Transfer case not staying in 4L or 4H

[Glad-iator]

This is my first time to join a forum, so please bear with me.
My 2020 Gladiator Max Tow Sport with 5000 miles will not stay engaged in 4L or 4H. The Jeep has a 3.5” lift, but I did not alter the t-case position. I will keep this limited to 4L issue for now.
When I shift to 4L, I hear the gears mesh and all seems good for a moment, but it will slip back out after about 50 feet. I am also able to physically hold the the shifter and keep it in 4L, but if I let go, it will pop back out. On occasion, it will stay engaged, but only one out of ten times.
I have owned CJs, TJs, and JKs and never had this issue before. Has anyone else had this problem?

Sponsored

 

[hjdca]

This is my first time to join a forum, so please bear with me.
My 2020 Gladiator Max Tow Sport with 5000 miles will not stay engaged in 4L or 4H. The Jeep has a 3.5” lift, but I did not alter the t-case position. I will keep this limited to 4L issue for now.
When I shift to 4L, I hear the gears mesh and all seems good for a moment, but it will slip back out after about 50 feet. I am also able to physically hold the the shifter and keep it in 4L, but if I let go, it will pop back out. On occasion, it will stay engaged, but only one out of ten times.
I have owned CJs, TJs, and JKs and never had this issue before. Has anyone else had this problem?

It sounds like you have a legit problem...
IN general, Sometimes when you are stopped, you can move it from 4H to 4L and it looks engaged, but, when you try to take off, it pops into neutral, then, you can pull it down to 4L and it stays there. This is somewhat normal...., but, what you describe above sounds like a real problem....

 

[Glad-iator]

This is my first time to join a forum, so please bear with me.
My 2020 Gladiator Max Tow Sport with 5000 miles will not stay engaged in 4L or 4H. The Jeep has a 3.5” lift, but I did not alter the t-case position. I will keep this limited to 4L issue for now.
When I shift to 4L, I hear the gears mesh and all seems good for a moment, but it will slip back out after about 50 feet. I am also able to physically hold the the shifter and keep it in 4L, but if I let go, it will pop back out. On occasion, it will stay engaged, but only one out of ten times.
I have owned CJs, TJs, and JKs and never had this issue before. Has anyone else had this problem?

Got a call back from the dealership. They are replacing the transmission valve body. (There was an internal code) We will see if this resolves the issue. I will continue to update as I get more info.

 

[Glad-iator]

This is my first time to join a forum, so please bear with me.
My 2020 Gladiator Max Tow Sport with 5000 miles will not stay engaged in 4L or 4H. The Jeep has a 3.5” lift, but I did not alter the t-case position. I will keep this limited to 4L issue for now.
When I shift to 4L, I hear the gears mesh and all seems good for a moment, but it will slip back out after about 50 feet. I am also able to physically hold the the shifter and keep it in 4L, but if I let go, it will pop back out. On occasion, it will stay engaged, but only one out of ten times.
I have owned CJs, TJs, and JKs and never had this issue before. Has anyone else had this problem?

So the valve body did not get rid of the error code. They are now replacing the transmission. I was told that there is a chain drive in the front part of the Automatic 850RE transmission and it was rubbing the case. This caused buildup in a solenoid that was causing the transfer case to not stay in 4WD. I am skeptical, but we will see.

 

[Renegade]

It’s strange that they are working on the transmission to fix a transfer case shifting issue...

 

[Glad-iator]

It’s strange that they are working on the transmission to fix a transfer case shifting issue...

I know. I do 99% of my own work unless it’s under warranty or a transmission problem. I don’t do transmissions, so I would love to hear from anyone who truly understands this new 8 speed and can tell me if this is possible. I am afraid the error code is showing up for the trans because the transfer case is popping into neutral while the Jeep is in motion. We will see I guess.

 

[Renegade]

I know. I do 99% of my own work unless it’s under warranty or a transmission problem. I don’t do transmissions, so I would love to hear from anyone who truly understands this new 8 speed and can tell me if this is possible. I am afraid the error code is showing up for the trans because the transfer case is popping into neutral while the Jeep is in motion. We will see I guess.

Mine popped out of Low a couple of times when it was new. I was afraid the shift linkage wasn’t adjusted properly, but it stopped having issues after I used it more.

 

[Glad-iator]

Mine popped out of Low a couple of times when it was new. I was afraid the shift linkage wasn’t adjusted properly, but it stopped having issues after I used it more.

I was hoping that’s all it was, but the more I drove it, the worse it got. It got so bad last time that I had to hold it in 4L to get back out of a canyon I was in. After that, I was done. Never had an issue with either mine or my wife’s JK and I used 4L on them within the first 5000 miles guiding hunts as well. I do hope that mine is an isolated issue though.

 

[BreakFixRepeat]

I just had this issue for the first time recently. Went to climb a hill in 4lo and half way up it jumped out into neutral. Thats the only time it happed all day so i might have not had it in all the way but it did concern me.

 

[Glad-iator]

Just picked it up today. Drove about half a mile in 4L. No issues so far. Description of work done is posted below and all covered under Jeep warranty.

 

[Glad-iator]

I just had this issue for the first time recently. Went to climb a hill in 4lo and half way up it jumped out into neutral. Thats the only time it happed all day so i might have not had it in all the way but it did concern me.

If it helps, mine would slip out on level ground and was very repeatable. I hope that yours just wasn’t completely engaged that time, but please keep us updated.
Thanks

 

[Renegade]

Just picked it up today. Drove about half a mile in 4L. No issues so far. Description of work done is posted below and all covered under Jeep warranty.

Holy crap, they replaced the entire transmission!

 

[Glad-iator]

Ok. I am calling this fixed. Drove for several hours and put it to the test through some pretty rough terrain in both 4H and 4L. No problems engaging and no longer slipping back into neutral.

 

[BreakFixRepeat]

Ok. I am calling this fixed. Drove for several hours and put it to the test through some pretty rough terrain in both 4H and 4L. No problems engaging and no longer slipping back into neutral.

Glad yours got fixed. I can say that so far i have not had mine slip out again. Must not have had it in well that one time.

 

[coolbreezesd]

Hi Guys. New member here. I’ve had my (stock) Gladiator Rubicon about 30 days now. Love it - accept my 4Lo is popping into neutral regularly. It has happened a half a dozen times when traversing up moderate grade hills. It will either pop out right in the middle of the assent (so dangerous) or after cresting the hill and leveling out (usually at about 5 mph). I took it to my jeep dealer last week and rode with a technician up a small incline behind their dealership and it popped out into neutral, once going forward, and once in reverse. They said there is no recall or bulletin about the issue. I’m suppose to go camping for a week (in 10 days) I hope I have my Jeep back by then! Please let me know if any further information is available. I’ll keep you up-to-date on my end. Thank you!

Sponsored