Two problems related to transmission gear slipping have been reported for the 2008 Dodge Avenger. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2008 Dodge Avenger based on all problems reported for the 2008 Avenger.
Transmission keeps slipping; I've had my car in the shop four times within two years and all they keep telling me that it is normal to have to bring the car in and have the transmission reprogrammed.
On or about Feb. 17, 2009 and continuing to present, my 2008 Avenger has had numerous problems shifting. The problem started with hard shifting and transmission slippage. Now, when driving at 45mph when the car goes to shift into overdrive, and misses 4th gear. There is a sudden loss of gears and the tachometer climbs rapidly because the overdrive gear will not engage. When engine rpm is lowered, car downshifts into 2nd gear (limp mode) and will not shift normally until the vehicle is turned off and re-started. The sudden loss of speed may result in a crash and personal injury to the occupants of the vehicle. I have seen numerous complaints on this problem and have noticed a lot of service bulletins related to improper shifting of the 2008 Avenger. Even though Dodge is aware of the problems with the powertrain control module, they have refused to issue a recall on the module placing the safety of its customers below the importance of their profits.