I have a 94 t/A with a 4 speed auto. yesterday morning I was on my way to work, 30 miles.stopped at a stop light and left , everything was fine. went to the next light and the car would barley move so I pulled it back into first and it took off. So I drove around and what I found was it was staying in 3rd gear all the time. I would pull it down into first but it would only take off in 2nd then shift into 3rd. I had not 4th or 1st gear. I stopped and let it sit for 5 minutes and the left. It worked but still no 4th stopped and then it took off in 3rd. I went to work left the car for 8 hours and it worked fine. This morning same thing worked great untill after about 30 minutes of running. I went and had it scanned and it said 3rd to 2nd downshift solenoid malfunction. I dont know what the code number is but I will find out tomorrow. Anyone know what the problem could be?

 

start with gettn it scanned, prferibly with a gm tech 2 or similar professional scanner. No orielly's or napa special scanner. sometimes those types of scanners will fail to gather all codes. Sounds more like a computer/electrical problem outside the trans to me. Possibly losing voltage to terminal E on the tranmission connector. Anytime the trans loses power flow it will stay in 3rd gear as a "limp home". Some sort of code should be stored in the computer if its a wiring issue. If its a computer issue possible no codes. Anyways start with scan, it'll point you in the right direction