Complaint 2190919

Complaint Summary

POWER TRAIN

Owner Narrative

Transmission won't go into reverse at times, auto shifting back to park before check engine light comes on. Vehicle initially started with hard shifts at low speeds about 25 mph. Issue progressed to the point where vehicle has to be put into reverse. Otherwise vehicle would not shift at the same point about 25 mph and would be stuck in the low gear until vehicle is shut off and restarted then put into reverse before proceeding. The issue has continued to grow where shifting into reverse causes the vehicle to noticeably lurch back with a very heavy thunk before putting it into drive. Reverse takes time engaging. However the issue will persist and it will not go into reverse before Auto shifting to park and the check engine light comes on. Vehicle would drive for a little while before the transmission would stop shifting and go into limp mode where I wouldn't be able to drive over 30 miles per hour without very high RPMs. During some of those times the vehicle would take a long time before the transmission would engage and shift which would cause the vehicle to jerk abruptly forward. And at times back tires have lost traction. Recently the vehicles transmission has disengaged entirely while driving. At times it'll be 40 mph where it will disengage or in one case about 15 mph as I was making a turn and in the intersection it disengaged. First time the vehicle went to a dealership. They were unable to replicate the problem and that was approximately 30,000 mi on the odometer. The second time it went in with the issue it was diagnosed as being a service bulletin which was then updated and issue remained. The third time it was brought in there was a code that showed that the clutch gear ratio was incorrect. Mechanics have said the vehicle needs a new transmission and this has been a known issue with the 8-speed 8 HP75 by ZF transmissions. Transmission has also surged and lunged while braking at various points. While completely stopped, vehicle has lurched forward.

Owner-submitted narrative on file with NHTSA. Complaint narratives are self-reported and have not been verified.