Three problems related to transmission not engage have been reported for the 2005 Chrysler Town & Country. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
When braking rather hard to slow/stop quickly, transmission hesitates to downshift so when starting to accelerate again, engine revs up but transmission does not engage. Then it will engage suddenly with a hard jerk which can be dangerous. Also, when braking hard to slow quickly and because the transmission does not disengage as it should, the engine sometime kills when I have slowed. In an instance when that happened, I was making a turn and, of course, lost power steering so barely avoided hitting a vehicle waiting on the street into which I was turning since steering was very heavy to accomplish. Brought this up to a technician who said, "yes those vehicles are known for their transmissions failure to disengage and occasional slippage on starting and then suddenly engaging with a very hard jerk".
Dash lights flickering, gauges jumping. Headlights turned off during driving at night. Transmission shortly disengaged. Dangerous situation! Chrysler can not find the problem. Nhtsa case ea11010 is open. Need urgent support.
There were no events leading up to this problem. Car was taken regularly for oil changes and required manufacturer maintenance at the dealership. Car was being driven and while pulling across highway it just does not go. The car continued to run but the transmission would not engage and pull the vehicle. According to the dealership, the pump probably went out and caused the damage to the transmission. Thus, the entire transmission is being replaced. This is a 3 year old vehicle and has 80,000 miles. There were no warning lights nor any observable signs that the vehicle was in any distress. Maybe a factory defect but extremely dangerous.