When I'm driving especially going uphill it acts like the transmission is slipping

Tiny
SLEDFORD63
  • MEMBER
  • 2003 DODGE CARAVAN
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 129,000 MILES
I've taken my 2003 Dodge Caravan and had it put on the machine at 2 transmission shops and both say it's fine. Yet when I'm driving especially going uphill it acts like the transmission is slipping. If I let off the gas momentarily it' will cease and I can drive on. I am scared that it may leave me stranded if I can't find out what's wrong with it.
Thursday, April 9th, 2009 AT 4:38 PM

7 Replies

Tiny
JAMES W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 2,394 POSTS
Is there a radical increase in engine rpms, or is it just dropping out of overdrive or into a lower gear? Please advise.
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Friday, May 21st, 2021 AT 3:02 PM
Tiny
SLEDFORD63
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  • 4 POSTS
It's like it jumps out of gear or slips - the rpm's go up and the van has no pull unless I let off then gas it again - and it usually does it like a surgeing 4 or 5 times really fast before I even let off.
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Friday, May 21st, 2021 AT 3:02 PM
Tiny
JAMES W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 2,394 POSTS
OK, let's back up here a little bit. The shops that said there was nothing wrong, do you know what tests, if any, they made, ie. Pressure, computer, etc? Or, did they just drive it around the block?
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Friday, May 21st, 2021 AT 3:02 PM
Tiny
SLEDFORD63
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They put it on a machine at both and I convinced one to drive it but of course it didn't do it then. - As in it doesn't do it every time it pulls a incline.
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Friday, May 21st, 2021 AT 3:02 PM
Tiny
JAMES W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 2,394 POSTS
Yah, it's the same old scenario, the mechanic could drive it for a week and nothing. You pick it up, and on the way home, it acts up.
At approximately what speed does this happen? Driving around town 35 to 45 mph, or down the road, 50 to 65? I'm trying to determine which part of the trans would cause this.
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Friday, May 21st, 2021 AT 3:02 PM
Tiny
SLEDFORD63
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It happens either at takeoff or when going up an incline & again it's not every time.
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Friday, May 21st, 2021 AT 3:03 PM
Tiny
JAMES W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 2,394 POSTS
Did either of the shops you took the van into do a pressure test? OR, did they just hook it up to a computer diagnostic unit? It sounds to me like it's a problem with the pressure regulator.
Have you ever had the trans serviced (fluid and filter change)? You can tell a lot about what's going on inside a transmission by what's in the pan. If you decide to have a service done, ask them to show you what's in the bottom of the trans pan. You'd be looking for black sediment or specs, silver or brass colored shavings or anything else that's not supposed to be there.
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Friday, May 21st, 2021 AT 3:03 PM

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