I notice that whenever the ambient temp. drops below 40 F, my 2000 Sebring Lxi doesn't shift into overdrive for at least 5-10 miles. Is this normal (i.e. fail-safe to protect the transaxle for some reason)?

If not normal, what would the problem be?

It drives me nuts, so any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Yes she gets to warm up before leaving, but it doesn't seem to matter. A mechanic once told me that the reason it doesn't hit OD is because the fluid needs to warm up to avoid damaging the tranny....but that seemed like a BS excuse. What do you all think?

the tranny does have a warm up cycle, but i'm not sure if it should take that long to warm up. i can tell my car will hold a lower gear longer for a few miles when it's really cold. not sure, but there may be something in the tcm that won't let the tranny shift into OD until it is up to the minimum temp.

Yes thats normal, 5-10 mins sounds about right.....