Warning when driving in slushy snow!
Captain
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 563
Likes: 0
From: AZ
The packing of snow in and around the transfer case, transmission is not unique to Dodge. My 2006 tacoma would get packed after driving in wet snow. Skid plates don't help. The Dodge has a skid plate that collects slush/snow. The toyota did also.
Yet I have not experienced the frozen shifter.
Yet I have not experienced the frozen shifter.
Rookie
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 84
Likes: 0
From: St. Clair Shores, MI
Anyone who has had this happen should report it to the NTSB, because this is more than an inconvenience - it is a safety concern having a vehicle that will not go into park. This is definitely grounds for a safety recall, but will need to be documented through the NTSB.
Thread Starter
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Record Breaker
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,387
Likes: 1
From: MN
Rob
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
From: Minnestoa
Transfer Case skid plate doesn't protect the area. I contacted the dealer and Dodge Customer Service. This is my wife's primary vehicle. I can't have her stranded everytime she drives in a little snow. Dodge needs a fix quick. I love the truck but MN Lemon Law may come into to play real quick.
Captain
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 731
Likes: 1
From: Louisiana
Way too dangerous...I smell lawsuits out the yang yang! I would definitely make a shield or have one made...it shouldn't be too hard. Could the same thing happen when you travel through wet mud...say if it dries up on your tranny?
Veteran
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 348
Likes: 0
Today we got our first snow of the season here in MN. As usual with early season snow, it is wet and heavy, very slushy. Had to go out to bring my son to work. After a 45 minute round trip I returned home and parked in the garage. The shifter was reluctant to move from D to P. I gave it a nudge and ended up with the lever in the P gate but the trans stuck in R. Couldn't get it back out of the P gate. Oops. I then made the mistake of shutting the truck off and couldn't start it again since it wasn't in P or N.
Turns out that on that drive the wet heavy snow was thrown up under the truck and packed in completely around the transmission and transfer case. Very odd. There wasn't all that much snow elsewhere under the truck but it was totally encasing the transmission. I tried letting it sit for 20 minutes hoping that the heat of the engine, trans, and exhaust would melt it off enough to move the shifter but that was a no go. I had to crawl under the truck and pick out all the snow from that area. Once it was all out I could move the shifter again.
Needless to say, if this would have happened anywhere except my garage it would have been a much more painful disaster. I can't believe Dodge didn't do adequate testing in snowy conditions to find this major flaw in the under-truck dynamics. I'm not looking forward to additional winter driving with this damn thing now. I guess I better keep something in the truck to pick with (prybar, big screwdriver, stick, etc) and some good warm clothes in case I have to be under the truck out in a parking lot somewhere...
Here's the snow that I picked out from around the transmission and transfer case. This is ONLY from that area. I didn't scrape out snow from anywhere else under the truck or the wheelwells or anywhere.
Rob
Turns out that on that drive the wet heavy snow was thrown up under the truck and packed in completely around the transmission and transfer case. Very odd. There wasn't all that much snow elsewhere under the truck but it was totally encasing the transmission. I tried letting it sit for 20 minutes hoping that the heat of the engine, trans, and exhaust would melt it off enough to move the shifter but that was a no go. I had to crawl under the truck and pick out all the snow from that area. Once it was all out I could move the shifter again.
Needless to say, if this would have happened anywhere except my garage it would have been a much more painful disaster. I can't believe Dodge didn't do adequate testing in snowy conditions to find this major flaw in the under-truck dynamics. I'm not looking forward to additional winter driving with this damn thing now. I guess I better keep something in the truck to pick with (prybar, big screwdriver, stick, etc) and some good warm clothes in case I have to be under the truck out in a parking lot somewhere...
Here's the snow that I picked out from around the transmission and transfer case. This is ONLY from that area. I didn't scrape out snow from anywhere else under the truck or the wheelwells or anywhere.
Rob
Last edited by HEMI5150; Nov 14, 2010 at 02:01 PM.
Moderate User
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 17,003
Likes: 21
From: Albany, NY
Lawsuits only happen when someone gets hurt so that's not gonna happen.
i have driven my 2008 Ram 4x4 QC in the snow and slush a number of times and never had any issue's. I don't see there being anything differnt as far as undercarriage designs go either.
the only thing i can think of is that you are driving on the stock Suckyears which I have never done. Those were the first things to go since they are horrid even in rainy conditions much less put them into action on the snow.
i can't see mudflaps making that much of a difference either because they only protect the sides of the truck while going straight. Once you turn your wheels to make a turn, that is when the slush gets thrown up underneath your truck.
i have driven my 2008 Ram 4x4 QC in the snow and slush a number of times and never had any issue's. I don't see there being anything differnt as far as undercarriage designs go either.
the only thing i can think of is that you are driving on the stock Suckyears which I have never done. Those were the first things to go since they are horrid even in rainy conditions much less put them into action on the snow.
i can't see mudflaps making that much of a difference either because they only protect the sides of the truck while going straight. Once you turn your wheels to make a turn, that is when the slush gets thrown up underneath your truck.
