We recently took our 2014 Caravan to the dealer because sometimes when shifting into drive it made a thumping sound. Had the transmission checked and they found no problem internally. They told us it was because the van remembers my wifes driving habits and when I drove, it was trying to acclimate itself to my habits. Is this true or were they just giving us a line of BS and trying to appease us??

 

My 2011 does this too, and it also thuds sometimes after coasting and putting your foot back on the gas (even when you do it very easily). So that has nothing to do with a "learned" driving style.

Mine is going back to the dealer again tomorrow for another issue (TIPM), and I am going to have them look at the tranny again. I'm at 97K miles, so my powertrain warranty is up very soon.

 

drd5169,

The transmission is adaptive in the sense where it will learn your driving habits in order to perform optimally per your style.
This "thumping" condition may simply be characteristic to the transmission if your dealer hasn't confirmed any faults.

 

Took my van into the dealer yesterday to get a TIPM issue fixed (they wired my fogs and turn signals in reverse when they replaced it), and talked to them at length about the transmission thumps. I was assured that it was indeed part of the "learned" programming, and that an occasional thump is normal. I guess I'll take their word for it.

I also brought up the issue about shuddering in reverse, and the manager rolled his eyes and said yeah, they all do that. No fix.

 

Pat

The shudder in reverse is normal. All dodge transmissions shudder in reverse. The thumping sound maybe normal too. We call it a garage shift. That means the transmission is ready to shift from one gear to another, but you are not going fast enough to complete the shift. I would also check the front center motor mount and both drive axle nuts 165 foot pounds.

 

Yeah, funny story about the motor mounts. Took it to a dealer last month complaining about the transmission. Dealer said all 4 motor mounts were broken. Then took it to another dealer a week later who said all mounts were fine (and that time I specifically asked them to check out the mounts). Let me tell you, I was thoroughly pissed off to find that the first dealer was trying to talk me into $1,000 of unnecessary repairs!

I have not heard of checking the drive axle nuts. I will do that.

 

Most of the problems listed in this post thread are problems that should not be there. Yes these vehicles do have adaptive learn capabilities and learn from your driving strategies.
The dealer/auto repair shop has scanners that can read what are called CVI's ( clutch volume indexes ) which display a number for each individual clutch pack inside the transaxle. It determines , by the number, how much that component has/is slipping. The higher the number to the top index for that component the more the clutch pack is burnt up. Tell the tech that works on your vehicle you want the CVI readings printed out and you can look up the parameters online per vehicle year/mode/vin. The tech can also do an immediate relearn at anytime . If the problem goes away and comes back after a little driving you def. have a problem internally. Also ask him to print out a code readout per your vehicle, for your records. It will tell you a lot of stuff such as when , how bad, what throttle/rmp, gear it was in and what components were out of normal paramaters for that code to be set.
These late model units also can let you know there is an electrical / hydraulical problem that is causing the issue your experiencing. After the computer detects a problem several times it stores a trouble code, and many times the computer will initiate a fail safe mode for the transmission to work in to let you know somethings wrong. This will be either hard shifts or no shifts.
When you start the vehicle and take off if the trans shifts and after a few miles stops shifting its usually a hydraulic failure. If you start the vehicle and take off and it never shifts then there is an electrical problem.
As far a engine/trans mount causing the problem you can very easily verify this problem. SET THE EMERGENCY BRAKE AND HOLD THE BRAKE PEDAL DOWN AT ALL TIMES. ( If you are unsure ask a mechanic to do this for you , I am not responsible for damage to the vehicle due to your faulty brakes or you letting off the brake before the test is complete.)
With that said , with both brakes applied you can slightly & quickly push the accelerator down and let of very quickly, don't hold the accelerator pedal down. Do this a couple times in forward and reverse. If you feel a bump on acceleration / deceleration then you have a bad mount.

 

There are also computer flashes that can reprogram you vehicle computer to resolve this problem and sometimes replacing the vehicle computer will resolve the problem also. Don't be afraid to get a second diagnosis. Transmissions are very expensive now days. Good luck.