I got in my rx-8 (automatic) the other morning to go to work. About 500 feet from my house I have to pull out onto a busy highway. As I pulled out, my car went into 2nd gear and just quit. The car was still on, but as I stepped on the gas it wouldn't go more than a few inches. I managed to get it to the side of the road, shut the car off and restarted it. It was fine then. Can someone explain this to me? Thanks!!!

 

Pressing on the brake instead of the gas?

 

That's definitely not a good indicator... Are you sure it went into 2nd? Were you in drive letting the trans work for you or were you in 1st, and manually shifting with the paddles? There's so much more going on in an auto tranny than a manual. I originally wanted to blame your torque converter, but since you said it went into 2nd gear, I'm not so sure. Automatic transmissions have lots of check valves and oil (trans fluid) passageways that can can get stuck/clogged.
I'd bring it back to the dealership for sure and have them pressure check the trans to make sure everything checks out ok. If they can't find anything, then at the very least, you've brought it in for that and it'll be documented. Good Luck

 

I have had two instances where my car has just felt like it would die when I pressed on the ges. M/T - both times it was right after I started it in the morning. Most recent time, I pulled halfway down the driveway in reverse, forgot I needed something, and tried to pull back up the driveway. Both times, in first, the car started to go, then acted like it was gettng no gas. I backed all the way down, waited a few seconds, then went up again in first. Just fine - no problems. I wasn't that low on gas, either. First time it happened on a flat surface (in the road at the bottom of the driveway). Wierd.

 

Was the shifter fully engaged in "D" ???

- Irish