PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

I am aware that this transmission could be on its way out anytime now, as I'm at 130,000 miles on my 02. But just thought I'd grasp at straws and hope it's something else. The other night I noticed we were driving around town slow, it was snowing real bad, and all the sudden every gear was shifting really rough and continued all the way home.
Here's what's weird. I do have a slow water pump leak that has been leaking when it gets cold overnight, and when I got home that night the overflow was low on coolant so I added what I needed, it was well below the cold line. Next day I go to work and not a problem at all. Same as always and I have about a 45 minute drive one way.
Now this morning it does it again. All the way to work. Hard shifts every gear. And it was snowing again real bad. Coolant was a little low but not like before. So could not having enough coolant be getting this trans that hot, is it something to do with icy roads? Don't mean to sound ignorant here, just thought I'd get some opinions. What do you guys think, us this thing done or not
Thanks in advance
Adam

It likely was just coincidental. Sounds as if you have a problem with the pressure control solenoid in the transmission, which can cause harsh shifts. When the car is shut off and restarted, it resets so it is quite possible that it will do it one time, and not the next. It often sets code P1811. That will not set a CEL, and generally can not be read with a standard code reader. You can read about it, and a possible solution here:
http://tripleedgeperformance.com/Harsh-Shift-P1811.html

My 02 has been hard shifting for years now. Kinda feels like someone is kicking the bottom of the car when it happens. But mine only really does it in summer on occasion. Was told the clutch plates were going.

yeah that is what i figured, because after the morning i wrote the post, it hasnt done it since. So how long can it go on like this, is it really bad for the transmission? I was hoping not to have to dump any money into this until spring time. At least after the holidays lol. thanks
Adam

The PCS can definitely damage the transmission. Throw a shift kit in it (can be had for around $100), or make one yourself (search shift kit, there's an outline of what you'd need to make one somewhere on here haha) and that will bypass/mask the pcs problem.

Hello, I have some experience with this. I have an 01 Bonneville SE with 121k miles. It started about 3,000 miles ago shifting really hard. It ONLY does it when the car reaches full operating temperature. If the car cools down then it will not do it.
My best friend owns a transmission shop and he used his computer and pulled a code that meant my solenoids were bad. He recommended a 4T65E Transgo Shift Kit. He said that you dont even have to install the entire kit just a few parts to speed up the shifting by a small amount so that I THINK he said it would make the PCM overlook the solenoids. Im not sure but he said it would solve the increased line pressure and hard shifting. He said he had done it per customers request and never had any problems. The kit is only $42 on amazon. I haven't had time to install mine yet. After my friend told me this I searched for it on this forum and there are a few guys who have done it and it worked well for them. It's pretty easy to do. This post here: http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... it=transgo will show you how to do it. Good luck!

Ok thank you guys, although i don't dare do anything with a transmission, I will find a way to take care of this
Adam

yea im same way.. im scared to touch a tranny. my pcs acts up on occasion.