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Okay my friend has a 2001 pontiac grand am gt... Same problem, as weird as it sounds, she simply puts fuel injection cleaner in her tank once a week, shifts like a charm!  

I was having shifting issues in my 2001 GT and the end result was a new solenoid and pressure switch and cleaning of the valve body and just over $1000.00
The service manual says that service is not needed for 150K miles for "normal" driving conditions. It has 67K miles and not abused in any way.
I filed a complaint with Pontiac based on the fact that it had so little miles compared to the service schedule. I feel that this was an unusual case of failure given the reliability of GM powertrains as I know of them. I have never had a tranny issue with any of the 6 GM products I have owned and neither has my dad and that's all he has driven for most of 65 years.
Anyway, today they told me that my case was closed because of the age of the car and it's milage! I understand it's been out of warranty for some time etc.. but I just feel that this should be compinsated in some way.

What do you feel about this and should I keep trying to get some satisfaction from GM? Where and to whom else could I appeal this issue??
Thanks in advance
Gary  

I have a 2000 Grand Prix gt and it has had the same problem (hard and intermittent shifting...turn off and restart the prob goes away for a while).
I am interested in knowing how long it has been since you had the new solenoid and pressure switch and cleaning of the valve body done?
Also wondering if you are having any problem since then?

Thanks
Ron  

I also have a 2000 gp se as well and it  has just started doing this.  The car has 127000 miles, not abused, just alot of highway miles.  It starts out fine then after about 20 or so minutes it will start shifting rough as stated.  That and when going from drive to neutral while crusing, it bucks hard like it went down a gear to get to neutral. My car does not reset after just turning it off and back on.  It has to sit for a couple hours for it to shift normal again.  Does this sound like the same sort of symptom,?? This solenoid? This coming from a poor white boy who likes to take care of his stuff.. .. ahh poo!!


Also would like to add.. i dont know if anyones problem is also doing this.. but when it starts shifting hard, it whines. it almost sounds like i have a big old supercharger under the hood. and.. i know that it isnt good.    

GTP 2000 - 215,000KM

I had this haapen to me about a year a so ago where the gear shift jerked. Stopped the car and it didn't happened again until this month and it's now happening more frequent. I got worried that I was damaging my tranny and brought it in to get a checkup. Mister Transmission said they got a 1811 mass something code where the tranny is slipping and to avoid that presure is adds pressure casuing the jerk. They couldnt get it to jerk with a road test.

So they call me and say well we can't say what it is until we open the tranny. At this point im freaked and keeping asking is there anything else i can do? But of course they say no. So i give the go ahead and start cryin lol.

I then go online and see all this info about the code 1811 and now think i jumped the gun with people saying just replace the solenoids.

Mister Transmission calls and says they found some parts worn,stripped and something to do with a piston needs replacing. So guess what that means REBUILD!!! At there mercy Ive spent just 350 to open and another 350 to close it. To do nothing would be crazy. I hope I slept on it before making the choice but its too late now.

Then I talked to a friend who said I should have put this tranny treatmeant and it would have sorted the shifting. *&%(*&^&()$#&*(#

So does anyone out there know what to believe? Or what i should have done(for next time)? I can't take this car business. Everyone wants to make a living at anyone's expense. Wouldn't a 30 year owner (misster) know of a treament instead of opening a tranny?

He even told me that my tranny was in good condition overall (drove well). They even makes me wonder if the tranny treatment would have worked...

 

I am experiancing this problem as well. however I am hoping that i learned my lesson in the past. I had a 96 gmc sierra. that had a similar problem it was a bit more dramatic thou. speedo and tack would all die along with the indicater light for PNRD321 wasted lots of money trying to get someone to fix it for me. Discouverd it to be the ignition switch. found it on ebay. the ad explaiined everything that my truck was doing. I havn't found if its the same for my grand prix but it sure seems the same. as for the shutter at the end of the shift I was told to use what is called shutter guard. its an additive to make your trani oil slip more. I am not totally sold on this because it shifts normal sometimes. the search continues. let me know if anyone has tried or is thinking of trying the ignition switch  

This sounds more like what mine is doing. May I ask what you needed to do or have done?  

I now believe my problem with intermittent hard shifting is temperature related. My grand prix didn't have hard shifting all winter and now that the temps have been in high 50s and higher, the problem has resurfaced.  I had the fluid changed. And the GM dealership shop hasn't found anything.  Any thoughts on relationship to temperature?  

The problem is the sylinoid . This is a serious problem and is usually fixed by a new tranny GM knows of the problem but if they tried to fixed everyones problem they would go broke ( like it would make a difference , right ? ) . The point is this , you are a sucker if you buy this car for more than a project car . Cause the tranny sucks and GM knows it . They have known of it for a long time and continue to know of it but still they wont do anything for it . Ive potitioned a class action law suit but still none will sign up for it . Funny cause a new tranny can cost anywhere up to $3,000 US . Its a shame to say cause I love my GT but Im now forced to sell it for 700.00 cause to fix it just isn' t a option .  

Sad to say but get rid of the car while you still have 3rd gear . I thought Id be able to do something about it like more tranny fluid but I wound up loosing 4th and 3rd and now my gt just sits its a sad way for such a nice looking car to go but its the tranny . Its a bad egg and if you dont get rid of it now you never will !!!!!    

When a pressure solinoid goes bad you get low line pressure.If the electronic signal from the pcm is not getting to the solinoid you will get high line pressure.GM cars after approximatley 1998 are designed to have the computer shift the trans hard for lots of different sensor failures that are not even trans related.The idea behind it is that the hard shifting will prompt you to bring the car in for service.That is why turning off the engine and restarting it helps the problem because if its an intermittant failure the computer shifts the trans normally until the code resets.  

mines doing the same thing
so, the big question

where do i get the solenoid?

link? anyone?

tnx a lot  

Good then. Since you are a master auto technician please tell me where the pressure control solenoid is on a 2001 pontiac grand prix gt and how do i get to it.