[Desertguy9355]

Lately I have been experiencing hard shifts from 1-2 2-3 3-4 and downshifting between the same gears. I never had it before, just started intermittently and slowly encroaching it's way in to my shifting to the point that every other time I drive the car it is rough shifting. I have read countless threads on the Star Case # K38556860, so I am hoping it is just that.

The good news :smileup:: I called the nearest Dodge Dealership, talked to a service rep (an owner of a 2013 6 speed), had him look up the case number and he said that he is absolutely sure the powertrain warranty will cover the work. He also said he has been experiencing rough shifting between the first three gears and may have the techs look at his too!

The bad news :smiledown:: If it can't be fixed under the warranty it will be around $900.00. Also, the nearest Dodge Dealership is two hours away. They said that basically never having done this before they want my Challenger for at least two days...and they don't work weekends. So working around that, work schedule and the holidays, I can't take my car in until January 29th.

In the meantime, I am going to have my transmission fluid serviced this Friday (differential too). If that takes care of it, then I don't have to make the trip or wait over a month for a fix! If not, well that's why I have the appointment on the 29th.

Anyone else with a 2012 R/T 6 speed have this issue?

 

[TikiMan]

Your covered under warranty. Don't let them play games with you.

 

[Shanes13]

I have seen several threads on the 1-2 shift being a little clunky and have it occur once in a while (especially when cold)... but I have not heard about it being a major issue yet. Since you are getting the same thing but in several gears, may be a bigger issue.

 

[Maxedwell]

I had this issue with my 2010 RT 6 speed. Covered under warranty. Something to do with the improper grease used at the factory. I now own a 2012 RT 6-speed and have minor issues. This is mainly at start up. When the car is warmed up (driving it) then it seems to go away. Also, if I take my time and shift to neutral briefly then go to next gear, not a problem. But this wouldn't work if I was in a hurry and trying to slam from gear to gear. Keep us posted.

 

[cdahl383]

When does the powertrain warranty expire, what mileage? Is it 70,000 miles or something?

Sounds exactly like that star case issue with improper grease on the input shaft. I noticed my car doing that now and then but not bad enough yet for me to do anything about it. It has always acted funny when cold, so I shift into neutral between shifts when cold like Maxedwell does above. Once warmed up it's fine.

It'd be worth it to change out the tranny and differential oil for some new stuff to see if that would help at all. But most likely it's that star case that will fix it I bet. Even if not covered under the powertrain warranty I doubt it would cost $900 out of pocket, they just need to regrease the input shaft on the trans, not seeing how that's a $900 job.

Good luck and let us know how it works out for you!

 

[lylebee]

Hi Max,

I drive a '12 RT daily, w/ 52K miles, owned since new.

I seem to be having some similar problems. They recently started. Didn't see any other posts and wanted to know if yours was resolved.

I also have had the problem of it sticking in gear after being parked, and with the clutch fully in, creeping forward or backwards, and having to stop engine to get out of gear.

I duplicated the problem at dealer with service writer in car and Dealer says, "don't park in gear."

Thanks for any info,

Lyle Elliott

 

[TikiMan]

^^ Take it to another reputable dealer. It's not right.

 

[Hammer Down]

LOL. For him to tell you not to park in gear is the biggest bunch of bs. I will say this. When I park in my driveway which is slightly sloped, I have it out of gear, engage the parking brake, let it settle into the parking brake, turn car off then put it in first gear. I had the issue myself. It was a fight to get it fixed. Mine was out of warranty. They replaced the whole tranny and the clutch. I raised enough hell about it to come away paying $125. They were not charging me for the tranny, but wanted to pay $900 for the clutch. I fought with them on that, saying that it should not have happened in the first place whether it is a wear part or not. So they said pay $125 and I said that was fair as the car did have 40k on it. And btw, it doesn't just happen when it is parked on a hill. I had trouble getting mine in and out of gear on flat level ground. That's if its the same issue, which it seems to be, although I thought it was a problem more reserved for '09s and '10s.

 

[Home Theater Guy]

6 Speed Warranty Issues

LOL. For him to tell you not to park in gear is the biggest bunch of bs. I will say this. When I park in my driveway which is slightly sloped, I have it out of gear, engage the parking brake, let it settle into the parking brake, turn car off then put it in first gear. I had the issue myself. It was a fight to get it fixed. Mine was out of warranty. They replaced the whole tranny and the clutch. I raised enough hell about it to come away paying $125. They were not charging me for the tranny, but wanted to pay $900 for the clutch. I fought with them on that, saying that it should not have happened in the first place whether it is a wear part or not. So they said pay $125 and I said that was fair as the car did have 40k on it. And btw, it doesn't just happen when it is parked on a hill. I had trouble getting mine in and out of gear on flat level ground. That's if its the same issue, which it seems to be, although I thought it was a problem more reserved for '09s and '10s.

You couldn't have said that any better HD. I do the same with mine, every day its used. Luckily, I have never had an issue with my transmission.

 

[lylebee]

Thanks for the quick reply guys.

 

[thunderbolt]

Hard shifting

Had similar issue, Getting very hard to pull out of gear, dealer performed star case S1021000004, pulled trans, cleaned input shaft splines and clutch hubs. Greased and assembled with new pressure plate bolts, day and night difference. Not sure if shifted this good when bought new. Car is 4 half years old with 26700 miles and was covered under power train warranty.
Thunderbolt.

 

[shaker392]

Saw this in another thread (applies to Tremecs in 2009)... a clutch issue might be worth investigating as a possible cause?
Have the techs check the Star Center case # K38556860, which is to remove the trans and clean the input shaft/clutch plates mating surfaces and replace the lubricant/grease. This has been a problem with the 6 speeds, give them this info and tell them to fix your car.

 

[Colonel]

I've had similar problems ever since I've owned the vehicle. Really only an issue on cold days between first and second. Already had the dealership put new grease in, and it didn't help much. This spring, I'm going to replace the tranny fluid. Vehicle only has 24k miles on it, but I've heard that the OEM tranny fluid isn't that great and read guys having good luck with Royal Purple Synchromax. Gonna give that a shot and see if that helps.

 

[Maxedwell]

Sorry for the late response to some of the questions; even though I didn't start this thread.But there are a lot of issues to address here:

cdahl1383 - your bio on the side lists your car as an automatic - did you formerly own a 6 speed?
lylebee - I recently had the transmission fluid changed and it is much better. The dealership told me the wrong fluid was in the car? I bought the car used at 17k miles so I doubt it was changed before. Anyway, they didn't charge for labor; just the cost of the fluid.

I'm going to take the newer star report numbers to my dealership to see if the car is covered. I'm pretty sure the input shaft needs better grease - hoping my short-throw Hurst won't void a warranty! At the time of my visit to dealer (2 months ago) there wasn't one that he could find. But the wrong input grease on the shaft was a factor with my 2010 and was covered under a star report then.

Someone on these boards gave some good advice: when parking, put the car in the gear you will select when you start the car (1st or reverse). This makes a huge difference on hills!

I love my Challenger but the shifting has never been very good on either vehicle. Stiff clutch, clutch pressure sensor light trips check engine light often, hard to shift at times (mainly when cold) and a very finicky 1st and reverse - I still accidentally kill it if I don't have the RPMs up! I own a 20 year old Firehawk (Firebird) 6-speed and at 60k miles with no tranny work ever having been done, it shifts so much smoother and faster than my Challenger!

 

[nunya]

LOL. For him to tell you not to park in gear is the biggest bunch of bs. I will say this. When I park in my driveway which is slightly sloped, I have it out of gear, engage the parking brake, let it settle into the parking brake, turn car off then put it in first gear. I had the issue myself. It was a fight to get it fixed. Mine was out of warranty. They replaced the whole tranny and the clutch. I raised enough hell about it to come away paying $125. They were not charging me for the tranny, but wanted to pay $900 for the clutch. I fought with them on that, saying that it should not have happened in the first place whether it is a wear part or not. So they said pay $125 and I said that was fair as the car did have 40k on it. And btw, it doesn't just happen when it is parked on a hill. I had trouble getting mine in and out of gear on flat level ground. That's if its the same issue, which it seems to be, although I thought it was a problem more reserved for '09s and '10s.

Same here too, My drive way is sloped. Set the E brake turn off the car and in first gear it goes.

 

[cdahl383]

Doesn't look like the OP posted up here whether or not his issue was fixed yet or not. Would be interested to hear what the issue was.

I did own a 2010 R/T 6 speed but recently traded it in. I now own an automatic. But I'm familiar with some of those issues, I was experiencing the gear shifter sticking now and then and was planning to have that star case deal done to my car (improper input shaft grease, etc). Hopefully the OP got his car fixed up right.

My car was always notchy with shifting when cold. When it warmed up good it was pretty smooth. The clutch was never tough or soft, seemed just right. I'm sure some of that is tolerances when manufacturing as to why some cars feel different than others.

There are a lot of complaints about Tremecs online from various car owners (Camaro, Challenger, GTO, Viper, Shelby, etc) but also a lot of praise. Must be some good and some bad transmissions out there, doesn't seem to be consistent across the board either way.

 

[Desertguy9355]

I thought I had updated this issue, sorry all. It was never fixed. I ran in to some time constraints and was never able to get my car down to the dealership. Then I got married with two step kids and any sort of time for this stuff kind of went to hell. I did have the transmission serviced, didn't help at all. It doesn't do it all of the time, just enough to be noticeable and annoying. I know I need to get it down to the dealership, but the nearest dealership being over two hours away doesn't make things easy, especially with no back up car.

I just need to stop putting it off I guess.

 

[MOHoss]

My 2014 Challenger Core is currently destined for a tranny repair/replacement at 37,000 miles. To fully engage 2nd gear (while rolling slow), I must give the shifter a strong and persistent pull to feel it pass through that extra little notch at the end of the shifter throw. It's like the shifter throw is just barely long enough to fully engage 2nd, provided I pull hard to ensure I get full travel. If I don't, the tranny will jump out of 2nd and grind. My dealership drove it and inspected what they could. Fortunately, they quickly duplicated my complaint on their first test-drive. I should know something next week on what Dodge is going to do about it. In the meantime, a Barton shifter is "in-transit" to me, and so is an AMP-D Bronze Shifter Cup Isolator Bushing. My dealership said they would be happy to install both for me during the repair or tranny replacement process. Either way, the service manager said he'd install them, and work with me on the clutch disk replacement.