2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee V-8 AWD (Laredo). I was coming up on 100K Miles, took the Jeep in for normal service. Had the fluid changed + Filter as well as R&R seal between transmission and transfer case (mechanics idea). Within a week I noticed a drop in RPM at traffic lights and a few stalls as well. Took it back and they added a quart of fluid and told me to bring it back in a few weeks, I brought it back and they added another quart of fluid, They told me to bring it in so they could look at it. They tightened the pan up. Again driving it and got more stalls and finally the transmission light came on and went in to "limp mode", drove straight to the mechanic (2-3 miles). After 3 days of trouble shooting and another fluid change and now an OEM filter, Jeep will not move, will not engage in gear. Mechanic claims that as the trasnmission gets older, the computer adjusts the pressure to compensate for the degrading parts, when the Jeep went in to limp mode and the mechanic reset the system, the computer got reset and went to manufacture default pressures, now they can not return the computer to where it was when I brought it in and the pressure is not enough to make the car drive. The tell me the transmission needs to be re-built or replaced...
I had absolutely no problems prior to the servicing and have mostly highway miles. It has been 3 months and 2000 miles from the servicing. Am I being taken or did the mechanic screw up?

Was the work done at Jeep dealership? Did they put the right (ATF+4) fluid in it? Have you checked the level?
If so it sounds like the torque converter or pump. The transmission that comes with the V8 is pretty reliable.
I've never heard of the PCM compensating (at least not to that extreme degree) for a worn/bad transmission. If I had to guess I'd say the mechanic is trying play the CYA game.
Get a second opinion before you have somebody rebuild it.

No, not done at a Jeep dealership, I did not realize the chrysler/jeep transmission were so different then the rest. From what I figure the filter seal was put on incorrectly, it was placed on the filter instead of the transmission. This lead to the loss of fluid (twice) and then the hesitations/stalls which lead to the pump starting to fail. When the Transmission light came on, it was probably too late. I think they might of come to the same conclusion and tried to cover it by putting the OEM filter on, now the pump is completely done and the car will not run...

Whats more likely, that scenario or a servicing bringing out a hidden problem? since there were no problems with the transmission before that. I had the fluid changed before with no shavings, odd colors, etc..

I work in a service station and have changed the transmission and filter in a number of cars. You have to be careful when taking transmission pans off, there can be a lot of sensitive parts you can bang or brake. It sounds like they screwed something up, tried to cover it up and made it worse. Get it to a real jeep dealership and let them do some investigating. You can even give the dealership service people a call and ask them about the pressure stuff the guy was feeding you. Good luck man.

Well, believe it or not, the mechanic called me today and told me to come get the jeep. I thought he meant, because we can't fix it, but they did, or the transmission shop they took it to did. Turns out the seal around the pump had deteriated away, and when they changed the fluid the second time it took some of the seal with it and that caused the pump to provide almost no pressure to engage the gears. So they replaced the seal and put it back together and the jeep runs great, no more RPM drop when I stop the car. Amazing what problems a little seal can cause, I went from replacing a transmission to no charge at all (which I still can not believe!). Thanks everyone for all the help; the transmission shop made it sound like this is a common problem, so if anyone has these symptons, might be worth a look. If anyone is in central-south jersey and needs some car work/transmission work, I know of 2 excellent places to take your vehicles to!! Birds automotive in Wrightstown and Transhop in Marlto

Well, believe it or not, the mechanic called me today and told me to come get the jeep. I thought he meant, because we can't fix it, but they did, or the transmission shop they took it to did. Turns out the seal around the pump had deteriated away, and when they changed the fluid the second time it took some of the seal with it and that caused the pump to provide almost no pressure to engage the gears. So they replaced the seal and put it back together and the jeep runs great, no more RPM drop when I stop the car. Amazing what problems a little seal can cause, I went from replacing a transmission to no charge at all (which I still can not believe!). Thanks everyone for all the help; the transmission shop made it sound like this is a common problem, so if anyone has these symptons, might be worth a look. If anyone is in central-south jersey and needs some car work/transmission work, I know of 2 excellent places to take your vehicles to!! Birds automotive in Wrightstown and Transhop in Marlto

I hate to tell you this, but I spent > 15 years rebuiliding transmissions and I can tell you with 100% certainty that changing the fluid and filter did NOT take any part of the pump seal with it (assuming you are talking about the front pump seal) . Anyway , if the front seal was damaged, fluid would have been pouring out and you would have noticed it, either on your driveway or in the way of smoke as it soaked the bottom of your car and got on the exhaust.

What I DO suspect is they improperly installed the filter and finally figured out ( probably with the help of the tranny shop ) and corrected it. Hopefully it hasnt done much damage to the internals. If the tranny goes completely in the near future, you will know why.

The original shop that did the work I would avoid now completely if I were you. A lesson learned for you, transmissions are delicate and should be serviced by professionals ONLY. Forget quickie lubes etc...... a simple mistake such as leaving a seal off a filters pick up tube, breaking it during replacement of the filter and not replacing it, or otherwise incorrectly installing a filter, leaving it loose etc... will smoke a tranny. Free advice and worth a lot if you heed. They tried to make themselves out to be heros but instead they were C.T.A., no one repairs trannys for free if they didn't do something to screw it up.

Well there goes my high for the weekend, never realized transmissions were so delicate (especially jeeps/chryslers). How could they screw up the fluid change twice? Wonder how much damage was really done, I would guess mainly damage to the pump from air getting into the system... Is it easy (read: cheap) to replace the transmission pump as a precaution? Would air in the system damage other parts?

I guess I will look for a new shop; where is it better to have a tranny serviced? at the dealership, or a dedicated transmission shop? Is lube gaurd a worthy investment for jeep transmissions?

Thanks again!!!

Well there goes my high for the weekend, never realized transmissions were so delicate (especially jeeps/chryslers). How could they screw up the fluid change twice? Wonder how much damage was really done, I would guess mainly damage to the pump from air getting into the system... Is it easy (read: cheap) to replace the transmission pump as a precaution? Would air in the system damage other parts?

I guess I will look for a new shop; where is it better to have a tranny serviced? at the dealership, or a dedicated transmission shop? Is lube gaurd a worthy investment for jeep transmissions?

Thanks again!!!

If your system was leaking air to the filter pickup, the damage that could be done by trying to drive it can be extensive, unfortunately. It is hard to say where the damage may or may not have occurred and replacing the pump as a precaution is an exensive proposition as the entire transmission must be removed. At that point you might as well pay for an overhaul, imo. I personally would suspect damage more likely to components that require pressure to lock together. The pump would get ruined if there were zero fluid going through it as it needs the fluid for its own lubrication as well. There are clutch packs and bands that operate within the system to provide the various gear ranges via locking various gear sets together ( high level explanation)... these clutch packs and bands have pistons or servos with seals on them and the fluid pressure is forced behind them to lock those clutches or bands on when the time is right. They require a certain amount of pressure to lock together and when they dont have enough, they try to apply and then "slip" against the surface they were meant to lock to. When they slip, the vehicle may experience delayed or no engagement into drive or reverse and engine racing in between shifts ( slips ) . When this occurs excessive heat is created and the linings of these clutches begins to glaze and burn. Once that happens they can either fail completely from repeated attempts to drive or if the initial pressure problem is corrected before that happens, start working again BUT their life expectancy has been dramatically reduced and their effectiveness compromised.

How could they screw up the fluid change twice? Simple. They missed what they screwed up the first time.

Where to get fluid changes done? Well the dealer is expensive but they know your vehicle ( or should ).

Transmission shops are the most experienced and in fact, we have done the transmission work for many dealerships. I would strongly recommend checking with the BBB online before going to any shop just to see what kind of record they have. A shop is only as good as the tech working on your car. If the shop puts a new guy who is still learning on it, you may end up with more headaches than you bargained for. That goes for tranny shops too.

I know this is leaving you concerned but it is facts. Pay close attention to your trasnmissions behavior. Watch for delayed engagements fwd or rev. Listen to the engine during the shifiting process between 1-2, 2-3 and OD and be aware of any "engine runaway" , flair ups of RPMS in between those shifts. IF you detect any then there is something to be addressed before it goes too far.

One last thing, there is no such function of the computer that adjusts for worn parts as they tried to tell you and that line of it going back to factory defaults and that is why it stopped working is the biggest line of BS Ive heard in a while. Steer clear! The fact that you had zero problems before says it all.

GLTU

Believe it or not,they probably are telling you the truth.I have seen this happen on more than one occasion.You have a 45rfe or if it was reprogrammed,a 545rfe.The issue is that the main sump filter is installed directly into the oil pump.There is a seal that is installed into the pump and then the filter is installed into the seal and bolted to the valve body.If this is not done correctly,the pump sucks air and the jeep does not move.This mistake is very easy to make,and like you said in your 2nd post,they probably put the seal on the filter and then tried to put the filter in.This will definitely cause this problem.Now as far as any other damage to the trans,I would not be too concerned.The clutches in the trans need to slip to burn up,and to slip they need to at least partially apply.If the pump is sucking air it is not pumping anything to apply the clutches so they don't burn up.Now the original problem with the jeep stalling after the fluid was changed,was possibly because the fluid was low.this trans needs fluid to turn off the torque converter clutch and if its low,the converter stays locked up and the engine dies at stops.
Also the computer on this trans definitely does adjust the shifts to adjust for worn parts and variances in the manufacturing of it.Chrysler started doing that back around 1988 or 1989 with the 604 trans.