hello all im new here and have read a few post's here and am in need of advice. I have a 04 durango it has the 5.7l in it and i just turned 140k miles. this car has been very good to me except for the bugs it has like the interior lights going out. I have put about 100k miles since i bought it four years ago and i have always kept up with the fluids i always try to use mobile1 full synthetic as well as at least mid grade plugs. But here in the past few months she has become a little sick on me. The most major problem i'm noticing is that whether im driving 20mph or 80 with it set on cruise i get a jolt out of the vehicle and my rpm's will rise up to maybe 3-4 and i believe normally they should be around 2-3. Now i can really tell when i come to a complete stop the car is slugish not normal for the hemi. I have read in other post that its possibly my shift solonoids? I have also read that in some cases the wiring can be loose? can anyone direct me as to where the wiring harness is for either soloniod so i can check them. also im not sure if it had to do anything but recently this weekend me and the family were on vacation on the texas coast and on the way back we ran into some flooding and option 1 was to wait and hope the waters didnt raise any higher option 2 was drive thru water maybe 3 feet deep i choose option 2. I did make it through some pretty deep water but after i noticed that the problems i was having with the transmission only got worse and more frequent before it would maybe happen every week or so not im having to stop put it in park turn it off and start it back up and go to get the transmission to shift properly. so please guys can i get some tips or help i also have some other codes but i will need to find them so i can get a idea as to what is wrong. I have already called cottman trans and was quoted around 1000 bucks to replace the solonoids oouch!!!!

 

Welcome to DF
Since you use option 2, you may have gotten water in the transmission, which is not good. I would drop the pan and inspect the fluid and for any debris. If you did get water in the transmission, Sorry the transmission would need to be replaced and the transmission cooler too.

 

hmm so do you think there could have been water in there before. this has been happeneing for the past few months but it only started hapopenening more frequently since i drove thru the water. i had a family member following me and they have a 06 expedition and they have had nothing wrong with thier vehicle.

 

Garciat:

When was the last time your trans was serviced, ie fluid/filter change?

Before you go any further, get your battery load tested to rule out any issues there. If it is the original, or comes back flaky or the least bit weird replace it.

Our Durangos are very sensitive to battery issues.

You might also have a torque converter on its way out. A number of 04 and 05 Durangos have had this issue.

Don

 

Well that could explain some of the other codes my durango spit out. I had the following codes u110c, u110e, u1120, u1411. I have never really had any troubles engine wise till maybe this past feb it started I will stop by the local parts store and have my battery tested today

 

Garciat:

Getting that battery ruled out is a good start. Make sure they "Load" test it and don't just measure the voltage of it.

Master Tech is the resident trans expert here. I am just a back yard wrench/Durango enthusiast who likes to get my hands dirty and know as much about what I am driving as I can LOL!

Let us know how the battery test goes. My research says that the 545RFE trans is a pretty tough piece of hardware. If taken care of, it usually lasts a good long time.

Don

 

well i had the battery tested and its good i was told by three trans shops that my transmission is no good. I took it in today to have a used tranny put in and the guys i took it to are telling me that its not the tranny its my computer and a few other sensors. i did take it in to one shop and the guy said his computer would not read and it would not connect up to my computer so he looked at my fuses and everything looked okay so he tried another code reader and that one worked. now he did say im getting errors for the tcm, shift solonoid F, govoner press sensor, and something about the tempeture control. now it has been a while since i changed my fluid but i tell these guys the transmission runs great it shifts correctly and smooth i get no rattle or slips out of it even when i push the hemi. i do have metal in my fluid but i have been told and don't know if its true that if i haven't changed the fluid in say for example 80k its going to look like that so i'm hoping it is indeed my electronics reeking havoc and not the transmission itself. everyone i call ask's how many miles? well i have 140k and at around 700 to tear the tranny down because no one can pin point whats going on. now like i said i did get crazy code errors for implausable fuel level and a bunch of other funky codes ive never heard of before so the possability of my computer going out seems more and more to be true but im picking the durango up tomorrow and keeping my fingers crossed.

 

ok just wanted to let everyone know the transmission did get replaced and was bad. ended up spending a lil under 1k i found a transmission with 70k on it had a tranny guy look at it and said it was in great condition. so now im moving to another phase i have the infomous interior light problem. Only my gauges work on the dash. I did check with chrysler and my vehicle has not had the recall done but I have also done allot of reading on it and the majority of people who had this problem and took it in said getting the recall done did not fix the problem. what would be a good way of re-wiring it to another power source say a toggle switch etc. Also my driver side seat belt will not detect that my seat belt is latched every time i get in I have to hear the chyme for my seat belt and its got to be very annoying. Is there a sensor for this or a fuse that needs to be replaced? once i get the last two things together she will be back to normal.

 

If you haven't done the recall on the cluster, you need to get it done. As far as the seat belt. When its at the dealer for the recall, have them scan the ORC for any active or stored codes. That module is for the air bag system.

 

ok i will check into it and call up chrysler as well as the dealer i bought the vehicle from. one question also i have noticed when i turn off my engine my check engine light starts blinking is there any particular reason it's doing this?