Chrysler Minivan Transmission Problems

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


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#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.

#883 of 2067 2001 T&C rebuilt trans- continually getting obd error codes by dancingapple

Jul 27, 2005 (9:13 am)

Just had transmission rebuilt on 2001 T&C (planetary gear problem)...every other day OBD light comes on...first time they replaced output sensor...second time said "transmission out of range" but didn't know what that meant so just cleared it out...third time I figured out how to check the codes by cycling through on/off ignition positions and retrieved code P1494 = leak detection pump switch or mechanical fault...is this something to be addressed or do I keep getting these codes because they did not retrain my computer after rebuilding transmission? Going on a 3 hour trip this weekend and don't want to be stranded but can't go to transmission shop every other day for OBD light! Thanks for any information..I am definitely a mechanical novice if that!

#884 of 2067 Re: 2001 T&C, 32,000 mi, transmission is dead [rcpg] by 97xpresso

Jul 27, 2005 (7:37 pm)

Replying to: rcpg (Jul 24, 2005 5:37 pm)
2001 have only 3/36000 waranty

#885 of 2067 Re: 1998 Plymouth Voyager transmission failure [paj3] by dustyk

Jul 28, 2005 (7:48 pm)

Replying to: paj3 (Jul 19, 2005 8:53 pm)
You don't say how many miles is on the vehicle nor how many is on the rebuild. You should not have had a problem with the rebuild if it had been a quality job.
 
Whether its worth investing $2500 in to it is dependent on the overall condition and miles. Does it need any other type of mechanical work? Does the total exceed the value of the vehicle?
 
As it stands now no vehicle is worth much with a bad transmission. A $4000 high mileage mini-van with a bad transmission is worth about $500. It may pay to get it fixed.
 
On the other hand it might be worth a second opinion, too. You didn't state the failure symptoms, but a lot of Chrysler transmission problems are not complete failures. A dirty valve body or bad shift solenoids can be fixed for a lot less that $2500. I might recommend another Chrysler or Dodge dealer, however.
 
Good luck,
Dusty

#886 of 2067 94 Town & Country Instrument panel intermittent by lonallen

Aug 01, 2005 (9:29 am)

Recently the instrument panel (digital display) on my wife's 1994 Town
& Country went haywire. Whenever you put a load on the electrical
system (power windows, interior lights, apply the brakes (brake lights
I guess), head lights, etc) the instrument cluster flashes off and then
goes through its power up test and then displays normal. It can get to
where it does this several times a second to the point that you have a
blank display with flashes of lights only in certain segments. If you have the ignition off and open the drivers door the panel powers up and displays the main
information along with the mileage. Once you start the engine it just
goes flashing like a discotec.
Any clues as to the cause of this? I have heard that these digital displays goe bad, but wouldn't that just be the printed circuit board each of the gauges is plugged into? Or is there a controller (BCM) that is responsible for driving the display?
 
Thanks,
 
Lon Allen
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