Hello, first post here! I was previously on saturnfans.com but that is sadly no more. RIP, I have a bounty out for the owner to preserve the forum for saturn drivers, so please reach out if you have Charlie's (the owner/webmaster) email or other contact info. Money is offered for info

So my 04 Ion with the 2.2L and an automatic CVT transmission is reporting a P0700 code which is a general transmission code. I think its legit because the car was no crank no start due to a bad starter and when I got it towed for diag, the car started but only went 45/90 degrees in reverse before stopping and not moving. My assumption is that it slipped from reverse to park, AKA transmission slipping. So, a few questions

1. What conditions cause slipping in the transmission? Note that I heard no grinding of any kind
2. Would low or dirty transmission fluid trigger the error code reported, or cause another component to do so?
3. What general diagnostics can I carry out myself to narrow the scope of the problem with basic tools (good jack and stands, sockets and extensions, power tools, significant electrical experience, cheap code reader which cant do direct TCM communication)?
4. I disconnected the battery while self replacing the starter and heard that could **** with the TCM. Is that true or just a folks tale?
5. Where is the TCM and relevant wiring located? I have the weekend free so I can check for wiring damage, I've seen it before due to parking my car near a small forested area.

Any help on any question above is appreciated. I have a free diag on Monday but like working on problems and would like to at least narrow down the source of the issue if possible before then.

 

Welcome.
I have never had a car with a CVT transmission, I have read that the early GM CVT used in your car was not a long lasting version. I only have L series manuals so I have no information on your transmission. There are tutorials on swapping a 4t40 into your car.
Good luck with a repair.

 

Any Saturn CVT is probably not worth fixing and even if it was, I doubt you'd be able to find parts for the CVT.

If you're talking about diagnosing the transmission, you need a full-fledged scanner not a code reader to read the TCM codes. Otherwise you're just pulling your hair out to start with in most cases. AutoZone's scan will not give you that information. You can either buy an OBD2 scanner or pay for an hour of diagnostics at your mechanic after pre-arranging and agreeing that he will give you the codes that he pulled. Then maybe we can talk about a path forward

 

Thanks for the reply, I'm hoping it isn't a severe transmission issue, no grinding sounds when shifting gears. I suspect the fluid is low. Do you think that would cause this condition?

I have an OBD2 scanner but it doesn't interface directly with the TCM because its cheap. Have a quote for a free scan and inspection Monday, just wanted to get some idea of what condition these symptoms would describe

 

Your reader cannot read transmission codes because it is not a scanner.

If you're taking an old CVT to a transmission shop, they will either tell you to take it out back and shoot it, junk the car, or swap a manual in or possibly an automatic. All that information is listed on Saturnfans.com.


Oops. Well it was.

Where they might have some fluid laying around. You could try that. Can't hurt
Hope somebody was backing up that site. We don't need another turboSaturns.net fiasco.

Just hosting that as a static site is what needs to be done.

 

Yep, I don't have the resources to host it myself (college student) but providing a static copy of what was there is my hope. So much information lost.

Do you really think the transmission is that ****ed? I'm huffing all the hopium I can get that it isn't, only have had the car about 8 months

 

Let me guess nobody told you it was a CVT, nobody told you there might be problems with it, and it's got high miles on it.

Welcome to the world of used auto purchasing. When nobody tells you shayt unless you ask and then even half the time they lie.

I am in no way saying any of this is your fault.
Just remember this incident, should it go south, is why you do all the research you can before buying a vehicle. I understand sometimes it comes down to finances and you don't really have a choice, but if you do, do the research. I'm dying to know how many miles are on it. Most didn't make it above 125k. They just self destruct. Design issue.

 

This ones at 126k, but Iv heard of well-maintained 04 Ions (and Iv kept good care of it) can last to beyond 200k. Been chatting with someone on reddit who has one with the cvt at 180k. Hopefully it hasnt self destructed, but the silver lining is I bought it pretty cheap so should get alot of that money back if it ends up scrapped

 

Also about the CVT, I knew from the beginning. The previous owner was very honest about the cars history and even cut the price by over 1k because of water getting past the window seals which I fixed myself later for around 30 bucks

He's even been helping me by prividing the service records going back 2 years, which is how long he owned it. So, I think it isnt an issue with the guy, I'm pretty good at reading people and had it checked out myself with a mechanic I trust. I think its just an old car with some age related issues

One thing I noted is that the fluid was never topped off or changed while he owned it, hence my suspicion of the fluid

 

Well maintained ions can indeed go beyond 200K.
I I was referring to the CVT variant. My bad for not being specific.