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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

#1568 of 1833 Re: Rust on strut tower [gegrunt] by shipo Jan 06, 2008 (1:14 pm)
Replying to: gegrunt (Jan 06, 2008 11:59 am) The clunking may or may not be coming from the sway bar bushings. As for the strut tower rusting, that is a know problem with the Gen 3 vans. Some weren't properly prepared and have rusted to the point of failure (and a potentially catastrophic failure at that), and while Chrysler has released a repair kit for rusted towers that is apparently pretty good, I'd prefer to have a van like our 1998 that has zero rust around the strut towers.   Best Regards, Shipo
#1569 of 1833 Re: 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan front end problem [engr2go1] by xwesx Jan 07, 2008 (11:08 am)
Replying to: engr2go1 (Jan 04, 2008 5:46 pm) I have an old 1969 Ford Econoline that also does this; the problem on my van is tie rod ends and a bushing on the linkage between the inner tie rod ends and steering. It feels like the van is going to shake itself apart when it happens, but it will also continue even if I press the accelerator after it starts. To quiet it, I hit the brakes hard and jerk the wheel in one direction. Silly, I know, but beats fixing it right now when I only put a few miles a year on the old can.   Good luck finding the problem; you might want to get a second opinion on it from an independent suspension/alignment shop.
#1570 of 1833 Re: 2007 Dodge Caravan transmission [ericbenwa] by tom166 Jan 20, 2008 (3:21 am)
Replying to: ericbenwa (Dec 09, 2007 11:57 am) Hi; just checking to see if you have had any more updates. I'm still having the same problem and it seems to be worse in cold weather . Replies to this message: ericbenwa (Jan 20, 2008 8:46 am)
#1571 of 1833 Re: 2007 Dodge Caravan transmission [tom166] by ericbenwa Jan 20, 2008 (8:46 am)
Replying to: tom166 (Jan 20, 2008 3:21 am) I had part 2 of the update done (I think it's the torque converter or something?). It's still doing it somewhat, but the weather has been so bad with slush and snow and cold (heater fan makes a lot of noise), that I have not been able to do a thorough assessment of the fix. Will let you know later on. My CAMVAP claim stays open for 90 days pass the maintenance done on the vehicle.
#1572 of 1833 2002 Chrysler T & C Transmission Failure by bmorr Jan 21, 2008 (7:07 pm)
The transmission self-destructed at 97 000 km. There were no indications of a problem with this transmission, e.g., no shifting problems and no unusual noises. This vehicle has been well maintained according to the manufacturer's schedule and has never been abused. After traveling for about an hour at highway speed (approx. 100 km/h), the van lurched hard, lost speed and the check engine light came on. It jerked a few more times as I tried to get into the right lane in order to get off the multi-lane highway. Within a few minutes, I was on the shoulder of the highway with no drive power at all. It was a surprise to me how quickly all of this happened. I had one other vehicle in the past 20 years with transmission problems but I had some warning and was able to get it repaired before it was totally gone. The transmission has been replaced at a cost of about $4000. The diagnosis was that a gear had failed due to metal fatigue and the pieces from it destroyed much of the rest of the transmission. Has anyone else experienced sudden failure with this transmission? Replies to this message: shipo (Jan 22, 2008 3:26 pm) rhtrans (Jan 24, 2008 5:58 pm) classic7 (Jan 25, 2008 9:35 am) maguy (Jan 25, 2008 9:42 am) livingproof (Feb 10, 2008 7:47 am) and 1 more... kempek (Mar 09, 2008 12:40 pm)
#1573 of 1833 Re: 2002 Chrysler T & C Transmission Failure [bmorr] by shipo Jan 22, 2008 (3:26 pm)
Replying to: bmorr (Jan 21, 2008 7:07 pm) I had the transmission on our 1998 fail in a similar fashion shortly after a transmission service, however, the 1998 came with ATF+3 and required servicing every 30,000 miles (roughly every 50,000km), your 2002 came with a lifetime fill of ATF+4 and shouldn't need servicing at all.   Per your post you indicated that you had the transmission serviced at some point. If that is true, who serviced it and what fluid did they use?   Best Regards, Shipo
#1574 of 1833 Re: 2002 Chrysler T & C Transmission Failure [bmorr] by rhtrans Jan 24, 2008 (5:58 pm)
Replying to: bmorr (Jan 21, 2008 7:07 pm) Yea...about 3 million other people...lol. Those units are very deceptable to converter clutch failures which clogg cooler passages and in turn destroy the gear train because the lubrication to the gears comes from cooler flow. Spinning at 2500 rpm with very little lubrication can destroy metal very quickly and you wouldn't even know it till it was to late. Metal fatigue? More like lack of lubrication.... Replies to this message: classic7 (Jan 25, 2008 9:35 am) maguy (Jan 25, 2008 9:42 am) livingproof (Feb 10, 2008 7:47 am) shipo (Feb 10, 2008 9:58 am)
#1575 of 1833 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan (first posted months ago) by classic7 Jan 25, 2008 (9:35 am)
Replying to: rhtrans (Jan 24, 2008 5:58 pm) Well, it's official. Our 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan's transmission is going out. Just got the news. The vehicle only has 90,000 miles on it. I posted about it a few months ago, and I had to stop in to say my husband was right!   Does anyone want to guess what the MSRP is on a "fully loaded" car like this? TOO MUCH! Not if it's only got 6 six years, and 90,000 miles on it.   Whatever happened to the cars that would run forever? Oh yeah, America doesn't make them anymore... Replies to this message: maguy (Jan 25, 2008 9:42 am) livingproof (Feb 10, 2008 7:47 am) shipo (Feb 10, 2008 9:58 am)
#1576 of 1833 Re: 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan (first posted months ago) [classic7] by maguy Jan 25, 2008 (9:42 am)
Replying to: classic7 (Jan 25, 2008 9:35 am) At least you got 90K out of it. I just had my FOURTH tranmission put in my 2002 Honda Accord that I bought brand new in March 2002. I have 81K on the odometer right now. The first transmission went at 13K!! We actually just bought a 2008 Town & Country because I could not stomach another Honda even though the Odyssey is well regarded.
#1577 of 1833 now what? by handicap Jan 30, 2008 (7:51 pm)
We own a Chry TC '01 minivan w/ 44K miles on it. It was bought used and is equipped as a handicapped vehicle. (Side door opens, car side lowers, ramp extends.) Car has been well cared for and all fluids reg checked. Today, w/ no warning the trans broke down...2 coughs and enough speed to get us to the road side before it stopped. It has NO trans now. There was a burning smell at the time. Trans is 6 yrs old and 44K miles, am I out of touch or is this par for the course? Chry said it had a 3yr/36K warr on "power train" so too bad for me. Do I have ANY recourse? 44K miles and the trans breaks totally as in: I need another trans for xxxx$/?

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