2013 Dodge Dart long-term update: Gearbox gripes

As we previously mentioned, our long-term Dodge Dart has largely been a pleasant road trip car, but with some transmission quirks. For this update I was planning on focusing on its sluggish shifts — except the Dart’s dual-clutch transmission unexpectedly failed with 6,915 miles on the odometer. An error message flashed on the dash upon startup, which said the car couldn’t engage into any gear. The Dodge got towed to the dealer, where a new pump brought it back into service.

A Dodge representative said they had not encountered any transmission issues thus far, so it seemed like a case of just bad luck. When we got the car back from the dealer, I was eager to test the newly repaired transmission, expecting all the random clicks, clunks, and slips to be gone. Sadly the issues persist, making me wonder if the problem has truly been resolved.

The optional, $1,150 6-speed dual dry clutch automatic transmission, which Dodge engineered to be “as silky and unobtrusive as possible,” has been anything but smooth; our logbook was filled with criticisms about its slow response, herky-jerky shifting, and clunking noises. The term “silky” is accurate in that you can’t accelerate abruptly; should you punch the throttle, the Dart winds up the engine for a solid second before putting the power to the wheels. The experience is much like a manual transmission with a worn clutch: the more gas you give it, the more you get that slipping feeling as the engine revs up with no immediate forward movement. It’s frustrating in rush-hour traffic, and I’d get cut off repeatedly due to its reluctance to close gaps in stop-and-go driving.