1996 Concorde will not shift to Drive

[thedowdyfamily]

I am recieving no fault lights on the dash. The trans more often than not will stay in 3rd and will not upshift to drive. But for no apparent reason may work perfectly all day and then without notice not work the next time I drive it. I have changed the fluid and filter to no evail....any suggestions?

[KManiac]

Hi there:

You have a car with the Ultradrive electronic four-speed automatic and you are experiencing "limp mode". I suggest you read your owner's manual regarding "limp mode", why it occurs and how to reset it. No owner's manual, then just search the Chrysler forums for "limp mode" and you will get an education. It is a good idea to become familiar with how your car operates.

[thedowdyfamily]

Thanks for the info, my understanding of limp mode.....is that it causes the trans to be locked in 2nd so to speak. While driving mine you can see on the tach that it shifts 2 times everytime going from 1, 2, then 3rd. But will not shift the last time to D about 2/3 of the time. Any other suggestions?

[KManiac]

Thank you for the more detailed description. You are clearly not experiencing limp mode, since limp mode locks the transmission in second gear.

The Ultradrive allows you to select three forward ranges, D, 3 & L. Let us review how this transmission responds in each range (this is based on my personal experience with my 1998 Town & Country):

D - This range allows the transmission to shift through all four forward gears with normal shift points.

3 - This range limits the transmission to shifting through first, second and third gears only with normal shift points.

L - This range limits the transmission to shifting through first and second gears only with first to second upshift above 3,000 rpm.

What you have described sounds like normal operation for an Ultradrive with range 3 selected manually. I would suspect that you may have misadjustment in your transmission linkage. Even though your dashboard selector shows you in D, the transmission may be physically be in 3 a portion of the time. Check and adjust the linkage, then see what happens. Let us know what you find.