My daughters 2007 Pacifica (inherited from my mom a couple of years ago) - been running fine. Had the transmission fluid exchanged a year ago. Today, as she was heading back to college (3 hours away), she came to a stop to turn Left. When she took her foot off the brake and pressed the gas, the car just revved up. No movement and no noises (other than engine revs). She tried turning off and on, shifting through all gears - nothing.

So I went out and found her - tried all the same - and nothing. The engine runs just fine. When you drop it to Reverse or Drive - the engine RPMs do decrease slightly, but there is no feeling of any engagement whatsoever. Even dropping to the manual shift does nothing.

Can't check fluid - only has the "Dealer Service Only" black plastic plug. No puddles. No obvious sign of a broken drive shaft (it is AWD). So had to push it off the road and have a tow truck coming for it before the highway department has it towed.

I'm assuming the transmission just simply failed. There is zero noise when you try to put it in gear - but just as a wild thought - figured I would toss it out here and see if anyone else had similar experience and/or advice. The value of the vehicle is more in sentimental than actual dollars. Cost to replace transmission is almost certainly more than the car is worth. But in the off chance there is something to check before assuming it is dead... here I am.

 

An update - It's a 2008, not 2007 (though I don't think that matters much to the conversation).

There were no new trouble codes the day it quit going - and has been parked in our driveway since that Sunday it broke down. I finally got out to hook up my OBD2 dongle and checked codes - and now it shows three new codes - without a doubt all related:
P0716 - Short Runner Valve Control Performance
P0791 - Input Shaft Speed Sensor 1 Performance
P0921 - Output Shaft Speed Sensor Circuit Performance

So - Wiring harness? Computer? BCM? Or Transmission really is toast?

 

I would try input and output speed sensors, worth a shot.
I hate throwing the "parts cannon" at anything but cheaper than a trans.
Mopar sensors for the "real fix" although they are pricy.
Cheapo's from Rock Auto to test worth considering.
(Experience shows, Aftermarket sensors of this type usually do not last long in Chrysler products)