Involuntary downshifting

Kelvinleeschroeder · Post by **Kelvinleeschroeder** » 23 Apr 2013, 06:02

2000 S40 auto 103k A few times I have been driving at highway speed and without depressing the accelerator pedal the transmission shifted down a gear. Pushing the pedal or letting it off then had no effect on shifting. Only after shoving it into neutral and then back to drive did it return to normal. My first question is do you know what the most likely cause for this is? Secondly, do you think it is harmful to continue driving the car before fixing it? Kelvin

iamn8 · Post by **iamn8** » 23 Apr 2013, 06:47

Are you getting a check engine light?

I'm inclined to say a solenoid that's stuck, or a sensor that's not reading data properly. Either show be giving you a code though.

Kelvinleeschroeder · Post by **Kelvinleeschroeder** » 23 Apr 2013, 07:06

Check engine light on. I need to clear it, then see what happens since I recently put in a coolant temperature sensor. Do you know if the solenoid is cleanable?
Thanks.

iamn8 · Post by **iamn8** » 23 Apr 2013, 14:00

The solenoid should be cleanable if it's in good shape.

The code that's causing the CEL will probably leads you in the right direction. Let us know what it is.