Rough downshift - 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan

We have owned this 2003 Grand Caravan (3.3L, 4-speed OD transmission) since
new. It has 105K miles. Over its lifetime, I have changed the transmission
fluid and filter twice (once at 30K miles and once recently at 105K miles).
It has never had any problems with the engine or transmission.

A couple of weeks ago (before the recent filter and fluid change) we backed
out of the garage. Upon putting the car into Drive, the transmission did
not engage. It went into neutral. After a couple of shifts back into
Reverse and then Drive, it shifted. It has not failed to engage since that
time, which would be dozens of occasions.

But since that event, the downshift from OD to 3rd has been very rough.
It's not quite a "clunk" but a definite "crisp" downshift. The
corresponding upshift is very smooth, as are all the other downshifts. Does
anyone has an idea what might be going on? Thankfully it doesn't seem to be
worsening, but on the other hand it's not getting any better.

Thanks for any insights!
Craig

Craig wrote:

> We have owned this 2003 Grand Caravan (3.3L, 4-speed OD transmission)
> since new. It has 105K miles. Over its lifetime, I have changed the
> transmission fluid and filter twice (once at 30K miles and once
> recently at 105K miles). It has never had any problems with the
> engine or transmission.
>
> A couple of weeks ago (before the recent filter and fluid change) we
> backed out of the garage. Upon putting the car into Drive, the
> transmission did not engage. It went into neutral. After a couple
> of shifts back into Reverse and then Drive, it shifted. It has not
> failed to engage since that time, which would be dozens of occasions.
>
> But since that event, the downshift from OD to 3rd has been very
> rough. It's not quite a "clunk" but a definite "crisp" downshift.
> The corresponding upshift is very smooth, as are all the other
> downshifts. Does anyone has an idea what might be going on?
> Thankfully it doesn't seem to be worsening, but on the other hand
> it's not getting any better.
>
> Thanks for any insights!
> Craig

With 105K miles, your transmission will need to be rebuilt soon.

--

Thanks for the reply. Here's an update:

I did the old "disconnect the battery and hope everything resets" trick.
The downshift stayed rough (clunk) for about another week. But now it has
returned to its smooth downshift. Also it has not failed to engage in Drive
as I described in the OP.

So I am hopeful that we will be able to avoid the rebuild.

Craig

"Michael Golden" > wrote in message
...
> Craig wrote:
>
>> We have owned this 2003 Grand Caravan (3.3L, 4-speed OD transmission)
>> since new. It has 105K miles. Over its lifetime, I have changed the
>> transmission fluid and filter twice (once at 30K miles and once
>> recently at 105K miles). It has never had any problems with the
>> engine or transmission.
>>
>> A couple of weeks ago (before the recent filter and fluid change) we
>> backed out of the garage. Upon putting the car into Drive, the
>> transmission did not engage. It went into neutral. After a couple
>> of shifts back into Reverse and then Drive, it shifted. It has not
>> failed to engage since that time, which would be dozens of occasions.
>>
>> But since that event, the downshift from OD to 3rd has been very
>> rough. It's not quite a "clunk" but a definite "crisp" downshift.
>> The corresponding upshift is very smooth, as are all the other
>> downshifts. Does anyone has an idea what might be going on?
>> Thankfully it doesn't seem to be worsening, but on the other hand
>> it's not getting any better.
>>
>> Thanks for any insights!
>> Craig
>
> With 105K miles, your transmission will need to be rebuilt soon.
>
> --
>