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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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Messages Page 89 of 208

#873 of 2067 99 T&C kills the engine when shifted into gear. by thudpucker

Jul 17, 2005 (12:05 pm)

It has 150,000 on it now. Had oil change with -3 at 120,000.
All this started to appear before the oil change. Then it would bump two or three time at cruise. As if we had hit some washboard in the road.
So we had the oil changed to the new stuff.
 
Later on it started all this other stuff.
 
It kills the engine if we put it in gear without a long warm-up.
 
It Locks up hard when we are cruising. It seems balky sometimes at speed, but only works well when it's warm.
When slowing down, it wont shift down. Maybe it's not un-locking, but it will stall the engine if I dont shifted down to 3rd.
 
So I called a Transmission guy.
He said my Seals are going, and if I put a quart of "Trans-X" in there it might help for awhile, but in the end I'm going to spend $4000 to replace this transmission.
By now, my wife is in Tears.
 
I know there's some real sharp transmission guys on this site.
Does anybody know more about this.
Is there anything I can do to fix this without buying a new/rebuilt Transmission?
How about AAMCO? Are they better than the dealer?
I could sure use some help right now.

#874 of 2067 Rumble when turning at low speeds by edreyer

Jul 17, 2005 (1:51 pm)

My 2002 Town and Country, LXi, 3.8 V6 FWD has developed the following problem. At very low speeds only (less than 5MPH) the front end vibrates and rumbles when turning either L or R. Don't know if this is a trnasmission problem; would appreciate a shove in the right direction. thanks

#875 of 2067 Re: 99 T&C kills the engine when shifted into gear. [thudpucker] by dustyk

Jul 17, 2005 (5:41 pm)

Replying to: thudpucker (Jul 17, 2005 12:05 pm)
I'm not so sure about seals being the culprit here. I cannot think of any leaky seal that would cause the transmission to drag the engine down. I know a lot of transmission techs that would not advocate a transmission additive such as Trans-X, but I suppose some would. If something like this worked I would agree that it's only temporary.
 
This could be a failure of the solenoid shift pack or a PCM malfunction. It would be nice to know if these symptoms were present immediately after a PCM reset was performed by disconnecting the battery for 3 minutes. Of course, it would also be nice to know if you're getting any codes.
 
This could the result of a locked up torque converter, or a defective overdrive clutch. You could have a broken planetary gear set, but this is rare on Chryslers, especially at your stated mileage...unless there's been some abuse. Broken planetary gear sets usually result from high RPM pop-drops into gear. Do you have a teenager that drives this vehicle?
 
The front or rear band could be out of adjustment, or there could be a stuck servo.
 
I don't see how any transmission rebuild could cost you $4000, even with replacing parts other than seals and such. I would highly recommend having Chrysler do this. There are a lot of offshore transmission parts being used by some independent transmission rebuilders, and off-the-shelf rebuilders too. So far I have yet to hear that the manufacturing quality is as good as factory parts, and this is especially true of shafts and gear sets.
 
Best regards,
Dusty

#876 of 2067 1997 Grand Caravan Transmission Problem by charger440

Jul 19, 2005 (8:10 pm)

After picking my daughter up from the airport this evening we exited off the interstate and came to a stop at the light, when I slowed down the van started shaking violently then stalled. When I restarted the van and put it back into drive it stalled again. I had to give it enough gas when putting the van into drive to keep it from stalling and when it started to drive the van would kick and shake until I reached 25-30 MPH. All the way home I would have to put the van into Neutral when coming to a stop. This is the second transmission I replaced, the first one died after the 70K mile warranty now this one has 70K miles on it. I don't care what anyone says these transmissions are crap! Does anyone have an idea of what is going on?
 
Thanks

#877 of 2067 1998 Plymouth Voyager transmission failure by paj3

Jul 19, 2005 (8:53 pm)

I am now facing a second failed transmission in two years. The first transmission was rebuilt by Chrysler and it has only lasted two years and my warranty is expired because I have exceeded the mileage for the warranty. Now my decision is to either take a loan out for a new transmission or purchase a new vehicle. I am not sure if it is worth paying another $2500 for another transmission.....just wondering if this is a waste of time or if it is worth replacing and if there are any tips on how to take better care of my transmission if I should replace it. I did not maintenance on the rebuilt transmission and maybe I should have because I do travel alot for my job..........any suggestions or ideas from anyone.
 
Signed very frustrated............

#878 of 2067 1993 grand caravan se 4 speed auto transmission by daglow

Jul 19, 2005 (9:18 pm)

Last night I drove 20 miles home on the freeway -- no problems--today I went 2 miles and the transmission slipped out of gear into neutral and would not go into any gear until I came to a complete stop and then only into first and would slip out when I reach the speed of 15 mph. I check the fluid and it was full and did not smell burn't. There are no leaks. After letting it sit for a couple of hours it works fine for about 2 miles then it slips again. I am not a mechanic, but do I need another transmission or is the problem somewhere else?

#879 of 2067 97 T&C slips when cold by mdgrayson

Jul 24, 2005 (1:59 am)

My 97 T&C transmission slips when cold. After going 2-3 miles and it warms up everything is OK - usually for the rest of the day - unless it sits for a long time.
 
I have changed the fluid and the slipping went away for a few days and then came back. It has 150K on the transmission but runs great otherwise. Could this be the solenoid pack?

#880 of 2067 Re: 1996 Chrysler T&C LXi now has 240,000 miles [chryslervan1] by zipppy1

Jul 24, 2005 (3:06 pm)

Replying to: chryslervan1 (Jul 31, 2002 5:40 pm)
Last fall, my 1996 Chrysler Town and Country LXI transmission went.
My folks and I had just ventured into the mountains and were heading home on the flats when the motor reved up. and we didn't go faster. then we stopped and heard some grinding and then ... nothing worked. we got it barely turned around then headed for a gas station. . a mile down the road... we pushed for a while.
after getting home... it seemed to go forward a little but reverse didn't work. but it would not do that long.
Had an independet transmission place put a rebuilt one in for 1600.00 and it works nice now. I am in the market to sell it as I bought a new 2005. but hate get rid of it as it does have good pickup It had over 114,000 miles on it

#881 of 2067 Maybe a tune up? by statmech

Jul 24, 2005 (4:47 pm)

After picking my daughter up from the airport this evening we exited off the interstate and came to a stop at the light, when I slowed down the van started shaking violently then stalled. When I restarted the van and put it back into drive it stalled again. I had to give it enough gas when putting the van into drive to keep it from stalling and when it started to drive the van would kick and shake until I reached 25-30 MPH. All the way home I would have to put the van into Neutral when coming to a stop. This is the second transmission I replaced, the first one died after the 70K mile warranty now this one has 70K miles on it. I don't care what anyone says these transmissions are crap! Does anyone have an idea of what is going on?
 
I had a similar problem a couple years ago. It was NOT the transmission. If the plugs and/or wires go bad, you will get this kind of behavior. It will start fine, idle fine, but put it into gear and it will buck, studder and stall as soon as you put a load on it (by putting it into gear). I was pleasantly suprised when my dealer fixed my problem with a simple change of plugs and wires.

#882 of 2067 Re: 2001 T&C, 32,000 mi, transmission is dead [mddamus] by rcpg

Jul 24, 2005 (5:37 pm)

Replying to: mddamus (Jul 06, 2005 10:05 am)
Why is your 2001 T&C with 32k miles out or warranty? I thought that it had/has a 7/70 warranty, unless you are the second owner.

Messages Page 89 of 208

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