2016 Dodge Durango: stuck in gear or won't shift

Filed Jul 22, 2025 · Transmission · MD

Driving in the left lane of an interstate highway at 75mph, in moderate traffic, in daylight hours, clear weather, with my young son. Sudden, unexpected decrease in engine rpm resulted in unannounced, approximate 40 mph reduction in speed. The instrument cluster illuminated stating “ service transmission continue in D. Do Not Shift or Turn Engine Off”. Such an unforeseen event, without brake light illumination, resulted in several following vehicles to take evasive actions, thus preventing a potential mass casualty accident. I was able steer towards the right shoulder at the greatly reduced speed of 35mph, collect myself, check on my upset son and try to make sense of what had happened. At this point panic began to set in. I called my Father & he was able to provide the next step being to deliver the vehicle to the local Dodge dealership. Those few miles were miserable since the dash was still presenting dismal warnings, there was reduced power and the vehicle acted like it was in a very low gear. The dealership was closed, so the vehicle was parked on lot however, once the engine was turned off the battery power remained on. Unable to lock, turn off or change any electrical device. We returned the following day and spoke to the service advisor who stated, “the vehicle had entered the Limp Mode” Addition research states it is a safety feature that activates when a critical issue is detected by a computer. Well, I guess the engineers never thought about such a radical transformation at highway speeds….without brake lights! Such a device should never allow an automobile to suddenly and without notice, startle the driver with annunciations while simultaneously downshifting and reducing engine rpm.

Filed Aug 13, 2019 · Transmission · 25,000 miles · NY

When downshifting from 2nd to 1st gear, transmission does not shift smoothly. Exhibits a jolt forward, especially when coming to a full stop. Issue observed for several months. Issue was raised to the dodge dealership service technicians over the course of several visits after experience the recurring issue. Vehicle has been in shop for over 4 weeks, no resolution. Service reps have observed the issue as well. Service technician referred to it as "bump stop". It is a consistently noticeable jolt most times when downshifting to 1st gear, especially on city streets when approaching a stop sign or red light.the technicians continue to try and reset the computer program and run diagnostics but nothing seems to be resolving the issue.

Filed Feb 28, 2019 · Transmission · CA

It was noted shortly after purchasing the vehicle that the car will shift really hard when downshifting from 2nd to 1st. The hard shift will sometimes cause a jerking motion in the car. This problem continues today. I have taken the care many times to the dealership. They have told me each time that either a software updated was needed or they could not replicate the issue. Please note the issue is not every time. The problem does come and go. Last friday, 2/15, the car would not go into reverse. I would put the car in reverse and it was as if I were still in park. After a few tries, I restarted the car and it went into reverse with no problem. The next day saturday 2/16, after I placed the car in park, I took my foot off the brake and the car lunged forward as if it were still in gear. I again restarted the car, this time a few times, just to see if the car would do it again. It did not. Yesterday, this has happened before and was taken in for service, a noise would come from the shifter knob area each time the brake was pressed. The know has been replaced once before by bob baker dealership. On top of these issue, the electronics have gone out on the dashboard where the climate control, radio, etc are located. I have an appointment to try and get this issues address at bob baker dealership. I have 20 pages of service history on this car, most of it are regarding the very hard downshifting.below I will mark the date the most recent issue happened with the car.

Filed Jan 20, 2019 · 84,000 miles · MO

Went to drive my 2016 durango this morning, check engine light was on, and the car would not go into reverse. After turning the car on and off several times, and letting it warm up, it went into reverse. Took it to autozone to read the code (p1b14) and for the second time we have a problem with the park- reverse dial. Couple of weeks ago it was put into park and the car drove forward on its own. I guess someone is going to have to get injured before chrysler gets it together.

Filed Dec 18, 2018 · 81,000 miles · MO

Came to a stop turned the knob to park, and went to exit the vehicle. The car rolled forward into the curb and dented my license plate . The car apparently did not go into park, like I had put it. Had there been people in front of me I would have hit them!