I was driving my 02 SSEI and it was like someone put it in neutral. I pulled over, put it in park, and the engine starting idling real rough and died. I started it back up, the engine was running fine, put it in drive and went back to my shop which was less than a mile away. When I pulled in the driveway it did it again (like it was put in neutral), but the engine was still running fine that time. The fluid was full but didn't look the best...a little dark and a very slight burnt smell. Do you think a fluid and filter change will help, is there some sort of solenoid or module that could cause the problem?

Drain the tranny fluid and pull the pan. Look for any metal debris or pieces in the pan. You'll probably see some fine metal on the pan magnet, but a little bit of that is okay...allot is the sign of a bigger problem. Replace the filter and fill it back up with Dexron VI and drive it.

Do not use any tranny flush products or additives. they can cause more harm than good.

Also, please add your year and trim of your vehicle to your signature line. That way when you start asking questions in other areas of the forum, we all have a better idea on how to assist you. Click on "Quick Links" above, go down to "User Control Panel" and then click on "Edit your Signature" It'* pretty straight forward from there.

Could it possibly the traction control? ....Just thinking out loud.

Is the LOW TRAC light on when it does that?

Never noticed the LOW TRAC light being on. I just finished changing the fluid and filter. There wasn't any excessive metal in the pan, just a tiny bit of stuff stuck to the magnet. I just drove it about 12 miles and so far everything seems fine, but for some reason I'm just not overly confident yet that the problem is gone with a simple fluid and filter change.

If the filter is clogged, the tranny'* gonna run like shatzbut. Give it a couple of drives and if you jhave no more problems...your confidence should return.

It could have been a clogged filter, hard to say. If it runs fine then you will know. If the problem comes back, you will have to have the trans checked. If a band was worn out I would expect to see more metal in the pan.

Well, a few more miles and it'* back. This time I was cruising at a steady speed of about 50mph and it'* like it let go for about 2 seconds and then re-engaged.

Try shifting in to 3rd gear and see if the problem happens. Might be out of adjustment.