Stage 1: Cost from Chrysler Parts & Install

[Mean Green]

Originally Posted by SR-PT4

I have an '04 Limited Platinum Series and I added Stage 1 when the car had 2000 miles on it. It now has 28,000 and has made countless trips down the dragstrip (best time of 14.4 @ 95mph) and it's driven fairly hard on the street too. Not a hint of trouble out of the tranny, although I did my dealer do a full flush and filter change at 24,000 miles, which is earlier than recommended. When I'm driving in town and know my speed won't be exceeding 55mph I keep the gear selector down in 3, not D. I don't kick it into D until I'm on the freeway.

There is a lot of discussion on various PT forums about how the auto tranny WILL fail in these cars, and it simply is not true - they don't ALL fail. Yes, the failure rate is higher than average, but as a percentage of total auto PTs on the road the number is low. Without a doubt though, it's the overdrive that gets eaten by too much boost, so things like boost controllers are probably not a good idea as they are prone to part throttle overboost, and that is not good for the tranny. And in case you aren't aware, there is only one autotranny across the entire PT range, from Base to GT. The only difference is the Autostick programming used only in the GT. The tranny internals are the same.

I think that adding Stage 1 was the best thing I've done to my car and could never go back to factory stock Turbo Lite status.

Ouch, a little misinformation here. In '06 DCX went to the 40TE auto tranny in non turbo PTs. The 40TE is a cheaper version of the 41TE with less clutch packs and so will be more prone to breakage. As for the 41TE if you take into effect all of the cars this tranny was put into (Neon, minivan, PT etc.) you will find a higher failure rate than normal. The 41TE in our '01 PT went out at 81k. It was properly serviced by the dealer. That's a little 150 hp PT. The main reason Mopar canceled the Stage 2 for the PT turbo was because the 41TE cannot handle the power. Now will every 41TE bite the dust? No way. Will more than normal fail. Probably. My dealer recommended getting tranny service on the 41TE in my wife's '04 PT every 30k, alternating between a drain and fill and a full flush. Would I let the 41TE stop me from doing a stage upgrade. No, but I would be throwing some money in the cookie jar for a possible rainy day. There is a guy on another forum who builds the 41TE the way DCX should have. The guaranteed 400hp 41TE you can start at costs around the same as the DCX 41TE. His is much stronger. Go figure.
Enjoy your ride. The 180 hp to Stage 1 is a huge kick in the pants.

[wait4me6920]

Originally Posted by SR-PT4

I have an '04 Limited Platinum Series and I added Stage 1 when the car had 2000 miles on it. It now has 28,000 and has made countless trips down the dragstrip (best time of 14.4 @ 95mph) and it's driven fairly hard on the street too. Not a hint of trouble out of the tranny, although I did my dealer do a full flush and filter change at 24,000 miles, which is earlier than recommended. When I'm driving in town and know my speed won't be exceeding 55mph I keep the gear selector down in 3, not D. I don't kick it into D until I'm on the freeway.

There is a lot of discussion on various PT forums about how the auto tranny WILL fail in these cars, and it simply is not true - they don't ALL fail. Yes, the failure rate is higher than average, but as a percentage of total auto PTs on the road the number is low. Without a doubt though, it's the overdrive that gets eaten by too much boost, so things like boost controllers are probably not a good idea as they are prone to part throttle overboost, and that is not good for the tranny. And in case you aren't aware, there is only one autotranny across the entire PT range, from Base to GT. The only difference is the Autostick programming used only in the GT. The tranny internals are the same.

I think that adding Stage 1 was the best thing I've done to my car and could never go back to factory stock Turbo Lite status.

Amen! I have a '05 Ltd with automatic. At about 2500 miles added S1, & thus far at 28,800 miles no problems. I had heard of transmission failures, so try to avoid leaning on it too hard when in OD. I'd go for it - it makes night & day difference so far as response & overall performance is concerned.