Hello, I have a 01 durango, 4.7 4x4. Recently, My shift lever does not want to move out of park. I sit there and play and wiggle until it finally comes out. After this started, my transmission doesnt want to shift to 2nd. Ive had my rpms at 3500 at 35 mph. I shut the truck off wait a few, turn it on and shes golden again. Shop says its a sensor, dad says its a cable. Shop says nooo you dont have cables its all electric. Help please before i go spending a bunch of money. I was also told to park it, and its my only way to get around. Need it fixed without breaking my wallet for diagnostics. Thanks!

 

I think you probably do have cables, and it's possible that it's a little out of adjustment, considering the shift lever isn't working properly. But I don't believe it could be fixed (even temporarily) by shutting it off and restarting it. There probably is an electronic issue of some kind, but it's going to be hard to tell exactly what unless it's giving out some codes, or we can get some more symptoms.

One thing I'm curious about...you say it doesn't come out of park unless you wiggle it...Can you try something? Start your motor and then push down on your brake really hard before trying to move it out of park, and tell me if that works any better.

There's a guy here (Master Tech I think) who is a transmission tech for Chrysler, hopefully he'll chime in with some more ideas.

 

master tech is the guy to talk to about the shifting issues, but the getting stuck i park issue is pretty simple to fix.

take the rubber boot off of the shift column and lubricate the internal locking mechanism in there, also call your dodge dealer and see if your truck qualifies for the recall on the brake-shift interlock (just need your vin, i fyou qualify then they will fix it for free)

also the 4.7 has the 45 rfe trans in your year, this is an electronically controlled transmission so the chances of a cable being off are slim since there is only one cable, and that is the one that links the shifter to the trans.

it sounds to me like it is getting stuck in limp mode, there is a reason for that, but without codes to point us in the right directiont here is not too much we can say. I will suggest checking the trans fluid and check to see if it looks/smells burnt and its probably time for a fluid/filter change if it hasnt been done in a while.

 

Welcome to DF

brhodes pretty much said on what would have said. All transmissions except for the new 300 chrysler with the 8 speed transmission have shifter cable. Check the shift lever on the side of the transmission and tighten it. Use a 10mm wrench. Did the shop tell you what the stored code was for the transmission?

 

Mastertech, there's a guy on the Neon forum I've been trying to help. Since I'm probably going to get banned, do you mind seeing what you can do for him? I just found out about you yesterday, or I'd have asked sooner.

here's the thread:
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...n-problem.html

 

I don't have any kind of codes, i dont even know how to get codes. The engine light is not on. I always push in the brake when i shift, just because i had an old car that required to do so and im used to it. Sometimes after playing with it i'll let off the brake and the lever will move. What would i lubricate the lever with?? And i have no clue where to even tighten the cable.. Ill look in the manual and see if it shows anything! Thanks guys!

 

Since you don't have any codes, I'd definitely have somebody check the cable before I did anything else. Take it to some other garage than the one who told you there is no cable, and ask that they take a look at it. They really shouldn't charge you much (if at all) to take a quick look at it and give you their opinion.

The thing that puzzles me is that you said when you turn off the key and turn it back on, "it's golden".....I'm trying to think of something mechanical that would cause this, but as I'm not as familiar with these as I'd like to be, I've got squat..

I'm going to take a look at mine and see if maybe I can come up with some idea. If I do, I'll post it here later.

 

I think ive figured out its some kind of transmission censor.. Only idk which one. Tried pulling codes and it has none. Shop told me to drive it there when its acting up if i dont blow the engine first.

 

you wont blow the engine if the trans is acting up, IMO you just found another shop to stay away from.

and to lubricate the locking mechanism you can use any lubricant, i usually use a silcon based lubricant in a spray can, it repels water to some degree and will hang around for a while, wd-40 is a bad choice since it is a cleaner and not a lubricant.

 

OK, same thing would happen to me.
FIRST, make sure your wheel is locked...
I would have this happen A LOT when I parked in the garage at work and had to park after making a sharp turn.
I know it sounds stupid, but just wiggle your wheel. Make sure it's not moving freely...
Then try. Took me YEARS to figure this out. I sat out in the cold (well Austin, TX cold...) so many days unable to move out of park...
Now that's NOT gonna explain the shifting problem