Why won 95 Mazda Millenia S torque converter lockup release?
95 Mazda Millenia S smacked hard under front end on steep paved mountain intersection at less than 5 mph. Immediately, torque converter locked up and will not release. Fluid is normal, no leaks. Shifting is still smooth and appropriate for speed. Fuel economy is not changed. No trouble lights lit (ie. check engine, etc.)on dashboard. Car has 155,000 miles. Other than this problem, car is perfect. Trans shop quotes $1,300 to fix, but “could be more if we run into additional problems.” (In other words, bend over and open your… er, check book). Local Mazda dealer won’t even look at it. I’d be willing to live with permanent DIS-engagement, if there is some way to do it cheaply. I’ve driven over 5,000 miles since incident–cold starts are difficult, but I make weekly 600 mile interstate roundtrips & car does fine at speed. But to get started requires revving engine in neutral before shifting into Drive. Then transmission slams into gear. It won’t take this abuse indefinitely. I will appre
