Vauxhall Astra G Petrol Automatic 2001 - Automatic transmission problem

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Wed 28 Mar 2018 11:40
Vauxhall Astra G Petrol Automatic 2001 - Automatic transmission problem - Cicero

A friend has a problem with her automatic transmission. The car was apparently behaving normally with all forward gears available. As she was parking the car she tried to select reverse, the T-bar moved but reverse would not engage.

The rescue service mechanic said he was puzzled because the the car crept forward when Neutral was selected. Later examination at a garage revealed the transmission fluid to be black.

She has been quoted £3500-4500 to replace the gearbox which is clearly out of the question on such an old car. But there has been no attempt to understand or diagnose the problem. Is it possible there is a more simple explanation?

Does anybody have any ideas, please?

Thanks

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Wed 28 Mar 2018 11:53
Vauxhall Astra G Petrol Automatic 2001 - Automatic transmission problem - Manatee

The most obvious possibility for a simple problem is the selector - e.g. the gearbox is in D when the selector is at N.

However, applying Occam's razor it seems more likely that a 17-year-old gearbox with black fluid is just knackered, and it will cost more than the car is worth to (probably) confirm that.

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Wed 28 Mar 2018 16:40
Vauxhall Astra G Petrol Automatic 2001 - Automatic transmission problem - John F

Unless the cure is a simple adjustment of the selecor I would scrap it and replace with one of the dozens of Astra automatics available online for a few hundred pounds.

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