Weird lurching on acceleration
 

Hi folks...new to the site...had a 2002 300M, loved it, but long story short it bit the dust and I bought an '06 Sebring Touring (flex fuel capable, but I haven't used any yet) to replace the trusty M.

I've only had it a couple weeks, but it's been a great car. Runs and drives great, suspension is nice and solid, etc etc. But today something weird happened. I'm no expert so bear with me.

I was driving around running several errands, and everything was fine. But on leaving one of my last ones, after a left turn I had to accelerate at what I'd call a moderately aggressive pace due to somebody coming up behind me faster than I thought they were. As I did so, suddenly the RPMs seemed to hang around 3k and sort of rapidly surge and fall, like +/- 200ish. It felt like it was having trouble shifting. Let up on the gas (thankfully the guy behind me noticed my sudden lack of acceleration) and the car went back to normal operation. But any time I'd try to accelerate more than a little bit, it would do that right around the time it needed to shift. If I accelerated gently, all was well, I could get to whatever speed I needed to be at. Just curious as to what would cause this. Checked trans fluid when I got home, car at idle and in park, and it did seem like it was a bit low. Hanging around the cold mark despite the fact I had been driving for a couple of hours without shutting the car off. I probably will add some fluid, BUT do you guys think that's the whole problem? I'm new to these cars, so I don't really know the "quirks" of their transmissions just yet. Other than this oddity, the car functions flawlessly. CEL is on, but only code is an oxygen sensor, no other issues indicated.

Thanks for your input!

With a 10 year-old car of unknown maintenance history, it could be many things. You didn't specify the mileage, but after 10 years, chances are the trans fluid needs changing. It may not have anything to do with the transmission, but changing the fluid is probably a good idea anyway. You should also get that CEL issue taken care of. When the computer gets untrustworthy signals from an O2 sensor, it has to make a "guess" as to proper engine management which can result in improper fuel-air mixture that can adversely affect the catalytic converter. This can result in a $500 repair instead of a $50 repair if it had been taken care of promptly.
It could also be a maintenance item like an EGR problem, spark plug, PCV valve, plugged air filter, dirty throttle body or something like that.
So start with taking care of any regular maintenance needs as set out in the owners manual (you can download it at chrysler.com if you don't have it). After that, consider cleaning the throttle body.