Hello i have a 2002 Chrysler sebring lxi coupe with the 3.0 v6 mitsubishi engine and a 4 speed automatic transmission.

Well someone gave me this car but it has 1 problem, when I put it in any gear the car acts as if its in neutral. The engine starts and runs fine (its been sitting for a while so it needs a tune up) but it the car just wont move. When i put the car in any gear the rpm does not change, the car does not jerk forward or backward to indicate that its even trying to move when i put it in drive or reverse and the shifter cable is not broken either. I also checked the fluid level, color and smell and its all normal.

I scanned the car and it only gave me a code relating to the o2 sensor however i noticed something strange while i was scanning. The speedometer was at 140mph which is the max and the odometer was going up rapidly as if the car was moving so im thinking it could be a sensor that is faulty. Another thing i noticed was there is a torque converter in the back trunk so im assuming that was changed or maybe someone took it out and did not replace it would the car even start without a torque converter in the transmission? The only things i did not do so far is check to see if the drive shaft spins or if the reverse light was coming on when i put the car in reverse.

I was thinking maybe the shift solenoids need to be replaced or probably a sensor or computer but i have no idea. Has anyone ever experienced this problem?

 

I can't imagine anyone putting the car back together and leaving out the torque converter. But the fact that there's one in the trunk probably means that somebody installed a new one somewhere along the line. They might have screwed up something else in the process. Don't bother looking to see if the driveshafts (halfshafts on a front-wheel-drive car) are spinning. They are attached directly to the wheels so we already know the's no movement there.
You should check the shift linkage or cable from the shift lever to the transmission to be sure they put that back together properly. Check all the wiring going to the transmission to make sure it's all plugged in properly. If there's nothing obvious external to the transmission, then it could be something internal which will require some professional help. Time to look this gift horse in the mouth. It may be a bit costly but given your investment so far, you could still wind up money ahead. Before you spend serious money, check the retail value of the car to be sure it's a worthwhile investment. There's no financial point in spending more than the car will be worth.

 

I already gave the shifter cable and lever a good check nothing seems broken and the lever moves fine when you go through PRND but i will be sure to check the other stuff you mentioned.

Question, does this car have a Transmission Control Module? And if so where is it located. Also would the neutral safety switch cause the car not to respond to gear changed if its damaged? Thanks for the help.

 

It's an electronic transmission, so yes, it has a TCM. Not sure exactly where it is on the coupe. Your coupe was built by Mitsubishi. Some coupes have Chrysler transmissions.

The purpose of the neutral safety switch is to ensure that you can't start the car in gear. It won't prevent the car from going into gear.

Consider investing in a shop manual. The factory manual comes in several volumes. If you buy a factory manual, make sure it's for a coupe. The manuals for the sedan and convertible won't be any help.

The Haynes manual attempts to cover all models of the Sebring but it's limited in its coverage of the transmission. It may very well be good enough for your purposes though, and it'll be lots cheaper.

Since it's not driveable you might want to tow it to a transmission shop for a proper diagnosis. They will be able to check the electronic and hydraulic functions with the proper diagnostic equipment. It'll be better than guessing.

 

I already bought a haynes manual for the car but it was for the mitsubishi eclipse seeing as its basically the same car but it does not say where the TCM is located in my car. So I will just buy the other haynes manual for the stratus/sebring and look into a factory manual as well.

I will eventually take it to a transmission shop after I am done replacing certain parts. The car was free and is in good condition so I don't mind spending some cash changing a few parts to see if the problem would be resolved.

I still would like to know why the speedometer went to max and the odometer started increasing in miles when I was scanning the car for codes. The engine wasn't even on. This is leading me to believe that maybe a sensor is jacked up or a computer needs to be changed.

 

That could be some kind of test that your scanner ran. The speedometer is controlled by the body computer acting on inputs from the engine and transmission computers, so I wouldn't lose any sleep over that.