05 Liberty Renegae 4x4 Wont back up a hill?

[socalrenegade]

I have an 05 Liberty Renegade 4x4 auto with the locking rear diff. Anyway My jeep will not back up if the vehicle is stopped on a steep grade. The dealer says it a design flaw in the new trans pan for 05. That the pump pick-up is in the rear of the trans and there are no baffles in the pan to keep the fluid at the rear. I have contacted chrysler and they say they know of the problem but dont have a fix. Anybody have any idea how long it takes for them to reengineer a trans pan? Or what Im to do in the mean time? I have a boat and I have to back it up my drive. I can only do this with a running start. Ever tried to back up a boat with a running start?

 

[Eddo]

How about a pan from an 03 or 04? Try 4 low, give you a much lower gear ratio.

 

[Bennett]

That is the strangest thing I've ever heard. I wonder if mine is like that.

Interesting..... and a big design flaw.

 

[fouros]

have tried reversing in full time 4x4? or just 2wd

 

[grogiefrog]

Wow, something else. That sounds like a clostly problem on DC's part.

 

[jctoth]

Bennet and others with a 2002 Liberty. The only auto transmission available on the 2002 model was the 45RFE which is a 5 speed auto. Subsequent years use the 42RLE which is a 4 speed auto and some would say a weaker design. I've heard a lot of complaints from the TJ owners on the 42RLE. It is my understanding that the 45RFE is an option on the KJ Limited for years 2003-2005.

 

[Se7enLC]

is it safe to assume that this is only a problem for automatic transmissions? Or should I back up a hill in my 6spd?

 

[-=JoN=-]

i dont think the 45rfe was ever an option....

 

[Bennett]

Bennet and others with a 2002 Liberty. The only auto transmission available on the 2002 model was the 45RFE which is a 5 speed auto. Subsequent years use the 42RLE which is a 4 speed auto and some would say a weaker design. I've heard a lot of complaints from the TJ owners on the 42RLE. It is my understanding that the 45RFE is an option on the KJ Limited for years 2003-2005.

I believe the 45RFE is a 4 speed and was offered from 2002 to 2003(?), but the 45RFE was never offered as an upgrade.

42RLE is looked on sometimes as a weaker ****** and it was standard from 2003(?) to 2005.

Also trannys were never an option to pick from, they never offered the 45RFE and 42RLE at the same time.

 

[jctoth]

The 45RFE can be a 4 speed or a 5 speed depending on application and programming. The only difference in the two being the 5 speed version has two different overdrive gears. I believe numerically they are 1.00 and 0.67. The 45RFE in the Libertys is the 5 speed version. If you go to the Jeep website and price a new 2005 Liberty you will see that a 5 speed auto (45RFE) is an upgrade option on the Limited.

 

[Marlon_JB2]

I haven't tried to back up a hill, however, I have experienced the rolling-back going-up-a-hill-while-trying-to-go-forward problem... can't imagine it being any different in Reverse.

Has something to do with the torque converter.

 

[2003KJ]

The 45RFE can be a 4 speed or a 5 speed depending on application and programming. The only difference in the two being the 5 speed version has two different overdrive gears. I believe numerically they are 1.00 and 0.67. The 45RFE in the Libertys is the 5 speed version. If you go to the Jeep website and price a new 2005 Liberty you will see that a 5 speed auto (45RFE) is an upgrade option on the Limited.

Thats because for 2005, you have a choice of 3 different trannies. The 42RLE which came standard halfway through the 03 production year and is a 4-speed, and 6-speed manual, and *new* 5-speed automatic. I don't think it is the 45, b/c the 45RFE is a 4 speed. I have the 42RLE in my late model 03, and my neighbor let me drive his recently, and he has an early model 03, with the 45RFE and I noticed a huge difference in shifting points....especially how short it is from 2nd to 3rd, and how much stiffer it is. But it is still a 4-speed.

 

[JeepJeepster]

Talking about the 4 low while towing a boat, weve always towed our boat with our grand cherokee and it has 4 low that dosent lock the front and rear axles, so its fine to use 4low while towing a boat, but on the libby it does lock the front and rear axles, and backing up our hill u must use 4 low, so what the heck should i do, stop on the hill and unhook the libby and pull it up with the grand?

 

[Yippers]

If this is so, I think I might be asking Chrysler where they'd like me to drop off the Jeep they were buying back. That they are 'aware of the problem but have no fix' is rediculous.
It strikes me that backing up a hill is part of the implied merchanability of ANY vehicle. Every car I've owned could be backed up a hill ...
http://law.freeadvice.com/general_practice/guarantees/implied_warranty.htm

 

[4Factor]

I have an 05 Liberty Renegade 4x4 auto with the locking rear diff. Anyway My jeep will not back up if the vehicle is stopped on a steep grade. The dealer says it a design flaw in the new trans pan for 05. That the pump pick-up is in the rear of the trans and there are no baffles in the pan to keep the fluid at the rear.

Very, very interesting... Having never tried something "steep" I wonder how they'd fix this if it's a known problem?
What I'm also wondering is what do you define as "steep"? Remember we have supposed limitations of around a 32 degree departure angle and around a 38 degree approach angle. If you're talking about a slope that is greater than that, maybe the Jeep techs will just fall back on "well we never thought you'd drive on a slope greater than 38 degrees, so we didn't engineer for it". I'd hate for them to think that you're not supposed to drive on a slope greater than the approach/departure angles of the vehicle. That totally takes the fun out of serious wheeling where we look for things like this and try to find ways to get in and out of them.

Remember the old problem with the 1970's Pintos that apparently explode when hit from the rear with the left signal on.
I hope the engineers are smarter today than they used to be.

 

[CHUD]

The REAL 5 speed ****** is referred to by DC as the 5-45RFE. My Overland is equipped with the 5-45RFE & the build sheet indicates 5 speed. The 45RFE is a 4 speed auto w/2 gear ratios in second gear. It is not advertised as a 5 speed. Only the 5-45RFE is a tru 5 speed & is fstandard on the new WK.

545RFE transmission features

(standard on Limited, N/A on Laredo)

The 545RFE five-speed transmission has been refined to offer smoother operation and better economy while improving the performance and towing capability of the vehicle. To accomplish all this, several features were added, including a redesigned solenoid to provide quieter operation when shifting from "park" into "drive." A turbine damper also improves NVH, related to torque converter application.

The 545RFE continues to offer dual second-gear ratios to provide a balance of performance and fuel economy. Depending on driving conditions, the transmission will select the more appropriate second gear. A secondary overdrive ratio increases highway fuel economy and reduces engine noise at high speeds.

Transmission ratios:


Gear W5A580 545RFE
1st 3.59 3.00
2nd 2.19 1.67 upshift / 1.50 kickdown
3rd 1.41 1.0
4th 1.00 0.75
5th 0.83 0.67
Reverse 3.16 3.0

 

[socalrenegade]

Back from the shop!!!

Well after calling me and telling me that they found no problem with the jeep after driving 60 miles I marched my ass right down to drive with the service manager. Within 15 minutes of traffic we had a trans over temp light and irratice shifting. He was like, "oh that". ********'s. Anyway now after speaking with *tech support they have determined that I must have a shorting trans temp sensor and my valve body is sticking in 2 nd gear. They are gonna pull the valve body when they get one in stock. Till then Im supposed to drive it as is. They said if they pull the pan and there is metal shavings they will rebuild the trans as well. I only have 5200 miles. This is rediculous. I hired a lemon law attorney.

 

[Boaz]

Re: Back from the shop!!!

Well after calling me and telling me that they found no problem with the jeep after driving 60 miles I marched my ass right down to drive with the service manager. Within 15 minutes of traffic we had a trans over temp light and irratice shifting. He was like, "oh that". ********'s. Anyway now after speaking with *tech support they have determined that I must have a shorting trans temp sensor and my valve body is sticking in 2 nd gear. They are gonna pull the valve body when they get one in stock. Till then Im supposed to drive it as is. They said if they pull the pan and there is metal shavings they will rebuild the trans as well. I only have 5200 miles. This is rediculous. I hired a lemon law attorney.

Please keep us up to date on this, Im getting worried about this transmission problem.