Hi, I recently bought a 2004 Rubicon with 10,000 miles on it. I am a little concerned about the tranny. It is an automatic with OD. I notice that when I am going up an incline at around 40 mph it shift into OD and I loose all my power. (It's almost as if it is shifting too early) I have to depress the accelerater a good bit for it do down shift into a more powerful gear. I can also hear the motor and rpms go down alot when OD kicks in. It is not so bad on the flat, I mean I can still definately notice it shiftng to OD but Idon't recognize the power loss due to not needing as much on the flat. I find myself driving with the OD turned off alot due to this. Is this typcal for a 2004 Jeep auto transmission? Is it something that is noticable in Rubicons because of their gearing? Or is this something I should get looked into? I have had 5 jeeps in the past from CJ 5's up to a '89 wrangler, but they were all standards, not auto. I hope someone can help me, I LOVE my new Rubicon and will feel better if I find other have noticed this. Thank You!
2004 Rubicon
Nov 01, 2005
9 Replies
That is very common as the engine does not have enough power to accelerate your Jeep up hill in overdrive.
What can you do about it? well... you can lock out the overdrive or just get used to it.
My experience with OD has been that it is not intended as a working 'gear' but as a cruising point where there is little load and certainly not at lower speeds.
Did you ot get an owners manual with your rig?
Kate
2O|||||||O5 LibertyWhat can you do about it? well... you can lock out the overdrive or just get used to it.
Billy Ray, you are posting in HTML. This is not only an abomination, it makes it hard to post proper follow-ups.
It is possible that the shift point can be adjusted or reprogrammed at the dealer. This may be a warranty service. It is certainly worth complaining about.
Earle
What can you do about it? well... you can lock out the overdrive or just get used to it.
I have an '04 TJ stick and it has a shift indicator idiot light. The dealer complained to me that it always indicated an upshift at too low RPM's. At least the silly light has the sense to go off if you ignore it. Regardless, I suspect it is one way to make it look as if average fuel economy has improved and that approach may have been adopted for the automatics, too.
Isn't there a way to limit the OD?
I mean, the owners manuals for my Jeeps say to 'use D3 instead of D when driving in hilly areas, towing a trailer or whenever frequent transmission shifting occurs and to assist braking' to prevent OD from being used.
Using OD going too slow or even too high a gear will lug the engine and besides the piston rattle it will just drink gas. (think on how far down the gas pedal needs to be when in OD to even hold against a wind, let alone a hill)
If I forget I have a 5th gear on a normal highway drive with my 33" tires and 3.31 gears, I get an 'extra' 5 or more miles per gallon.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail >Yes, there is an OD switch. ___________________________________________________________ tw
71 Bill Stroppe Baja Bronco 03 TJ Rubicon - Rubicon Express 4.5" 01 XJ SportThere is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
-- Dave Barry
Pronunciation: 'jEp Function: noun Date: 1940
Etymology: from g. p. (G= 'Government' P= '80 inch wheelbase') A small general-purpose motor vehicle with 80-inch wheelbase,
1/4-ton capacity, and four-wheel drive used by the U.S. army in World War II.(Please remove the OBVIOUS to reply by email) ___________________________________________________________
Mike Roma> Isn't there a way to limit the OD?
My WJ has a button on the side of the shifter handle and is operated by the driver's thumb that will lock out the overdrive.
My ZJ had that option, on the XJ overdrive in on the PRNDL.
-- Taylor
'03 Audi S6 Avant '05 Mazda6 Wagon GT '98 Jeep Cherokee Sport
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