Delayed Transmission Engagement into Drive

[Chevyave]

Guys,

I have a 2019 RE and when you first start the car and go from park to drive the transmission hesitates to engage for a second or two and then when it finally does engage it jerks the car. It does not do this at all going into reverse, so this is only going from park to drive. The car is at the service department and they are telling me this is 100% normal and that all RE do this because the transmission pump is different due to the higher horsepower of the RE. I have owned (3) other Hellcats and none of those cars ever did this at all. I just need to know if this is BS or if everyone's car acts the same way.

 

[DGatzby]

Yep, if I were to say, I will say, my RE is a bit slow going into drive also. I have seen other threads about it. Never bothers me, I always wait for it. I do not believe my '15 Hellcat was that slow.

 

[Chevyave]

Once your transmission finally engages does it also jerk the car? This thing reminds me of a Camaro I had back in the 90's with a 3500 stall converter and a Transgo shift kit. I find this very annoying especially since none of my other Hellcats did this at all.

 

[TNREDEYE]

Transgo.
I haven't even thought that word in a few decades.

 

[DGatzby]

Once your transmission finally engages does it also jerk the car? This thing reminds me of a Camaro I had back in the 90's with a 3500 stall converter and a Transgo shift kit. I find this very annoying especially since none of my other Hellcats did this at all.

No, I have not noticed any jerking or other abnormal noises or motions.

 

[DRAGRCR]

I think I would like it if my car engauged first gear real hard. I had one car years ago that would chirp the tires going into gear on smooth concrete. Kind of cool if you ask me. I would definately not use up my time taking my car in for this. Honestly if you are that critical, what if they should happen to have an accident and scratch your fender. Now the car is there for a week getting it re painted and now it does not match to your satisfaction and this snowballs into the mother of all stresing out. I would just live with it. Or sell it and buy a Cadillac.

 

[Chevyave]

I think I would like it if my car engauged first gear real hard. I had one car years ago that would chirp the tires going into gear on smooth concrete. Kind of cool if you ask me. I would definately not use up my time taking my car in for this. Honestly if you are that critical, what if they should happen to have an accident and scratch your fender. Now the car is there for a week getting it re painted and now it does not match to your satisfaction and this snowballs into the mother of all stresing out. I would just live with it. Or sell it and buy a Cadillac.

Not being critical I just want the car to actually function properly. If you are thrilled with your car jerking into gear good for you, but when I spend 80k for a car I am going to hold the manufacture responsible if the car has a defect. By the way below are a listing of the other cars in my garage, so I kind of know what is right and wrong:

2020 WB HC Charger
2019 CTS-V
2019 C63
2018 SRT Durango
2013 ZR1
2009 Ram
2006 S65
2000 C5 FRC

 

[EricG]

Doesn't the redeye have a looser converter than the regular Hellcat, like what the Demon had?

I will always wait on the brake shifting from Park to D or R until I feel the driveline firm up, then roll out. I wouldn't call it that delayed...just a little bit. I think it's somewhat a function of the ZF trannys, my Scat Pack did it too but a little less.

 

[Chevyave]

This transmission hesitates 2 seconds and then jerks into drive. It is not a gentle jerk either because if you don't have your foot firmly planted on the brake the car would lunge forward. I can't believe every RE does this like the dealer/FCA is claiming, so I wanted feedback from the forum before taking them to task.

 

[ChargerChallenger]

You have me scratching my head for sure on this and the funny thing is I drove mine for the first time today. I didn’t notice this in mine but damn I have too many rides to remember I guess😁. I can tell you my GT500 is the strangest of them all with the DCT. But for my RE Challenger it seems to just go in gear and go. Tomorrow I’ll get in mine and see if she does what yours does and let you know. I’ll get in my Charger as well and see if I notice this also. I know it’s irritating when things don’t seem right so I get it.

 

[EricG]

This transmission hesitates 2 seconds and then jerks into drive. It is not a gentle jerk either because if you don't have your foot firmly planted on the brake the car would lunge forward. I can't believe every RE does this like the dealer/FCA is claiming, so I wanted feedback from the forum before taking them to task.

That does sound unusual IMO, sometimes replicating these issues for the mechanic they way they happen for you can be difficult and frustrating. Good luck. Hope you can find something else to drive

 

[Chevyave]

The good thing about this problem is it does it every time, so the dealer has no problem replicating the problem. This particular case has been escalated to a STAR rep. whatever that means. Why they just don't change out the valve body is beyond me. Simple and easy task. If that doesn't fix the problem then the whole transmission needs to get replaced.

 

[DGatzby]

Good luck, mine is much like Eric describes. I wait on the brake also, it engages and you know it, but I don’t have a jerk or real hard engagement.

Eric, it has the converter like the Demon, different than the Hellcat.

 

[ACMAVRO]

I think I would like it if my car engauged first gear real hard. I had one car years ago that would chirp the tires going into gear on smooth concrete. Kind of cool if you ask me. I would definately not use up my time taking my car in for this. Honestly if you are that critical, what if they should happen to have an accident and scratch your fender. Now the car is there for a week getting it re painted and now it does not match to your satisfaction and this snowballs into the mother of all stresing out. I would just live with it. Or sell it and buy a Cadillac.

This happened to me... except the selling it and buying the Cadillac part

 

[TNREDEYE]

This transmission hesitates 2 seconds and then jerks into drive. It is not a gentle jerk either because if you don't have your foot firmly planted on the brake the car would lunge forward. I can't believe every RE does this like the dealer/FCA is claiming, so I wanted feedback from the forum before taking them to task.

Fwiw - neither of mine does anything of this sort. I wouldn't describe either of them as jerking in any way when put into drive.. or any other gear for that matter.

 

[Chevyave]

It is becoming pretty obvious that my particular issue is not normal and the FCA statement that all RE do this is BS. I just don't understand why this has to be this difficult. Fix the stupid car or at least put forth some effort by replacing the valve body and flushing the transmission.

 

[DodgeCares]

It is becoming pretty obvious that my particular issue is not normal and the FCA statement that all RE do this is BS. I just don't understand why this has to be this difficult. Fix the stupid car or at least put forth some effort by replacing the valve body and flushing the transmission.

Greetings Chevyave,
We’re very sorry to hear that. Please follow up with me via DM at your earliest convenience with your case number and VIN number. This information is private and is the reason we recommend providing them through Direct Message.
Rob
Dodge Cares

 

[ChargerChallenger]

I drove mine yesterday and the transmission doesn't do anything you describe and glad to hear you have help.

 

[Chevyave]

Greetings Chevyave,
We’re very sorry to hear that. Please follow up with me via DM at your earliest convenience with your case number and VIN number. This information is private and is the reason we recommend providing them through Direct Message.
Rob
Dodge Cares

Rob, I have sent you a message with all the details about the dealership that has the vehicle and my personal contact information. If you can push this along I would appreciate it because my car has been sitting at the dealership since Monday and they are "hoping" to get a replacement valve body approved by FCA tomorrow. Very frustrating considering it is obvious there is something wrong with this transmission. Good customer service would have resulted in a new valve body being ordered on Monday and my car returned tomorrow. At this point I will be lucky to get the car back next Friday and that is only if FCA is nice enough to approve the repair.

 

[1971demon]

This happened to me... except the selling it and buying the Cadillac part

He's already got a caddy...