I drive a '98 Jeep Cherokee Sport with 192k miles on it. This summer we had to have the engine replaced with one that only had 40k miles, so we hoped to get a few more years out of the car at least. But now there seems to be another problem.
About two months ago I pulled away from a stop sign in our neighborhood and the car was very sluggish, until it got up to 20-30 mph. That never happened again until last week, again at a stoplight. This time the check engine light came on. Now it’s been happening about 20% of the time I pull away from a stop or need to go up a steep hill (like my driveway).
I’ve determined that what’s happening is that when the car is in Drive, it doesn’t always drop down to first/second gear when it should; it’s staying in a higher gear. If I manually put the gear shift in low gear, then shift up to 3 and then Drive as I gain speed, it works smoothly.
So here are my questions:
Is this a sign my transmission is dying? That seems obvious but I guess I’m hoping for something less traumatic, like maybe a computer problem. After all the gears seem to work, but it’s not chaning gears like it should.
Am I okay manually shifting in and out of low gear all the time on an automatic transmission, or will this do more damage over time? Will the low gear eventually stop working also?
Possibly, but not necessarily. Given the age and mileage of vehicle, however, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if the tranny is on its last legs. Even if this responds to a relatively minor/inexpensive repair, it would probably be wise to plan for an overhaul coming down the road. 2. Am I okay manually shifting in and out of low gear all the time on an automatic transmission, or will this do more damage over time?
I can’t see this doing any significant damage. If something else gives way, it likely would have failed regardless of shifting manually.
Thanks. As long as manually shifting is not going to appreciably shorten the life of the tranny, I’ll probably do that for a while as long as it continues to work.
If your ‘Check Engine’ light came on a trouble code was stored in the PCM, did you have it read? Until you have checked the trouble code you do not know if the problem relates to the transmission or something else.
OBD codes give an indication of where to look for the problem, not a specific ‘replace this’ type message. However, if you read the code it may indicate a problem completely unrelated to the transmition, or it could reinforce the idea that the problem is the transmission.
You should read the code(s) before proceeding. An auto parts store will usually do this for free or you can buy your own code reader for under $100. They work on all cars.
Your mileage certainly puts you in new transmission land. If the fluid and filter have been changed regularly, that would be good. A transmission that is just plain worn out will slip because the clutch material is gone. You don’t describe any slippage. You trouble involves gear selection. That might be addressed with a rebuilt valve body or transmission control module.
I would suggest a reliable transmission shop, but that would be an oxymoron. Therefore, I would suggest having the dealer diagnose the trouble and then decide who will fix it.
PS. It could also be as simple as a linkage adjustment or a leaky vacuum line.