'06 CRD Transmission in Limp Home Mode

[Frank_Grimes]

Hi All

I posted this in the Commander forum, but as the drivelines between XH and WH are shared I thought I'd try here too.

I am currently negotiating the purchase of an '06 CRD Commander Sport with around 130k from a dealer here in QLD. As the vehicle is in Noosa (and I'm on the Gold Coast) I had an RACQ inspection completed, and the report arrived this morning. The following items were listed as defects that need attention before the vehicle should be purchased:

* Wipers - Wiper delay system inoperative
* Engine Warning Light - flashing continuously
* Transmission - appears to be in Limp Home Mode, performance limited, no kick-down operation and will not rev past 3000rpm.

I'm guessing the last two items are related, and I've asked the dealer to have these issues resolved before I even consider going through with the deal.

After googling around it would appear that transmission issues plagued the early Commanders/Grand Cherokees from new, and the causes ranged from old trans fluid and filter, to trans control modules, to pressure switches.

Has anyone here run into the same problem with their WH CRD? The rest of the car received a clean bill of health apart from dirty seat belts and light oil stains on the engine covers, so if they can fix the trans issue (they have a 6 year 200,000km warranty as well) I'll go for it.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[drover]

You would need to know the codes to tell what the actual problem with the Tranny is, if it is in limp mode then you wouldn't get it very far from the dealers driveway and he couldn't sell it to you anyway as it would be Unroadworthy.
Unless it was checked and fixed by someone you can trust ie: not associated with the car dealer then I would give it a miss. The warranty they would be offering probably wouldn't cover if the tranny needed replacing.

[fester]

I'm going to have a guess here and say it's not from the Jeep dealer as they would have surely at least cleared the error before letting the car get tested if nothing else. I wonder if the code magically appeared the moment RACQ got their hands on it, who in their right mind would put it up for sale with an active check engine light.

This issue could be as simple as fluid level, low or high, or as major as near complete meltdown and only the Jeep dealer or a very good trans shop with Merc gearbox diagnostics will be able to track it down. They need to be able to read the TCM, the ECU codes for gearbox issues are near useless. Having said that these gearboxes are actually very robust and not much goes wrong with them , they are powering millions of Merc from the family sedan to high power V8's.

I would want to know who is repairing the box and I don't have a lot of faith in the local Noosa Jeep dealer. AT any rate I think I'd be walking the other way from a dealer that puts a car on the lot with the CEL on. I'd also be reading the warranty carefully first too.

[bodgie]

Another option is to find how much a tranny rebuild is and subtract this off of the dealer price if everything is in good order.

Drover and Fester have made some good points but there is no guarantee even if you find another one that it won't have some problems either.

[Clarky]

If the engine light was constantly on it means you have an issue so take it to a service centre soon.

If the engine light is "flashing continuously" it means stop & call a tow truck

As Drover said we need codes to have an idea, I would want a printout of the codes & I would also like it in writing that "all transmission related problems will be FULLY covered for the warranty period" as a lot of these warranty's only cover repairs up to a specified amount & a replacement auto is said to be around 8 to $10,000.

[hotqld]

I don't think you have a warranty?
6 years or 200,000klm,
The Jeep is 2006 plus 6 years = 2013 warranty finished.
And then a dealer letting it get inspected in limp mode....think I would be saying next.

When I brought my 2007 WH, shortly after it went into limb mode 105,000klm.
Fix was
Transfer case motor ...$200.00
Transmission control module ...$350.00
Re programming .............$200.00
Costs approx.
I brought the parts in from the USA installed myself..not hard and got the Maroochydore Jeep dealer to programme the TCM.

I was hoping a transmission oil change / correct levels and a filter would fix but no.
As others have said you need the fault codes.
You may want to consider your own code reader...Autoenginuity @ $650.00 seems to work OK, reads the TCM.

Also at 130,000klm check, glow plugs, front diff mounts and front driveshaft rear CV joint.

[roscoea26]

Originally Posted by hotqld

I don't think you have a warranty?
6 years or 200,000klm,
The Jeep is 2006 plus 6 years = 2013 warranty finished.
And then a dealer letting it get inspected in limp mode....think I would be saying next.

When I brought my 2007 WH, shortly after it went into limb mode 105,000klm.
Fix was
Transfer case motor ...$200.00
Transmission control module ...$350.00
Re programming .............$200.00
Costs approx.
I brought the parts in from the USA installed myself..not hard and got the Maroochydore Jeep dealer to programme the TCM.

I was hoping a transmission oil change / correct levels and a filter would fix but no.
As others have said you need the fault codes.
You may want to consider your own code reader...Autoenginuity @ $650.00 seems to work OK, reads the TCM.

Also at 130,000klm check, glow plugs, front diff mounts and front driveshaft rear CV joint.

This dealer does have a free 6 year/200000 warranty on new and used cars and it starts from the day you purchased the vehicle if there is no manufacturer warranty left BUT conditions apply you'd need to check out the conditions. You'd think that with this warranty they would have performed a thorough inspection before they offered this warranty.