The other day when it got cold in the morning, my van gave a bunch of errors in the dash and wouldn't shift out of park. Spin the **** and transmission does nothing. Code reader says P0962 pressure control module solenoid A. Everything I can read and figure out tells me that the solenoid is not talking to the computer, so it latches an alarm and won't shift the transmission. Understandable, if you can't control the pressure in the trans, you can't shift gears.
If I wait for the temperature outside to climb or let the car run until the trans fluid temp rises, the alarm will reset and everything is fine. It drives and shifts as normal.
I took it to a shop and they said there was metal shavings in the fluid and I needed a new transmission. I drained the fluid and there are no metal shavings in the fluid. It looks normal for 90k miles on a "maintenance free" transmission.
I took it to the dealer. After asking way more questions than they wanted answer they said, you can replace the valve body and if it may fix the problem. In our experience it won't and then you will have to replace the transmission and the valve body replacement will be a waste out of your pocket.
Has anyone seen 962 error codes and what did you do to fix it? Are these codes affected by temperature?
I could understand if the fluid was low and the trans couldn't build pressure when it was cold because the level goes down a little more when it's cold. It doesn't have a leak and the trans fluid level is just fine, so that doesn't make sense.
I know electronics can fail because of temperature. If the solenoid fails while it's cold and when it warms up a little it starts working, that mostly makes sense to me.
Shotgunning a transmission because of the solenoid doesn't seem right to me. If you want to overcharge a warranty claim, that makes sense.
I'm looking for any experience or advice on these ZF9 transmissions.

 

It sounds like we are having the same problem, except I have an error code P0998 Shift Solenoid "F" Control Circuit Low. I did get a service manual and followed the diagnosis procedure and everything check out, but i did do it while it was in my heated garage, done know if woul read different in the cold, Anyway were you ever able to figure anything out?