CEL+CTL+Limp home

[mi6wik]

Hey guys,

I have been dealing with this problem with my 2001 Saab 9-3 SE 'Vert Automatic GB for about 4 months now.

Every once and a while I will shift my car into park or drive or reverse and the position of the lever will not match up with the indicator on the dashboard. (IE I will put my car from park into drive but the dash will still say park) When I do this, I get a Check engine light, automatic transmission fault light and my car goes into "limp" mode. I have been just turning the car off and then back on again to get out of limp mode.

How can I fix this problem? Any thoughts as to what is causing it?
Im very flustered

[sgould]

Welcome!

I would suspect the module on top of the gearbox, the bit that swings around when you pull the lever to and fro.  That's where the position of everything is sensed. There have been reports of failures of that item from time to time.

When you say the car goes into limp-home mode, I assume that you mean that the gearbox goes into the mode that limits changes etc.  If the engine goes into limp-home mode, you can only reset it manually.

[mi6wik]

Thank you very much!

And by limp mode I do mean the gearbox limiting type. I can only use 4th... ect.

Now the module on top of the gearbox... How do I go about fixing this problem?

[sgould]

Usually you would fit a new one!

But before you change it (it's not cheap) get it checked and confirmed as the fault by an expert.  Hit and Miss repairs get expensive.

I'm not near my info at the moment.  But I can check whether this is a straight swap or whether you need to get it married to the car by a dealer.

[harryO]

Those on the 9-5 may be adjusted and do not need Tech II if replaced. I would think that it is the same for the 9-3. Might be worth cleaning the plug connector with a contact cleaner such as 'Servisol' (Maplins), but then the next step would be to have it checked out by a Saab specialist.