Chrysler Minivan Transmission Problems

2067 messages,  Last post on May 12, 2013 at 11:00 AM

You are in the Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan Forum.

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


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#1432 of 2067 Re: How are the 2007 transmissions? [vanman99] by tom166

Sep 05, 2007 (8:57 am)

Replying to: vanman99 (Aug 14, 2007 6:41 pm)
I bought a 2007 Dodge Caravan on 7-2. I noticed a grabing as you came to a stop and a hard shift as you pulled from a stop. Took to dealer and was advised that the problem was the transmission and that there was no fix for it but one may be on the way in 90 days.Talked to Chrysler rep. yesterday and they have narrowed the fix down to 60 days. Asked to do a trade to another van and was told that that would do no good as the other vans prob. would have the same problem. I WOULD NOT BUY A DODGE CARAVAN NOR A TOWN AND COUNTRY.

#1433 of 2067 Re: How are the 2007 transmissions? [shipo] by tom166

Sep 05, 2007 (9:14 am)

Replying to: shipo (Aug 16, 2007 10:25 am)
I have a new Dodge caravan and it doe's have transmission problems with less then two thousand miles on it.Dealer say's there's no fix for it but their may be one in 90 days. Yesterday talked to Chrysler rep. and he has narrowed the fix to 60 days maybe.THey will not refund money nor replace van. If they traded out Vans the next van would have the same problems.

#1434 of 2067 Re: How are the 2007 transmissions? [tom166] by shipo

Sep 05, 2007 (11:35 am)

Replying to: tom166 (Sep 05, 2007 9:14 am)
As I understand the problem, Chrysler "upgraded" the clutches and the new friction material is a bit grabbier than what was used on the traditional clutches. In addition, my understanding is that there is in existence (as in available right now, today) a software upgrade that changes the shifting characteristics to deal with the new clutches. I'll poke around and see what I can come up with and report back.
 
Best Regards,
Shipo

#1435 of 2067 Re: How are the 2007 transmissions? [shipo] by tom166

Sep 05, 2007 (6:34 pm)

Replying to: shipo (Sep 05, 2007 11:35 am)
Ok, that would be great, if your able to come up with the fix, a lot sooner then 60 to 90 days.Thanks for your help.

#1436 of 2067 Re: How are the 2007 transmissions? [tom166] by shipo

Sep 05, 2007 (8:30 pm)

Replying to: tom166 (Sep 05, 2007 6:34 pm)
Still looking, unfortunately the information isn't where I thought it was. I'll keep at it.
 
Best Regards,
Shipo

#1437 of 2067 transmissions by tom166

Sep 10, 2007 (7:05 pm)

Any one having the same problem as I, on the 07 Dodge Caravans transmission.

#1438 of 2067 Re: transmissions [tom166] by rita12

Sep 11, 2007 (7:34 am)

Replying to: tom166 (Sep 10, 2007 7:05 pm)
I bought a 2007 Dodge Caravan in April. We have had problems with the transmission from day 1. It's a very "off and on" problem giving a clunk when slowing down as the car shifts DOWN into 1st gear. There has also been problems shifting up out of 1st gear. It's been into the dealer 5 times and is in there now as we speak, having a selenoid (sp?) replaced. Previoiusly they ran a diagnositc and "shortened a cable," then, at a later visit, flushed out the transmission and replaced the fluid. This morning, the young man who picked up my van, brought me a loaner that is a 2007 Caravan and he told me that it does the same thing, indicated to me that it is a problem across dealerships so it's not just a problem with this one car. My son suggested I look on the Internet to see what I can find and here it is: problems, problems and more problems. I would appreciate any help and/or anecdotal reports anyone can send me. Thanks so much and I have one thing to say: "screwed again!!" You'll never see another such product in my driveway after I dump this one.

#1439 of 2067 Re: transmissions [rita12] by shipo

Sep 11, 2007 (7:49 am)

Replying to: rita12 (Sep 11, 2007 7:34 am)
It sounds like you're describing the legendary "bump shift" that relates to the 1-2 and 2-1 shifts on the 41TE transmission. FWIW, both of our vans do that to a certain degree and they aren't any worse off. It seems that all of these transmissions have that shift pattern in common although the 2007s seem to be a bit more noticeable due to the new friction material (Kevlar by one account) in the clutches.
 
At this point I have heard that there are two basic "fixes" for the harder shifting 2007s:
1) Wait as the clutches "bed-in", a process that can take as much as 10,000 miles. Some folks have reported that the new clutches are MUCH more robust than the old ones and take just that much longer before they've hit their stride.
2) On more than one occasion I've "heard" of folks having their transmissions "reflashed" with new firmware that solves the problem. Unfortunately getting this reflash seems to be a hit and miss prospect as many other folks have reported that their dealership knows of no such firmware update.
 
Keep us posted.
 
Best Regards,
Shipo

#1440 of 2067 Re: transmissions [shipo] by superwoody

Sep 11, 2007 (8:06 am)

Replying to: shipo (Sep 11, 2007 7:49 am)
Do they use the same tranny for the PT Cruisers? My cruiser with 5K has the same "jerk" when down shifting to a stop. Shifts fine on acceleration (except for the "programed" power drop at shift points! ugh) but mine seems to be getting more noticeable instead of less.
 
Shipo, you seem to be here a lot helping with problems, R U a DC tech?

#1441 of 2067 Re: How are the 2007 transmissions? [shipo] by superwoody

Sep 11, 2007 (8:24 am)

Replying to: shipo (Sep 05, 2007 8:30 pm)
Anything yet? Seems I may have the down-shifting problem with my PT
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