Transmission Troubles 1999 Intrepid

I have an 1999 Intrepid ES with a 3.2 engine and about 81,000 kilometers of
gentle city driving.

The car was running like a clock until this morning when I drove it out of
the garage. When I put it into drive, the transmission shifted very hard,
with an audible clunk. After I drove off, everything seemed fine until I
got to a stop light and noticed that when I accelerated away from it, the
shift was hard and a I felt a clunk. Then, the 'check engine' light came on
and the car seemed stuck in 2nd gear. I continued to drive it about a mile
to the Chrysler dealer and left it there.

Can anyone give me a clue as to what may have happened and how difficult it
is to repair (I trust what is said here and would like to have some kind of
clue before I walk into the dealer to pick the car up.....not that it will
make any difference).

Thanks in advance.

 

Most likely a very common and inexpensive to fix problem of a bad
transmission speed sensor - there are two. If your speedometer still
works when the problem is present, then it's the input sensor that is
bad. If speedometer is flaky or not working, then it's the output
sensor. Each sensor is around $25, and it's about a 20 minute job for
the DIY'er the first time. Must jack it up and crawl unde vehicle to
replace sensors from driver's side. I'm guessing dealer will charge
$100 to $150 to replace a sensor - partrs and labor.

If you do take it to a dealer, and you tell them to replace one of the
sensors, don't let them charge you a diagnostic fee. However, if you
ask them to diagnose it to be sure that's what it is , then they can
charge you for the doagnosis - but only if that's the case.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

Thanks Bill. As I mentioned in my post, I drove to a Chrysler dealer and
they charged me a $99 (CDN) fee as soon as I mentioned "transmission". I
don't believe I had a choice and even then, I had no idea what the problem
was. The speedometer was working and I was told I'd have to wait at least
three days for the car. So far, nothing unexpected. Many thanks for your
input.

Arthur