my 1996 chrysler sebring convertible is having transmission problems, help ?

Question

i recently bought a 1996 Chrysler sebring convertible with 106,940 thousand miles on it. it runs very good & shows that the previous owner/s took very good care of it. 

The only bad thing ive came to realize is that the tranny is acting alittle weird. first of all, if your familiar with chryslers, or have noticed any drive by in your days, you know what im talking about when i say the "chysler noise", its like that "bzzzzz-zz--tck", that like, 95% of them do. thats the tranny. so the problem is, when im coming to a stop, from any speed, once im very close to full stop, maybe 4 mph, itl make the noise, as it should, BUT, at that point, it slams back into 1st gear. sometimes harder than others, but the jerk is very noticable, and is at EVERY stop. any idea what this could be ? before i go to a mechanic and i get told i have to pay $7589897.

Also, today, i was driving, its nowy out, but i doubt thatd have anything to do with it. but it did its usual slam/jerk, then as i went to take off, i accelerated alittle, let off because the guy in front of me must not have had a brain, then as i went to accelerate again, i was in nuetral, i just revved, then after 2 seconds or so it slmmed into drive. this was only one incedent, but it only takes one, ya know ? any ideas ? 

as for driving, its shifts very very very nice, you can barely feel it shift, this is why im so confused about whats going on. im usually good with cars, but this has me like, ???? . any ideas ? id really appreciate the help. 

On a side note, i think my alternator may be going ? or possibly faulty ground wires ? my gas gauge reads gas levels correctly, but it will constistantly fluctuate, & the little gas light ewill go on and off, also my E-Brake light is on always, even though my brake isnt, if im sitting in park, idling, with my headlights on (at night) its have a PERFECT idle, and every couple minutes, my interior lights ( dash/cluster, radio, ac contols) will all dim & re-brighten, along with an rpm pulse. what got me curious about this, is last night driving, i stalled out, which really had me frazzled. 

I know i have a good car here, chrysler are notorious for bein crap, but i believe i picked a good one here, so if you have any ideas, comments, help, anything, please feel free to answer.

THANKS

Certified Transmission · Accepted Answer

The issue you are having may be a low fluid condition or filter problem like a seal leaking or a crack in the filter. Also many times there is a software update for the transmission controller to make the coast down clunk much better. The coast-down clunk coming to a stop has always been an issue with that transmission.  You also could have a bad transmission. I would suggest you have you vehicle checked by a transmission expert. We have locations across the nation. Look for a Certified Transmission near you or a ATRA approved facility.
http://www.certifiedtransmission.com/stores.asp
or
http://atra.com/shopfinder

? · Answer

1996 Chrysler Sebring

bmwrider001 · Answer

I believe your last comment is incorrect -- I know i have a good car here

you are spot on with this one -- chrysler are notorious for bein crap

and this one will end up costing you a lot of money -- but i believe i picked a good one here

I own one of the first ones of these ever made -- 95 cirrus lx, 2.5L V6

and I bought it new from the now out of business dealer -- that should say something to you

I am a top diagnostic tech (20 years exp) and have worked with scan tool/diagnostic companies (10 years+) and other techs like myself (some with many years of dealership exp) that would not even consider looking at my car -- guess what that is telling you . . .

So, I have reputation (gained from my professional experience -- now doing something else) for always finding the root cause of problems on vehicles that other shops and mechanics have washed their hands of and walked away from -- I am sure that I have identified the cause of my problems and I will disclose it to you now -- problems are caused by wiring insulation deterioration due to exposure to excessive heat.  I believe that your vehicle (and countless thousands others) have the same issue.  It progressively gets worse with time and continued heating and cooling, for me the car became inoperable and is made worse with high humidity levels, the rainy season is here now.  With quality shops refusing to even look at issues, vehicle values plummet.  When manufacturers do not provide updated replacement parts (just try to buy an engine/trans harness that won't do the same thing, if there is even another bad one available to buy) they get the reputation that you mentioned before.

My reasoning for this is: the disposable car is here, I have seen 1964 Darts still running fine in original condition, but for whatever reason (and this one is as good as any) if the car dies and cannot be repaired correctly, if the undocumented computer sensor substitution strategies used mask the real data that is being transmitted, professional diagnosis equipment is rendered useless, as well as the tech that never learned the basic repair maxim of KISS.

Kiss stands for Keep It Simple Stupid, high tech solutions when applied to base problems like wiring deterioration cost consumers many thousands of dollars each and every year.  Components that fail prematurely (depending on your perspective, of course) are a current reality -- cost cutting manufacturing techniques cause issues like this, as well as unintended, uncontrolled acceleration, terrifying engine stalls and countless other issues, and only the noisy wheels are attended to, everyone else quietly suffers and bears their burden for buying (like you) I know i have a good car here

I thought the same, and I still think the styling is being copied by other manufacturers even today.

Feel free to email me, if you are interested, and I will let you know how this turns out.  I have not had the time to make the repairs, but am almost certain that this is the problem on my car.

BTW, it only has 80K mostly freeway miles on it too!

Anonymous · Answer

Go to a Chrysler dealer service department get them to run the VIN # for any updates on the transmission. Then ask them about the anti foaming additive for the transmission .
It sounds like you might have a alternator going for a crap. But sometimes it is something as simple as a loose drive belt ot even dirty battery cable ends or loose . Get the battery tested also, it might be shorting out across the cells.

Hal · Answer

The trans drops out of overdrive every other time I use it.  The trans repair shop put it on a computer and could find nothing wrong after I had spent $267 two weeks ago to solve said problem.  Yesterday it did not clunk out of overdrive but I felt a couple of ruff mild spots a couple of times.

Anonymous · Answer

I also have a 96 chrysler sebring 2.5 and yes it makes the same sound yours do when its almost stops I been trying to find out why since I had it if you ever fount out why and got the answer to any other sebring questions u ask or fixed anything else on your car please txt my phone at 6123239817 or email me at holmesakeem@yahoo.com I would like to know what&#x27;s going on with my sebring also thank you

ted_haze · Answer

ok first a bad running engine in that model will jar you around be sure your alternater is infact charging your vehicle first before anything second if thats not it ..you are about a quart low of dodge only synthedic trans fluid .and dont say chysler is crap because its not what statistics show ok ..goodluck

? · Answer

My 96 JXi trans. will do the same thing if it's cold and I don't let it warm up a few minutes. Also check the trans. fluid level.

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my 1996 chrysler sebring convertible is having transmission problems, help ?

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