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Car Guys, need opinion for problem Jeep with 3.7L V6 with Auto transmission.

Stewie26

Stewie26

Feb 15, 2012
1,557
13,571
Redondo Beach-Palos Verdes, California
#1
I have a 2004 Jeep Liberty Limited with 3.7L V6, automatic transmission and 2 wheel drive. The original miles is just over 54,000 mile. Starting today, when I shift to the Drive position, the tranny starts out in 2nd gear and will not upshift or downshift from second gear. When I come to full stop, the tranny allows me to move the shift lever to N, R and P with no problem. Also, the idiot light warning icon came on with a small drawing of the engine behind it. I guess it is good that the tranny will still operate in second gear as this allowed me to nurse the car home on the surface streets. Does it sound like a repair or whole new replacement of the tranny. Also, is AAMCO any good or would I get better work from the Jeep dealer? Thanks for any insight you might have.
 
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#2
IME AAMCO was not good. They ship out the transmissions for rebuild (I know a guy that works there, and he confirmed this), using cheap parts that'll last juuuust long enough to get you through the warranty period. I got lucky and the trans in my honda went out within their warranty period after a rebuild. They whined about it, but fixed it. Then I immediately sold the car and told the new owner that the trans was freshly rebuilt.

Idk who to trust, but I'd definitely trust a dealership more than AAMCO.
 
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#3
Check the cost of repair the transmission probably above 2,000. What it is the value of your car in this conditions (forget about the miles, your car does not work) $ 2,500 $ 3,000. Do the math, probably is better is you sell it as parts
 
#4
Thanks guys for the response. Actually I want t keep the car. The car looks almost new from a cosmetic standpoint. It has always been garaged and is a third car for my wife and I so that is why the miles are low. It has been almost trouble free up to today. To replace it with a 2014 model with the same options would be around $30K so I am willing to put some money into this car. It is also my gig car.
 
#6
You're stuck in limp in mode. The check engine light is on for a reason and the computer sticks you in second gear as a precaution. It could be something major or something simple. You need to have the codes scanned, and that doesn't mean by the Vato Zone counter jockeys. Take it to a CDJ dealer or a trans shop.
 
#8
nukes_da_bass said:
It's stuck in failsafe. A good hack is disconnect the battery for about 10 minutes. 9 times out of 10 this will zero out whatever code is keeping the tranny in failsafe.
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So the tranny has a failsafe built into the design (which in this case is to default to second gear) to make it at least driveable? Wow, I did not know that.
 
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#9
The fact that this problem coincides with the appearance of the Check Engine light says yes, probably. Whatever the issue is, the electronics know about it, which makes it fairly likely that it's an electronic problem. A quick scan at Auto Zone should tell what it is.
 
#10
nukes_da_bass said:
A good hack is disconnect the battery for about 10 minutes. 9 times out of 10 this will zero out whatever code is keeping the tranny in failsafe.
Click to expand...
If I disconnect the battery for 10 minutes to knock it out of failsafe, do I risk damaging the tranny more or do you think it will just go back to failsafe after driving a few miles. I don't want to screw it up anymore giving me a larger repair bill. I kind of need to drive the car for a 10 mile chore this weekend so that is why I ask..
 
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#11
At times like this one hankers for a mechanic they can trust. I know a shop here in Scottsdale that I fairly well trust, they are so honest that they will probably go out of business soon. Seriously they checked the engine light on my Altima and fixed the problem (needed vacuum hose for something) for like $35
 
#16
David Jayne said:
A quick scan at Auto Zone should tell what it is.
Click to expand...

Not likely. The cheap Vato Zone scanner will come up with a generic code like "P0700, transmission fault", to which they will try and sell you a bottle of Lucas trans-medic that wont do squat but empty your wallet. You need to get into the transmission module itself to scan for codes and the $39 code reader they use wont accomplish that. Dealer or trans shop ftw.
 
#17
I disconnect battery for 10 minutes as Nuke Da Bass suggested which did indeed reset the failsafe on the tranny. I then took it for a 10 mile drive and the tranny shifted normally and smoothly. The Service Engine light is still on so I will take it to the Jeep dealer the first of next week and have them read the codes as you all suggested. Thanks everyone for your help. TBOT is the best!
 
#19
Stewie26 said:
...The Service Engine light is still on so I will take it to the Jeep dealer the first of next week and have them read the codes as you all suggested.
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Often the light will turn itself off 'eventually.' It usually takes something like 5 start/stop cycles for the ECU to decide that whatever tripped the fault code is gone.

My Titan threw a transmission code one day (no 'safe mode' tho...) and I think it was just an intermittent connection with one of the sensors caused by rough roads. I unclipped and reclipped all the connectors and it's been good since.

Give it a few start/stop cycles and see if it doesn't correct itself before having the code read and cleared which, BTW, most any FLAPS will do for free*... There's even a mode in my GPS that will read and clear fault codes.

As Mike N observes, the generic OBD-II Powertrain (P----) code may not be meaningful for transmission faults. But it might be, so try the free resource first. If you -do- get a non-generic code, I bet there's a vendor-specific list of codes and what they mean on some Jeep board. If you do get the generic code then yeah - specialist. But do a quick visual for any electrical connectors attached to the transmission and/or transfer case and wiggle any suspicious ones. If I'm going to that much trouble, I'll usually squirt a bit of ACF-50 into the connector while I have it apart, but I wouldn't buy a can just for that. Since you already have a GA aircraft, maybe you already have some... When I lived in SoCal, I bought mine at SanVal next to VNY.
 
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