Bad Transmission Slip During Test Drive

gannett

I had quite the test drive on an '09 7AT with 23K miles the other day. Turning out of the dealership, the first spirited acceleration felt fairly normal and pulled through the gears without hesitation. We did some 35-45mph cruising around the area, got stuck in a little traffic, and turned around to go back to the dealership after about 10 minutes. One thing I noticed during regular driving is that from a standstill, it felt very lethargic when I pressed on the gas pedal for the first second or two - different from the other Z's I've tested.

So here's where the fun begins. On the way back, cruising around 35mph, I go to really give it some gas and the transmission starts slipping repeatedly (at least that's what I thought... this was the first time I've encountered such problem in any car). I felt several kick-backs on my foot from the gas pedal. No acceleration at all. So I tried it again with the same outcome. Put it into manual mode, downshifted through a few gears (which did not feel smooth at all), and with every upshift it felt very jerky, as if I had suddenly pulled my foot off the gas pedal. There was a pretty weird smell coming from the engine at this point.

We get back to the dealership and I was bummed. I was planning on doing some price negotiations up until the disaster test drive. Everything else looked perfect, clean Carfax with all maintenance performed, still under 3/36 factory warranty, mint interior/exterior, etc.

Just wondering if anyone knows exactly what the issue could have been? All hope is lost in this specific car, but I'm still curious as to what the hell happened.