Why does my automatic transmission get stuck in low gear when accelerating?
Automatic transmissions can get stuck in a lower gear and refuse to upshift during acceleration until you lift your foot off the gas pedal. This forces the car to rev high without shifting, preventing normal acceleration and smooth driving.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1removing foot from the gas pedal to force an upshift
- 2topping up transmission fluid
- 3tow it to a shop
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“if i make a turn from 0-40mph I will see the gear get stuck in 2nd and it will not shift up until i remove my foot from the gas pedal.”source ↗
“when i try to accelerate from there the car will drop into 2nd, 3rd OR 4th and then again won’t shift up until I remove my foot from the gas pedal and feather it up.”source ↗
“I will be in 3rd gear almost redlining the car and it will not budge.”source ↗
“I’ve got a 2010 BMW 328Xi, and it won’t go into gear. I start the car, press in the brake, and attempt to move the shifter into reverse, but it completely stops and doesn’t move at all, displaying the gear icon.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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