Please help!!
My 2002 Dodge neon (125,000 miles) has been having problems shifting out of park and into reverse or drive. It will either shift with a huge clunk or I will have to press the gas until it slams into gear. It has been happening 2-3 times per week and is only getting worse. There have also been times that I will get stuck at a red light and when I press the gas to start driving again it will act like it is in neutral until it slams into drive again. I would appreciate any advice please!!
First and foremost, have you checked the transmission fluid to make sure you aren't low? If so, go to Autozone and have them read your codes. I'm not sure if any transmission codes would pop up by doing the key dance if there were some. Does it act like it's slipping when you're driving or just when stopped?
I have checked the fluid- it is fine.
The only code that shows when doing the "key dance" is for the o2 sensor...not sure if that could be a cause. The car is mostly doing it when coming out of park for the first time in the day. Once the car has been driven a few minutes if re-parked it wont do it again. It has only done it once or twice at a stop light. It seems to be worse when it is cold out, but letting the car warm up for a while doesn't fix it either. I am really hoping it is not my transmission going on me.
The only code that shows when doing the "key dance" is for the o2 sensor...not sure if that could be a cause. The car is mostly doing it when coming out of park for the first time in the day. Once the car has been driven a few minutes if re-parked it wont do it again. It has only done it once or twice at a stop light. It seems to be worse when it is cold out, but letting the car warm up for a while doesn't fix it either. I am really hoping it is not my transmission going on me.
Might be the solenoid. Mine was doing oddball stuff like that and never had an issue again after replacing the solenoid with a new, updated unit. You should have the TCM checked for codes with a code reader though just to make sure. Transmission codes won't show in the cluster.


