I have a 1995 dodge neon, today I went over a speed bump (not that fast) and then my check engine light came on shortly after.

Check engine error code 37:
"Open or shorted condition detected in the torque converter part throttle unlock solenoid control circuit."

I was just wondering how serious this is... can I ignore this error? The car drives fine as far as I am concerned.

On Thursday I was planning on visiting my girlfriend who lives 6 hours away, then on Monday I would drive back. Will I need to get this fixed before my trip?

Thank you in advanced.
- Ben

 

Your torque converter lockup switch connector may have been jarred loose, or you may need a new one. $17 at rockauto.com.

The first thing I would do is try to clean and reconnect the sensor connector. Then disconnect the negative battery cable for 2 minutes to clear the error code.

If it is just a connection that got loose, it will not come back. Otherwise, get a new one.

 

I wiggled the sensor connector around pretty good, and disconnected the battery terminal to reset the error code. The error code comes back shortly after starting my car, so I probably need to get a new part.

How urgent does this need to be fixed? Can I drive 6 hours, and then 6 hours back without having to worry about it?

What does it even do? It seems to drive fine.

 

You should be fine. Most likely, the only thing you will notice from time to time while driving about 38 ~42 mph is some hard shifting. Just try to drive smoothly as best you can during this time.

 

Thank you bg1995redneon, you have been helpful.

The drive was fine, I made it there and back with no problems.

Someone on this page on Yahoo Answers stated the following:
I would like to point out that I did not notice a difference in fuel-mileage. Perhaps it was not significant enough to notice the difference.

 

thats cause the 3 speed neons get terrible mileage anyways

 

I would not call 32mpg for an automatic neon bad mileage, and from reports of my friend who has one, that is what he gets most of the time - city, not highway mileage. My 1995 5 speed gets 34 city and when I go highway 36.

Hell my 2004 Suzuki Forenza with a 5 speed auto (4 with OD) only gets 28 highway at BEST. I can dog it or drive smooth and 28mpg is still the best I can get out of it. A friend of mine has the 2007 Suzuki Forenza, same mileage as mine.

Auto's may suck for quick pickups, but for city driving, I get a little tired of up and down shifting, and 2 mpg difference isn't a bad tradeoff for ease of daily driving..... Just sayin.......