DodgeaWrench Posted September 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2021 SUMMER update As Summer progressed, so did the problem. Over time it went from barely noticeable to being there on almost every stop. Not severe, but there. As I would come to a stop at a stoplight, the car would shutter or jerk as the car was downshifting. This felt like the equivalent of driving a vehicle with a manual transmission and the motor lurching when leaving it in a higher gear too long and the clutch engaged too long when coming to a stop. With the weather finally cooling off a bit, yesterday I put on by big boy pants and replaced the torque converter clutch solenoid (TCC). I was quite nervous going in. Everything went well. Its not toooooo much more difficult then when doing a trans fluid change when dropping the pan, and everything is easily accessible toggling between above and below. As always the advice on this forum and youtube videos were invaluable. I let the gasket sealant dry overnight. Today I refilled the trans fluid (more on that later) and went for a test drive. On all accounts this appears to be SUCCESS! Ive put on a few miles today and the car downshifts smoothly when coming to a stop and not once did anything resemble a stutter or jerking motion. I will provide another update in the upcoming days or week as I monitor the shifting and watch for leaks (with fingers crossed). 2late4u, larryl and Summer Solstice 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgeaWrench Posted September 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2021 And after a week of driving... Replacing the TCC solenoid solved the problem!!! Downshifting when stopping is smoooooth every time. No more jerking, no more rumble strips, no more surging, no more. The solenoid was $21.00, some permatex gasket goo, and couple of quarts of trans fluid is all it took. The trans fluid and filter change along the way was needed, and overdue. I made sure to disconnect the battery before I started the solenoid replacement as that trans electrical connector spooked me. I feared damaging electronics in the disconnect/reconnect process and having a whole slew of codes to deal with if I didn't. Some of the videos don't mention disconnecting the battery. I didn't want to take even the slightest chance of shorts, spikes, surges, when dealing with connections providing input and outputs from the computer that controls the transmission. I had no issues. And... no leaks! It took over a year to get to get to this point, but call this resolved and THANK YOU for the input. This forum got me through this and saved me $$$. Replace the throttle body... what was I thinking. LOL (It was my original thought on what needed to be replaced.) Summer Solstice, 2late4u and John/Horace 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John/Horace Posted September 12, 2021 Report Share Posted September 12, 2021 The green rubber grommet on gang elec connector was reused.? Fluid level is well below that during operation it looks like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgeaWrench Posted September 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2021 I did reuse the green grommet. LOL DOH I didnt even think about that until you just mentioned it. If I had thought about it, I would have ordered/replaced it. As far as fluid level, I would agree with it being below it. There are no bolts there to secure a strong seal with the cover. My uneducated guess is that in this area fluid is just 'splash'in" around here and the trans solenoid pack is not submerged. Its closer to 1 quart that drained out when opening this cover, but I had bought 2. OFF TOPIC: I just noticed "He who is without oil shall throw the first rod.” -Compressions 8.7:1" "Compressions" LMFAO 2late4u 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John/Horace Posted September 13, 2021 Report Share Posted September 13, 2021 Nice to see your detailed pics and a solution to the transmission problem. More intimidating to work on then the rest of the car sometimes. I lifted the signature quote from some southern US guy on another forum. A little blasphemes, but it made me smile too. Sometimes you need a laugh. OhareFred 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maryann Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 (edited) Hello, I have a 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan AVP with 88,000 miles doing the EXACT same thing. When the vehicle engine is cold, it runs pretty good. When the engine warms up, it is doing exactly what you described. It will surge when coming to a stop and randomly will stall. A mechanic drove it hard, and afterwards it stalled every time he started the car and tried to put it into drive. It was fine in reverse though. There was no code and no check engine light. I took it from one shop that could not figure it out, to another shop. The new shop is saying it is showing a misfire on 5... which was never even a problem with the first shop. It was doing the rumble strip thing when the vehicle would get to about 40mph also. I am going to have the shop it's currently at replace the TCC Solenoid... and then we can go from there. I REALLY hope that's what it is and not the torque converter. Edited February 7 by Maryann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John/Horace Posted February 8 Report Share Posted February 8 If it’s only running on five cylinders it will run pretty rough. Plugs should be done at 100k miles, if it’s the V6. It could also be a bad coil. Once coil heats up they can stop giving proper spark. The tcc solenoid doesn’t cause stalling I believe, mainly tranny shifting issues. If original plugs still, I would probably start with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJboy Posted March 4 Report Share Posted March 4 On 2/7/2024 at 2:25 PM, Maryann said: Hello, I have a 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan AVP with 88,000 miles doing the EXACT same thing. When the vehicle engine is cold, it runs pretty good. When the engine warms up, it is doing exactly what you described. It will surge when coming to a stop and randomly will stall. A mechanic drove it hard, and afterwards it stalled every time he started the car and tried to put it into drive. It was fine in reverse though. There was no code and no check engine light. I took it from one shop that could not figure it out, to another shop. The new shop is saying it is showing a misfire on 5... which was never even a problem with the first shop. It was doing the rumble strip thing when the vehicle would get to about 40mph also. I am going to have the shop it's currently at replace the TCC Solenoid... and then we can go from there. I REALLY hope that's what it is and not the torque converter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJboy Posted April 11 Report Share Posted April 11 (edited) Is there any update on your engine stalling problem? Did you replace the TCC solenoid? Thanks in advance for your reply @Maryann Edited April 11 by DJboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryl Posted April 11 Report Share Posted April 11 She will never be back...just the way it is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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