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Doesn't auto comprehensive cover this anyway if it's sudden, like may you ran over something?
Does any one else have similar problems or know the solution for this? Thanks!
Tranny started shifting strangely: bad vibration when shifting from 1st to 2nd, engine slip and rev up when changing from 2nd to 3rd or 3rd to 4th (overdrive?). Also felt "strange" when downshifting - held on too long so that the car slowed down a lot with engine compression, let go suddenly, etc. None of this happened every time - you know, the usual pain in the [non-permissible content removed] intermittent problem that means you'll have nightmares with the mechanic.
Took it to the dealer expecting the run around. They had it less that four hours and called me back saying yes, the transmission has a problem. Yes, it is internal to the transmission. No, we won't bother trying to fix it - we'll just put in a new transmission. Not what I expected, honestly. This REALLY makes me wonder if they aren't painfully aware of some kind of problem.
Anyway, what's also weird is that supposedly there is no transmission to be found closer than California (I'm in Richmond, VA). And of course, it's a reman transmission.
Questions:
1) They have to ship a transmission from CA? By truck? To Virgina?
2) A reman? Should I accept this? Remember, the car HASN'T EVEN BEEN 3000 MILES YET!
Just for the record, I have owned Chrysler products since 1969. Each one has been better than the previous as far as build quality and reliabilty is concerned. My latest, a T&C van, I find superior in build quality to my friends AValon.
My God... that's suicidal. You must be a glutton for punishment.
I had a few 70's and 80's Chryslers, no more thanks. Some of my friends own Chrysler minivans and borrow their transmissions. Funny, they gripe about them dropping trannies regularly, head gaskets and valve seals failing, and the electronics screwing up intermittently, but will buy another DC because it's a thousand or so cheaper than a well made product. You get what you deserve.
On topic - I currently own two Chrysler products and have not had tranny problems with either one. I won't say that they have been perfect but they have been good vehicles for me.
The Civic couldn't have been that bad. It was the beginning of the Honda (and Toyota) invasion into the US. Timed perfectly with the bankruptcy of Chrysler.
How many miles on those Chryslers? I have a friend with a caravan who made it to 37,000 and another with a ram who dropped the rear end at around 12,000. Don't know anyone else who owns a pentastar, so even the anecdotal evidence is limited. Of course, the plural of anecdotal evidence is not data, but CR and JD Power seem to be the most objective for data. I noticed that CR has started giving black dots to the drivetrains of all those "redesigned 1998+ caravans." Did a google search of "caravan transmission problems." Mine produced about 10,000 hits.
Good luck with yours.
Good one!!! You got me there. Phew. I must concede. You're right. Chrysler trannies, especially caravans, are very reliable.
My search engine is bigger than yours, nyah nyah nyah :-)
Now, anyone got any problems or solutions they want to talk about?
Steve, Host
I have a 95 Chrysler Cirrus that has 75k miles on it and a 01 Grand Caravan with 17k miles. The worst problem I have had was replacing the distributor on my Cirrus because the built in camshaft positioning sensor failed. It was out of warranty but Chrysler covered half of the cost of the repair. The funny thing is that my brother lost the distributor (mechanical failure) on his 92 Honda Civic shortly after that.
I am not necessarily loyal to Chrysler, it just happens that they have had vehicles that I wanted at the time I was looking to purchase. I do struggle with people who bash other makers about vehicles they owned decades ago and fail to allow that there might be a chance that there have been improvements over time.
Yes, don't buy a caravan. The fullsize Dodges have about the same footprint, and well-proven trannies and engines. Or wait for Dodge to sell it's own version of the very sweet MB Vito.
>I am not necessarily loyal to Chrysler, it just happens that they have had vehicles that I wanted at the time I was looking to purchase.
Chrysler's design studio is top notch. Their vehicles are sexy. Probably the best interiors and exteriors on the market. I certainly understand the attraction, especially compared to the boring designs of the imports.
>I do struggle with people who bash other makers about vehicles they owned decades ago and fail to allow that there might be a chance that there have been improvements over time.
I think bashing is very strong. I don't think I bashed. I don't understand repeat customers, but clearly there are plenty. The sales numbers suggest that. These posts suggest people who buy a new DC minivan every three years.
Admittedly, my opinion of DC was established years decades ago. I know it's been awhile, but it was my money. And now they have an uphill battle to get back into my pocket. I have that right.
I've yet to see any objective data to suggest that DC has changed their ways significantly, occasional posts by new caravan owners notwithstanding. Every new car owner seems psychologically wedded to their 25,000 purchase. Remember Carleton, Duke of Padded Armrests and Defender of the DC Faith? One blown headgasket and a dead tranny and he's long gone.
I've heard the promises of the last two or three bandaid approach tranny redesigns, none of which change the reliability of the van. Now data concern the post-1998 vans are showing the same problems. I like the looks and price of the DC vans, but it will take more than a promise of a redesign or better quality to bring me back.
The crazy thing, in my opinion, why don't they just beef up the trannies? That would seem less expensive than the complete exterior and interior redesign that seems to occur every 5 years or so.
I too would like to see stronger trannies but drivetrain redesigns are much more difficult than body style changes. With the body the parts either fit or they don't. With mechanical pieces you really don't know how they will hold up until they have been out in the real world for several years. Unforseen problems lead to dumping large amounts of money into updates and patches and takes that money away from new development. Fully developing new transmissions is extremely expensive as is shown by the fact that GM and Ford are actually teaming up to develop an all new transmission.
P.S. I put $2000 in the bank when I bought in case the transmission didn't last. The low repair costs to date have about covered that risk and freed the contingency fund for other things.
2. Change fluid +/- filter every 15K
3. turn OD off in city driving
4. be sure tranny fluid is OEM (I use AAMCO ATF+3),
5. when backing, stop before shifting to drive and no wheel spinning if progress stopping due to grade/slickness.
Excellent advise for anyone with an AT.
I am not very sales-smart when it comes to cars, but I know that if I simply trade in this van on another one, I will end up paying for most of the remaining $2600 on the new car loan, even though I won't own the old van. Sooooo, here's my question:
I would like to go to a local dealership that is selling '02 T&Cs for around $16K, sticker price, and offer to pay the sticker price in exchange for them taking my old van off my hands and paying it off. Does this sound reasonable, or am I overlooking something here?
Also, if this is a dumb idea, do any of you have any reasonable ideas for getting myself out of this dilemma?
BTW, Consumers' Reports rates the '02 T&C as a "Good Buy", with the gold checkmark by its picture in their April 2002 issue.
Sorry to rattle on so....
Thanks,
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I will keep you posted.
Jay
This is the part that I don't understand. Why would you buy ANOTHER Chrysler van? If you're on your third tranny, why would you give them your money again?
Good question. Maybe you should ask the same question to the quy on the Odyssey Transmission Problem board who is on his 4th Odyssey after having three transmission failures.
In this particular case I have a feeling that it has more to do with the $16000 price tag. For that price he could get a brand new T&C or a '99 Ody with 50000 miles and a rebuilt tranny. Take your pick.
I called a local Chrysler dealership (not the one I'd be dealing with) and asked one of their salesmen pointblank what percentage of their sales were for sticker price, and he said very, very few. I then described my 96DGC, warts and all, and asked him what I asked this list, and he said "Sure - we can do that. No problem." Of course, this is a used car salesman talking, so I guess I'm still wondering a bit. It might have been his way of luring me to his dealership.
>Have you checked the trade value on Edmunds?
*No, because my banker said that Edmunds tends to "over-estimate" and that the NADA Blue Book gives a more accurate estimate. Their estimate for me was about $2500 trade-in value, $3000 resale.
>The wheels, by the way, are easy to find at recyclers or $12-20 ea.
*Sorry I wasn't clear. It's not the wheels that are dented, it's the fenders above the wheels. One side is dented, the other side is scraped; the side with the scrape has a loose headlight (it works, but you can jiggle it horizontally a little, and it aims a little high).
I just got the April issue of CR, and my wife is studying it at home right now. I saw what you did about the '03 T&C not being "check-marked" and was not very pleased.
>Why would you buy ANOTHER Chrysler van? If you're on your third tranny, why would you give them your money again?
*Because this is not our first DGC. Our first one, a '91 model was ideal. Its only problem for the 1st few years was an inaccurate gas gauge (the tank was dropped twice to replace a gauge inside it). We traded it in on our 96DGC when it became apparent we would have to replace the entire AC system (front and rear), but that was back in '99. Looking back on it all, maybe I should have gotten a loan to pay for the new AC system, but seemed like paying for a repair that cost more than the van was worth at the time.
>In this particular case I have a feeling that it has more to do with the $16000 price tag. For that price he could get a brand new T&C or a '99 Ody with 50000 miles and a rebuilt tranny.
*You're right. I may go ahead and get a brand new T&C, if only for the warranties. I'm in central Texas, and maybe a Chrysler dealership in a small town not too far from me will have a new T&C for close to $16K, but the locals are all selling them for $26K and up, so I'm not very hopeful. Maybe $16K will get me a used '02 (it was advertised as that price last weekend).
Thanks again - hope I cleared things up a bit.
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Definitely true, at least for some of the failures. I would run away from any shop that tries to put Dexron in your DC or Mitsubishi tranny.
>And the later vans are now using ATF+4.
I think they (DC vans and most Mitsus) all used ATF+4. Not sure though. I'd get the fluid from the dealer, or use one of the oil company's support lines to ensure I had the right fluid. You simply cannot rely on the guys at Floyds Service Station or Cheapie Lube.
>I've also read that Chrysler's warranty costs are down a lot from a few years ago. My guess is that Chrysler started beefing up the small electronic components and other parts that caused the larger problems and it's been paying off.
I havne't read that anywhere, but I certainly admit I haven't researched that much. I mostly rely on info from people in the business (independent tranny shops mostly) who fix trannies for a living.
I have also heard (and seen on these boards) lots of complaints about DC trying to dishonor warranty claims and that they are no longer covering the "secret warranties" that were on some of the worst of the earlier models. This too could lower warranty costs. I'm not throwing stones. I admit that you'd have to review the data pretty closely to glean anything useful. Just not sure what it means without more info.
>People also have to realize that Chrysler is the first to go mass-market with a lot of innovations, notably the electronically controlled transmissions.
Maybe or maybe not but everyone has them now, and only DC and Ford have mucked it up.
>Unfortunately the extended warranties don't appear to be helping Chrysler sell a whole lot more vehicles - but it's funny that it worked for the Korean car makers.
I doubt that the extended warranty is selling the Korean cars. The Consumer mags so their reliability is up (especially Hyundai) and their prices are right. Long warranties are a sign of a distressed company. No one insists on long warranties from Honda, Toyota and Nissan but they sell just fine also.
DC has cutting edge styling, easily the best across the board IMHO, and comfort, but they need to put some money into quality control and reliability.
>Odyssey transmissions are famous for failing, yet people still buy them as fast as they can
I don't particularly like the Ody (especially the interior and pricing), but "famous for failing" doesn't square with the facts. All the consumer magazines rate it, along with Sienna, as the most reliable. Consumer Reports lists only one year, the 1998 Ody, as having less than exceptional transmission reliability. It is still rated better than the 98 DC. I personally believe all the minivans, except DC, Windstar, and EV, have sufficient reliability so that I wouldn't rule them out. (Its painful for me to admit that even the Kia is putting up acceptable numbers at this point.) Why do these DC threads always become Oddity vs. DC threads?
Thanks in advance for your opinions.
Steve, Host
I agree with uga91, you can't go too far wrong with the extended warranty they offer now. They have built 10 million of them, and are still selling well despite more competitors and many people switching to SUVs.
Plus, if you are on a budget, I think you will find much better pricing with the DC vans than Odysseys and especially the new '04 Sienna. More choices on the dealer lots also, if you don't want to load it up with expensive options.
My 96 has had no engine or transmission problems and is now at 65K. If you read everything posted, you'd begin to believe that they all fail prematurely, but in reality this is not true.
I prefer the TC's smooth and quite ride. I fully believe that the fold away rear seat adds noise, which is not Chryslers goal. It's no new invention. It was a common thing in stations wagons in the 60's and 70's. I believe Chrysler would have put it in years ago if it didn't compromise something.
I had transmission problems with my 96 at 72 K miles, and traded it on a 99 Odyssey. I got the towing package on the Odyssey for the transmission oil cooler to increase the reliability of the transmisson.
The Odyssey transmission failed at 68 K miles. The first rebuilt tranny my dealer ordered did not have all the parts. The second was full of water and rusted. The dealer installed the third one. I could argue that I had 3 transmissions after my original. Don't believe everything you hear about Honda reliability.
One other thing, that Honda audio system was pathetic.
-Adam
Steve, Host
I use Mobile-1 synthetic in the engine every 3K in my '99 Sport with 3.3 V-6 and 4 speed auto, and have used Lube Guard in the trans at the first service (30K) with a filter change. I intend to switch the trans fluid to synthetic at the next service (60k). I'll need to find a shop that can also flush the converter for a complete renewal of the trans fluid, and I think it will pay off in the long run. I used to work in a trans shop, and I'm in agreement with earlier posts. There is nothing worse than burnt trans fluid, both in the trans and it's "perfume". So, change the fluid, get a trans cooler.
Steve, Host