i have a 03 grand caravan 184000 miles the trans shifts fine when cold but after it warms up some it will down shift i think into 1st gear and stay there, tach will to about 3500 rpm and drops when foot is off the gas.
trans was low about 3 weeks ago and i added 1 qt. of type 4 fluid.
any help [no check eng. light on]

 

Here are some questions.
Did you have this same problem before adding the fluid? And if so, did anything change after adding the quart?
Did you use the procedure described in the owner's manual for checking the fluid level? If not, how did you check the level?
When you said "type 4", was it specifically ATF+4 fluid?

 

yes the type was atf +4
checked the level with var running and in park after putting it into drive and rev. them back to park.
before it would down shift hard into 1st sometimes. [more often if you stop quickly]

 

Just one other thing on the fluid check you did. The check needs to be done either completely cold (using the cold marks on the dip stick), or fully warmed up after driving 25+ minutes (using the hot marks). I'll assume you did it one of those 2 ways. The tranny shouldn't "use" fluid, so that means you likey have a fluid leak. One thing that might fit both the shifting problems and a fluid leak is a bad solenoid, which is not an uncommon problem as these vans get older. Do you see any fluid drips, or spots underneath the van? If so, it should be fairly easy to find out if it's coming from the solenoid.

 

"Limp mode" limits shifting to 1st, 2nd, and reverse gears. Is that what you have? Check engine light?

 

changed fluid and filter used +4 van ran the same only 2nd gear all the time.
one week later changed the solenoid and now it seams to be worst. get rev. gear right away but have to wait for drive. and now it revs up a lot more .
?????????

 

Did you actually find a leak coming from the solenoid before you replaced it? If not, do you see it leaking from somewhere else? What did you find in the bottom of the pan and on the magnet? Was there anything other than a thin layer of sludge? Any metal or other solids of any kind in there? If there was nothing bad in the pan, next you could check the TCM connector. These connectors have been reported by some folks to be corroded enough to cause problems similar to what you describe. If the connector is ok, those of us who like to hang parts would probably try a reman TCM, which is available from the auto computer outfits for $200 or less.

 

pan was clean nothing on the magnet. fluid was clean with no burnt smell.
how do you check the tmc and where is it located ?

 

Your transmission is going into limp in or fail safe mode. Does the transmission have any leaks? Maybe the front pump area? Next I would have the Transmission Control Module (TCM) scan for active or stored codes. Also have the Clutch Volume Index (CVI) checked and post the information and have a clutch test done. With the high mileage you have on the transmission, it maybe time for a overhaul kit.