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Transmission Stuck in 3rd Gear

41678 Views 27 Replies 18 Participants Last post by  Lahenebery
So I back out of the garage this morning and put the car in Drive. I notice that it's already in 3rd gear. And it stays there - no matter how fast I'm going or if I'm stopped. :eek: Anyone have any idea what the problem is? I immediately put it back in the garage after I went around the block.....:confused:

It's a 2005 Mazda 6 - V6 - 139,000 miles on the car - but a new (used) engine with only 27,000 miles on it......

Any ideas??
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20xx?

6i(4cyl)or 6s(v6)?

mileage?

Modifications?

Sent from my VZW Samsung Fascinate
Sorry....it's a 2005 Mazda 6 - V6 with 139,000 miles on it......No modifications. I have a new (used) engine which actually only has 27,000 miles on it.....

Any ideas?


20xx?

6i(4cyl)or 6s(v6)?

mileage?

Modifications?

Sent from my VZW Samsung Fascinate
I don't own the automatic 6, but was your transmission ever serviced at much lower mileage?

Sent from my VZW Samsung Fascinate
I don't think so.......I'm not aware of doing any kind of service on my transmission, ever......

I don't own the automatic 6, but was your transmission ever serviced at much lower mileage?

Sent from my VZW Samsung Fascinate
Check your alternator. Car goes into "safe" mode when the alternator acts up.
Sounds like the car is in limp home mode. 9 times out of ten, it is an electrical problem in nature. Check your batt/alternator please sir.

The ECU locks the transmission into 3rd on purpose. It's just the mode it goes into to get you home.
I actually just had this same problem last week I have an 04 6i. Did you notice if your battery light was on? I ended up having a bad battery and alternator replaced them both problem went away.

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same problem

my car has done this 3 times now. 2005 mazda6i, 112,000 miles. i had it checked and they told me it was one of the 2 sensors that control upshift/downshift, but couldnt determine which was the problem, $600 to replace them both.

when i stop the car, the issue resolves itself, it goes back to first gear and it works fine again, CEL stays on for a few days then turns off.

anyone that had this issue figure out the actual cause?
Sounds like your having a different issue. The OP's issue is something that the car does on it's own when experiencing electrical issues. Your problems don't seem to be electrical in nature, they seem transmission related.
my car does on its own shift itself (on its own) into 3rd gear, all by itself, from any gear it is currently in (again ... on its own) and remains there in both auto and manual mode until the car comes to a complete stop (not on its own... i push on the brake pedal), then i can manually shift gears again, or the auto transmission can do it itself (on its own) ....

so yes, if you havent figured it out yet, this is something my car is doing ON ITS OWN
.....yes.... and the OP's issue is the ECU locking the transmission EXCLUSIVELY into 3rd.. which is NOT like you are describing.

It sounds like your car's transmission is having problems. It could be something like a bad shift solenoid. Or your gears higher than 3 could be sheered off. But it's definitely not limp home mode like the OP posted.
Mazda 6s 2006 stuck in 3rd gear

My wifes 2006 mazda 6s is doing something similar. She was heading home from work when she came to a stop light. As she came to a stop the car slammed down into 3rd gear and remained there as she tried to drive away. I drove over to where she was and drove the car to the nearest autozone. the check engine and traction control lights kicked on. The guy at autozone couldnt pull a code from the car. As I drove away the car ran fine from first gear to sixth. When I pulled up to a stop light the car slammed back down into 3rd gear and would not shift out of it. I put it back in park and then back into gear. I was stuck in 3rd. I drove less than a mile back to our place. While I was driving it back to our place, I would press the gas and the car would make a loud grinding noise from underneath. I checked the fluids and all seemed to be okay except for the level of the coolant (the housing has a small crack). Like I said before it will run through all the gears fine from a cold start but once it warms up it slams back down into 3rd gear.
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Mazda 6s 2006 stuck in 3rd gear

My wifes 2006 mazda 6s is doing something similar. She was heading home from work when she came to a stop light. As she came to a stop the car slammed down into 3rd gear and remained there as she tried to drive away. I drove over to where she was and drove the car to the nearest autozone. the check engine and traction control lights kicked on. The guy at autozone couldnt pull a code from the car. As I drove away the car ran fine from first gear to sixth. When I pulled up to a stop light the car slammed back down into 3rd gear and would not shift out of it. I put it back in park and then back into gear. I was stuck in 3rd. I drove less than a mile back to our place. While I was driving it back to our place, I would press the gas and the car would make a loud grinding noise from underneath. I checked the fluids and all seemed to be okay except for the level of the coolant (the housing has a small crack). Like I said before it will run through all the gears fine from a cold start but once it warms up it slams back down into 3rd gear.
Did you ever diagnose this issue?
Did you ever diagnose this issue?
What DTC code are you getting?
Mazda 6s 2006 stuck in 3rd gear

My wifes 2006 mazda 6s is doing something similar. She was heading home from work when she came to a stop light. As she came to a stop the car slammed down into 3rd gear and remained there as she tried to drive away. I drove over to where she was and drove the car to the nearest autozone. the check engine and traction control lights kicked on. The guy at autozone couldnt pull a code from the car. As I drove away the car ran fine from first gear to sixth. When I pulled up to a stop light the car slammed back down into 3rd gear and would not shift out of it. I put it back in park and then back into gear. I was stuck in 3rd. I drove less than a mile back to our place. While I was driving it back to our place, I would press the gas and the car would make a loud grinding noise from underneath. I checked the fluids and all seemed to be okay except for the level of the coolant (the housing has a small crack). Like I said before it will run through all the gears fine from a cold start but once it warms up it slams back down into 3rd gear.
My car is acting in the same manner, were you able to fix yours?
My car is acting in the same manner, were you able to fix yours?
If yes pls share, it's driving me nuts.
If yes pls share, it's driving me nuts.
Here’s how mine acts. When you drive, it shifts great, but I noticed when the tranny gets hot, it goes into limp mode but then drives good after it cools down. Scanned for codes, I got P0982 which has to do with the solenoid B stuck on. I replaced the TCM, nothing changed(which is the last thing to consider,I messed up on that on), then I decided to inspect the solenoid B. I found out it has electrical burns on the harness which explains why it goes into limp mode when it gets hot. I replaced the harness and the solenoid. Car drives great.
I’ll advise you get a scan tool hooked up to scan the TCM for DTCs. Let me know what it is maybe I could help.
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Is anyone replacing trans fluid? 130,000+ miles on original fluid is way too long. For me, keeping healthy fluid is the one single thing that can be done to increase longevity. I would think every 50K-60K miles as a replacement interval for trans fluid would be reasonable.
My 2cents
Is anyone replacing trans fluid? 130,000+ miles on original fluid is way too long. For me, keeping healthy fluid is the one single thing that can be done to increase longevity. I would think every 50K-60K miles as a replacement interval for trans fluid would be reasonable.
My 2cents
I agree. These transmissions will get stuck in third gear when left unserviced for way too long. Seen it happen to a friends first gen V6 beater. The jump straight into third gear when shifting into drive after a cold start was far from the smoothest thing I have yet to see.
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