Intermittent no speedo or shifting

[axgutt]

I have a 95 Legacy LS wagon with an automatic transmission. About 360,000 miles on the motor, and 125,000 on the used transmission. I've been having a weird, intermittent problem over the last couple of weeks. Taking off from a standstill, it sometimes won't shift out of first gear. If I put it in neutral then back in drive, it will usually work. When this happens, the speedometer also sometimes stays at 0 MPH, then suddenly jumps up to the correct speed. The transmission is also sometimes a bit reluctant to downshift. I have to mash the accelerator down further than I used to to get it to drop to a lower gear. Maybe it's just trying to protect me from the whiplash inducing power of the 2.2.

 

The CEL has been on for a few years, and when the parts store pulled the code it only shows the bad O2 sensor, which I already knew about. From what I can gather, this sounds like it could be a bad vehicle speed sensor. I know there are two - one on top on the passenger side (http://www.autozone.com/engine-management/vehicle-transmission-speed-sensor/duralast-vehicle-transmission-speed-sensor/363995_0_20285_1277/?checkfit=true) , and one underneath with a built-in cable (http://www.autozone.com/engine-management/vehicle-transmission-speed-sensor/duralast-vehicle-transmission-speed-sensor/363996_0_20285_3498/?checkfit=true). 

 

Does this sound like the likely problem? From what I've been able to find, I think it's likely the first one I listed above (on top on the passenger side). Before I spend $85 or $150 on one of these, I thought I'd check and see what the gurus thought.

 

Thanks in advance.

[ocei77]

oops. misread tach for speedomter

 

O.

Edited November 14, 2016 by ocei77

[crazyhorse001]

No shift, and no speedometer are for sure a bad vss. Most likely the one you think it is. That one drives the speedo. The other is for the awd system. You may get lucky, and it just be the sheetmetal drive tab.

[idosubaru]

They don't fail very often if you want to have someone send you a used one.  get two and keep one in the trunk if you're worried about it failing again, but they're not common issues.

[axgutt]

I replaced the speed sensor a couple of months ago. At first I thought it had helped, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Just a couple of days ago it wouldn't shift out of first and the speedometer never moved. Then a minute later it worked fine. What would be the next part to test/replace in the chain? Clearly, the signal isn't getting from somewhere to somewhere else.

[wtdash]

You 'should' be getting either a CEL or the AT Temp light is flashing 16 times @ startup??

 

Both mean you have codes....and just because you HAD a code for the o2 sensor doesn't mean that's still the case....(#1 reason to NOT drive w/the CEL on). OBD2 scanner for the CEL and search on here for how to retrieve the TCU / TCM (trans computer) codes.

 

I'd "guess" the dash/cluster is bad? Had to replace one on a '96 Brighton @ 180K. Easy enough to replace w/any '95-'98 Legacy (Brighton version don't have a TACH) - '99 was a transition year and they may not be compatible - and they had their own issues.

 

GL,

TD

[axgutt]

Thanks for the reply. I'll get the codes checked again tonight.