I was driving out of town for the holidays on Dec 21, and the A/T light turned on in my 2008 Mazda 3. It's got 76K miles. I had occassionally felt it stick, or had a slightly slow gear change, in the 2 years since I bought it used, but never anything noticeable or worrisome. I had the ATF changed a few months ago, but that was the last work I've had done other than changing the tires a few weeks back. The light came on after a somewhat sudden stop in traffic, but I probably just noticed it because the light did turn on. After that it started shifting weird, and showed which gear it was in while in Automatic, and would not properly function in manual mode. Normally it does not show the gear in auto, but does in manual. I pulled off the interstate and drove to an Advanced Auto Car and had them diagnose it, but didn't get anything. They checked the ATF there and said it wasn't low or dirty. I have USAA so I had it towed back to the dealer in Arlington that night. The dealer is saying they're getting a P0744 code, so the torque converter clutch pressure control solenoid is bad/stuck. They're telling me that the labor to replace this requires taking apart the entire tranny, which is a 25+ job and would cost more than buying a brand new transmission ($2,900). They also said I could get a used transmission for about $2,350. I've sent the error code and part to a few friends who know cars, but not necessarily mazdas, and they think the solenoid is located under the battery or in the transmission pan, not internal to the transmission itself. So with this info, I've got a few questions (and as you can see by them I don't know too much about cars):
1. Where is the torque converter clutch solenoid actually located? Will someone have to take apart the whole transmission or can the valve be accessed pretty easily?
2. If it is just the solenoid valve, is that the only thing that will need to be replaced, or could the whole torque converter clutch need to be replaced?
3. If it is inside the transmission, what is an honest labor estimate for taking it apart and rebuilding it?
4. If I find someone out of the area to fix it, is this something I can still drive around with as long as I'm careful? I wouldn't be using the car, but just getting it to where it would be worked on.
If I left out any other needed info let me know. Thanks in advance .
1. Where is the torque converter clutch solenoid actually located? Will someone have to take apart the whole transmission or can the valve be accessed pretty easily?
2. If it is just the solenoid valve, is that the only thing that will need to be replaced, or could the whole torque converter clutch need to be replaced?
3. If it is inside the transmission, what is an honest labor estimate for taking it apart and rebuilding it?
4. If I find someone out of the area to fix it, is this something I can still drive around with as long as I'm careful? I wouldn't be using the car, but just getting it to where it would be worked on.
If I left out any other needed info let me know. Thanks in advance .
