hey everybody,
i have an 02 cavalier with a 2.2L auto. its got about 143k on it. never have had any issues at all always ran great. i parked it for a week while i was away, and when i came back, as i pulled out of the parking lot, i noticed it did not want to shift into second (took a lot longer than normal, and rpms went up a bunch more) and when it did shift into second, it was a pretty hard shift. the TRAC OFF light came on, and i also noticed that my speedometer was not working at all. the no shift and the hard shift problem got a little worse as i drove it the 8 miles home (yesterday) and have not driven it again since.

there is no shaking, misfire, hesitation, or anything while in gear and driving, just the really long delayed shift into 2nd and 3rd (not sure if i made it to 4th or not lol) and of course, the really hard bang into gear. thought it was strange that all of a sudden the problem was present after a week of sitting, when no signs at all prior. im guessing either my tranny took a major poopy, or something simple or easy like electrical or something (because the speedometer is out too)

any help would be greatly appreciated!! thanks!!!
Andrew

 

check for dtc. a missing vehicle speed sensor signal would cause delayed shifts and no speedo.

get the codes read and post them here.

 

Turns out I have a P0502 - vehicle speed sensor low input. So I guess I should go with a speed sensor first

 

Anybody know off hand where exactly this is located on the tranny?

 

Should be behind the passengers side tire.

 

yes, i had found it. sorry for not posting earlier. this was the problem. looked just like some animal came and chewed the harness during the week i was gone or something hahaha. fixed the harness, then it was all better.

thank you all!