My Transaxle light has been coming on lately(blinking). It only seems to come on after I've been driving the car for awhile. I go to college and I drive about 40 miles one way. The light will come on after about 20 miles of steady driving. It doesn't seem to drive any differently. But, when I come to a stop and start again the gears will pop between 1st and 2nd. All other gears are fine. It will continue to do this when I stop and start. That is until I finally stop at my destination and shut the engine down. When I start the engine again the light is off and doesn't come back on until I've driven for awhile again.

In a related/unrelated problem, my check engine light has been coming on. The diagnostics come up with a Misfire on #1 Cylinder. The other day it came on with the Transaxle light when I came to a stop. It usually comes on after the engine is warm and the car is either in Park or Neutral. If it's in Park or Neutral (engine warm) the engine RPM's will get down to about 500 and the Check Engine light comes on. When I put the car back into drive and take off, you can feel the misfire until it kicks back in and drives normal. The #1 Cylinder misfire started shortly after a mechanic installed a new Camshaft Synchronizer after I noticed that telltale chirping noise.

So, I'm having a tough time with this one. Is one thing leading to another. Camshaft Synchronizer/#1 Cylinder Misfire/Transaxle shifting problems. Could someone suggest a course of action I should take? I believe the mechanic installed the synchronizer properly. Should I start with solving the #1 misfire with a new wire/plug/fuel injector? Could the #1 misfire be causing the transmission problem? Help!!

 

The cylinder misfire can definately cause a shifting problem. I would tune the vehicle first and then start digging deeper if needed. The low idle can alsombe caused by a cylinder misfire. You may also want to clean the throttle body and the little holes that the Air By-pass valve uses to control the idle. Let us know.