd, you can feel a pretty bad vibration for about a second before it kicks back into 3rd. Any ideas what that might be? The more I say, the more I feel like the transmission just needs replacing..but I'm not sure. Any input is greatly appreciated.

[Z06]

I would take it to a transmission shop and let them drive it. They can give you an idea of what is going on. Shouldn't cost you anything.