Hello, I bought a used 2008 Gran Caravan SXT and I am having a transmission shifting problem from 1st gear to 2nd only when the van is cold, as it warms up it goes away. another problem I noticed was the gears seam to up shift very quickly and when I come to a stop light, the gears do not down shift fast enough to slow the van down and find I am putting alot of presure on the brakes to stop. when I start up again the transmission seems to be in 1st gear as normal. I was wondering if anybody has had this happen to them and if there is a fix. I was told that a flash exists for the transmission, dealer said No..?


Any help would be appreciated, sorry if I confused anyone..

 

Welcome to DF
Do you know if you still have a warranty on the van? Because I would have a dealer tech to go on a road test with you. ( transmission tech or shop foreman)

 

Thanks MASTER MECHANIC , great forum lots of good reading and great info:

I have tried many times to have a mechanic go for a test drive, they tell me that this is normal and that everybody seems to be busy when I show up for service, but I was thinking of getting a second opinion. This is why I am trying to get as muich info as I can and then tell them that there are others with this problem and this is what they have done to corect it and see what they say

 

You dont' mention how long you have had the van, you just said you bought an 08.... You also don't mention what your cold shifting problem is?? The quick upshifts may be a learned shift from the PO and it may change over time with your driving habits. If you push the accelerator down harder will the gears hold longer before shifting? These trannies will "learn" from the drivers driving style. Also, in a late model trans, such as this, it will not downshift noticeably to help you slow. Brakes are cheaper than tranny work and the longer you can coast the better the mpg's!!

 

Hi sorry about that, I am new at this. I purchased the truck 8 months ago. What I ment about the shifting is that when the truck is cold , lets say first thing in the morning. The first couple of shifts from 1st gear to 2nd, it slips, when the truck warms up this goes away. I was told that the tranny fluid may be low and needs topping up so I am having that check out.

Thanks for your advice, that makes alot of sence about po, and that the tranny needs to re-learn. I guess I am not used to this

Thanks again for the help..