99 Plymouth Breeze pandora's box of problems

It has 96000 miles on it. I have had it for a year, and I have quite a few problems.



-Down shift kicks really bad.

-Seems to work very hard to get up the 30mph

-Light behind the odometer screen works at random

-Cruise works at random, and will even decide to quite while in use- restarting the car helps, but delays any trips

-Radio will “lock in” on a station of it’s choosing and can’t be changed until the car is restarted.

-CD player will randomly decide to take control and not let you turn it off, change the song, etc. All you can do is turn the volume up/down until you can restart the car.

-Check Engine light just came on. I recently (within a month) got my oil checked and changed. I try and keep my gas levels about 1/2 tank. Don’t have the money to take my car in without understanding what I’m getting into and how much I should be prepared to spend. I would love any comments!

I would start by looking for the ground wire to the dashboard and make sure all the connections are clean an tight.

Thanks! I will give that a try.

Is the rough down shift a common thing in that generation of cars? It seems to be getting much worse. My poor car is getting old. :frowning:

Has the transmission ever been serviced? Fluid and filter change?

What about other maintenance items? Fuel filter, spark plugs, etc?

Most parts stores will scan the computer for trouble codes at no charge, which might help you figure out why the CEL came on.

No Money ? No Problem !

Take your Breeze, rather breeze into an Auto Zone or Advance Auto Parts or whatever large Auto parts chain you have in your neck of the woods. Most Advance and Auto Zone stores will have a friendly employee step outside and plug a code reader into your Breeze, FREE of charge and give you any stored trouble codes the Breeze is holding in memory.

Write down all the codes (example: PO455). Write the numbers down (PO_ _ _) exactly as given and post them here. I’m guessing the codes might indicate a failed input or output speed sensor or some other item causing the harsh downshifts.

And NO, the shifting wasn’t bad in that era, something’s wrong.

Meanwhile, follow directions (Owner’s Manual or crew at auto parts) for checking the transmission fluid level and make sure it’s proper. Don’t add any fluid unless it’s the exact fluid specified by Chrysler.

Get back to us soon. We’re waiting to hear.

CSA

I have an old car, but it is not a Plymouth. Get out of this car.