I get "flare" on light throttle upshifts from 4th to 5th and 5th to 6th. Instead of a nice shift, RPM's slip up 200-300 before the higher gear comes on. Is anyone else experiencing this, and is it something I should worry about?
I'm also getting some clunky downshifts as I come to a complete stop. Seems to be when the transmission is going down to 2nd and 1st. Not every time, but enough to be annoying.

 

Shift behavior is normally quite odd in 4th, 5th and 6th. Locking converter operation and ratios are strange to say the least. I especially dislike the delayed upshifts into 2nd and 3rd. It exceeds 3K RPM before upshifting, even under very light throttle as if the valve body came out of a 70's chevy. I think this was done to address the wider ratios in upper gears. Dodge is really overdue for a new tranny design.

 

I think the tranny is the weakest link in the GC. What is a flare?

 

A "flare" is generally understood as the condition where an upshift is called upon by the valve body, but clutch engagement is delayed or sluggish. This is often caused by sticking servos, but there are many other causes such as low line pressure, clogged valve body, worn or burned clutches etc.

The symptom can be seen on the tach. The RPM may actually rise a bit between gears and slip is sustained for way too long. The tach wanders as a function of pedal position instead of dropping to the new lower RPM and holding steady.

This slip condition causes the engagement clutches to prematurely wear out.

 

Check with your dealership. There are software updates for similar problems.

 

Crap--this darned computer I'm using does strange things, so forgive me if this is a duplicate post.
That's a good description of flare! It does worry me, because I don't need premature wear from this. The 5/100,000 warranty gives some comfort, but since I plan to drive this car for a long time, I'd like to think 100K is just the starting point. I plan to get the car in to the dealer in the next couple of weeks; wish me luck.
One other thing the transmission does is a quick shift when going from reverse to drive. Instead of the soft shift that takes a moment, it's an immediate hard shift to drive. Only happens occasionally. My (now sold) 2001 Intrepid and my 2004 Dakota also do that on occasion.

 

And as was pointed out above by another poster, the 6spd and all 4spds made over the last 15 yrs have a computer-controlled adaptive valve body. The computer learns by monitoring engine rpm upon shifting and tries to compensate for wear, but sometimes it loses it's mind. The dealers can reset the computer to default, but this generally should only be necessary if the valve body is replaced or the tranny is rebuilt.