Engine revs up

GARFRED

MEMBER
1996 DODGE CARAVAN
3.3L
6 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
205,000 MILES

Wife was driving! I was not with her. She said that when she pulled on to the freeway the van went sluggish then the rpms revved up to the 4. She drove from there to my brothers house, about three miles away at about 30 miles an hour. Checked hoses and wires. Could not find problem so far. Engine starts ok and idles ok.

Wednesday, January 20th, 2016 AT 5:18 PM

4 Replies

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
34,330 POSTS

Sounds like it went into "limp mode". That's when the Transmission Computer detected a problem, set a diagnostic fault code, and defaulted to second gear. That is to allow you to drive slowly to a repair shop without needing a tow truck. To get it out of limp mode, stop and restart the engine.

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Wednesday, January 20th, 2016 AT 5:32 PM

THIS IS MIKE

MECHANIC
686 POSTS

GARFRED
January 20, 2016 5:32:02 PM
Thank you for the info. Tried restarting and it did not work. Its at my brothers house. We may work on it again tomorrow. Thanks Gary

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Thursday, January 21st, 2016 AT 8:32 AM

GARFRED

MEMBER
8 POSTS

Thanks for all your help everyone. Found the problem to be a broken third gear clutch hub. My brother and I repaired it with a new 38 dollar hub from a transmission shop. He has done a few of them. Also we bought a gasket set for 68 dollars. Well worth it. Now it should last another 240,000 miles. It has a new engine too. Done by a friend of ours for nothing. Now to the ABS light:-)

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Sunday, January 31st, 2016 AT 10:06 PM

CARADIODOC