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Regarding the Toyota, I'd be much more worried about engine sludge (Toyota's current bug-a-boo) than a transmission failure.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Hondas 4 speed auto transmissions for 4/6 cyl while may not shift as smoothly as GM/ Toyota, they are bullet proof. Also the 04 Sienna 5 speeds are too new (actually they have been in Lexus for sometime now I think), older Sienna tranny failures are very few and far between. There is not even a transmission problem forum on the Sienna side. As much as people dig GM's reliability, their transmissions are one of smoothest shifting and relatively reliable ones. Just my opinion of course.
Even though we don't have tranny boards for the Sienna (or Quest, Windstar/Freestar, MPV etc.) minivans in general seem to have their fair share of transmission problems. Probably a normal amount, but sometimes it seems high.
Steve, Host
- When accelerating from a coast - a few times the transmission "jumped" into a higher gear
- When coming to a quick stop, transmission does a slight surge before coming to a stop. One time it was more of a thump, but I think it is more like a noticeable one second lag that the transmission has between when you want to stop and it wants to stop
- When parked on a downhill, going from Park to Drive, the transmission clunks.
I know I am a very obsessive person, so forgive me if I am being a bit anal here! But, this car is brand new for me and I can't afford a bad car. Being a brand new Dodge owner (have owned Toyotas for the past 10 years), is this what to expect? Is this normal? Or, is this the 1st symptom of troubles to come? (If the latter is the case, I will be bringing it back while I still may have the chance!)
Many, Many Thanks,
Anthony (^_^)
Good Luck!
Antonio (^_^)
As far as getting the name/number of the previous owner, it's a state law that dealers must provide that information. Can't waffle at all. They must provide it. Maybe not that way in your state, but it sure is worth checking out for future reference.
Another thing you can do is check Carfax, for paying a fee you can I believe get a history of the car, maintenance and ownership, though I have never used it myself. They are an Edmunds sponser so you can click on a link thru Edmunds. It might give you a way of tracking down the previous owner.
By the way, we have a 1996 Caravan with the 3.3 liter engine(we bought new) and at 75K miles, the transmission has been fine, aside from a small drive shaft leak and a valve pack gasket leak that showed up recently, which were fairly inexpensive to fix. And we only recently did the first transmission fluid and filter change. They don't all self destruct (knock on wood), as you might get the impression on some of these discussions.
I actually have an appointment tomorrow at a different place which is a 5 Star certified dealer. They are going to charge me $19.95 to do a test drive with a mechanic as well as check out the trans fluids, put it on the lift, etc..... I feel this is a $20 well spent. After I tune in with them, I will probably head back to the place I purchased it from and have them check it out with me as well. I think that overall, I am just being over sensitive because it is a new car for me that I am not sued to and I've got some of the complaints from this board lodged into my brain (^_^)
Thanks Again!
Antonio (^_^)
We bought both vans new, and they have both done this since new. If you only feel the surge under light braking, the answer is fairly simple; as you are nearing a stop, the transmission shifts into first gear and that transmits more of the engine torque from the idling engine to the front wheels, thus the surge. If you feel the surge under heavy braking, then you might well have a problem.
Good Luck,
Shipo
Many Thanks..... and on to the next round.....
BTW Shipo - I posted in another area regarding a rough idle / idle vibration as well as a hissy sound when my air unit is in defrost mode. Either of these two familiar to you?
Thanks again,
Antonio (^_^)
Regarding the hiss from the defrost mode; most cars these days (if not all) turn on the A/C compressor to dry the air that is then being sent to the windscreen. That facilitates the defrost/defog process dramatically. To confirm if this is what is going on, simply engage your A/C button when your vent selector is pointing anywhere from the floor position or left (note: one click to the right of the floor position will auto-engage the A/C circuit). If you hear the hiss, you will then have confirmed my theory, and as such, it's normal.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Transmission problems with the Sienna, while maybe being less than others by rate, is still not stellar. I most certainly can't agree that they are "rare." As to GM's transmission reliability, I know better!
Dusty
I now have a brand new transmission. Hope this one lasts a little longer than the original Tranny.. Transmission was never right from day one. I pointed this out to the dealer while having my first oil/filter change, their response was are there any red lights on, and I said no and they told me not to worry.
Approximately 20,000 miles later the transmission failed and there were still no red lights.. So much for Chrysler's Improved Quality.
djb63
My advise is..... DON'T DO IT. Take it to the dealer and get the correct transmission fluid and you will avoid problems with your transmission.
Around here there have been a rash of lawsuits against quick oil change establishments because they used the incorrect ATF in Chrysler products. Personally, I would trust a dealer on this type of service regardlesss of the price different. No quick lube place can replace 14-18 quarts of ATF+4 for $98.
Best regards,
Dusty
The individual is allowed to order her/his vehicle with just about any option above the company specification (except for engine) at purchase time. Some do, I'm sure, have the trailer towing option but fleet performance reports would not reflect this information. I'd have to go into the database and pull up individual vehicles by our number in order to see which options were selected by the assigned driver.
Based on years past, I would say that about 2-3% might opt for trailer towing option.
Best regards,
Dusty
what is my best course to maintain the tranny? I need maintenance 101 How often do you do a flush and fill, I would have to have the dealer do it, I am not mechanical nor is my DH. What is this about the tranny oil and filter? do they do that when they flush?
Can someone tell me how to look at the fluid and what is should look like?
I wanna own this van a LONG time!
Try the Transmission Traumas? discussion for advice too.
Steve, Host
Some owners have a flush done every other year with filter & fluid change done in the intervening year. A filter & fluid change normally does not get all the fluid changed out - about half is trapped behind the torque converter. Check with your local dealer as to what the tranny service includes. Some change the filter (requires dropping the pan) while others do not drop the pan while doing a flush. And do not let anyone put or use Dexron III or Dexron III with friction modifiers in your van's tranny. The use of Dexron will spell death for your transmission. Only use ATF+4.
Fluid should appear red in color with no burnt smell. Purchase a quart to compare.
Enjoy your new van.
There are opinions on whether to flush the entire transmission -- which is a complete purge and evacuation of the old fluid -- or just change the filter and the corresponding amount of fluid lost from the filter removal (about 4 quarts).
The rationale behind the "no flushing" philosophy is that the pressure of force-flushing will dislodge accumulated debris and cause more of a problem soon afterwards. The problem with this is that the professional evacuation systems that are used by many transmission shops does not "force" the new ATF into the transmission. In fact, done correctly it is not desirable to move fresh ATF into the transmission faster than the normal flow. This is to prevent aeration of the fluid and potential damage to the transmission.
The problem with only replacing the three to four quarts of fluid that is lost when replacing the filter is that a significant quantity of highly oxidized ATF still remains. Oxidation is the primary depletion of the friction qualities of the fluid. The transmission is designed to operate at the optimum with non-oxidized ATF. While the three to four fresh quarts help, the remaining 10-14 quarts of old ATF depletes the friction determining component of the fresh ATF very quickly.
A complete evacuation of the ATF and replenishing with fresh fluid should pose no harm to the transmission.
The admonition to never use Mercon-Dexron is extremely valid. Dexron has probably ruined more Chrysler automatics than abusive or neglectful operation.
By the way, Chrysler has just recently lower the price of ATF+4 to under $5.00 a quart, or $27 a gallon.
Best regards,
Dusty
decisions, decisions :-)
Steve, Host
How much does it cost (estimate) to get the filter/fluid change? the full flush?
You all are talking about the price of the fluid, how much fluid does it take?
So if I get it service 1x a year that should be pretty sufficient eh?
closed on the van yday and took possession, so far so good! finally got to drive it today (my DH drove it on test drive) still learning all the buttons but enjoyed driving it! after driving a piece of crap KIA I forgot what it's like to drive something with some POWER! I can pull out onto a dangerous highway I work off of without having to turn the A/C off! LOL
Yeah, that was a mis-type. My mind was instructing to type $17, but my fingers were not responding.
Dusty
It depends on which engine you have, but some of the "T" series front-wheel drive Chrysler transmissions take up to eighteen quarts.
My neighbor just had the transmission flushed on his Toyota Sienna at Jiffy Lube and they charged him $150. But that vehicle takes Dexron-Mercon I'm pretty sure, so a transmission that took ATF+4 would be more.
Unless you put on a lot of miles or will be towing or live in real hilly country, you wouldn't need to do a complete purge every year. Heck, I see Chrysler mini-vans all the time that have 100,000 miles plus and have never touched the transmission.
Where do you live?
Best regards,
Dusty
I know what you mean by power. Even with the A/C on our T&C accerlerates pretty good. Our previous van, 1993 Aerostar, couldn't get out of its own way with the A/C off.
Depending on how many miles you drive yearly and if the type of driving you do falls under 'severe' driving would dictate how often you would need to change the fluid. As Dusty said some tranmissions have gone over 100K mile without being serviced and run fine. Our T&C has over 104K miles. When we bought it it had 78K miles and to date we haven't serviced the tranny which is running fine. As we will be traveling to Florida in July I plan to have it serviced before we leave.
Are their any preferred brands? or kits that have all the parts? that someone here has experience with.
Since I plan to keep this vehicle a long time, I'm also thinking about a bypass filter for the engine oil, I don't know if there's any room up front though for the double filters.
Thanks for any advice
new caravan owner
P.S. If you have problems with your wiper motor running for a cycle by itself, that is because the motor is going out. I believe they recalled that problem, or at least issued a TSB on it, (can't remember off the top of my head). And they have issued multiple TSB's on the power locks whirring, has anyone gotten that problem fixed? My dealership has charged us enormous prices to find that problem and have since replaced all lock cylinders, and it continues to make noise intermittently. I would appreciate any feedback on this problem, please email me @centercityaaron@hotmail.com.
Regarding the transmission flush for Chrysler minivans, I checked my 2003 maintenance guide, and there's no recommendation for this service until something like 48K miles. I wonder if the 15K service is recommended only for earlier models.
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Great care should be taken when advising Chrysler vehicle owners on the use of automatic transmission fluid. As written, your message implies that something else can always substitute Chrysler packaged ATF. In it's broad sense that is incorrect.
If a Chrysler vehicle is specified to use ATF+3, then the statement MAY be valid. I say "may" because not all ATF+3s are certified to meet the full requirements of ATF+3.
When it comes to those Chrysler vehicles requiring ATF+4, then currently ONLY Chrysler ATF+4 can be used because no one else is certified or licensed to make it or sell to direct retail markets.
>>> Fast Lubes, etc. know what can and cannot be used.<<<
That should read "should know." Unfortunately in this area there have been fast lubes places that used Dexron-Mercon ATF in Chrysler vehiles, a real no-no. This resulted in 100s of prematurely failed transmissions and subsequent lawsuits.
My recommendation is that the person know which fluid is required for her/his vehicle and verify with the servicing establishment what they intend to use before having the service performed on their Chrysler vehicle.
Best regards,
Dusty
Has anyone ever heard of an output sensor failing for this reason? Will a flush/filter change be enough to solve this problem or does this suggest a more serious trans problem? The trans is functioning ok otherwise.
Yes, I've seen this before. In fact, sometimes the sensor is not really defective at all. Small bits of metal can disturb the magnetic operation of the sensor, throw codes and cause all kinds of sporatic transmission operation.
It's hard to say if a complete flush will remove all pieces of metal. I know that normal flow flushes will not remove everything, that's why some advocate a power flush. However, that too is potentially fraught with unintended consequences.
A full transmission flush and new filter is not going to hurt anything. I would do it. It will give you an opportunity to clean out the transmission oil pan and clean off the magnetic that's inside the pan.
Remember, ATF+4 is the transmission fluid to use.
Best regards,
Dusty
Shane
Have the Chrysler dealer put in an actual Chrysler/Dodge Transmission Cooler. That will ensure that with warranty claims that the manufacturer or dealer won't try to blame the 3rd party product, plus it should be completely covered by the remainder of your warranty like any dealer-installed Chrysler accessory.
Under severe service the owner's manual recommends service at 48,000 miles if 50% of driving is at high speeds when the temperature is above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Are you sure that's 48,000 miles and not 48,000 KMs?
Bests,
Dusty