Hello,

I have a transmission engaging problem when it is extremely cold outside, and the car has been sitting outside overnight. It occurs approximately when the temperature drops below 5F or below. The transmission would not fully engage. The car would still roll but I have to give a lot of rpm. It feels as if gears are slipping (no girding noise though). Once the car is warmed up I have no problem with shifting or engaging.

I also read on the forum that the low voltage in battery could cause this problem.

Any ideas what may be going bad?

 

Basically whats happening is the car's computer is trying to prevent you from going into higher gears until the car is at operating temperature. Sitting overnight in cold frigid weather, all the fluids are basically frozen, and will need to circulate to get the car going correctly. Its a safety mechanism. Although you can drive the car at freezing temperatures, it should be done at lower speeds to prevent engine damage and allow internal parts to warm up and get lubricated properly. Have the same cold weather issue as well, my previous LS430 did the same thing