Transmission problems?

[Jose]

This is on an 02 Dodge Stratus 4 cyl. AOD. In the mornings the car is will shift into reverse but not doing anything. It will sometimes do this in the forward gears to. I'm told the fluid and level looks fine and the problem only seems to occur in the mornings. Any ideas on this? I was told that the alternator may be going out but I can't see how that would be related especially if the problem only occurs in the morning. Any ideas?

[BP]

This is on an 02 Dodge Stratus 4 cyl. AOD. In the mornings the car is will shift into reverse but not doing anything. It will sometimes do this in the forward gears to. I'm told the fluid and level looks fine and the problem only seems to occur in the mornings. Any ideas on this? I was told that the alternator may be going out but I can't see how that would be related especially if the problem only occurs in the morning. Any ideas?

41TE/A604 transmissions are notorious for solenoid and pressure switch problems. Scan it for codes, if there are any solenoid related ones or latch open codes (P1776) then replace the solenoid pack. Otherwise perform a quicklearn with a scan tool to reset the shift adaptations. Beyond that you can check the CVIs and see of the clutches are burned up.

[Jose]

Thanks for the info, I hope that's all it is. What's a CVI?

[JimD]

Clutch volume index... measures amount of wear on clutches, probable dealer scanner or some high dollar units, i know mine don't show those parameters.

[BP]

Clutch volume index... measures amount of wear on clutches, probable dealer scanner or some high dollar units, i know mine don't show those parameters.

Correct, it's the amount of time the solenoids stay open to get a good shift feel. It'll self adjust based on driving habits and clutch wear, instead of having adjustable bands and accumulator pistons like they used to have the PCM controls line pressures and solenoid duty cycles now.

Chrysler was way ahead of everyone else in designing their automatic transmissions. I'm not saying it's the best one in the world but the technology they had in 1989 when the A604 came out was 5+ years a head of everyone else.

[Jose]

Correct, it's the amount of time the solenoids stay open to get a good shift feel. It'll self adjust based on driving habits and clutch wear, instead of having adjustable bands and accumulator pistons like they used to have the PCM controls line pressures and solenoid duty cycles now.

Chrysler was way ahead of everyone else in designing their automatic transmissions. I'm not saying it's the best one in the world but the technology they had in 1989 when the A604 came out was 5+ years a head of everyone else.

Can you recommend a good shop to take it to?

[Woods Racing Transmission]

Chrysler was way ahead of everyone else in designing their automatic transmissions. I'm not saying it's the best one in the world but the technology they had in 1989 when the A604 came out was 5+ years a head of everyone else.

Yep and in the early 90's I did a butt load of them. Don't work on them anymore but most of their issues stemmed from the solenoid pack which is serviceable from the outside of the unit. I think I even still have one in the box at the shop.

[BP]

Can you recommend a good shop to take it to?

Not really, sorry. It's literally a 5 minute job on that car though if it's solenoids. All of the solenoids are in a black box that bolts to the side of the transmission. Remove the air cleaner, remove the speed sensor and unbolt it. You need to do a quicklearn afterwards though but any real scanner can do it.

If there aren't ant codes at all you might just need to do the quick learn, especially if the battery was disconnected recently or the car has been sitting for awhile.

[Woods Racing Transmission]

What engine do you have? 3.0L or 2.4L SOHC or DOHC?

[Jose]

It's the 2.4L. Thanks guys for all the help. Taking it to a friend of mines shop tomorrow to have him look at it.

[Jose]

Just an update. Apparently the problem was a leaking transmission cooler. I was told by the owner that the fluid level was checked and if I had known it was low I would have looked for a leak (or something). Anyway, thanks for all the help.