9m 46sLength

I pressure washed my 2003 Dodge Durango SLT last week and then the vehicle suddenly got a check engine light. When I did an engine code analysis, it showed an error PO123 for a Throttle Position Sensor ( TPS Sensor ). The Durango stopped changing gears. It would start out in first gear and it would stay there. If the transmission shifted at all, the moment you took your foot off the accelerator, it would act as though it was in first gear again. At higher speeds, the engine would race like it was in neutral, but if you raced the engine high enough it would engage the transmission (like a stall converter) in first gear, even at 60 mph. So acting like a stall converter, the trucks engine would race up to 5500 before it would engage the transmission. I put a 120volt 1500 watt heater under the hood for 2 days and it did start shifting "better", but the engine would still either surge or stall from time to time. The shifting was almost normal, but occasionally I would lift my foot of the accelerator at 60 mph and it would downshift to first gear. The error PO123 would not go away, even if I attempted to clear it with a code reader. I even took the TPS Sensor out and ran the 120v heater overnight under the hood to dry everything out throughout. Still I had the PO123 error code and engine surges/stalls. This video shows how to find and read the code, how to locate and replace the TPS sensor, and how to retest the code to show that it was resolved. It amazed me that a simple engine wash and a $31 part could cause so much havoc, but it did. It took less than 15 minutes to locate and replace. Now it has an actual gasket, along with the o-ring to provide added protection against future water damage.