QuestionWe were driving home and the car all of a sudden seemed like it jumped to neutral.
RPM jumped up but transmission seemed to be not engaged.
It did not slip prior to this and the oil does not smell or taste burnt.
It will go to park but will not move when put in gear.
AnswerHi William,
You didn't mention any abnormal noises coming from the powertrain when this happened, which would be a sign of internal damage of the unit. If that is the case, then one possibility is that there is a failure of one of the two drive shafts. Were that the case all the power output would be directed toward the broken shaft so there would be no movement of the vehicle.
I would try to observe the two driveshafts where they exit the transmission to see if either one is rotating when you have the engine running and you are in any gear. If only one turns then there is something wrong with that drive shaft or the connection of either drive shaft to the transmission, internally. You could raise the vehicle and try rotating each tire with the trans in Park to see if one or the other is free to move.
If neither side transmission outputs are turning then it sounds to me like an internal failure of the transmission. You could drop the pans from the transmission (have a large container to catch the fluid) and lower each pan carefully and slowly to see if there is debris in the pan which would indicate such an internal failure.
Let me know what you learn as this is a fairly unusual experience.
Please "rate" my answer (see the PS below).
Thanks,
Roland
