Good Day,

On my 02 SXT, I notice that after I have driven it for a while, when I come to a stop sign, right before I stop, there is a very slight jerk in the transmission. Other than that, the automatic shifts fine. Any suggestions on what can be done to remedy the problem.

Thanks for any of your comments.

 

Only one suggestion...get a manual tranny!

 

Thats normal. You can put in synthetic fluid and it will lessen it a bit, but with an ATX its gonna do that.

 

I registered on here to find out about that same problem...My GF has a regular old 2002 neon with an atx, it does the exact same thing, and we want to sell the car, it needs to be fixed obviously prior to. What causes it?

 

I have a 2005 Neon SXT. I noticed that right from the get go. I also noticed that shifting seems constant. For instance, I pull away from the curb, pull up to a yield sign, place my foot on the brake to slow down, then begin to accelerate again because no cars are coming. The transmission is either upshifting or downshifting because there is a hesitation and then when it catches it tends to jerk. This is the first car I've ever owned where it does this. I've owned Neons in the past and none of them were like this.

 

You can have the bands adjusted, that might help a little bit.

 

I understand these cars have an old school dodge 3 speed auto in them, is that correct? One that actually has bands in it?

 

In 2002 the neons got the electronic 4-speed auto. There are no bands to adjust.
All of the Dodge FWD 4-speed auto vehicles that I have driven have a problem when you almost stop and then step on it again.
There is a delay b/c the trans is in the middle of shifting from 2nd to 1st. The 3-speed auto usually doesn't do this b/c it doesn't shift until to actually stop.
I have an intersection near my house that requires a slow (10mph) left turn to merge onto another road (dangerous intersection) and then step on it hard to get out of the way. As I turn left, I usually move the gear selector into L to cause the trans to go to 1st early, so I know I can go hard if I need to, without causing the trans to have to slip while it is changing gears on its own. As soon is I clear the intersection, I put the selector back in D.
If you apply power to the trans while it is in the middle of the downshift, it will slip the 1st and 2nd gear clutches and wear them out sooner than if you come to a complete stop or manually force the shift.

 

What I have read in Consumer Reports and others is that the transmission is not tuned to the motor, hence bad shifting etc. Switch to synthetic and change it every year, tranny fluid is cheap and easy to replace.

Aaron

 

I also had the same problem w/ my '00 3 speed. Their was actually a recall sent to me on this particular problem. On the recall letter it asked specifically if the car jerked foward when coming to a stop. I can't exactly remember what it said the problem was, but that it involved something like the brake hoses or vacuum hoses, whatever. BUT i took it to the Dodge dealership, they knew what i was talking about, took the Neon, and now I don't have that problem anymore. I suggest taking it to a dealership. They should have a list of recall items for your Neon.