I have a 1996 Camaro RS Convertible. I've never had any problems out of it until recently. It currently has 104,000 miles on it, original everything as of right now. In June 2011, my Camaro was vandalized. Three guys tried to break into my car and when they couldn't, they keyed the passenger side, from the taillight, to the badge on the fender, all the way back down again. My alarm had been acting up for a couple of months (aftermarket from previous owner,) so when all of this happened it caused the alarm to engage (no horn) and the kill-switch (I assume) which completely fried my battery. The same night, my dad, after I had already told him not to, jumped the battery. After about 15 minutes the car started smoking and then died. About two months later, after removing the alarm and remote start completely and replacing the battery, I was out and the car overheated on me and was leaking coolant while the car was ON.

Last month, my car was vandalized again. This time a guy broke into it, slit my top, busted the headliner, broke my console lid, and pulled the wires from my radar detector and satellite radio that were hardwired in, out of the car so hard that it also busted my dash above my gauges. We moved to a different location after this and I had to have it hauled on a flat bed because the transmission would barely go anywhere. It felt like it was in neutral the whole time, instead of drive. No power whatsoever. A couple of weeks ago I checked all of the fluids, and everything is fine.

Can anyone tell me what could be going on? The fluid levels are fine, but the car wouldn't hold coolant that one night and overheated. I'm confused. :/

Thanks.

 

If the engine is running and the car does not move when the transmission is in drive, then either the shift linkage is messed up or the transmission is fried. If the engine is overheating, it could be due to low coolant, fans not working, bad head gasket, & various other things. When you step on the gas with the transmission in drive, do the engine RPMs increase and the car gain speed, or do the RPMs increase and the car does not gain speed?

 

I didn't really pay attention to the RPM's that night, but the car definitely did not and would not gain any speed. All I did was pull it on/off the flatbed and into the garage. But, it's like the same sluggish, no power feeling you get when you accidentally put the car into neutral. It felt froze up.

 

If the engine picks up speed, but the car does not, then there is a problem with the transmission. The car uses an electronically controlled transmission, so there is a slight possibility that when the car was broken in and wires ripped out that some of the transmission control wiring was also damaged. However most of that wiring is in the engine compartment and under the car which makes it unlikely, since only the dash was damaged.

 

Okay, the RPM's definitely go up, but the car gains no power. Could it be that when my dad jumped the battery after the first vandalism, that it fried some of my wiring? Like I said, it started pouring smoke and turned itself off after he did so.

 

You shold have a transmission shop diagnose the problem. There isn't much you can do without accurate information of what is causing the problem.

 

If only that didn't mean a tow bill. :/ Another tow bill...