Hi, I am looking at possibly buying a '95 EX 4-Cyl with a strange auto transmission problem.

I just went and looked at the car. When you put the car in any gear, it seems fine, no slipping, no strange noises. After a random amount of time, but never more than 2 minutes, you lose everything and the car acts as if it is neutral. Shifting to any other gear does nothing. If you shut the car off for a few minutes, and restart it will repeat the scenario. This same issue happens no matter what gear, even reverse and low.

To me, it seems electronic, as the transmission itself seems OK when it actually engages, but I have no clue what it may be. The guy that is selling it says he swapped out the transmission control module and that made no difference.

It's a good price on the car, even if it needs a tranny, but I don't want to get it, replace the tranny and then discover it's some other problem. It wouldn't be worth putting much more money into after a transmission.

Any clues what the issue may be? Thank you!

 

Is the D4 light flashing while driving? Is the check engine light turning on?

In the common diy thread on top of the gen tech help forum, there is a link for checking codes. Post any codes you find on here?

 

I didn't notice the D4 light flashing. No check engine light on.

 

answer not mesh to question, beware.

... don't buy a car with a problem unless you can postively id the problem and solve it with a cheap component switch (eg, replace alternator).
wait, a better one will come along.