O/D Light on at cold start. Can anyone explain this? 2002 Protege5

[TX_SilverP5]

After buying our '02 P5 in January 2023, I wanted to do everything I could for it to stay road worthy. Figured I would do the automatic transmission oil drain and replace a few times. Once in January and once in August. The shop I went to didn't want to get into the pan to change out the filter. In September we started seeing the O/D light flashing at first start up in the morning and shift into Drive and the power is wayyy reduced. It would feel like a "soft" shift after a little buzzing when that happens. After a little bit it goes away. If I were to wait a bit and restart the car, eventually it would feel like a satisfying harder shift into D. So, I took some measurements with the FORSCAN tool, and it shows which solenoids are being engaged (pictures 1-4) ....

If I start out cold, SS1 is engaged fully but not SS2 or SS3, but at first it does try to turn them on.
Once it's warmed up, SS1 is slightly engaged for a hot second then SS2 and SS3 are fully on so that seems like the proper condition.
From what I can see from the Solenoid Apply Chart (PDF) that looks like SS2 and SS3 are Shift "D" and Shift "E" respectively.
I assume that means that SS1 = Shift "C" but the only time that's supposed to be engaged is when it's in 4th gear... the Over Drive gear maybe?

Can anyone confirm what's going on here? I'm going to replace out the Input Speed Sensor since it's accessible but other than that, I can only think of bringing it to a transmission shop for a diagnostic and maybe a new transmission filter. But since the solenoids are right there when you open the pan (picture), maybe it's a good time to replace those too.

Any insight would be insanely helpful.
Appreciate this forum!

Scott

 

[TX_SilverP5]

Noticed one more thing this morning. I let the car warm up for a good 15 minutes and I was about to turn it off before I decided to check on the O/D situation in drive. So I went into Drive and sure enough the O/D light starts blinking. So I thought it didn't have anything to do with warm up and temperature when I turned it off. But then I decided to check again and started her up and put it in Drive. NO PROBLEM. So this tells me that this is some kind of electrical or component issue, NOT an issue with my transmission. I have misdiagnosed my "morning sickness"!

 

[smetzger]

Could this be the neutral safety switch? Just a thought, but this has thrown a code for me in the past.

 

[TX_SilverP5]

I'll have to check that out. From what I've been able to distill, all I have to do is turn on the car from cold, put it in drive and it'll softly shift engage and flash O/D. If I simply park and turn the car off, then restart and go back to drive the issue is over. That tells me it's not a gasket thing but more of a sensor or solenoid issue. Again, no codes, no other issues when driving.

 

[TX_SilverP5]

Update: Since it's gotten a little cooler in Texas for November, there has been hardly any instances of this happening, even on cold start up. I'm thinking the viscosity is higher when it's cold? Not sure yet. I just had the brake booster replaced after I heard it hissing so next is to get the car inspected by a good transmission place in Houston when it starts happening again.

 

[pcb]

You might find these threads helpful,..

2003 protege 5 automatic transmission question

I need to do a slow fluid change on my 03 P5 automatic sport shift.....the previous owner apparently never changed it and at 185,XXX miles its very dark. Does anyone know how much just the pan holds? I want to do several pan changes over the next few weeks to slowly integrate the new fluid.

mazdas247.com

Protege5 A/T shift problem

I have a 2002 Mazda protege5 with 71000 miles and it runs great if you don't ever want to get out 2nd gear. When it shifts out of 2nd it goes to neutral or what appears to be neutral. I get fault code 762 and rarely 767. I have replaced all 6 shift solenoids with no change at all. I would...

mazdas247.com

New to P5 Auto Tranny

Hey there, I just purchased 2 "beater" P5s from a local Mazda parts place. I got them both for a steal, and my goal was to take good parts off of one (has some racing heart MP3 wheels and a Team Moon exhaust) and get the other one driving to sell for cheap or give to a friend who really needs...

mazdas247.com

I don't remember much about it, but one thing that I remember is that the fluid pressure sensor may be reading low so the ECU assumes that the fluid is low and tries to prevent damage to the transmission.

 

[TX_SilverP5]

You might find these threads helpful,..

2003 protege 5 automatic transmission question

I need to do a slow fluid change on my 03 P5 automatic sport shift.....the previous owner apparently never changed it and at 185,XXX miles its very dark. Does anyone know how much just the pan holds? I want to do several pan changes over the next few weeks to slowly integrate the new fluid.

mazdas247.com

Protege5 A/T shift problem

I have a 2002 Mazda protege5 with 71000 miles and it runs great if you don't ever want to get out 2nd gear. When it shifts out of 2nd it goes to neutral or what appears to be neutral. I get fault code 762 and rarely 767. I have replaced all 6 shift solenoids with no change at all. I would...

mazdas247.com

New to P5 Auto Tranny

Hey there, I just purchased 2 "beater" P5s from a local Mazda parts place. I got them both for a steal, and my goal was to take good parts off of one (has some racing heart MP3 wheels and a Team Moon exhaust) and get the other one driving to sell for cheap or give to a friend who really needs...

mazdas247.com

I don't remember much about it, but one thing that I remember is that the fluid pressure sensor may be reading low so the ECU assumes that the fluid is low and tries to prevent damage to the transmission.

Wow, that's good to hear that this issue has been identified over the years. It hasn't happened in weeks now and I think my ECU has learned the new environment and not letting the fluid pressure sensor assume the fluid is low. When I first brought the car into the shop, they assumed the fluid was low because that's exactly the end result if it was low. Makes sense! I still want to drop the pan and replace the filter but I think for now I'll let sleeping dogs lie. Thank you so much.

 

[TX_SilverP5]

So it's Spring time and that means the O/D light & limp mode is back on cold startup only. After that, I can restart the car and put it in drive and It'll figure it out to 1st gear like normal and no flashing O/D light. So I'm going to give my car a transmission tune-up. Does the following look like a good list of items?

IDEMITSU 30040092750 (M5) ATF Type M; 8 Quart
ATP B189 (Standard Replacement) Premium Replacement; With 3rd Hand Gasket
PIONEER 771111 Transmission Shift Control Solenoid x 2
PIONEER 771116 EPC x 1
ROSTRA A48421 PWM x 3

 

[Javier345]

So it's Spring time and that means the O/D light & limp mode is back on cold startup only. After that, I can restart the car and put it in drive and It'll figure it out to 1st gear like normal and no flashing O/D light. So I'm going to give my car a transmission tune-up. Does the following look like a good list of items?

IDEMITSU 30040092750 (M5) ATF Type M; 8 Quart
ATP B189 (Standard Replacement) Premium Replacement; With 3rd Hand Gasket
PIONEER 771111 Transmission Shift Control Solenoid x 2
PIONEER 771116 EPC x 1
ROSTRA A48421 PWM x 3

Hi, I'm having the exact same problem as you and many others with my Mazda Protege 2000, with the same transmission. Have you discovered what is causing this problem?

It seems like something is sticking when the vehicle is left unused for a period of time, but I don't know if it's something mechanical or electrical.

The problem started one year ago when the vehicle reached 150,000 miles, and it's worse now. I have to turn it off and on repeatedly until it engages first gear. In the beginning, turning it off and on one time was enough.

 

[TX_SilverP5]

Hi, I'm having the exact same problem as you and many others with my Mazda Protege 2000, with the same transmission. Have you discovered what is causing this problem?

It seems like something is sticking when the vehicle is left unused for a period of time, but I don't know if it's something mechanical or electrical.

The problem started one year ago when the vehicle reached 150,000 miles, and it's worse now. I have to turn it off and on repeatedly until it engages first gear. In the beginning, turning it off and on one time was enough.

Not yet! But after replacing all the transmission solenoids and filter- with the right AT fluid, the problem went away for a good month but then it started happening again. It seems that if the car is put into reverse first, giving the fluid and whatever else needed a chance to come to pressure, the problem does not occur. I wouldn't think it's the computer, but it could be. I think it's more mechanical than anything else, like you say, something is sticking open in a cold state. I'll keep you posted because I want to get to the bottom of this!

 

[Javier345]

Not yet! But after replacing all the transmission solenoids and filter- with the right AT fluid, the problem went away for a good month but then it started happening again. It seems that if the car is put into reverse first, giving the fluid and whatever else needed a chance to come to pressure, the problem does not occur. I wouldn't think it's the computer, but it could be. I think it's more mechanical than anything else, like you say, something is sticking open in a cold state. I'll keep you posted because I want to get to the bottom of this!

I was planning on replacing the solenoids, but it appears that is not the problem. I don’t think it's a computer problem either; maybe these transmissions suffer from premature wear in some parts. I am planning on swapping the transmission this year and disassembling the old one to see what's wrong with it. If I discover something, I'll let you know.

 

[TX_SilverP5]

The solenoids may not be the problem, but the car drives SO much better now that I've done it. Has more power to get up to speed and the idle is low and stable. FYI

 

[Javier345]

The solenoids may not be the problem, but the car drives SO much better now that I've done it. Has more power to get up to speed and the idle is low and stable. FYI

Something I discovered today while diagnosing with FORScan is that when the vehicle has this problem, it starts in 3rd or 4th gear. That means something is triggering the computer to do this. Other sensors seem to be okay, like the transmission fluid temperature sensor and the turbine speed sensor, so I'm thinking that the problem may be with the range transmission sensor. I'll swap it to see if it changes something.

Edit: I was looking into the data that you posted before, and yes, that's exactly what my vehicle is doing, so both vehicles have the exact same problem.

 

[TX_SilverP5]

Yes, it's being dropped into limp mode. Other vehicles have different indicators but the result is the same. Good luck with the range transmission sensor!