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Transmission Blown!

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srt8-in-largo

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
My Durango has been in the shop since 12/22. Dealership tells me I need a whole new transmission, which is currently in transit with an ETA sometime after the new year.

I posted many times boasting of the durability of this setup and so it pains me to report this... but figured it's better to let the community know.

The issue occurred on my commute home on 12/21. In defense of the tranny, I was getting quite aggressive with it, accelerating hard and jumping through the manual shifting for engine braking.

Apparently I got into some mode that it didn't like, and bam; the engine light came on and no more transmission.

The damage caused the upper gears to be unavailable; the Durango simply would not shift up past 3rd and at times it seemed to struggle to engage 1st and 2nd; there was a time or two where it started from a stop in 3rd.

Reverse gear was also unavailable.

I was able to limp home in 3rd and drove it to the dealership the next day, also in mostly 3rd.

The dealership put me in a rental from Enterprise with no hesitation; I didn't even ask for it.

2018 Hemi Citadel AWD. I just clicked past 21,000 miles.
 
#4 ·
Joose said:
Unfortunate situation but you basically just confessed to abusing the transmission/car which could void your warranty.


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Which none of us would attest to obviously!

Here is the debate in my mind. Do you allow manual controls to a fault and allow a mistake to ruin an engine, or do you have the on board pc "protect" the engine and transmission from harm? My thought is that if the stock programming allowed it, the handling of the car was "in spec" by manufacturer stock settings, and you are covered. I am by far no expert however and do agree that you probably didn't help your situation.
 
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#5 ·
GoChiSox81 said:
Which none of us would attest to obviously!

Here is the debate in my mind. Do you allow manual controls to a fault and allow a mistake to ruin an engine, or do you have the on board pc "protect" the engine and transmission from harm? My thought is that if the stock programming allowed it, the handling of the car was "in spec" by manufacturer stock settings, and you are covered. I am by far no expert however and do agree that you probably didn't help your situation.
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The programming won’t let you hurt it instantly. Like you can’t be doing 20mph in 8th gear and lug the hell out of it. But it will let you sit at redline for an uncomfortable amount of time (I’ve never tested to see if it will shift on its own).

FCA seems to keep their programming more on the sporty/fun side, keeping with their ideas that Dodge is the “fun” brand, instead of the nerfed dull programming of say a Toyota.


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#6 ·
The mere fact a ZF type transmission failed on an 18 so early in its life is surprising to me. Usually they are incredibly long lived.

What's the warranty on the replacement? Are you going to change your driving style?
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Joose said:
Unfortunate situation but you basically just confessed to abusing the transmission/car which could void your warranty.

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I'd like to see them try to deny warranty :)


henfield said:
The mere fact a ZF type transmission failed on an 18 so early in its life is surprising to me. Usually they are incredibly long lived.

What's the warranty on the replacement? Are you going to change your driving style?
Click to expand...
Good question, I'll be sure to ask when I get it back. Standard powertrain warranty is 5 years/60,000 miles... hopefully they'll extend it.

Will definitely change my driving style. I've been 100% happy up to this point.
 
#8 ·
srt8-in-largo said:
I'd like to see them try to deny warranty :)




Good question, I'll be sure to ask when I get it back. Standard powertrain warranty is 5 years/60,000 miles... hopefully they'll extend it.

Will definitely change my driving style. I've been 100% happy up to this point.
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I hope they don’t! I’m just don’t put anything past stealerships!


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Discussion starter · #9 ·
About the programming, I fully expected that a fail-safe existed that would prevent damage, regardless of how aggressive the driving is.

Apparently that is not the case and it's why I'm posting, to tell others you can indeed get into a damage causing mode.

My Durango is 100% stock. I wasn't redlining or racing. I wasn't even high-revving it for long periods of time.




Joose said:
I hope they don’t! I’m just don’t put anything past stealerships!

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No worries at all... but your point is taken and I generally agree with it. Thankfully it's not a dealership decision, FCA corporate would call the shot on this.
 
#10 ·
Sounds more like a failure of a part within the transmission and pure coincidence it happened during your paddle shifting.
I don't buy that you could cause a failure shifting via paddle, even aggressively.

Shoot, I've had mine on the rev in 1st not knowing it was in manual mode with my foot to the floor. I don't think you could drive yours any more aggressively than I've driven mine including while towing a trailer.

Wonder if the HP70's are still made in Germany or now by FCA under license?
 
#11 ·
Your driving maybe caused it to break sooner, but it would have gone anyway I have no doubt. The car is programmed to protect its self from the very things they know will break it. 1. They don't want warranty claims. 2. Its bad PR. BTW no matter what you tell your dealer the computer is going to tattle on you. I don't know how long the memory lasts, data logging, but don't be surprised if the dealer tells you the exact parameters at the time of failure.

Many Subaru STI owners were denied blown engine claims because the computer tattled that they were racing on a track. Specifically not covered by Subaru's warranty. You weren't don't worry.
 
Discussion starter · #12 · (Edited)
The service manager said something about a solenoid, which, in turn, is something the technician may have said to him.

Whatever it was, the SM said it fell into the category where they want to change the whole tranny rather than try to repair it.

I think this is such a rare occurrence that I could envision FCA wanting the tranny for a post-mortem.


I can't say anything with certainty about the failure, only what I was doing. So you're right, it may have been a coincidence.

I was doing more than accelerating with the paddles though. I was getting through the gears lickety split: bam bam bam bam. Some gears up, some gears down.

Some accelerating, some engine braking. I mean I was REALLY putting it through its' paces.

And towards the end, I was long-pressing the right paddle to go back into auto mode... and then the tranny went out.

I won't be doing all that again LOL, just to be safe.
 
Discussion starter · #13 ·
rodtice said:
Your driving maybe caused it to break sooner, but it would have gone anyway I have no doubt. The car is programmed to protect its self from the very things they know will break it. 1. They don't want warranty claims. 2. Its bad PR. BTW no matter what you tell your dealer the computer is going to tattle on you. I don't know how long the memory lasts, data logging, but don't be surprised if the dealer tells you the exact parameters at the time of failure.

Many Subaru STI owners were denied blown engine claims because the computer tattled that they were racing on a track. Specifically not covered by Subaru's warranty. You weren't don't worry.
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Thanks Rod. I'm aware of the "black box"; I've got nothing to hide.
 
#14 ·
I knew you had nothing to hide, your weren't even beginning to push the transmission limits. ZF pushed that thing to destruction many times in undoubtedly over 2 million miles in the worst immaginable conditions. I've done exactly what you have, bumped the limiter accidently a few times also. Glad you're getting it fixed. In your case it'll be better than new.
 
#15 ·
By chance did you notice what the trans temps were?
Regardless, the trans did what its suppose to do when a problem is detected and that is go into limp mode, which locks you into either 2nd or 3rd gear so you can get home.
 
#17 ·
Regarding what the warranty will be on the replacement transmission. It will be covered for the balance of the 5/60 powertrain. Agressive use of the paddle shifters is hard on the transmission, especially in the downshift mode.
 
#19 ·
Hammerdrop said:
I think that the thought of down shifting the trans to save the brakes has, again, proven itself to a questionable premise. Brake work is cheaper and simpler than transmission work.
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Try not downshifting and using only brakes in the mountains. Putting the trans in 1 or 2 gears and letting it coast won’t hurt anything. Aggressively shifting between multiple gears could.

Like said above, there was likely a defect in in it from the factory, and aggressive driving caused it to fail sooner rather than later. It happened before on an earlier 3rd gen.
 
#20 ·
Does anyone know if the Citidel transmission is the same as the SRT or is the SRT beefed up? I too have inadvertently thought my transmission was in auto when in fact it was in first and I’ve mashed it on two occasions from a stand still and hit the rev limiter in first. It’s a bit embarrassing. I’ve also bumped the paddle and had it shift to manual and didn’t realize it passing a car at 90 mph in 4th gear. I use mine as a brake assist too downshifting while slowing rather than hitting the brakes. I never have figured out why it will automatically downshift in manual mode, but it will never automatically upshift if you redline and hit the rev limiter.
 
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srt8-in-largo
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