Fellow Jeepers,
I have found myself in the most annoying situation. My 2007 Jeep Wrangler X is stuck in limp mode (2nd gear I believe). My mechanic is at the point of it could either be something internal in the transmission, or computer related. I have a gut feeling that it's the latter. So here's the story:
About two months ago, I got a hard shift early in the morning. I assumed I hadn't let it warm up enough and that giving it a couple minutes on cold mornings would fix it. This seemed to work, but I still had a thought in the back of my head that something may come of it later. I checked the tranny fluid, put some enhancer in there, and hoped for the best. This happened maybe three times over a span of a couple months but was so infrequent I thought it something that I could avoid just by letting it warm up.
About a month ago, it started engaging traction control when it wasn't necessary. Either immediately when I got I turned it on (if I had already driven it that day) or after about 120 seconds of driving. Once it did this, it would not go over third gear.. but would still shift from 1st to 2nd to 3rd, just not higher. It's been in the shop since. I had a cracked flywheel fixed that had been making a ticking noise and since then it's completely put itself in limp mode.. Now not shifting at all. Just simply staying in second gear (I think). I don't think the flywheel is related, but the dealer also cleared the computer and the only code that has been coming up recently is P0082 (TCM power input low). It did need a new battery so I just replaced that, and have yet to hear back on if that code still remains.
I'm honestly just dumbfounded. I see on these forums that Jeeps have electrical issues pretty frequently. I also read back when I was getting that hard shift in the mornings, that it is probably PCM related. I would like to think it is the PCM as I get can a used one reprogrammed for about $400.. vs a used transmission for at the minimum $800.00. I've also read a lot about TCM issues with Chrysler.
SO I guess my questions are:
1) Does this sound like a computer issue to y'all? Or an internal transmission issue?
2) Is there a way I can get it out of limp mode? Perhaps to possibly check the codes when it puts itself back into it? I thought keeping the battery unplugged overnight might do the trick.
3) Are the PCM and TCM separate entities? Or are they one of the same? If separate, which do y'all feel would most likely be the culprit? Or if neither, maybe a different electrical issue?
Thanks for taking the time to read all this! I'm just trying to get some advice before I start throwing money at pricey parts (It's no longer under warranty).