The car is a 1999 Oldsmobile 88 LS. It has 64K miles on the engine.
The problem that I'm having is doublefold.
1. Randomly, when I shift into reverse, the car will not respond. If I give it a little gas, it will begin to reverse, slowly. Sometimes, it will not reverse at all. Other times, it works perfectly.
2. I was sitting at a traffic stop with the car. As the traffic started to move, I slightly touched the gas, and the car started vibrating/shuddering extremely VIOLENTLY, for about 2 seconds, then started driving normally. I first I thought I went over some rocks. But then it did it again, and again.
Doing some research on the net, I found GM TSB 00-07-30-002B which says that it's the pressure control solenoid. So I took it to a shop to do some diagnostics. They hooked up their scanner, and got the following error codes:
P0502 VSS Circuit Low Input
P0135 H02S Heater Circuit Bank 1 Sensor 1
The mechanic at the shop mentioned that he's seen cars with the VSS go bad do all sorts of things, including the problem I explained.
Now here's the question. I'm really scared because if it is the solenoid problem, it's going to cost a lot to get it replaced, since the entire transmission needs to be dropped to get access to it. But, on the flip side, isn't it true that if the solenoids go bad, it wouldn't necessarily throw a check engine light (which it is not in this case), but would at least throw a DTC error code? Also, I'm skeptical that it's the VSS, because if it was, wouldn't my dash gauges be doing funny things (which it is NOT)?
I'm totally lost/confused as to what the cause of this problem is. I'd like some feedback and some help/suggestions to get me on my way.
Thanks in advance!!!
The problem that I'm having is doublefold.
1. Randomly, when I shift into reverse, the car will not respond. If I give it a little gas, it will begin to reverse, slowly. Sometimes, it will not reverse at all. Other times, it works perfectly.
2. I was sitting at a traffic stop with the car. As the traffic started to move, I slightly touched the gas, and the car started vibrating/shuddering extremely VIOLENTLY, for about 2 seconds, then started driving normally. I first I thought I went over some rocks. But then it did it again, and again.
Doing some research on the net, I found GM TSB 00-07-30-002B which says that it's the pressure control solenoid. So I took it to a shop to do some diagnostics. They hooked up their scanner, and got the following error codes:
P0502 VSS Circuit Low Input
P0135 H02S Heater Circuit Bank 1 Sensor 1
The mechanic at the shop mentioned that he's seen cars with the VSS go bad do all sorts of things, including the problem I explained.
Now here's the question. I'm really scared because if it is the solenoid problem, it's going to cost a lot to get it replaced, since the entire transmission needs to be dropped to get access to it. But, on the flip side, isn't it true that if the solenoids go bad, it wouldn't necessarily throw a check engine light (which it is not in this case), but would at least throw a DTC error code? Also, I'm skeptical that it's the VSS, because if it was, wouldn't my dash gauges be doing funny things (which it is NOT)?
I'm totally lost/confused as to what the cause of this problem is. I'd like some feedback and some help/suggestions to get me on my way.
Thanks in advance!!!
