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Chrysler Minivan Transmission Problems

1833 messages,  Last post on Nov 10, 2009 at 3:54 AM

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What is this discussion about? Chrysler Town and Country, Dodge Caravan, Plymouth Voyager, Chrysler Grand Voyager, Dodge Grand Caravan, Transmission, Van

#1324 of 1833 Re: 2000 Voyager transmission issue [brent10] by masterpaul1 Apr 09, 2007 (3:44 pm)
Replying to: brent10 (Apr 08, 2007 7:47 am) A week outside in cold weather, with out being started, is a long time. What you discribed sounds normal, after a long sleep outside in cold weather. Allow the van to run for a few minutes to allow all of the moving parts and fluid to circulate through the engine and trans. before driving. We have an 01 DGC EX and It sat in the garage in cold weather for a few days. The van started, but not as fast as it would after sitting for a day. I also, noticed it was running a little rough at start up. I let it idle for a few minutes and no problems.
#1325 of 1833 Re: 2007 Grand Caravan SXT Rough Shift [manipulators] by tmanhardt Apr 19, 2007 (8:02 am)
Replying to: manipulators (Mar 27, 2007 7:31 am) My van is doing the EXACT same thing. It has 3000 mile on it and has done it after having it about a week. I bought it in Fenruary. It has been like pulling teeth to even get the dealer to recognize it. They say that they have to contact Chrysler about it. I think it is the blow you off routine. I'm following up with them today. One technician I talked to at the dealer told me that in the early 2007 models, Chrysler put a lower pressure Transmission pump in to improve fuel economy at idle while in gear. He said if my van is one of those (my van was manufactured in 9/06), they would have to pull the transmission out of the vehicle and replace with the appropriate part. LONG PROCESS!   Keep you posted! Replies to this message: tmanhardt (Apr 25, 2007 10:08 am) winston861 (Apr 25, 2007 12:43 pm)
#1326 of 1833 Not shifting by aubreyd Apr 19, 2007 (6:56 pm)
My son has a 92 caravan that we recently replaced the transaxle in. We took it to a shop to have the computer reprogramed but for some reason it will only shift to 2nd gear.We where told that for some reason the tranny isn't getting the signal to shift but all the wiring seems to check out fine.any ideas? Could it possibly a vacumm problem?
#1327 of 1833 Re: Tranny problem? [georgetran] by jayz1 Apr 19, 2007 (11:33 pm)
Replying to: georgetran (Jul 30, 2000 12:50 am) yep sounds like it!!!! to all and every body out there,i have a reliable solution,mor for a master mechanic,but im doing this conversion now. i found an 89 thru 91 2.2l 4 clynder turbo ,with a 5 speed (MANUAL) TRANS.. of the 555 model designation.this 555 trans is supposed to be a heavy duty trans (drag racers use it in the cars). now i have a 94 voyager, 3.0 l 3-speed tranny,the origonal trans went after,127,00 miles, found a used trans from a 90 caravn , put 60,000 miles on it and its ready to blow out again!!! aghhh!!! so im converting to a turbo 4 clynder and a hd 5 speed manl.trans!! at least u can get a clutch job done for cheaper than an automatic these days!!!! so now i am installing the shifter,pedals, and cables and wiring to convert it to a man. trans!!! by my self of course,and the whole parts van cost me 250.00!! but they are rare to find,i got lucky and found minein a bone yard. good bye automatic,hellow man trans and reliabilty!!!!!and the funny thing is... u can get hot rod parts for the motor and heavy duty cluth stuff for this settup!!! so u can have a reliable,and damm fast caravan!!!! lol!!! this only works with the first and second generation vans!! but i would have to research,if they have a man. trans on the newer vans (gen 3 vans) they do offer the 2.4l motor in the newer ones,and yes the turbo for a neon srt-4 or a turbo pt cruiser should bolt right in,with some tech. support and a little time and work!! (maybe a neon 5- speed from a srt 4-would work???) well thell me what do u think???? jay!!!! reach me at fracker_lover03yahoo.com!!!! i work as a chrysler tech, i like this conversion idea,i hope to keep every body posted on the results of this!!!
#1329 of 1833 Re: 2007 Grand Caravan SXT Rough Shift [tmanhardt] by tmanhardt Apr 25, 2007 (10:08 am)
Replying to: tmanhardt (Apr 19, 2007 8:02 am) Aaaaaaahh!! The van is in the shop again with the same symptoms. Now they say that nothing is wrong. Yeah right. Why does the van not show the symptoms to the techs when they drive it, but everytime I do, the problem is apparent? Are there not enough warranty hours for the tech to do the job? I'm really losing faith in Chrysler. I can't believe that they keep going around and around on this one. That's right. I bought a freakin' ! The worst part is that they are trying to deny the whole thing. One more go around and then the sparks are going to fly!
#1330 of 1833 Re: 2007 Grand Caravan SXT Rough Shift [tmanhardt] by winston861 Apr 25, 2007 (12:43 pm)
Replying to: tmanhardt (Apr 19, 2007 8:02 am) Hello. We bought an 06 Caravan in October 06. We left the lot and drove 10 miles to a restaurant. After dinner we hopped into the van and proceeded to leave. When I put the van in drive, it took aprox 3 seconds, before it dropped or clunked heavy into gear. I put it back in park and when I did the process again, the clunk was there.I called dealer and they say it's because it's to new < bullshitzu <that's what I said. Bill
#1331 of 1833 06 Transmission Quirks by twocycle2 May 06, 2007 (5:01 am)
I have an 06 SXT with the 3.3 engine....I have had no transmission "problems", but I am amazed that the personality traits of the this tranny hasn't changed since my parent's 91 Dodge Dynasty (3.3) and 94 T&C van (3.8). The tranny in my 06 still has that stumbling feeling shifting from 1-2 and has what I call a "long-duration shift" as it shifts into 1st when approaching a stop. It also has a slight whirring/flapping noise when coasting at 10-20mph. If I hadn't had previous experiences with this, I'd be concerned. But both of my parents vehicles did this from day 1 and lasted 90k miles before having any trans problems. My dad did zero maintenance on the transmissions on those cars, and both began to slip right around 90k. I think most of us can assume reliable service for up to 100k these days, but if you're looking to drive yours over that, then I would do regular fluid changes, upgrade the trans cooler, and drive it as easy as possible.....these trannys don't take abuse very well. Twocycle2 Replies to this message: shipo (May 06, 2007 6:16 am) twocycle2 (May 06, 2007 10:54 am) shipo (May 07, 2007 3:11 am) and 2 more...
#1332 of 1833 Re: 06 Transmission Quirks [twocycle2] by shipo May 06, 2007 (6:16 am)
Replying to: twocycle2 (May 06, 2007 5:01 am) Please be aware that the transmissions that were in the Dynasty and the 1994 T&C REQUIRED a pan drop/filter replacement/fluid top-off with ATF+3 transmission fluid every 30,000 miles. That the transmissions in those cars didn't fail until the 90,000 mile mark is actually a bit surprising, I would have expected them to fail much sooner.   The transmission in your 2006 Grand Caravan uses a fully synthetic ATF+4 transmission fluid, and per your Owner's Manual, you don't need to replace the fluid ever (assuming you aren't towing or driving in a high dust environment). That said, some folks still adhere to the 30,000 mile schedule of the earlier vans, others drop the pan and such every 100,000 miles on the Gen4 vans.   Best Regards, Shipo Replies to this message: twocycle2 (May 06, 2007 10:54 am) shipo (May 07, 2007 3:11 am) playtime (May 07, 2007 6:57 pm) and 1 more...
#1333 of 1833 Re: 06 Transmission Quirks [shipo] by twocycle2 May 06, 2007 (10:54 am)
Replying to: shipo (May 06, 2007 6:16 am) "Please be aware that the transmissions that were in the Dynasty and the 1994 T&C REQUIRED a pan drop/filter replacement/fluid top-off with ATF+3 transmission fluid every 30,000 miles."   Shipo,   Don't get me wrong....had maintenance been done to those tranny's, it is quite possible they would have lasted longer. I don't remember what the manual for the Dynasty said, but I do know the T&C said that no maintenance was required for "normal" service duty. That struck me as odd back then, given the problematic history of these units, and that was even back when Chrysler offered the 7/70 warranty on the powertrain.   Question for you....do you know specifically what the problems were with those early units that caused the early failures (I apologize if this has been asked previously in this forum, as I have not gone back and read every page). I heard of people in the early 90's who barely got 1k miles before it failed.   thx for the info Twocycle2 Replies to this message: shipo (May 07, 2007 3:11 am) playtime (May 07, 2007 6:57 pm) shipo (May 08, 2007 2:27 am)

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