The whole family loves our 06 Durango SLT 4.7. We haven't had it for too awful long. Bought it used for a price we couldn't turn down. CarFax was clean and the vehicle itself is very clean. It has 130k on it but runs like it has 30k. No real issues to speak of besides this one that has recently cropped up.

For starters, the transmission shifts smooth as butter - has ever since we bought it. My wife drives it mostly so I am not sure when this issue really started. Last week I noticed that when climbing a slight incline it would shift into second smoothly at 1700 RPM, then it would shift into 3rd at about 1900 RPM. I have noticed that it always seems to lag ever so slightly when going from 2nd to 3rd. However, on this instance it shifted into third while I kept steady pressure on the pedal and then it dropped back down into second and then back to third and followed that cycle one time immediately after. If I press the gas a bit harder, it drops to 2nd like it should and continues on in second like it should. I have a fairly light foot and chalked that up to me just not pressing the accelerator like I should.

Yesterday, I started to notice something different happening now too. If I am driving and in at least 3rd or 4th and come to a stop, the Durango does not downshift until I am stopped and have the brake on. I can feel it doing it as I am stopped. If I come to a "rolling" stop it will downshift only when I press on the pedal again to start going again.

Now, this does not happen every time - probably about 50-60% of the time and it just started yesterday.

Since it is not shifting rough, I was thinking this could be something electronic, so I pulled over on the way to the in-laws, turned it off for a minute, restarted and continued on and it didn't do it again. Not sure if this was the 40%-50% of the time that it does not normally do it, or if it really helped the issue.

The only other thing that it does I am not sure is related or not. I figured it was just a sensor that needed to be replaced but when you first start it and it is in park, the idle will surge between 500-1500 RPM. As soon as you put it in drive (or reverse) it levels out at about 500-1000 (depending on if it is cold or warm). When it is in drive and I am stopped, it idles just fine.

So, anyone have any insight into this? Mechanical? Electronic? Vacuum?

Thanks!

Mike

 

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/pr...type=DrillDown

There is a recall for the parking gear not activating, maybe see if your Durnango is recalled.

 

I appreciate the link. Yeah, I have already called Dodge and verified that anything that has been recalled has been fixed on my vehicle. Although, I am not sure how that relates to my issue? Guess I may be missing the point.

Mike

 

master tech, a site moderator, is a transmission expert and he can help.
FF

 

the surging idle sounds to me like a throttle position sensor(TPS) or an IAC motor, if the TPS is the issue it most certainly can affect shifting.

 

If you don't have any check engine light on, I would agree with sharp. Do you know when the last time the transmission had both filters replaced and check for software updates? If you do end up replacing any parts, use only Mopar, I have had problems with sensors from a parts store.

 

Well, it is at the car doc right now so we shall see what they say. I will let you know.

Mike

 

Well, so it appears that it was indeed the TPS causing the issues. I love my garage. I do a lot of work myself, but when it comes to transmission issues or other issues that require a lift or special tools, I always take it there. The reason I say that is because I dropped it off at 2:00 PM, told him I just needed him to look at it if he could because I needed to come back and get it (regardless of the outcome) at 5:30 (wife needed it for work) and we could bring it back tomorrow for the actual fix.

They were slammed so I figured chances were slim he would get it in. Arrived at 5:00 and it was in the same place we left it so I assumed he didn't have time. Actually, he had checked it out thoroughly - no codes to be found. He decided to swap out the TPS with a shiny new mopar one and then test drove to see if it was fixed. He said he didn't feel it happening at all. I was a little bit aggravated at first because I specifically told him not to do anything to it until he talked to me. BUT, he told me that he wanted me to take it a drive it for a few days to see if it was fixed for sure. He didn't charge me a thing and said that if it was not in fact the problem, he would give me the TPS and all the labor to install it at no cost (since he knew that I asked him not to do anything). If it was not fixed then we would have to look deeper. However, if it was fixed then he wants to service the transmission, which makes sense to me. If it does fix it, of course, I will pay him for the sensor itself (but he is not charging me the labor to fix it) and for the service.

If anything changes, I will update here, but it looks like I Dodged a bullet here (wow, no pun intended) haha.

Thanks for the help everyone.

Mike

 

how do I change the shift selinoid on a 2006 dodge durango

 

instructions to r and r shift selinoid