transmission not shifting into the next gear?

Reeve ?
Details !

O.k.. the term I think I want to use instead of reeve is surge.. I get to 30 to 40 mph and the engines surges... and stays there... I am still moving.... The car will still drive... Just add the surging sound....

Do you have a tachometer? What's happening to the engine speed when it's making this surging sound?

It sound like a transmission problem to me. The good thing is, this is a 4T40 or a 4T45 transmission, which is ultra-common and not that costly. How many miles are on this car? Has the transmission ever been serviced?

54000 miles is all.. I bought it used so I don't know.. I JUST got the darn thing 3 months ago...

Someone said something about the throttle postitioning sensor??

I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble with the car so soon after buying it. It's surprising for an 11 year old car to have only 54,000 miles.

I don't know whether the throttle position sensor could cause that or not, but I doubt it. Have you checked the transmission fluid level since buying the car? If not, check it. You normally check it with the transmission in park and the car warmed up and running.

Yes I have checked the fluid, it looks pink and doesn't smelt burnt..... I got the carfax on the vehicle and the milage is correct.....

Yes, I didn't necessarily mean that the mileage wasn't right, but only 54,000 miles on an 11 year old car sometimes brings a different set of problems with it. The familiar story of the "perfect" used car that was owned by a little old lady who only drove it to church on Sunday is actually often a bad used car because it suffers from the effects of not being used enough. Machines "like" to be used.

You're going to have to take this to a shop to let someone actually listen to it and hear what's going on. When the engine makes this surging sound, it's important to know whether it's just a noise it's making or if the engine is actually speeding up. If it's speeding up, that suggests a transmission problem. If it's a noise that's not accompanied by higher engine speed, it might be something else. I would suggest a good general repair shop first - not a transmission shop. You don't want to diagnose it yourself, because if you happen onto a dishonest transmission shop, they may well "find" a problem in the transmission even if there isn't one.

There may be a trouble code stored in the car's computer even if you do not have a "service engine soon" light that's on, but you surely have a code stored if you do have that light on. If there's a code stored, that would give the mechanic a good place to start.

I think that I will follow that advice and take it to the shop on Monday... Thanks for the info... I truely appriciate it.. I do get paranoid being a woman.. I always feel like I am about to get ripped off at the mechanics.. My g/f recommended a family friend so that is where I will go... I used to have a GREAT mechanic who was honest and fair in price.. But he retired and moved away.. Sad day for me....

Good luck. I wish I could have been of more help.

The problem is the transmission. its not shifting up to the next gear properly thus having this "hanging". its common in these transmissions but can cost quite a bit. It happened to mine in my 1996 chevy lumina around 50 to 60mph. I never fixed it though and i was fine. whenever it would start to hang, i would just lift my foot off the gas and re push on it and it would shift up fine. cruising at any speed between though would cause a violent vibration. if you havnt already gotten it fixed, delt with it, or gotten rid of the car, i wouldnt say to worry too much. i now own a 94 pontiac grand am too and hope to not run into this again. in my own opinion, i dont find it too vital to fix. My car lasted a long time even with the malfunction, i just decided to deal with it haha