I bought a 2001 durango sport 4x4 (4.7) last June. When I park outside in MN cold it starts great, and goes when I give it gas but the rpms go way up and it doesn't want to shift into 2nd. When it does finally shift into 2nd it shifts up and down just fine (it,s just that first shift into 2nd). If I park in heated garage it shifts fine. Tranny fluid is bright pink and smells good.

 

My '99 does the same thing when cold. I forget what the exact cause of it is, but to me it's not worth dealing with. Mine has done it since I bought the truck in '08 with 120k miles.

I just let my truck warm up in the winter for 20-25 minutes, and baby it until it shifts. Mines the 2nd to 3rd gear, though. I find it shifts quicker if you let off the gas and coast until it shifts (usually 10-15 seconds) then get back on the throttle and it'll shift fine every time after that.

With my truck, I'm not worried about it. I'm waiting for the transmission to grenade anyways, my truck was originally a 5.2L truck with the 44RE, I swapped in a 5.9L and am still using the 44RE. Everyone said it wouldn't last 2k miles. I now have 152k miles on the truck and 30k of that is with the 5.9L.

Anyway, the only thing I can suggest is check the fluid level, and smell it and make sure it isn't burnt.

 

Mine is the same it revs up until it hits 2nd gear when in the teens or below but after the first shift in the morning no more rev issues.

 

This is normal for a cold transmission.

GOVERNOR PRESSURE CURVES

LOW TRANSMISSION FLUID TEMPERATURE

When the transmission fluid is cold the conventional
governor can delay shifts, resulting in higher
than normal shift speeds and harsh shifts. The electronically
controlled low temperature governor pressure
curve is higher than normal to make the
transmission shift at normal speeds and sooner. The
PCM uses a temperature sensor in the transmission
oil sump to determine when low temperature governor
pressure is needed.


Also if the outside temp is under about 35F the transmission will lock out Overdrive until the fluid gets warm. You can always lock out Overdrive on the shifter until everything gets warm instead of letting the truck warm. Lubricants these days provide extra protection in low temperatures. In reality, once a trucks motor gets smooth you should be fine (meaning about 10-20 seconds). I always shift into Neutral or Drive for about 10-15 seconds before moving after the 10-20 seconds after starting.

Now remember I use Fully Synthetics so they still run like water when cold. Regardless, you don't have to wait 20-25 minutes.

 

hydra is correct, the only thing you are doing by waiting the 20-25 minutes is wasting gas, warming up the engine (if you are wimpy enough or have a need for a warm passenger cabin immediately) and wearing your engine at idle unnecessarily.

 

I realize that it's not entirely useful to warm it up that long.. I like my interior WARM. Not only that, but it makes it so I don't even need to use a snow brush

Plus, gotta burn the fuel that those Prius guys aren't!

 

i understand, i used to do the same thing in hs when i had band at the end of the day, wed finish rehersal about 10 min early, id run out to the lot and start the truck up, set the defrost and heat on high and go back inside to get all my books, by the time i got back it was a simple matter of pushing the loose snow off the windows and driving away, everyone in the lot hated me for it


if you can afford to make up for their lack of use please feel free, i personally cannot

 

Thanks guys, I won't worry about the delayed shift. I have a remote starter so I usually start it as I'm getting my coat on and let it run 5 min max. Just enough to melt snow and take the chill off the cabin.

 

that should be plenty, besides the fact that the transmission doesnt warm up until you start driving it anyway, the fluid pump in the trans doesnt run in park, and the parts dont move until the truck is in motion.