This might be a bit long, so I'll break it into two parts which may or may not be interrelated. The backstory is, I just had my 05 TL base 5AT transmission rebuilt. The car has 170k, and I'm pretty good about maintenance. I've owned it since 75k, and I figured I'd keep it for another couple of years, so the $2.2k transmission investment would be worth it. I went to pick up the car last night after hours from the shop, but I noticed the VSA light on (yellow triangle with exclamation point). I left the car there, locked it using the door switch and shutting the door because I'd deposited the key and fob before locking it. Other than the light though, all seemed normal. Car had started right up and was running smoothly. This morning the mechanic told me he had to "re-learn" the computer is all, and the light was off.
1. Starting Issues: I picked the car up today at lunch and drove it from the rebuild shop to my job. Other than #2 below, all seemed basically fine. It was idling really low and sort of struggling to keep idle on stopping, but it would catch itself and get back to around 700 RPM or so. I figured that was the computer re-learning what it had lost during the mechanic's "re-learn," whatever that means, but it made some sense to me, and I vaguely remember reading something like that on this site. But when I came out of work 6 hours later, the car wouldn't start. No repeated clicking, no turning over at all, but it did sound like the starter solenoid was engaging with the one click. I've replaced the starter already about 3 years ago with an aftermarket starter. All lights work well, and there's no dimming when trying to start it. I repeatedly and quickly turned the key to start it, and one time I heard a quick starter engage. But I was turning it back and forth too quickly to allow it to fully start. While waiting for my wife to pick me up, I noticed that the green key light would stay on after removing the key. It would come on while trying to start it, and then it would blink a few times and then go out completely (as I believe it's supposed to). Having not noticed this before --which it turns out may have only been coincidental-- I consulted this site and others, and one "remedy" video suggested moving the tilt wheel around in case there is a loose wire to the immobilizer (on the video, it was due to a tilt that moved every time someone got in the car, which had worn out the wiring. I don't have that feature). The tilt position on mine probably hasn't been changed since I bought it, so the whole wire wearing ut from repeated movement seems unlikely. I moved the tilt around and the car started right up. This may have only been coincidental though. I drove it home thinking I would drive it to the shop in the morning. Once home, I tried to start it again. Nothing. No matter how much I move the tilt around, still nothing other than the lights. I tapped on the starter with a metal pipe, and still nothing. I moved the shifter around and tried to start it in Neutral. Nothing still. The fact that the starter bumped the one time and then quickly engaged and started when moving the tilt (without noise, lag or hesitation) leads me to believe it could be something shorting or otherwise malfunctioning. Any idea what that could be? Could it be related to the way I locked/unlocked it? His "re-learning" the computer? And is it simply coincidental that it happened today after getting the tranny rebuilt? I'm having it towed to the shop, but I am suspecting it's not related to the tranny rebuild. So I'd like some suggestions on where to begin. I'm so lost with this, and it's incredibly frustrating.

2. Transmission Issues: After the rebuild, it won't shift past third, and the manual mode no longer works nor does it illuminate to indicate which gear it is. It also is downshifting pretty hard into first. Obviously the shop will get first crack at fixing these issues, and I'm hopeful they'll do a good job. They're fairly reputable and seem to stand behind their product. My understanding is that the hard downshift may just take a bit to work itself out. I'm more just curious if any of these things could be possibly related to one another. It doesn't seem likely to me, but it is really odd that all of this is happening at once and those components do share some common switches, etc.

Thanks in advance. This site has been a great resource.

 

For #1, probably forgot to reconnect a ground connection.

 

Could be a loose starter motor connect, but there could be a loose connector, could be a lot of things. The repair shop should make it right. Good Luck!

 

Yep, take it back to the shop and have them make it right !! Sub'd for an update / final resolution...