Hi,
So first off, I know little to almost nothing about cars. I purchased a used 2009 Mazda3 in November. Well taken care of, with a little higher than average miles - I just hit 100,000.
My AT light has come on twice in the last couple weeks. Both times it turned on after I had been driving about 2 1/2 hours on a freeway, at speeds between 60-85 mph. The first time I didn't notice at first that it came on, so I'm not sure what happened then. The second time it turned on and my car shifted down to 4th gear. I slowed down and kept my rpms below 4, and after about 45 mins of steady driving the light turned off and my car had no problem shifting back into 5th gear. The first time it happened it also turned off after I had stopped and been parked for only about 10 mins.
I've checked my transmission fluid which is full. I also had a mechanic look at it (I needed an oil change) and although he couldn't diagnose the problem because he doesn't know as much about transmissions, he did say that the fluid looked like a good color so he didn't think that was the problem.
From some of the things I've read online it said this could be due to over heating - both times the light turned on I had been driving for a long time in the early afternoon through the desert of Southern Utah on days that were in the mid/high 90's. Both times this occurred I drove the same distance only a couple days later, but in the evening so it wasn't as hot and I didn't have this issue either of those times.
Has anyone else had this problem? I'm planning on taking it to a transmission shop in the next couple weeks, and I've already had a transmission flush recommended as a possible solution. I mostly just want to know other issues this could signify/solutions that could work so that when I'm at the shop I'll have a slight idea as to if they're recommending an actual helpful solution or not.
Thank you!
So first off, I know little to almost nothing about cars. I purchased a used 2009 Mazda3 in November. Well taken care of, with a little higher than average miles - I just hit 100,000.
My AT light has come on twice in the last couple weeks. Both times it turned on after I had been driving about 2 1/2 hours on a freeway, at speeds between 60-85 mph. The first time I didn't notice at first that it came on, so I'm not sure what happened then. The second time it turned on and my car shifted down to 4th gear. I slowed down and kept my rpms below 4, and after about 45 mins of steady driving the light turned off and my car had no problem shifting back into 5th gear. The first time it happened it also turned off after I had stopped and been parked for only about 10 mins.
I've checked my transmission fluid which is full. I also had a mechanic look at it (I needed an oil change) and although he couldn't diagnose the problem because he doesn't know as much about transmissions, he did say that the fluid looked like a good color so he didn't think that was the problem.
From some of the things I've read online it said this could be due to over heating - both times the light turned on I had been driving for a long time in the early afternoon through the desert of Southern Utah on days that were in the mid/high 90's. Both times this occurred I drove the same distance only a couple days later, but in the evening so it wasn't as hot and I didn't have this issue either of those times.
Has anyone else had this problem? I'm planning on taking it to a transmission shop in the next couple weeks, and I've already had a transmission flush recommended as a possible solution. I mostly just want to know other issues this could signify/solutions that could work so that when I'm at the shop I'll have a slight idea as to if they're recommending an actual helpful solution or not.
Thank you!
