'04 Dakota, 3.7, auto, 73000 miles, 2 wheel drive. The CEL came on a couple of days ago (P0888). This is the only code and has to do with the transmission control relay. There are no apparent symptoms. All shifting seems to be normal. I had the code removed to see if it would return. After about 50 miles of in town driving (lots of shifting), the code has not returned. What should my next steps be: drive it until/if the light comes back on, pay a mechanic to do further diagnostics, replace the relay whether it is good or bad (less than $20), other? I need to make a trip of a few hundred miles. Should I take a chance on it?

 

If it isn't resetting the code, there is nothing to diagnose. Just drive it and see if the code resets. If it does, worry about it then.

 

HeyYou. thanks. That is exactly what I would ordinarily do and that was my intent. However, my daughter and son-in-law need to use it to haul some furniture about 300 miles and I'm trying to make up my mind whether I trust it to not leave them stranded somewhere. I know there is no straight answer. Just wondering if others have had this experience and what the odds might be for the actual problem to occur rather than just the light to come on with no symptoms. Also, I can't find a mechanic that has an opening for a couple of weeks. I'm not sure if there is anything they could do without the light being on anyway. Check the wiring and connections, I suppose.
Also, I could just replace the relay. They are under $20. Is this the kind of intermittent failure a relay might exhibit? Or, are they either on or off with no in between. Or, is a wiring or connection more likely to be the problem.