Jeep Transmission failure

[LA-HODAG]

Has anyone experienced premature transmission failure on a Jeep of recent vintage used as a toad? I have a 2006 Grand Cherokee Overland with the 5.7 liter Hemi, 5 speed auto and Quadra-Drive II four wheel drive system. Only 48k miles driving, and around 15k more being towed (and yes, I know how to put the center differential into neutral for towing). The car has been properly maintained since new. Transmission won't engage any gears. The Jeep dealer is still diagnosing the cause of the failure, but says it likely needs a complete rebuild as the fluid is scorched. I'm dubious of a diagnosis based on lack of information, but have decided to be patient while they dig into the cause. The trans guy is out sick. In the meantime, I was just wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem. Thanks for any info.

[dreamchasers]

Brian,

I have a 2003 Jeep Liberty with a combined 100,000 miles, driving and towed. When I tow, my automatic transmission is in park, and the transfer case is placed in neutral and I turn the key to first click to free the steering wheel. I have not experienced any transmission issues, but have noticed a "rubber smell" when I stop towing and disconnect. But I think the smell is diagnosed by some as common when towing.

Sorry to hear of the transmission problem.

Hector

[Pete]

My 2005 Grand Cherokee is nearing 80,000 miles. I have been towing it since it was new, and as of now have had no problems. It is the Quadra trac II.
Please keep us up to date on your findings.

[rahangman]

No problems with my 99 GC Laredo, only rubber smell I have had was after not getting key turned quite right and burning off a set of front tires between Indianapolis and Toledo...whew, confession is good for the soul (and GoodYear). The key lock is coming out!

[Jon Wehrenberg]

If the transfer case is in neutral and the transmission is in park the transmission is not turning while being towed.

The rubber smell is rubber bits picked up off the road and laying on the exhaust system. We all experience that. When the toad is started the hot exhaust burns that rubber dust off, hence the smell.

We towed our 94 Grand Cherokee for over 200,000 miles. No problems. But it had a manual transmission which should not make a bit of difference.

[phorner]

We also towed a 2002 Jeep Liberty at least 50,000 miles in addition to 85,000 driving miles over a period of 8 years. Ours was equipped with the Select trac automatic transmission and we never had a problem.

I did, however, make sure that the transmission, transfer case and differential fluids were changed on regular intervals keeping in mind the towed miles combined with the driving miles.

Sorry to hear of your transmission troubles. Jeep products have historically been reliable tow vehicles.

[HarborBus]

Brian, I had premature (34000 Mi) transmission failure on a 1998 Grand Cherokee. I believe the cause was lack of additive in transmission during a fluid change. All the Chrysler products seem to require an additive in the transmission and front and rear differential. I had the transmission fluid changed by other than the dealer and the additive was not put into the transmission. This also happened in our travels with the front and rear differentials, only it was a Jeep dealer that did not put in the additive that time. Every time you turned the front wheels it sounded like the tire was ribbing on the wheel well. Has the transmission fluid been changed recently?

[LA-HODAG]

Thanks Elliott. I did have the trans fluid changed about 9 months ago at Jiffy Lube (or a similar oil change outfit). I will definitely look into that. I did not see anything about needing an additive in my owner's manual but I will definitely follow up and will post here when I get more information. It is encouraging that most Jeep owners have not had this problem. I am still awaiting a more definative diagnosis of the problem from my mechanic.

[HarborBus]

Bryan, I wouldn't trust the owners manual. The auto makers don't want people to work on their own cars, on the 5.7 liter Hemi I can't even disconnect the battery to clean the terminals because if the jeep loses power it is necessary to reset (in the computer) the system that drops off 4 cylinders at 60 MPH (I forget what its called). Allot of the service writers and some mechanics aren't aware of the need for the additives either. I just had the oil changed in the differentials and I made sure the dealer know about the additive requirement.

[Reagan Sirmons]

Bryan,
For whatever reason, your transmission is obviously turning while underway. It happened to me. Many 4 wheel drives will not disengage both the front and rear drive shafts sufficiently enough to keep the tranny fron spinning. If your disengage device only releases the rear drive, the front is still capable of spinning. If you have a rebuild, it will do the same thing again. If you look at the parts and they are scarred, etc., that is what happened. To compensate, sometimes a fluid drive mechanism can be installed for underway circulation or the engine can be set to idle which circulates the fluid but is very poor for the engine. If you put the vehicle on a lift and can disengage the rear drive, if you can still spin the front tires, you will see the shaft turn the tranny. Sorry for the problem.
Pres

[LA-HODAG]

Thanks, all. It turns out that an internal pump in the transmission failed. It had nothing to do with towing. Even though it is out of warranty, Chrysler stepped up to pay 75% of the repair/ rebuild cost. I wish I didn't have to pay anything, but I must say I am impressed with Chrysler/Jeep in this circumstance. Now I'm thinking about that gorgeous 2011 Grand Cherokee on the showroom floor...