My 2002 dodge neon SE, when I back up and start to drive, the car pauses for a seconds, and I have to push on the gas even harder to get it to start driving again.

Anyone know the fix?

 

When it finally moved, you might screech the tires and crash your car.
So, don't step too hard on the gas petal when it doesn't want to go.

You might have a problem with your transmission.
It either slips, or doesn't want to put into gears.

Low trans fluid can cause that, and many other things but I don't go into details because you did not ask.

 

i checked the fluid, it is full and the color is red.

 

How long does it pause for? What do you mean "back up and start driving?" Do you mean as you are backing up, you'll pop it into drive and start going forward?

 

yes, that is exactly what i mean. it stops after i drive for a few seconds. but i have to push on the gas harder to get it started again. otherwise after that it drives good.

 

You are probably destroying (or have partially ruined) your transmission then. You are supposed to come to a complete stop before going from reverse to drive.

 

I think you misunderstood me. let me start from the beginning

1) I reverse
2) complete stop
3) go into drive.

when it is driving. the car stops by itself. and i have to push on the gas harder to get it going again. after that it works fine.

 

Can you describe the problem in more detail? What do you mean it stops by itself? Your cruising at 55MPH and the car just slows to a stop unless you floor it? The car just won't go forward from a stop? What's going on exactly when the car is "stopping?" Is the engine lagging? Does it feel like the brakes are stuck?

 

There is not enough trans fluid pumped into the torque converter. That is why you had to stepped on the gas petal (to increased the engine rpm so it can pumped more trans fluid into the torque converter) to get your car moving.

Because of that, the clutches in the trans will burn/wear out very fast. You also get clutch debris in the trans pan. I only heard that from someone. I don't know if it's truth or not.

You said the trans fluid is full, but did you check when the engine is running?
Was the filter installed properly?

Other causes: leaked pump seal, clogged cooler hoses, ...

Take that as an advice only. I'm not a professional.

 

Expanding on the above post, if there is a pressure issue, there should be a CEL and code for that, as well as the car going into limp-in mode. You'll usually also have gear ratio error codes too as it won't shift correctly with incorrect pressure. The pressure can be checked easily enough though at a shop, and will usually diagnose most any and all hydraulic issues within the transmission. If you checked the fluid level using the recommended Dodge procedure (below), a pressure test at a shop might be a good start. It should at least narrow it down to either a [specific] hydraulic or electronic transmission problem, or not a transmission problem at all.