My 2002 Dodge van won't go in reverse

To answer your question, when you pop open the hood, or have it popped open, as you stand in front of the van, look the the left rear for a dipstick. That’s the transmission fuel dipstick and you use it to indicate how much fuel is in the transmission.

That said, it is possible that your van is suffering from low transmission fluid. I would have it checked out thoroughly first. If you are game, start the van and let it run for about 20 minutes so that the transmission fluid has a chance to get hot. During the time you are waiting, put your foot on the brake and shift into each gear so that the fluid has a chance to reach all parts of the transmission. After stopping the engine, carefully reach in and pull out the dipstick, wipe it clean and carefully reinsert it. Then, after pulling it out again, look at the mark the transmission fluid makes on the dipstick. If it is in the normal “hot” range, then it is not the fluid. However, if it is way down on the dipstick so as to be almost invisible, then I would suggest that your van may be down on transmission fluid so that there’s not enough fluid internally to force the reverse clutch pack/band combination to engage. The solution is to purchase a can of the proper transmission fluid and replace it little by little until your next warm transmission fluid reading. The mark should be between the hot marks on the dipstick. If it is, put the transmission dipstick back in and try the transmission. It will likely work, now.

If it doesn’t shift at all it could indicate the torque converter isn’t producing sufficient pressure internally to get the transmission’s rear clutch pack to activate. It is possible that the problem could also be in the solenoid that fires reverse.

Use the AAA to tow your van to a repair facility and once it is there have a trained technician look at your vehicle.