As some here are also experiencing, my transmission (or something) vibrates sometimes when I'm at low rpm's and low speed (1,500 rpm at 30 mph usually is the magic number) and I've been to the dealer twice now and they told me nothing was wrong. Well this morning as I'm cruising through my neighborhood, it starts again and I put it in 2nd gear to help get rid of the vibrations. While slowing to a stop, the car starts to buck and I push hard on the brake to keep it from surging forward. It then stalls out completely, with my dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. I put it in park, start it again and it seems ok. Driving to work, it continues to droan at low speed/rpm. I call the dealer and bring it in.

It's in the shop now and I got a call from one of the service managers stating that they need to keep it there until tomorrow when a second transmission tech can help the first tech figure out what is happening. It seems like I'm getting to the root of the problem and will keep the Forum up to date on the progress. I had a feeling it would take something like this to get them to listen. Luckily, it's still under warranty and I did get my free rental (a Jeep Liberty, a big pig compared to my Crossfire).

 

Please keep us advised on what they come up with. I get the minor grumbling vibrations under these conditions on occasion and was thinking it was the Torque Converter. I have a hard time accepting that this is "normal". It's not a regular thing, it just happens once in a while.

 

I knew this wasn't normal...thanks for letting us know and keep us posted. Well I guess this doesn't really apply to me anymore since I traded in my limited for an SRT6...no more vibrations here, should've went the SRT route the first time, very happy...anyway good luck in finding the problem and thank good for warranties.

 

Update: I got a call from the service manager regarding my repair. He said that the Torque Converter failed and they ordered a new one that will be here on Monday. I should have the car back on Wednesday/Thursday if everything goes as planned. I knew last spring when, for the second time, the told me that they couldn't find anything wrong that I would have to drive it until it broke before I would get them to believe me. At least it failed before my basic 3/30,000 warranty expired, otherwise, I'd be out $35 a day for the rental.

 

I'm glad to hear that it was eventually addressed and is being taken care of. Sometimes, as I know, persistence pays off.

Now I have a question because I've read much about the AutoStick vibrations but just cannot recall - is this an known issue for 2004's or for all models with AutoStick?

What was the first sign that something was not right? Besides the obvious that you stated at the beginning of this thread - do you recall something early on that made you think something was wrong? What did it feel like? Where did you feel the vibration? Sorry, I know a million questions but I'm curious.

Thanks... and I'm not going to say congrats until you get the car back and tell us everything is fine.

 

I knew something was wrong when I was poking along in traffic and at around 1,500 rpm @ 35 mph, it felt like I was driving over a long stretch of rumble strips, like the ones they use on the shoulder of some highways or to warn of an upcoming toll plaza. The entire car shook at a very high frequency and the pitch of the sound it made would go up and down as I gave/let off the accelerator. At about 2,000 rpm, it would stop and make no noise and no vibrations. This would only happen at between maybe 5 and 40 mph, never at highway speeds and it really shook A LOT. It would come and go, but mostly happened after it sat for at least a few hours and cooled down. The noise was embarrassing and as a temporary fix, I would manually shift into a lower gear to get the rpm up over 2,000 where it stopped. It started getting bad very recently and I noticed that when I would come to a stop, when the transmission would drop into neutral, I could feel a little jerk, which isn't normal for any automatic I've driven.

I know of no TSB or known issue regarding the torque converter for the Crossfire. There are a few other threads out there where other forum members have experienced similar symptoms. I say, if this is happening to you and your service department can't figure it out, then you may just have to keep driving it until something breaks and you have proof that something is wrong. The main indication that something catastrophic happened with mine is when a few days ago, it bucked and then stalled at a stop sign in my neighborhood. When I told the service manager that is what happened this last time, I think the mechanics took things seriously and opened up the transmission. They were also able to replicate the symptoms when they test drove it after I dropped it off.

 

Well, I finally got my crossfire back from the dealer today. When I spoke with the service advisor, he confirmed that it was a bad torque converter and was probably a bad part from the start and that was the first one he has encountered. He commented on how the transmission was very reliable (seeing as how it's been around for so many years) and it was just a fluke that I had a bum TC. They replaced the converter, a bunch of seals and O Rings, the transmission control module and of course, the trans fluid. It also lists "gear" on the paperwork I have, so I'm assuming that means that one of the gears were replaced as well. I only had to pay $5 at the car rental place for some state tax thing.

I'm just glad I have my baby back again. The Jeep Liberty, while comfortable and roomy, was a pig.

 

It is good to hear a good repair story. Thanks for keeping us updated.

 

Which dealership did you take it too? I'm looking for a good one in the DC/MD/VA area. Have you had any other work done through them?

 

I think it's just the AutoStick feature itself that is the problem (I maybe wrong). I owned a 1997 Sebring JXi that had the AutoStick but I never used it, once I did start to use it there were problems with the torque converter. I have yet to use the Autostick feature on my Roadster Limited.

 

I would be lost without the Autostick on down hill grades, it the only way I can keep the RPMs up so I can punch out in the corners. We have just over 12K miles on ours without an issue so far, knock on wood, so I hope it is not an Autostick related problem. However, 90 % of our mileage is highway or Interstate at 70+ mph with only the occasional grade where we down shift, so our transmission really isn't taxed like a car driven in city traffic.