[PhilSchmidt]

Hey all- I'm not even sure what to call this problem. Sometimes the dashboard display, where it indicates which gear you're in, will go blank. Just an empty circle where the 'D' should be. The van still drives, but you can definitely feel a difference in the responsiveness of the transmission--it gets kind of sluggish. And the cruise control stops working when this happens.
I haven't figured out what exact conditions cause it to happen, but it occurs sometimes after I've been sitting in traffic or driving through hills/mountains. And I'm getting ready to drive from Georgia to the Grand Canyon in a few weeks!

It's a 2017 Sedona EX, 93,000 miles. The problem started about 45K miles ago, but it has become more frequent recently. And the headlights keep going out every 2-3 months--which is probably totally unrelated, but I figured I'd mention it just in case it has something to do with faulty wiring or something.

Thanks in advance!!

 

[00sportage20]

I would check the charging system, it's not unusual for alternator issues to manifest as a glitchy transmission. Perhaps the voltage isn't regulating properly (too high) which would shorten bulb life and might be related to your transmission issue.

Check the charging voltage with a multimeter at various RPM; anything above high 14's would be cause for concern. I would expect to see in the 13's with a charged battery.

 

[IMSITTINGINYOURCHAIR]

chiming in here with voltage report, when my battery ate the dust I checked the charging system and saw voltage around 13.8 to 14.3. It seems to have a shunt on the positive line rather than an amperage clamp like I have seen on another vehicle i owned to detect current draw/charge input to battery so that can be suspect as well on the charging system.

 

[Cognicom]

Sometimes the dashboard display, where it indicates which gear you're in, will go blank. Just an empty circle where the 'D' should be. The van still drives, but you can definitely feel a difference in the responsiveness of the transmission--it gets kind of sluggish.

I experienced the same problem precisely once and it's never re-appeared. Was driving in stop-start city traffic and noticed it get very sluggish leaving from the lights - looked down and saw no gear indicator (just as you've described). It seemed for me at least to have been stuck in third gear.

Pulled over, switched the engine off for a couple of minutes, then everything went back to normal.

I took a photo of the dash to show the dealer at my next visit, but seeing as it hasn't happened again (the best part of a year later), I didn't bother pursuing it.