Since i was finally able to get a VIN off an '18 Durango I got in contact with the guys at AllMoparParts (love them dudes) and asked them to source parts for a T-Shifter conversion. The list follows but with this caveat, I have not done this mod myself yet, I am not 100% certain that these are all the parts you'll need nor am I 100% certain that the mod will work. You will certainly need some mechanical skill and any risk you take is your own. If you do the mod help the community and post a how-to with details.
Rotary Dail to T-Shifter conversion parts list
snake_eyes
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UPDATE:
I took a deeper look at the parts list and I asked about the most expensive piece the bezel for $374 is not needed. That is the entire top of the console including the USB outlet, etc. So that drops the price to about 300. The only unknown is fitting the shifter into the console. A new center piece (where the cupholders are) may be needed and I don't have a part number for that yet.
I took a deeper look at the parts list and I asked about the most expensive piece the bezel for $374 is not needed. That is the entire top of the console including the USB outlet, etc. So that drops the price to about 300. The only unknown is fitting the shifter into the console. A new center piece (where the cupholders are) may be needed and I don't have a part number for that yet.
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The biggest issue I have with it is it removes a place to rest your right hand. Having a T shifter or any shifter in a Automatic vehicle is a great place to rest your hand while cruising.
The other benefit is a available option to shift manually. The Paddle shifter are great but there are times like in turns where I'd prefer a Console shifter instead.
The other benefit is a available option to shift manually. The Paddle shifter are great but there are times like in turns where I'd prefer a Console shifter instead.
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Thanks for looking that up. Wow, 300 is definitely reasonable and I would go for it if we have any idea if it would work. I have a feeling it will. I feel that a lot of the components of the 2018 are just minor departures from the previous years looking like they still share the same internals, mounts, etc.
I looked up photos of 2018 vs the previous MYs and I think I see what you're talking about. The actual piece where the shifters protrude are different shapes so that's probably the center piece you're referring to.
I completely support this. More power to you and I hope you find that missing part. Please keep us updated! [emoji106][emoji106]
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You guys undertaking this are bold, I'm terrified of taking interior pieces apart and putting them back together because of the squeaks and rattles it'll most likely introduce. I changed out the interior on my Charger RT with updated pieces from newer model years and it was never the same after that.
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I swear the very second someone reports that this works I'm buying the parts. I agree that manufacturers (of anything complicated like airplanes, cars, etc.) avoid changing more than is absolutely necessary. They wanted a new look or to ditch the knob and already had the shifter logistics and manufacturing supply chain in place from the Charger and others, I bet you everything under the trim (mounts - since it previously had a T-shifter - and connectors) are all the same. The knob probably sets the same CANBUS codes at the shifter.
I'm gonna start looking into how to disassemble it. I bet it all starts in the bin under the armrest...
I'm gonna start looking into how to disassemble it. I bet it all starts in the bin under the armrest...
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For me it's not that I dislike the knob, it's that I need someplace to rest my hand. That's literally it. My wife's Kia Optima has a conventional shifter and every time I drive it I miss having having that. Seven hundred was more than that little bit of comfort was worth to me but three hundred and some change? Sign me up!
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We're definitely going to need to replace the bezel, which I think is the $350 part listed in the original parts list on the first post. This is something I've been interested in doing since I got my '16 R/T. I don't think the shifter T-Handle itself is any different between 16, 17 18. It's the bezel that I've been waiting for, to make this happen. I wish some of these parts websites had photos of these particular parts, so I knew for sure what I was getting. I'd be a lot more likely to pull the trigger on the conversion.
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I found this listing, eBay and that is an older version of the $374 bezel. By the pictures I've been seeing I may be wrong and the center section does not come as a separate piece, it may be plastic welded into the larger bezel. Either way, there are HUGE opportunities to make this mod happen. There are going to be a few SRT Durango's in the junk yard by the end of the year too, lots of chances to pick up like new interior parts.
I'm curious to know the ages of the people that love and hate the dial...I wonder if there is a pattern somewhere.
I'm curious to know the ages of the people that love and hate the dial...I wonder if there is a pattern somewhere.
Put a water bottle in the cup holder and spend the $700 on some other toys.
I'm 57 and I'm fine with the knob, don't miss the handle at all.
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40 and like the dial.
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I think first is that it comes with the refresh for 2018. Maybe it's one of the easier things to change from the previous years without changing too much. But I'm sure they've gotten feedback regarding the dial. They wouldn't have changed it if majority of the people liked it. Also they probably want a more badass way for Vin Diesel to shift to manual mode for the new Dodge commercials lol.
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I'm guessing they made the change from user feedback just like StormTrooper suggested. I don't believe they would have changed it just "because" when the dial has only been around for a few years to begin with.
There's a myriad of reasons why I don't like it but top of mind is because I want to shift my vehicle, not tune it to a different station and I've found it to be un-safe when needing to make quick shifts. My wife has my Durango now and she hates it too. I often watch her pull into her parking space, set the e-brake and try and turn the ignition off while still in drive, something that I had done as well. The dial is just another dial amongst dials and it gets lost. You also have to look at it (or the EVIC) to figure out what's going on, there is no tactile sensation of being in park or drive. Just because it won't turn left or right don't mean chit, you still have to look to see what gear you're in.
For the record, I'm 51 and grew up with real cars that had real shifters. One of the main reasons I bought the Durango is because it still has a push rod v-8, not like all that pansy stuff Ford tries to sell. And yeah, I know the t-shifter really doesn't do anything mechanical, it's the thought of it and the feel. I bought the Durango knowing that we'd switch the dial out because parts were coming.
There's a myriad of reasons why I don't like it but top of mind is because I want to shift my vehicle, not tune it to a different station and I've found it to be un-safe when needing to make quick shifts. My wife has my Durango now and she hates it too. I often watch her pull into her parking space, set the e-brake and try and turn the ignition off while still in drive, something that I had done as well. The dial is just another dial amongst dials and it gets lost. You also have to look at it (or the EVIC) to figure out what's going on, there is no tactile sensation of being in park or drive. Just because it won't turn left or right don't mean chit, you still have to look to see what gear you're in.
For the record, I'm 51 and grew up with real cars that had real shifters. One of the main reasons I bought the Durango is because it still has a push rod v-8, not like all that pansy stuff Ford tries to sell. And yeah, I know the t-shifter really doesn't do anything mechanical, it's the thought of it and the feel. I bought the Durango knowing that we'd switch the dial out because parts were coming.
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Like the dial, don't miss a old style shifter at all. If I want to play 'let's change gears", I have the paddles.
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I hate nothing more then backing up, going forward then backing up with the Shift Knob. It really sucks and I have hit park once when trying to go into reverse, that sucked to.
The Shift Knob was a bad idea and Dodge knows it or they wouldn't have returned the T Shifter to the Durango. If it was so good then it would still be there for 2018 but it's not.
Doing this conversation I would love the dealership to offer the install, programing etc so it works just like it came factory.
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This is about the best description I've read. Not true for perhaps most people but it's definitely true for others...
I have never used the emergency brake ever (I know that's was a bad habit) but started with the Durango because I more than once thought I'd shifted it into Park when in fact it was in Reverse and started to get out before I realized it (like stopping at the head of the driveway to get the mail or other situations where you need to get out briefly without shutting the engine off). I totally get that this is me not being properly attentive but it's also a function of the design.
In Aerospace it's true enough that it has a name, Human Factors. At big companies like Boeing or Airbus there are whole departments full of engineers and scientists that study the interaction of humans and machines and I think that the knob is something FCA didn't think all the way through and is why they are changing it. There's something about pushing the shifter forward to the stop that at some primal level says "safe". I learned to drive with a car that had a shifter on the column. Same thing sort of: Pull it forward and all the way up to the stop for Park.
I could have this truck for 15 years with the knob and I wouldn't complain about it cause I knew what I buying and I'm more careful having failed a few times. Now, if for $400 or so I could go back to something that, for me, is more natural, I'll do it. Especially if it gives me someplace to rest my hand.
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