I'd like to start off saying that I'm new here, Ive been lurking around the Intrepid forum for some time, but I finally joined You guys have a great website here.

So here's my problem:
I own a '97 Intrepid with a 3.3L. One bright, sunny night, while on my way home, I accelerated at a moderate pace away from a stoplight. My car ("The White Knight" as it is more commonly known) shifted through second gear, began to engage third, made a very odd sound, disengaged from third, tried it three more times to the same effect, and then the trans locked itself into the infamous "limp home mode." The car has been doing the same ever since, only attempting third gear four times then going to hide in its "limp home" safety zone. All sensors are correctly installed and are functioning to the best of my ability to check. Earlier today I had it jacked up in the shop and ran it while off the ground; I shifted into OD and ran the engine up at a normal driving pace. It caught second and then caught third for a moment before beginning its usual shenanigans. The built-in diagnostic system (where the check engine light flashes a certain number of times) now flashes a code of 45 which to the best of my memory means "transaxle fault".

Does anyone know what exactly could have gone wrong to cause this? I would like to note that putting a new or re-manufactured transaxle in the car is definitely a no; the car is only worth a third of the cost of a new one. Also, I am certainly not an expert but many things lead me to believe that possibly the solenoid pack is to blame. Could this be the case?

I'm sorry for the long post, but thank you in advance for your help!

PS:
Y'all have some awesome smilies on this site

 

If you bring it to a dealer or trany shop, they could read the fault in the tcm and tell you quickly.