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I have been trying to get my baby fixed for over a year now. No one can seem to figure out what is wrong with it. Let me start by saying, I know nothing about cars. So, if anyone has any advice for me please spell it out like I'm a 2 years old. They only way I can get it in gear is by pressing the winter or power button (I don't remember which one, it has been so long) It will go through all the gears, then when I come to a stop it slips out of gear. Can anyone please help?!?
Sounds like first gear is toast. I would guess the button you are pressing is the winter mode, that skips first gear (maybe second too, but I dunno, never used it). When you come to a stop, it tries to go back to first. I would just replace the tranny with a quality rebuilt model with a warranty. It could be as simple as a solenoid, but from what I have seen for the last few years, once they go, they are gone.
Since the transmission is shared (or at least similar) to many used in that brands vehicles, would a GM dealership have the diagnostic equipment that could read any possibly stored trouble codes from the transmission PCM?
One other thought is whether you've ever noticed the gear indicator lights on the dashboard (the ones that tell you whether you're in Park, Drive, Neutral, etc) lighting up abnormally? If the mode selector switch on the drivers side of the transmission is faulty/electrically shorted/etc, it may simply be an electrical problem you're experiencing instead of a mechanical transmission problem that's preventing the transmission from going into first gear.
Is it just first gear or can you put it in 1 gear manually? Do the other gears work ok if manually put in gear. If so your first gear is gone.( toast) The winter button starts the tranny in 3rd gear so it does not slip in ice or snow while shifting.