Well we had our first snow fall today, 15cm ( 6') and after a scoot on the highway, the transmission leaver would not go into reverse or park. it was very stiff. I went into the dodge dealer and they said I was the 5th person with the same problem today........anyone else have this issue?

Mike

 

There are some older threads on here about slushy snow packing up around the transmission and keeping the linkage from working correctly.

 

I had a Nissan 4x4 pickup back in the early '90s with a 5 speed manual that would kick slush up at the gearbox going down the road. Sitting in single degree temperatures would freeze that summbiotch tight as steel and you couldn't budge that stick in the morning. I'd have to put a heat lamp and aim it at the thing for 30 minutes or more to be able to get it into gear.

Obviously not the same problem, but cold weather can be a total PIA and it shows you how easy it is for engineers to fail to plan for what would I would think should be a common sense issue in the design phase...

 

LoL I love engineers. I had a 89 caddy Fleetwood FWD and they had the windshield electronic heater controller behind the front fender.... where the FWD would throw slush and snow all over it.

Mike

 

Yes, you had it packed up in there... Night in the garage and you will be fine. Can not believe the dealer did not know this.

 

Does the transmission protection pan or whatever they are called stop this?

 

If you`re talking about the skid plates on the TRX and the Outdoorsman, the answer is no.

 

You can do one of 2 things when this happens...
carry a couple large cans of spray-on windshield de-icer with you... (get mine at wally world)
or build a protection cover to put over the transmission linkage at the transmission.

This is the stuff i buy
http://automotive.hardwarestore.com/...er-280917.aspx

It dosent happen often, but the console shifted trucks seem to be the ones mostly effected by slush and snow hitting the cable linkage.
When it happens, spray the de-icer on the cable/shift linkage at the transmission, jump in truck, continue onward...lol.
I dont know if its flammable or not, so BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU`RE SPRAYING IT...!!!!

The spray can de-icer has ALWAYS worked for me for many years on frozen shift cables and linkage...!
I ALWAYS keep a couple cans under the seat, just never know when you`ll need it, or to even help a stranded hemi owner...hehehe.

 

Why would it suprise you that the dealer didnt know this... no dealership is very smart to start with these days.
Bunch of highschool kids tryin to play mechanic these days... they`re still wet behind the ears...! (most are just brain dead anyway)

 

Yep. It's a known issue:

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/4th-gen-ram/268462-warning-when-driving-in-slushy-snow.html

First-hand experience with it. :-(

Rob