At 60~80Kph my 2009 Grand Caravan almost feels like it is slipping in and out of gear, it feels like a soft jerking motion. This only appears to happen if I am pushing lightly on the gas. If I give it a bit more gas or stop pushing the gas it is fine. If also works great under 60Kph and over 80Kph, soft smooth shifts, in some cases you can't even tell it shifted other then the engine noise. I am going to check the transmission fluid tonight to see if it is burnt. The other possibility is sometimes when idling at a stop light while in gear it feels like it misfires, not all the time but when it does happen it seems to happen every 5 seconds. The van has 91,000Kms and is a 3.3L 4SP Auto. Gets great gas milage, 24~26MPG and is driven on the highway 90% of the time. Anyone even felt this? Maybe it is nothing and I am just picky.

 

Is the check engine light on? There maybe some flash updates for your van. You would need to check with your dealer.

 

No check engine light, the transmission fluid does not show any sign of being burnt either, a light red color. I will check with the dealer for an update.

 

Pull it an test drive for a while ?

 

Still waiting to hear from the dealer. If I unplug the batter for a few minutes then plug it back in will that reset the TCM?

Drive it without the torque converter relay? Won't that cause a problem?

 

The check engine light came on last week, according to my OBD II reader cylinder #4 was misfiring. I tightened up the wire on it and the light went out but it was still doing the same between 60-80kph. Replaced all 6 wires and it idles smoother then it even did and does not jerk anymore between 60 and 80. When I took off wire #4 the metal sleeve mulled out and there was a bit of black on the top of the plug so it mush have had a bad connection for a bit. Thanks for all of your help!

 

It sounds to me like you had two different issues, the misfire and the Tranny slip. Changing the wires probably solved the misfire, creating a smoother, more powerful engine performance, Which in turn causes you to use less pedal to reach the desired speed. If the slip comes back, and I'd almost bet it will, eventually, I'd suggest checking the adjustment on the kickdown rod.

 

op if you have not done it already, i would do the transmission oil/filter change to the tranny. those kilometers you have probably right time to do it.

 

The issue came back but is by far less noticable, however, just yesterday cylinder 4 started reporting a misfire again (Cold morning). May have to replace the plugs next, I'll probably do the tranny and filter this spring when it warms up.

If it still reports a misfire I may have to look at the coil, I can't see it being the Mass Airflow Sensor as I would assume the cylinder reporting the misfire would be inconsistant.

Just to confirm 20ft-lb for the plugs? Any trick to make it easier to get to the back 3 plugs?