overdrive solenoid and ODB codes
Just had to take our daughter’s ’02 in for transmission repair. She was driving at expressway speed and had the transmission drop out of overdrive, revs went to 3000 and it locked in “Limp Home Mode”. Check engine light came on. She got off the x-way and called me, and followed my instruction to turn it all the way off, wait a minute and turn it back on. Worked – overdrive returned, LHM went away and she finished her errand and came back home.
I downloaded the OBD codes and cleared them.
P0700 is a generic “check engine light” code that will come on with any other warning.
P1776 is a specific Chrysler code for an overdrive solenoid locked in “low reverse position” which means overdrive shut off and locked in the “deceleration” position.
There was also a “phantom code” for Chrysler products only I had to look up on the Internet: P0871, which is a code for low transmission oil pressure at the valve body, and that makes sense if the solenoid is stuck.
She told me later, her gas mileage had dropped to about 14 mpg the last couple weeks. I suspect it is connected to not having a functional overdrive. The warnings came back in a day but she was driving at city speeds and the overdrive wasn’t important.
This is maybe a repair I could have done myself but the solenoids for these are found only in transmission shops or fast-disappearing Chrysler garages. Also, at 87K miles I figured it’s likely due for transmission service anyway. (Car is new to our family and we have no service history.) I also had a niggling of fear that I’d drop the tranny pan and a bucket full of broken parts and pieces would rain out and THAT I wouldn’t be able to handle, and the car would have to be towed somewhere.
The shop I went to is a local family owned tranny shop with a great history and is NOT a national chain. I would not take an enemy’s car to a chain transmission shop as ALL of them are crooks at felony level and their work is never satisfactory and always over-priced. Chrysler shops, IF you can find one now post-obama, will cost even more and I can’t recall a single transaction with a Chrysler garage where I found they ever employed even a single competent mechanic. (I’ll accept no argument nor will I apologize for these evaluations!)
Got it back next day and it is perfect with all the rest of the service done and the linkage adjusted. Repair cost an honest US $275 and should. Not the “$400-to-start” at the chain shops. Car was a spare car of and gift from my mother-in-law to our daughter so I couldn’t argue. She got even with me for something!
When i got my 2000 from auction at 97k miles it was fine but then at 104k miles developed and tapping noise and come to find out it was the timing chains so had the whole assembly replaced along with water pump cause its right there, also the head gaskets too. But cost me like about $1000 for parts and labor, I also took it to a local shop not a chain. Cause chain places they have no idea what there doing so they make you take car back couple times and charge you every time instead of doing it right first time. But despite what people say about intrepid's, I love mine ya needs some fixing here and there but thats experience of owning a car, wish had little more power seeing as I have the 2.7 Liter engine. I run Pennzoil full synthetic in my car and its nice and quite also runs much better then when it was on conventional oil. Well good luck with yours and happy driving.
ouch. 2.7 liter.Its probably one of the worst developed and engineered engine in modern automotive history.... and dodge is still ignorant enough to use its blueprint. Glad it hasnt died on you yet, but I would really advise you to sell it before the engine literally self destructs on itself. But seeing that you use synthetic, I believe that you have set back the dooms day clock by a minute or so on your intrepid.
Na im poor i can't afford another car, besides I'll drive this one till it dies can always put different engine in cause the body of car has close to zero rust on it. Besides all those people who have had failure with the engine is cause they beat on the car and don't fix things when they first start to not work right thats why they pay out the wazoo. I like when people say well i did the scheduled maintenance but most of time they take it to shop and have no idea what gets put into the engine so for all they know it could be re used oil, cause most lube places use oil that comes in big oil drum.
The best bet is to read live obd data of the car - to hear the pulse of the car and make a decision. https://cardr.com/blog/eli5-how-do-obd-scanners-work/ I understand that there is a strong correlation between the OBD parameters and the performance https://cardr.com/ has a great piece on obd scanning to determine great diagnostic plan.
