Chrysler Minivan Transmission Problems

bor03929

We have a 1995 Plymouth Voyager (75K miles) that
apparently needs a new transmission ($1800). With
all the emails and apparent history of problems
with Plymouth/Chrysler transmissions, has anyone
been successful in getting Chrystler to help with
the cost and/or labor to have the transmission
replaced? If so, can you recommend a coarse of
action?

livedder

Our 1993 Voyagers transmission went out at 60,100 miles so the warranty was done. We called Detroit direct to see if they could help,they told us to have our dealer call them, so after telling our dealer that they(the dealer)decided to do it free. Well after they fixed it, it went out again 10,000 miles later. Called Detroit again and they said they'd split the cost. A lot of headaches, but every little bit helps! Good luck!

johnnac1

I too have a 1995 Plymouth Voyager and at around 62,000 miles the Transmission went out. I was sitting at a red light and I heard an awful clang and the transmission threw something out through the casing and left a big hole. I called Detroit and they agreed to pay for the parts if I paid for part of the labor. As a result I was saved over $1100, because there was a big mess in the transmission as well. We have to make these car makers hold up their end of the warranty even though technically it ran out at 60,000.

tekyle

go to http://badtrans.webprovider.com. Chrysler paid 1/2 of my last trans repair then I had to sue in small claims for the rest. Just awful.

expert1

Regular maintenace is the key to the Voyager transmissions. I too had mine replaced at 60,000 miles, but it did not fail. The manual states that no maintenance is required under normal operation. Well who doesn't tow or carry heavy loads with their vans? I regularly changed the oil and filter at 30,000 intervals. At the 60,000 mark I noticed a abnormal amount of metal on the pan magnet and a couple of gear pieces from the transaxle. Since they share a common pan I feel that the transaxle might be the culprit to most of these transmission failures. Even though the warranty was up they replaced it at no charge. There is also documentation around stating that Chrysler will cover it well past the warranty under the "latent defect" clause. Good communication with your selling dealer is the key. Anything Chrysler won't cover hopefully your dealer will as a sign of "good faith." I have nothing but good to say about the service and performance of my Voyager. I did learn though before I bought mine that most of the failures were with the 4 speeds so I opted for the 3 speed auto. I still get from 20-25 mph in my 118,000 mile 3.0l V-6.

georgetran

I recently developed a symptom in my 1994 Plymouth Voyager (3.0L EFI Engine, 60K miles). When braking to a stop the van will come to a complete stop and then try to lurch forward abruptly for a moment; only hard brake pedal pressure will prevent the van from being propelled forward. It is annoying and is a pain in traffic. Could this be the beginning of the fabled Voyager tranny curse?

nosetomuch

It just amazes me to here people bash the transmission in there Chrysler but I'll bet 75% of them never changed the oil or filter in the transmission.And then they complain that they lost a transmission at 60k.

tboner1965

Had a previous generation DC van, lost tranny at about 60K, later traded on a 96 Plymouth Voyager and lost that tranny at about the same mileage. This guy had all scheduled maintenance performed to preserve the warranty/scheduled warranty on the vehicle and still experienced two failures in two vehicles.

I've ridden with him in the van, his driving habits seem quite normal, certainly not abusive. His experience tells me that we were probably right in getting rid of our 97 Voyager before the warranty ran out.

For those who do have a DC van, I do wish you well.

tboner1965

Both replacements took three visits to his local dealer to get it right.

He is done buying DC products for a while. I could understand perhaps one of the two tranny replacements having problems and needing one return visit, but both needing two is kinda strange.

While the dealer is an independant business, I believe DC needs to be held accountable, not only for the problematic transmission, but also for the low quality of service the dealers are providing.

One is foolish if he expects a car to be troublefree. However, how the dealer/carmaker deals with that problem can make or break the relationship between owner and the dealer carmaker network.

Cheers,

TB

johnm20

Hi: I bought a 96 Grand Voyager new.
At 22K had a valve burn out. It was under warranty. But I had another problem that I had been charged for and had to go to arbitration to
get resolved. I have kept tack of all money spend on the van and gas mileage since I bought it.
For the first 49k I averaged 19.2MPG
The I changed the transmission fluid and filter.
This was after market from a major manufacturer. I noticed a lot of sludge in the bottom of the pan but not metal on the magnet. Since I changed
the fluid and filter I have averaged 2 more MPG
from 19.2 to 21.1. I ahve a 4speed with a 3.3 L.
If I had to buy another van now it would one of
two. If I needed the room a Honda, If I needed more of a family hauler it would be a Toyota.
Thanks for reading this.

ttherold

I have a 94 PGV, new trans, new air, new powersteering, good thing I had the extended warranty, it saved me thousands of dollars.

yogi_

I have a 95 Plymouth Voyager with the 4 SPD transmission. When I drive at level speed, over a level road, there is a bit of vibration and the car seems to be holding back. I later discovered that when I coast (just remove my foot from the gas), the car will DROP DOWN a gear from 4'th gear (drive gear) into the 3'rd gear. This makes highway driving irritating. I never had this problem when I owned a Caravan with the 3 SPD version. Has anyone out there experienced this and could tell me a what's wrong?

swobig

with my new DC minivan. Thinking of having it serviced at 20K miles, while still under warranty, just for safeties sake. Overall, it's a nice van. Have a 97 Dodge Intrepid w/60K miles and just had the tranny serviced. It showed no problems, actually looked very good and I think they use the same tranny - hopefully it keeps going and the new van follows suit...

bbunch

Hey Yogi,
I thought we where going crazy. We had a 1995 Voyager and the tranny went last year. Had it replaced. The dealer replaced tranny started doing the exact same thing you described a couple of months ago. Dealer said they couldnt find a problem. It felt like it was fighting to maintain speed on the most level of freeways. Then the mileage dropped to about 12-14 mpg (normally 21-22). We said thats it, since it was paid for, we traded it for a new Astro. Wish I could be more helpful. My advice is to sell it will it still runs. (or risk a $2,000+ repair in the near future that will only buy you time).

bill197

I too have a 95 Voyager that lost the transmission last November at 58,000 miles. After talking with the dealer, Chrysler agreed to pay for half of the $1,800 repair.

I now get a bad vibration in the front end at 45-55mph and around 70mph. New tires, balancing, alignment, new rotors and new struts have not cured the problem. Dealer cant find any problem. Could this possibly be the torque converter locking up and setting the stage for a second transmission failure? If anyone has any ideas on what this problem could be I would appreciate it.

It seems the best advice is to sell this thing while it can still move without the help of a tow truck.

rbacsafra

perhaps you should get your front axles checked for they can be bent.

abalto

That questions and technical advice web site...

I have also looked for a good Dodge web site to ask questions and technical advice, opinions, etc. The best site I have found is www.moparchat.com This site is clearly the best in quality, with over 60,000 posts! Good luck either way Trevor!

voyagervictim1

My 1996 Voyager minivan had the transmission completely fail in February 1999, one month before the 3/36 warranty expired. The dealer replaced the transmission with a new one.

Then in June of this year, I noticed that about one of every three times I drove it, the transmission would not shift past second. Driving at highway speed would have the thing noisily revving at 5000 to 6000 rpm. Turning the ignition off and restarting would "solve" the problem.

I had the system diagnosed at an independent garage in July. They got an error code, which I've forgotten, and said that that error code was linked to a long checklist, the final step of which would be to overhaul the transmission. I instead just had them drain and replace the transmission fluid (which had less than 15k miles on it, since it was an 18-month old transmission).

The van performed fine until late last month, when it again started revving high and not upshifting around 20% of the time.

Could someone walk me through what I need to do to have Chrysler fix my transmission - correctly - on their nickel?

Feel free to email me directly at atkinsonpaul@hotmail.com

eneth

Presumably they did the service with the proper fluid and filter. If they did and the unit is still failing, see below for one site with information on what is known about these units, and for some links to sites with info on how to deal with DaimlerChrysler's service departments:

http://badtrans.webprovider.com/home.htm

mcwhopper

Have a friend with a 90 Voyager that has only 35,000 miles. Is this a vehicle to avoid because of the tranny problems I see here???

rbacsafra

What model Voyager and engine and etc? 35,000 on a 1990? where was it driven? Around the block and back once a month? We've had a 90 Voyager SE with the 3.0L v6 and 3spd auto. We put 275,000 miles on that van in 5 years. Original tranny, engine and basic 3000 mile oil changes and other maintainance items. That was one great van...which was the reason we bought a 96 Grand Caravan LE and now have a 00 Grand Caravan Sport.

thefatsoundguy

I have a 1988 Plymouth Grand Voyager with a 3.0L mitsubishi engine and A-670 3-speed automatic transaxle with 170,000 miles. It has been a great vehicle. Recently a bad whine developed in the transaxle at 45 mph and above. After a day or so of this, the tranny wouldn't shift above 1st and there was a nasty whine in Reverse. I simply removed, cleaned, and replaced the valve body and the tranny works perfectly now. The work only took me 8 hours total (including setup and cleanup ) and I only spent about $70. (Service manual from Chrysler: $50; Filter: $7; ATF and Brake cleaner; $10)

eppy5

I have a 1997 Ply. Voyager SE, w/32000 miles on it. Transmission is shot and I am just 4 months beyond warranty period. Neither DC nor dealer want to assist in repair cost ($2,000) Car was serviced by dealer, low mileage for 3 1/2 years.
This is the first American car I have bought in 20 years and my last. Everyone agrees it is horrible and not right for tranny to go but nobody wants to stand behind their product. They have lost a customer for life. Anyone with similar problems on this model?

eneth

Try here:

http://badtrans.webprovider.com/home.htm

snickersgirl

My husband and I are getting ready to purchase a 1998 Plymouth Grand Voyager SE
with 57,000 miles on the odometer.
After reading everything on the townhall talk about the transmission going out, I think we should purchase the warranty for $395.00 to cover us. Any advice from anybody that owns a 1998?

ktyldy

I have a 90 Voyager too and mine has just under 55,000 true miles. My driving has had to be just in town on the usual chores (grocery, work etc) and have JUST replaced the spark plug cables. Dealership could not believe it was still original equip. Have had only boots to replace a couple of times and the a/c had to have work this year. I feel it has been a great vehicle to drive tho I would get at least a 6 cyl next time instead of the 4 cyl.

jaque1

Has anybody had a problem where you start the
engine on your Town Country,Grand Caravan,or Plymouth Voyager and when you try to
change gear, either to drive or reverse, nothing
happens? The van stays idle and does not change
gear at all. I have been able to shut the engine
off, restart it and then it started to work again.
This is a used 1996 T&C which we bought three
weeks ago and we have experienced this problem twice. Is it a transmission problem?

mpitt

I have a 93 Plymouth Grand Voyager. I have the exact same problem. I don't know how many miles you have, but I have just under 93,000. A few weeks ago, it started where it wouldn't engage in reverse a few times. Now it happens on a daily basis. Sometimes I can turn it off and back on and other times I drop it down to the lowest gear and back in reverse and it works. I have had it happen in drive about 3 times (one time the gears didn't shift at all). I took it to a transmission shop and they told me the transmission was going and I would have to have it replace. A minimum cost of $1,300. I read above where Chrysler was replacing some of the transmissions, but I noticed they were mostly around 60,000 miles. Would it be worth checking into with almost 93,000 miles on it?

parkview

We purchased a 91 Grand Voyager with 7000 miles on it in 1992. It had the largest V-6 engine available at that time and the automatic transmission. At about 40,000 miles, the transmission began to shift all by itself at highway speed, usually shifting down. I would be in cruise at 55 mph straight line, with no reason to shift. After several trips to the dealer and several stories about some phantom PRNDL switch nonsense, the van finally refused to shift at all and was towed into the dealer. Oh, and it had also managed to completely void itself of fluid, again on the highway, prior to its final shift into park. The dealer replaced the transmission, their cost. Mind you, there was probably three or four months involved with all of this.
We got almost 40,000 miles out of the "new" transmission when it started down shifting itself hard enough to almost give me whiplash coming up to a stop sign. I found an independent transmission shop with a computer analyser. He told me that the low end was going out. I took it to him for a complete checkup and discovered what the dealer had done all those miles prior to this. New and old parts had been mixed. I realize that this is standard procedure in some cases, but these parts were not compatible for the long haul. The computer had not been upgraded for the new parts. I was told that even when the transmission was replaced there had been about 26 upgrades to the computer at that time. None of those had been put on my van. Basically, my transmission ate itself up. New and old mismatched parts just made lunch of each other. You should have seen all the metal filings in the bottom of the case. I tried unsuccessfully to contact Chrysler, by phone, for about a month and finally gave up. I had a new transmission put in the van by the independent shop. All new parts and with Amsol fluid (I hope that I am spelling this right). There have been a few things that needed to be adjusted, but I finally have the old pep back when I accelerate. That shop has my business for as long as I have cars. Yes, it was another $2000 investment, but the van has been a real trouper for us and it was cheaper than getting another vehicle. While I am not happy with the service that I got from the dealer, to put it mildly, as long as I have independent shops that I trust because of their honesty, I will stay with the Voyager.

jaque1

Mpitt, I also just reached 93,000 miles on our 1996 t&c. Could this be a coinsidence? Ours is still under warranty so I'm hoping that we can get it resolved at little or no cost to us.
Eneth thanks for your input as well.

jtrandolph

jaque1, I have a 1996 Grand Caravan that has/had the same problem. I bought it used in May and started experiencing problems in August. I took the van to a local dealer who "checked" the tranny (67,000 miles)and said it was just low on fluid.

I have just taken it to an independent transmission repair shop to check it again because the problem never went away. I have now been told that it was 2 1/2 qts low on fluid and now I need a complete rebuild. I now have 74,000. How could the dealer have missed the leak?

From reading others comments, its appears that this problem is not uncommon. I'm beginning to wonder if I have any recourse from Chrysler for this? Anybody have any ideas?

corty77

Own a 95 Caravan 3.0 3 speed 78,000. Trans went out, and I had it fixed at a reputible non DC shop b/c I could not wait without a vechicle to have chrysler fix it and fight them to pay for it. Now I am seeking some reimbursement from them. I have been hung up on after calling and politely talking to their 800 customer service #! Does anyone have a Local DC office phone # or DC zone office phone # that worked for them? (I don't care if it was your local dealer, I will call them). Or give me exact details on how to get the $ from DC. Feel free to e-mail me at corty77@hotmail.com. I really appreciate it.

eneth

You may not have much success with seeking compensation for your
3-speed - that unit has a pretty good reputation for reliability (it's been around since 1977 with the original Omni/Horizon). It's the 4-speed automatic that DaimlerChrysler has had (and continues to have) trouble with.

See below for some references that may help.

http://www.lemonaidcars.com/chrysler.htm

http://badtrans.webprovider.com/home.htm

slroby

I signed up for the 3 year/36000 mile warranty which was the biggest mistake of my life with the 1993 Voyager. At 78,000 miles the transmission was completely destroyed and had to be replaced at the Chrysler dealer at $1700 cost to me. I complained to Chrysler without success. I filled out the papers and sent them to different places without success. On the phone for hours without answer sometimes or on hold. I was on hold eight (8) hours one day and the phone just hung up after 6 pm. I though, well I am unlucky.
But I knew I was in for trouble at 118,000 miles when the torque converter started that vibration like a tire was out of balance. A torque converter replacement and transmission was again needed. I called Chrysler again and what made me mad was the customer relations person said, "I have no reports of any transmission problems from even one consumer with that model van." I told him he was a liar as I had reported a failure a year ago that I had reported many, many times. Also, there were three Dodge and Plymouth vans with 3.0L engines sitting at the local transmission shop where my van made number four. This and the following two replacements cost $1200-$1600 each about every 40,000 miles. You pay $18,700 for a van, and then put $7,000 in transmissions in it, what a laugh (the manufacturer is having at us, we all are paying $100 per month to them for transmission repair only).
I had a Chevrolet product that the dealer and the manufacturer refused to fix under warranty. When I pulled into the traffic lane and the engine died at 11,500 miles for the hundredth time, I went to Chrysler (1979).
I do not think America can make an automobile any more and the industry officials refuse to admit a mistake, like a rear end that explodes, wiring that catches on fire, torque converter that sends shrapnel into the transmission upon failure(no filtration to separate them)...
I purchased a new Honda Civic and had no major cost until it had well over 210,000 miles. I purchased a Datsun pickup at the same time as the Chevrolet auto and had only brake lines needed until well over 240,000 miles. I presently own a Honda Accord with over 178,000 miles on it and plan to keep it until it rusts into a heap.
Guess what Chrysler, you are responsible for me purchasing another new Honda when this one fails.
Guess what Chrysler, you will be responsible for me purchasing a new Toyota pickup in a about three months.
Guess what Chrysler, you are responsible for me purchasing a foreign auto whenever I need to replace my present model.
Steve Roby

slroby

Bill I have had four failures and every time but the first (which was a bang and crash) the vibration started before the failures. Have a reputable transmission shop pull the two electric wires going to the torque converter. If the vibration stops, you will have to replace the transmission before you can sell the vehicle. Believe me I know how to test it by now. Oh I forgot to mention I drove 61,000 miles in a year with the 1993 van, it was only 1 1/2 years old with the first failure at 78,000 miles... And I had the dealer change transmission filters and fluid every time the schedule said it should be changed... Oil every 3000 miles is the only exception.
I am very diligent with scheduled maintenance. I went through the strut, tire, drum, rotor, bearing, axle thing. Just unplug the two torque converter wires for one test drive. Let the shop do it. When the vibrations stops, the crying can begin again and again and again.... Steve Roby slroby@stratuswave.net

profrandy

Own a '94 Grand SE. Changed transmission fluid within warranty period but transmission went out shortly after expiration of warranty. No help from dealer or Chrysler. A friend's son worked for a Chrysler dealership as a mechanic at the time and advised that the repair lots were backed up with bum transmissions, many of which went out after changing the fluid. Dealer wanted around $2K to repair but when we told them we were sending a wrecker to pick up the van and take it somewhere else they agreed to rebuild for $1,200, a much more reasonable price, though we should not have had to pay anything. Probably an opportunity for a class action if enough people could band together.
We will not be in the market for another Chrysler product!

mrogers7

I have a 96 Dodge Grand Caravan EL with 80k on it. For the past 20+ thousand miles have had both the transmission fail to engage (forward and reverse)and finally fail to shift out of 2nd gear. I shut the engine off and it began shifting normally again. After calls to the dealership and the old "unable to duplicate" excuse it finally stalled and we got an error code. The dealership changed the transmission control module ($500) and serviced the transmission. Seems to be o. to date. Have had numerous electrical problems including wipers that go 1x on their own, front blower that fails to come on for 10 minutes or, get this doesn't shut off when the key is removed! Also at the moment am battling intermittent starting (starter changed and battery good)problems at any time and temperature. Again unable to trace as it is intermittent. Thinking ignition switch but not sure. Anybody else with similar problems or ideas? May dump the car to get reliable transportation and before anything else comes up!

eneth

If nothing else is wrong, it may make sense. Future useability is unpredictable - you could spend the money, have the transaxle replaced, and then have someone hit and total the van, so it's a gamble either way.

If you were to sell the van, it would have to be fixed, anyway - or trade it at a loss.

markf3

Wanted to add mine and ask if anyone had gotten anywhere with a post warranty claim. I've got 42000 (warranty ended at 36k) on a 98 and at a stop light, the van refused to move again. Then jolted foward after moving shift lever into and out of different gears. Drove to shop, mechanic pulled apart and there was metal in pan and filter. Suggested bearing defect and had to replace and rebuild much of the tranny for $2k plus. I have digital images of bad components and would like to send them to Chrysler if anyone has an email address of a service person who will actually do something with it.

mwaddo

Wanted to ask if anyone had any insight into the reliability of the 1996 transmissions. My DC (3.3L 4-Sp) has 90,000 miles. My Dodge Status needed a new cranny at 62,000 (I got rid of it), and I was wondering if at 90K miles, I have made it past where many people have problems, or if I still run a risk. From reading the posts, it seems as though many people have problems at <60K, than again in the real high numbers (>150K), but not as many in between. Thanks in advance for any insight.

royallen

mwaddo: I'd hoped some wise person would answer your question. The best long term surveys I know by Consumer Reports generally show steady increase in problem rates as these vans age. Thus it seems to me a bit of a crap shoot after one factors in preventive maintenance which for this transmission needs to be done correctly and often. Beyond that, you might consider Hoofer's advice of transmission fluid analysis by a company like Schaeffer, about $47 for a set of 6. 800-325-9962 to order.

dfunderburk

I bought a 1994 Plymouth Voyager new--had dealer do 15,000, 30,000, 45,000, & 60,000 maintenance.
At 53,000 transmission clunked when going from park to reverse. Dealer replaced engine mounts.
At 60,000--same thing. Dealer replaced trans.mount and right engine mount. Less than 100 miles later, same problem--dealer reconditioned trans. under warranty (7/70,0000). At 77,641--same problem--dealer replaced transmission for $250 (after quoting price of $2100) after I "reminded) them of information regarding failure of transmissions that I got from this web page.
I could easily have paid them entire amount without that information. Service manager "remembered" the $250 deductible after he called the district manager. Suggestion--challenge service manager before paying the full amount quoted for transmission repairs.

3boyz4me

Wish now I had listened to my conscience on this van versus my then pregnant hormones!

At 23,583 miles the 1st transmission went out. Now, 3 years later, the 2nd transmssion went out at just 53,733. Know what DC said...TOO BAD! Said I was "too far" out of warranty (it expired Sept. 2000). Looking at 2 possibilities. First is small claims. Second is the possibile CA Lemon Law which was just revised down to 2 repairs for certain safety problems. Hoping I qualify so I can get rid of this thing. Saw an article on DC Lemon Laundering here at the same time I purchased this van. Fingers crossed.

mrqf

Since beginning vehicle ownership in the late '50s, we have never before had transmission problems, even with a 1990 Grand Voyager SE whose 4-speed was reputedly problematic (though we totaled it at 60,000 miles). From what I've seen on this website and others, our present 3.0L 3-speed is far from a dependable workhorse, but also an inherently weak transmission, for which the manufacturer ought to bear responsibility. It now has almost 84,000 miles on it, and the AT fluid and filter were last changed (by the dealer) at 76,000 miles. It's almost as if this last fluid change has something to do with the problem, but you'd think they'd know to put in the correct type. We don't drive the van hard and have never towed with it. For several years, starting when it was 6 mos. old at at 19,000 miles, we had a persistent stalling problem (esp. when decelerating), about which the dealer professed bafflement, stating it was surely a rarity. I don't think so, from a posting on another discussion here. They first tried a new fuel pump, with no improvement, then a new computer module, with no change. Finally, a young mechanic friend suggested cleaning the throttle body and idle control. We reported that to the dealer and it was done&#151;presto, end of problem for several years, when it needed doing again. However, we wonder whether the repeated stalling (at various speeds, some quite high) and restarting might be one reason the transmission now seems to be failing. We also had a clunking noise with starting and stopping that we took to an independent mechanic last May, and he replaced the front motor mount, with an end to the clunking thereby. A couple of months ago it started sometimes delaying going into gear from park or neutral, then whammed in violently. It hasn't done that recently, but seems to be upshifting at higher-than-usual speeds and staying in 2nd way too long especially. Sometimes it seems to get to the 40s before going into 3rd, whereas formerly it went into overdrive at about 43. We also think it might be slipping in 2nd gear, in its present lower range. The fluid level is OK. Is the AT likely to go out on us at any minute (it's our only vehicle)? Or do we have a little leeway to figure out how to go about dealing with the situation and how to get DC to accept some responsibility for it? We don't need to do any/much highway driving for a little while, at least, unless it's to get it to an independent transmission shop 45 miles away that, in terms of quality, may be a better bet than the dealer's shop. We can't afford big bucks for this (also need new roof, to replace buried oil tank, etc.), and don't think we should have to spring for such anyway. What a contrast to our 1978 B-200 big window van, with its 8 cyl. 318 engine, which went 170,000+ miles with no AT problems (nor engine problems), before we sold it (body rusting out, cooling system problems, despite regular maintenance). Might the Center for Auto Safety be of any help with this sort of thing? NHTSA? Ultimately, transmission failure can be a safety problem. Any place else to try contacting?

tom8108

First transmission after long rides at highway speed shifts into 3rd then later into 2nd. Second transmission now does same thing. Problem goes away next day so no diagnostic codes show up. Anyone have similar problems? Anyone have any ideas of how to fix it.

tbolte

I just had a transmission failure on our '96 Grand Voyager. It failed on the freeway and wouldn't go out of 2nd gear. Towed it to a local reputable repair place and they said the cranny needed about $1500 worth of work. This was on a Friday. Over the weekend I looked on the interned and was shocked by what I found. I didn't know about Edmunds.com. I know 68,000 is way too soon for a cranny to fail but I didn't realize about the history of DC cranny failures. The repair place suggested that I contact the dealer which I did. I notified them about what I had learned about the history of failures and "secret warranties" and that I expected them to share in the cost of the repair. They agreed to pay half and so I had the car towed there and everything ended up costing me $800.

I'm somewhat happy that they shared the cost of repairs but still disappointed with the performance of DC products. We have had some other problems with this car but overall OK. I'm not happy at all with seeing how many folks have gone thou several transmissions. I'd like to support American cars but I've had 3 Honda and a Toyota and they lasted forever with very few repairs (rust out was their death). We bought the Grand Voyager because the Honda and Toyota vans at the time weren't large enough for what we wanted. I think next time we're going back to Honda. This is a democracy and if we continue to support mediocrity that's what we'll get.

tchanter

DC has made improvements to their 4 speed FWD trans - (and the problems were/are numerous). (This is from friends at DC & at tranny shops)
Bottom line: there are still problems - most of which can be avoided by CHANGING THE FLUID every 12K - and make sure you use Chrysler spec fluid!

daddyo3

I have a 1993 Ply mouth Grand Voyager, AT with overdrive, with 106,000 miles on it now. We have crept for the past 20,000 miles, praying that it wouldn't go out. We bought it at 86,000 miles from a local couple who told us that they were the second owners on it - that was a lie! We found out later from DC that we were not the third owner's on this van, but the fourth (we didn't know about www.carfax.com at the time, but I wish we had). The first thing I noticed was a "shimmy" when shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear. Then, I would put it in gear and it wouldn't go into gear immediately, then the "thump" when it engaged. That's when I knew it was getting worse. We had it serviced and were told of the infamous history of the A604 transmission. It was the opinion of several reputable transmission shops and dealerships that DC should have had a recall on these, but the only thing that they would have a recall on is a safety risk/liability to them. They should have! No one I know who has one of these vans has gone without problems. Yes, we tried to get help from DC, but they essentially told us that we were stupid for even asking. The 10/100,000 mile warranty that was originally purchased by the original owner was never transferred so they wouldn't honor it - I doubt if they would honor it even if it was transferred. Currently, the van is out of commission and I am debating with a transmission shop about the work. This is strictly my opinion, but DON' BUY PLY MOUTH/CHRYSLER/DODGE VANS!!! As nice as look, they are poorly engineered and DC won't back their product. We'll never own another.....

tom8108

Changing transmission fluid frequently didn't help me for either my 90 or 95 Plymouth Van. Current Van has 8,000 miles on rebuilt transmission and it is failing.

bucman

I purchased a 99 grand se voyager one year ago. I've got this irritating whistle from the accelerator or something when the van hits 50 and 70 mph. It goes away if you let off the gas. Does anyone else have this problem, the dealer told me it is a problem with "ALL" voyagers with a 3.3 engine.

cmccrimmon

I also had a problem first thing in the morning with 1998 Grand Voyaguer with 83,000km. Put it in gear and won't move. Takes a minute before it will go. Dealer said it is caused by fluid leak and that the transmission needs servicing and lines need to be replaced for about $300. Doesn't seem right for such a new van that's had all scheduled maintaince.