Hi, Just found this site while surfing for info on my transmission concerns. I have an 05 Neon SXT. I own an auto body shop and bought the car damaged at auction. Seemed to run fine at first with 4200mi on it. It currently has about 20 thou on it. I noticed the transmission has odd shifting characteristics compared to other cars I have driven. I had a 2000 and a 2003 Neon prior and never noticed this. It is at certain throttle positions and load that it gives a very harsh shift. Sometimes the RPMs will flare and then it bangs in. If you hit it right you would swear the engine & trans were falling out. This seems to occur at light to part throttle. If you floor it such as getting on the interstate, it goes up through the gears normaly as one would expect.

I had it back to the dealer last year before the warrantee ran out. They said that they couldn't duplicate the condition and it was normal. So the question is...do I just live with this or is it going to lead to an early failure? It's a good car otherwise with hardly any miles. I also have an 05 Dakota V8 I bought new and it doesn't shift anything like this. I run the Neon since I can't afford to feed the TK everyday.

Thanks for reading.

 

welcome to the dodge forum.

i understand your concern. my 05 does the same thing and always has. i have 48,000 on it. under part throttle upshifts, it seems to bang gears quite hard, but under fuller throttle upshifts it is smooth.

just to be on the safe side, do a filter and fluid change and use ATF +4 only

 

Thanks. I'll try the fluid. I replaced the rad as part of the wreck and had to add a small amount of fluid. Probably a couple quarts at most. Think the parts store sold me mercon 3. I'll make sure to get the right stuff.

BTW, I'm from Belle Vernon PA. Small world. Car came from the New Stanton Auction. It was a damaged Enterprise car.

 

yep, its small. the founder of this site's parents live a half mile from me. i found that out when he posted pics of his dads drag car and i recognized it.

mixing different types of tranny fluid will mess up your tranny and make if shift funny. i'm pretty positive that could be your issue. Tractor Supply has the valvoline AFT+4 for a better price than NAPA. still going to be $3.50 a quart... you will need 4.5 quarts for a filter and fluid change. if you are going to do a full suck out from the torque converter be prepared to put twice that in.

 

NAPA ATF+4 is Valvoline without the name brand on it. Just pointing that out, nothing more.

 

How would one get the fluid out of the converter. If I'm going to do this I may as well try and get it all out. Thanks

 

First, drain the fluid from the pan. Once you've replaced the filter, the pan gasket, and reinstalled the pan, you're ready for the next step.
Fill the transmission to the proper level using the proper type of transmission fluid. Then disconnect the return transmission line (the line in which transmission fluid flows from the transmission cooler back to the transmission), located near the bottom of the radiator. There's two transmission lines connected in this location, and the bottom line is usually the return line. Once the line has been disconnected, attach a clear piece of tubing to the transmission cooler

Place the unattached end of the clear tube in a plastic, one gallon milk container and place it where it can be seen (like not under the car).
For the next portion of the procedure, make sure that the parking brake is set prior to continuing. Start the engine. The transmission needs to be put into "Drive" so the torque converter fluid is changed as well. Some transmissions will only circulate fluid through the torque converter only in drive. This especially applies to the electronically controlled transmissions.
After approximately 4 to 5 quarts (obviously, if it's more than 4 quarts, you'll have to turn of the engine, and fetch another milk jug) of fluid have been pumped out, you should notice a change in the color of the fluid. It should go from a brownish red color, to a bright pinkish red color. When this happens, all of the old fluid has been replaced with new fluid.
Be careful not to overfill the tranny during this procedure.
When completed, reconnect the transmission return line to the transmission cooler. Check the fluid level as you normally would, and add fluid as required.

 

yeah.... and tractor supply has valvoline cheaper than NAPA's house brand.

 

I was saying it more so because not everyone has a Tractor Supply store around.

 

If the coolant and the ATF have mixed you will soon have to rebuild the tranny. Personal experience. My radiator took a crap and the two mixed, the dealer replaced the radiator and flushed the trans fluid. Two weeks later the tranny started doing what you are explaining and then it started slipping and loosing gears.