mike35z

The transmission on my 2013 Dodge Journey was shifting harsh between second and third gear. ( shifting too fast).  I went to dealership and did the transmission service.  They said they replaced 2.5 quarts of transmission fluid and the internal filter.  I drove the auto for a month but still the gears were shifting too fast, like a gear slam.  I decided to change the fluid again myself and used a pump and removed about 2 quarts of fluid.  I drove the car a month, then did it again.  So this is equivalent to about 4 quarts of transmission fluid change out.  After one week the shifting improved considerably.  After 4 months the vehicle shifts 90 percent better.  I think the fluid change was all it needed.  I wanted to do a fluid flush but decided to see how this 4 quart changeout did.  New fluid did make a change.  Getting 26.5 mpg on freeway, and engine running great.  I purchased this Journey with 118,000 miles on it.  The previous owner only did the required oil changes I was told.  None of the other preventative maintenance was done. All the fluids were dark and worn out.  I think Dodge should make it mandatory to change the PTU fluid, rear differential, and transmission at the recommended intervals in order to maintain any warranty.   Most automobile owners have no clue how their engine operates and how important preventative  maintenance is.  My feeling is if you cannot locate your oil dip stick, your battery, and the drive belts, and know how to change a tire you should not be operating a powered vehicle.  

The transmission on my 2013 Dodge Journey was shifting harsh between second and third gear. ( shifting too fast).  I went to dealership and did the transmission service.  They said they replaced 2.5 quarts of transmission fluid and the internal filter.  I drove the auto for a month but still the gears were shifting too fast, like a gear slam.  I decided to change the fluid again myself and used a pump and removed about 2 quarts of fluid.  I drove the car a month, then did it again.  So this is equivalent to about 4 quarts of transmission fluid change out.  After one week the shifting improved considerably.  After 4 months the vehicle shifts 90 percent better.  I think the fluid change was all it needed.  I wanted to do a fluid flush but decided to see how this 4 quart changeout did.  New fluid did make a change.  Getting 26.5 mpg on freeway, and engine running great.  I purchased this Journey with 118,000 miles on it.  The previous owner only did the required oil changes I was told.  None of the other preventative maintenance was done. All the fluids were dark and worn out.  I think Dodge should make it mandatory to change the PTU fluid, rear differential, and transmission at the recommended intervals in order to maintain any warranty.   Most automobile owners have no clue how their engine operates and how important preventative  maintenance is.  My feeling is if you cannot locate your oil dip stick, your battery, and the drive belts, and know how to change a tire you should not be operating a powered vehicle.  

I am updating the post I made regarding the PTU oil change.  It was easy to drain the fluid from the drain plug.  The heat shield was overlapping the drain plug by about 1/4 inch.  It was easy to bend back the heat shield to drain the oil.  I used the vent tube to fill the PTU.  The green cap is easily removed by using a small screwdriver to pull it out of the rubber vent hose.  I used the hand pump as shown in the previous post.  It took some time.  After every 30 to 50 ml of oil it would bubble up out of the tube.  I assume the air pressure needs to equalize inside the PTU gear box.  I put rags around the vent tube to help soak up the oil that bubbled up.  It took about an hour to fill the fluid.  Need to go very slow with it.  This method works but you need to take your time.  My Dodge Journey is a 2013 with 120,000 miles.  The oil was never changed in the PTU by the previous owner.  The gear oil drained was black.  It had a slight smell to it.  It is recommend to change this oil at 60,000 miles.  I am very happy i got it changed using this method. I Am going to change it again since the drained oil was so dark.  Will probably do it before Winter.  Hope this post helps anyone that wants to change their PTU oil.  

As shown in picture one the yellow box highlighted is part to be removed.
 
Step 1 remove engine cover, air fliter cover, air filter and air filter box then have to remove next piece of intake which is held by a hose clamp once removed should look like picture 2
 
As shown in picture 3 with the yellow circle the green cap is the vent tube. Remove cap I found easiest to remove vent tube from metal bracket used a flat screwdriver. Found easier that way then remove cap from tube, again had to use a flat screwdriver to losen hose from cap. Also you may notice that 2 rubber hoses were disconnected I thought I had to remove more but was not needed.
 
As shown in pic 4 is the syringe style transfer pump. Has a max capacity of 200mL ( in Canada) 
 
I then added 4 full tube with a total of 800ml of fluid but in the process I would pump about 50 mil then remove syringe to burp air so pressure dont build. Do this until all 800 ml is added and re install parts. 
 
Found best to put car on ramps first and made sure I could remove vent cap before draining. My fluid was really dirty im sure it was original with 185km on the car.