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Should I dump it once the dealer fixes it or will it be OK. What should it look out for in the future. I only have 3,500 miles left on my warranty.
Regards,
Dwayne
This is the same transaxle they are fitting to the 2002 Neons - they're finally introducing a 4-speed automatic to that model - and they're offering a 5/60 powertrain warranty on it in the Neon. It'll be interesting to see if they do the same for the minivans and other applications where the stresses on the transmission are greater. If they don't, your experience may be a very good indication of why they don't.
I have 48000 miles on it.. did anyone ever get help from chrylser with transmission problems for the carava/voyager?? any steps or key things I need to do???
any help would be greatly appreciated...
Parker
DRM
I explained to the Chrysler service manager that I had called Chrysler customer service and opened a file.. I also stated that I had seen references to an extended 'secret' warrenty on a site and that I thought Chrysler would pay at least half.. this got his attention..
2 hours later he called me and said that it was just a speedometer computer chip and that it would cost $100!!! But he then made sure that he had my ok to close the file on the incident...
I lucked out, but I can just imagine how may people get transmissions w/o needing them... I was ready to buy into it..
Parker
Whether the fault is (relatively) inexpensive electronics or (in my case and many others I know about) mechanical in origin doesn't really matter - the fundamental question is why they haven't fixed either set of problems after all these years of trying?
If the car doesn't need to go into the service department in the first place, there's no chance for the consumer to be ripped off.
I know these guys and they all take care of their equipment, so it can't be because of neglect.
We liked our van, but felt like we were driving a time bomb waiting to go off and leave my wife and kids stranded.
Go look at the Mazda MPV problem forums. People have real problems there like, how do I get wax off the black trim.
Oh sure, there are a few issues, but it seems most have been addressed by Mazda.
We love our MPV with 13.9K problem free miles.
Not trolling, just have a customer who is considering the DC vans, and I wanted him to view these boards. So I'm checking them out before I show them to him.
Don't worry, I'll give the standard disclaimer that people who have problems will probably be more vocal than those who don't.
However, my real life second hand experience with these vans cannot be easily dismissed.
I'd love to trust these vans, they make them in the city I work in. Gotta be good for the local economy.
TB
I'm wondering if the 3.8 engine used a stronger transmission to cope with the increased power or if the tranny has always been identical for both engines.
The tranny on my 92 GCLE went at 77K miles. It had always had regular maintenance at the dealer. I'm not a jackrabbit driver. The car was equipped with the trailer tow package and its included transmission cooler, but I never tow anything - I just like to use heavy-duty components for light duty in the name of increased reliability.
Jack(veritas) your report of early failure on a 4 speed with good maintenance with the right fluid and a transmission cooler has popped my confidence bubble(in fact I don't recall another owner reporting a failure on a cooler equiped van here- maybe I missed one). I have a '95 Caravan that I bought used and added a transmission cooler and have serviced regularly and am happily approaching 77K trouble free miles. I tow a boat some too. Anyway, for those looking for further longevity measures, I'd add that service every 15K, so called severe service criteria, may help. Turn off the OD in city driving below 45 mph, when backing always stop before shifting into drive, when parking on a slope shift into "N" then set the parking brake before shifting to "P", avoid wheel spin in low traction situations. If load + heat + grade is causing a rise in coolant temperature remember that the transmission is even hotter and change the demands on the driveline including lower gear, turning off AC, and maybe stopping for a cool down or even turning on the heater.
i want to do a fluid change on my van. The tranny was replaced at around 60-70k under warranty, but for the past 2 years its been having trouble shifting into 4th on the highway when its over 70F outside. It also sometimes dosn't downshift from third to lower gear. Both problems go away when you turn the car off then turn it on. Somehow resetting everything. Now that its getting cold, it shifts fine. Except for a shutter at 60mph. I didn't think it would last this long, i thought it would have dropped a long time ago. It now has 112k on it.
I bought a 1998 grand caravan ES so i want to sell this van for aorund $2k.
My question is shold i change the fluid, so it will reduce shuttering (??) hopefully help the tranny last longer...
It shifts really smooth. Actually smoother than my newer van.
Or should i just sell it as is.
I mean, i've heard sometimes changing the fluid can ruin a transmission, that already has a problem...
thanks alot !!
Please help !
The posting goes on to say the first replacement was after just 5 months. 2nd was at 24K miles. AND, the dealer kept if for 5 weeks while waiting for the new transmission.
Just read in the Town Hall. More reliability problems are being reported by current owners of the Odyssey than are being reported by current owners of DC minivans even though DC sold 4 times as many DC minivans as Honda sold Odyssey.
I buy a minivan for comfort. My sister's 2001 Odd EX is very spartan compared to our 99 GC SE. I really missed the complete overhead console with outside temp, compass, trip computer, padded armrests on the doors, automatic locking doors, etc. when I drove their Odyssey August 2nd this summer. Since it was 97 Degrees F when driving the Odyssey and 101 degrees F afterward when I drove our 99 GC SE on the same route, I did not need the separately controlled temperature for driver and front pasenger as we used full front A/C on both. Their Odd EX registered 34.9 miles for the exact course where our GC SE registered 34.0 miles. It is also nice to have the accurate odometer of a DC minivan instead of the inaccurate, bloated readings of the Odyssey.
To be fair, the 2001 Odyssey EX is very nice, drove as nicely, and was as quiet as our 2 year older GC SE. Their Odyssey EX had more cargo space behind the 3rd seat to haul all their luggage to the airport and the front A/C fan has more speeds than the 5 speed fan of our GC SE.
The family I referred to isn't the only one that had problems - just about every owner of a Chrysler 4-speed auto, whether in the vans, the LH cars, or other models, has had problems. Our first lasted 18,000 miles before dying. An aunt had an Intrepid where the unit lasted 600 miles before requiring replacement.
So, while it's possible D-C finally solved the problems, it still begs the question of why it took a decade to do so.
Our T&C has 49,000 miles only but about a year and a half ago with 39,000 miles the transmission went. Chrysler replaced it and as a "favor" only charged us for labor even though it was beyone warranty. Still, IMHO, there is absolutely NO REASON why a transmission should fail at 39,000 miles. I drove my Camry wagon 110,000 miles so I don't think you can blame it on driving style. Just an anecdotal piece of evidence.
Any recommendations for replacement? I hate the handling (we call it "the whale") but need the three rows and cargo space. Wish I'd bought the Toyota Previa but didn't think it was worth the difference in price. Now I do but they don't make it--the Sienna is just my Camry wagon with a higher center of gravity.
601 of 605 resale by ...Jan 20, 2002 (06:21 pm)
I've been trying to trade my 01 Sienna XLE, leather, power door (1), fancy mirror, and that's about it. When I bought the car in Oct of 2000 it had an MSRP of $33.5k with none of the pie-in-the-sky adds like protections pkg or extra mile option (you know the stuff....high dollar low value adds that mean nothing at trade time). I can't get any dealer (trade) to budge a penny higher than 19k for my 12k mile, no dent, no ding, just-like-new 01 Sienna XLE.
I bought this Toyota for many sensible reasons not the least of which is their reputation for great resale. And yes, I've shopped the car at enough dealers to believe 19.5k is about all anyone is going to give. While that kind of depreciation is not unusual for a Buick Regal, it hardly qualifies the Sienna as a car with "great resale". I did far better on my 92 Explorer, my 94 Jeep GC, my 96 Tahoe, and my 98 Expedition. Any opinions?"
I have seen NO CARAVAN depreciate this much.
#1446 of 1556 I love Toyota's, but not the problems with the new vans by clnelson Jan 10, 2002 (05:29 am)
I can't believe what I am seeing. I bought a new 1999 toyota sienna in march of 1999. It had about 5000 miles on it, as it had been a demo driven by the north east florida toyota president (so I was told). Immediately I was having poblems with rear tires going flat. It had firestone tires on it, but not those being recalled. During the first year I had the vehicle I was woking with the dealership about the tires and low gas mileage, oil problems- where when toyota changed it they said it was darker than usual. The oil problems increased to that it was smoking when starting and oil light always on and aways needing oil. Finally at the 1 year point they said it was sludged and not covered. My husband being a jet mechanic had to see this to believe it. To his surprise they were right it was sludged. But the oil changes had been done. We could prove 3 at the dealership and 1 elsewhere. One of the oil change toyota did was to have cleaned the engine. There had been more but receipts not available. There was disagreement as to when the oil changes should be done. Service mgr says 3000, Dealer says 5000, book said differently(7500) . This was between the service mgr, the dealership mgr and the owners booklet. When the service mgr said oil had to be changed at 3000 due to siennas being different and needing them sooner, I asked why the dealership had waited to do the 1st oil change at over 5400 miles (when i purchased it). I CAN ONLY TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES THE STORY CHANGED. So they said it would be 1600 to desludge the engine and to bring in the receipts and they would as a goodwill jesture cover half of the cost. then after the work was done, my vehicle was held for full payment. I paid the full amount on the condition that when the service mgr got back i would be refunded half. It didnt happen and per some advise I stopped payment on my check. Well I ended up paying the full amount with a guarentee that if it happened again (sludge). Guess what???? 20 months later i have an engine that blew with no warnings. And the mehanic says it has plenty of oil... well of course it does. My husband started 20 months ago changing the oil and filter him self with premium stuff. (ex: synthetic oil and premium filters) So in the almost three years I have had this sienna we are out 1800 for the sludge and looking at 5500 for a new engine. By the way the tire problem is that the axle has them wearing uevenly. New tires all the time. For those of you who love toyotas and think I am bashing them......wrong. I love toyotas. This was our 3rd toyota from the same dealorship. It was to be our van to the end ( we pictured 12 years and 300,000 miles like the old commercial and our last one). So I am not bashing toyotas but bashing the problem and lack of concern by toyota. How can so many people with receipts for oil changes be at fault. This is so sad, I really wanted to be jumping in the air with pride like I did with my last toyota when it had over 300,000 miles on it and still running so well that I sold it for 1000.00 ( the body had rusted but the engine was still strong)
At one point, the failure rate on the DaimlerChrysler transaxles was over 30% before 30,000 miles - and while Chrysler did recall the first year's production for replacement, it never did so in subsequent years when the units were almost as bad. It left the customers to twist in the wind.
Which is worse: and automaker that stonewalls on recalling vehicles with a 0.1% problem rate, or one that stonewalls and never officially acknowledges a problem that affects over 30% of owners?
Sorry, but for all the anecdotes quoted by Carleton1, the odds still favor Toyota and Honda by a wide margin. You're far less likely to end up with a sluge-prone Toyota engine in a Sienna, than you are to end up with a flimsy transmission in a 96-2000 Chrysler Group minivan.
Yea, that makes alot of sense, eneth. Thats why our 1998 Grand Caravan SE went to 70k miles without any problems whatsoever and our current 2000 Town & Country continues to preform flawlessly with over 36k miles on the odometer...
I test drove a 2001 Grand Caravan and was very impressed with the ride, the quietest van on the road, and IMO the best looking. We went with the MPV, since my Wife wanted a smaller van and the fold down 3rd row. We love our MPV, but would have had no problem purchasing a 2001 Caravan. I would have never considered the Sienna.
Pjd58
Glad to hear you enjoy your MPV!
-Adam
Rarely does Chrysler Group admit or fix its problems until it is forced to, either by the NHTSA or by the court of public opinion. They produced how many - six million - minivans with faulty tailgate latches, recalling them only after being forced to? They produced an entire year's worth of faulty A604 transaxles - recalling them only when the publicity became so bad they had no choice - then produced another ten years' worth, doing nothing more than cutting the warranty from 7/70 to 3/36 because the per-unit costs were eating their shareholders' dividends alive.
I've seen only one comment about the possible cause of the Toyota engine oil problems from a single mechanic - maybe that is the issue; maybe not. The problem is nowhere near as widespread as the problems with the Chrysler Group vans - peeling paint (never acknowledged), faulty head gaskets (4-cyl, never acknowledged), faulty transmissions (rarely acknowledged, but widely publicized), fire-prone fuel systems (that took over a year to begin recall repairs).
Toyota's actions aren't commendable either - but if they're not, then Chrysler's actions are contemptible.
If nothing else, at least your odds are better with a Toyota than with anything from Chrysler Group - which doesn't produce a single model of automobile with anywhere near the reliability record of even the worst Toyota model on the road.
I just picked up my 2002 Grand Sport, the transmission is noticeably smoother. I am looking forward to driving this van!
While it is without doubt that chrysler had terrible caravan transmissions in the past (my mom had 2 bad ones), I really think they have improved dramatically.
These tranny problems seem to be hit and miss. Carleton is correct, some last forever and others go early.
Try meeting and talking to people outside these boards who have direct experience. Our Chrysler dealership has been top-notch. Their Service Manager is a great guy and has been a real joy to know. He says the same thing. Some of the 4 sp. trannys go forever and some just blow early. They have a full time mechanic that does nothing but tranny rebuilds at their dealership.
I also have received the same word from a transmission shop I have used. Some of the 4 sp. trannys go forever but way too many crap out early.
I don't care about Honda or Toyota, that's not what this board is about. How come everytime anyone brings up possible problems with their Chrysler vans the same people jump in saying Honda and Toyota have problems also? That's great to hear but who cares. We are discussing Chrysler. Maybe these tranny problems are universal to mini-vans. Has anyone thought about that. These mini-vans we are discussing are basically a car with a bigger body. People use them to haul heavier cargo than a car and carry more people. Maybe that is the problem. Maybe the manufacturers need heavier duty components in the mini-vans.
When coming to a stop, my vehicle would hesitate back and forth while trying to drop to 1st gear. It eventually got to the point where I had to physically put the gear selector to low after coming to a stop to force the tranny to 1st gear. Otherwise, we were always taking off in 2nd gear.
I've never heard of that good a warranty on a replacement trans. Price is not too bad, either. Honda trans would cost you twice as much with only a 12K mile warranty!
I cant help but wonder if maybe a lot of these transmission problems are caused by using the wrong type of fluid. When a customer goes to anyplace except a Chrysler dealership who knows what they are putting in it. I would bet that at a lot of places if they have dexron in the hose that is what they use. As a caravan owner I will change my own tranny fluid or else make sure it is done at a DC dealership and the right fluid is used.
dc
The main problem with minivan transmissions is that they were designed originally for a front wheel drive 3200 pound car with much less wind resistence than a mini van and not for a 4000 pound van. Even GM vans which have the well built GM transmission do not last as long as the transmissions in thier cars. If they could put truck transmissions in these minivans our problems would be solved but these are bigger units and will not fit with the front wheel drive configuration.
Using consumer reports, the new DC transmissions are better rated than the Honda since '99. However, DC's new transmission says that the fluid is lifetime under normal conditions and 48,000 miles under severe conditions.
Given that the difference in maintenance in normal vs severe driving is 2 to 1 does that mean the tranny is designed to last 96,000 miles?
Anyone out there with a 2000 with high miles?
The van has 89,000 miles to date. We have thus far spent $3,300 on repairs. This would have been $4,400 had Chrysler not kicked in for half of the tranny replacement. Besides the tranny, we have replaced: upper and lower oxygens sensors, water pump, tensioner pulley, driver side window regulator, ECM for the wipers...
At this point we have no a/c due to needing an $1,100 replacement of the evaporator. That repair will officially put us up to $4,400 in repair work. That comes out to 4.5 cents per mile thus far. I would say that is a bit high.
But, like I said before, the van is paid for and it is still cheaper to repair versus replace.
The upstream sensor is for tuning the fuel mixure (Lean vs Rich) the second is to chech the Cat's efficiency. Part of the OBD-II requirements.
My Contour and my MPV both have three cats. Two pre-cats, and one main cat. There are four O2 sensors total as they are upstream and downstream of the pre-cats built into the exhaust manifolds.
FWIW,
TB
Evidently the upstream sensor is easier to get to. That was the first one replaced but it did ot fix the problem. They went back in and replaced the downstream sensor.