02' S-10 Blazer - Very Sluggish in First Gear
 

Hello all,

I have an 02' 4X4 Blazer with 100K. About 4000 miles ago I tuned it up, had a transmission flush and replaced the filter, and went through the ft and rear brakes with hopes of fix the sluggish first gear problem. It almost seemed that the brakes were not releasing properly, but I don’t believe that is the case. The truck just has no power in first gear, you can then manually shift into second gear and it is fine and has the proper power. It will also shift properly in Drive on its own, but first gear is very sluggish. The trans shop still told me there is nothing wrong with the trans and is not producing any faulty codes. Any Thoughts?

Thanks, Dave

Sounds like you could be experiencing one of the two problems below (corresponds with 11 & 12 in the 4L60E Information &Common Problems - Compilation= thread):

1. No 1st or 4th available; trans shifts 2nd to 3rd by itself in D or OD and locks the converter : ShiftA solenoid failed. Easy fix in the pan. Or a wiring problem from PCM to trans.. or PCM.
2. Car goes into gear but feels very sluggish like the brakes are dragging, but it will roll easily (starts out in 4th gear), you manually shift to 2 to get it moving, once it's moving you put it back in OD and the car shifts 3rd to 4th on its own and locks the converter at the appropriate time: ShiftB solenoid failed: Easy fix in the pan. Or a wiring problem from PCM to trans.. or PCM.

I don’t seem to have a problem with 2nd, 3rd, or 4th when in D. If I manually downshift and start out in 2nd from a stop the truck seems to have more power and get up when I do that opposed to starting out in 1st or in D. Do your two thoughts above still apply? Should the trans trip any codes for those problems? Thanks for your help.

-Dave