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Chrysler 300M Transmission Problems

43 messages,  Last post on Nov 05, 2012 at 11:18 AM

You are in the Chrysler 300M Forum.

What is this discussion about? Chrysler 300M, Transmission, Sedan

Messages Page 5 of 5

#36 of 43 btw by snshne22

Mar 28, 2012 (10:11 pm)

Let me add .....i have a 1998 Chevy Cavalier ....that has 270000 miles on it that won't die !! I will NEVER EVER OWN anything but GM again ....when its fixed ....its gone baby gone

#37 of 43 Re: Hate my Chrysler [chaos50] by pitmanoeuvre

Mar 29, 2012 (2:39 am)

Replying to: chaos50 (Jan 25, 2012 2:52 pm)
Sorry to hear that mess , as my 300M Special is making me wonder why I didn't stick with Chrysler all these many years. GM makes a great car , but their repairs can be a total moneypit. It seems that the correct cars to buy are the luxury models. All Buicks are still doing well , whereas Pontiac is gone. Also , if I remember correctly over the years , many owners of old cars have : the luxury models.
 
As far as any transmission goes , it's best to deal with the dealer who knows their cars best. Things like , inadequate or non-OEM transmission filters can raise both the temperature and pressures inside the transmission to the point where , as you experienced , the exact same thing occurs repeatedly. The transmission fluid must be OEM as well , and cannot be added to , mixed or otherwise adversely lubricated. The engine block coolant is exactly the same because of the use of more aluminum in these parts. They require good quality / correct lubrication. Aluminum is not strong , it is lightweight and more functionally durable if treated with the correct lubrication fulltime , so you can't grossly miss the service intervals to change the transmission or coolant fluids. Race engines are exactly like this if used on the street , or for whatever other reasons. They will work better , but only if you take proper care of them.
 
I know that some service centers provide disgusting and inadequate service , GM being one of the best , whereas FORD is just absolutely unbelievably stupid. FORD broke my ignition switch at the dealership because they had no idea that my pickup had a slider lock that needed to be in the release position to turn the key. Their own vehicle , with claims of outrageous sales numbers , and they couldn't figure out how to turn the key into the run position to push the vehicle while it was getting an oilpan replacement. I guess they decided to move my truck while the engine was apart. And they gave it back to me with a broken lock/cylinder after the repair. To top that off , the starter motor was not properly installed , it got stuck in the on position where I had to get out while the engine and starter were turning together and pull the battery cable off with a wrench. Is that stupid or what? GM repairs will rack up alot of costs , but at least things will work or work out. Ford , takes your money and it doesn't run , work or remain in any kind of "same" condition.
 
You mentioned that your miles were granny miles or whatever , and GM sure fits the bill on that kind of owner operation. Stand on it to the floor everywhere you go , well , expect the worst from just about any maker. Then there's the owner who NEVER changes anything , just drives the car until it stops type of user , and angrily enters the service bay.
 
Sellers of cars , dealerships included , can sell you something that has been abused and NOT consider those details in terms of value. When I bought my 300M , I considered buying from someone who , at least claimed they never had any problems with the vehicle. And , no mechanic is going to put his time into a vehicle he knows has been abused. So... when you get to a mechanic , he has no choice but to put your vehicle through a thorough recap , where anything missed up to that point , cannot be corrected. This is also why some mechanics do lousy work , as they know the vehicle is a goner already. So.. they give you half of what you pay them on the spot in terms of service.
 
It pays to put some money into maintainence , and NOT do the disgruntled owner thing when it comes time to do repairs. In other words : the old guys who drove right , and hit the service bay at 9am frequently , laughed all the way to the bank in the end. In fact , some of them bought the next car , and the next car , and the next car with the difference it made. What these lies all amount to : are lies designed to save enough money to pay for gas at par. Thanks to the compact car , lots of people are thinking that way. Sell the car once you know it's had enough of YOU , is NOT a good practice.
 
My M doesn't take wooden nickles , although it might take a sip of good wine when it gets the chance. Goodbye FORD , have a nice day GM , GET LOST compact canary - and see you at the finish line Chrysler , with bells on.

#38 of 43 Re: btw [snshne22] by pitmanoeuvre

Mar 29, 2012 (3:11 am)

Replying to: snshne22 (Mar 28, 2012 10:11 pm)
As an added note to my most recent post , I have to say that it's NOT a good idea to try to participate in forums that collect alot of foolish owners who constantly try to play up their knowledge about a particular car or vehicle type on a daily basis. #1 , they have nothing else to do , and #2 , they are NOT the type of car crazy person who can work on ANY vehicle and make it sing. They are : picky , overly opinionated , and downright unable to communicate , especially when they are wrong , or worse : shown up.
 
In fact , they are the only people I find that can spend all of their time with a service manual in their hand , and still mess up every single vehicle or owner who comes their way. Especially where they have extensive experience , it is not a surprise to see them running a vehicle where the stabilizers are absent or have been removed for convienience. Right away , they are OUT OF MY MIND. NOBODY , and I mean nobody could do or show that they have NO BRAINS that much - but they do. Why would I trust their winey attitude towards particulars? In other words , if they aren't getting their way , your car will suffer the consequences. And buying something they worked on , you might do just as good at the scrap yard.
 
Example : did you know that the part number on your bulbs is : 1157. WOW. Good thing you knew that cuzz I might have thought they were 1156 or some other number. Geez thanks alot , now I can consider myself DOT informed. NO stupid , work the car , not the number. And I suppose I have to explain WHY I would work the car and NOT the numbers? Don't you think anybody realizes YOU WORK THE NUMBERS?
 
If you rely upon the numbers used when you buy a car , chances are : the number you will be left with from these winners is : (0) at the end of the day. Good thing they don't stock your fridge.

#39 of 43 Re: stuck in gear+safe mode [bruhnska] by ronm7

Apr 17, 2012 (9:32 pm)

Replying to: bruhnska (Jul 17, 2011 7:02 pm)
Last summer (when it was hot and we were running the A/C then stopped briefly at Starbucks), we had a similar situation with our 01 Chrysler 300M but thank goodness we were much closer to home and had the car towed. After replacing the fuse, TCM relay, the TCM itself (three times), the 2/4 shift pack, the car ran fine for a month then went into limp mode again with the trouble code of P1788. We had the car towed to a transmission shop and the tech checked the wiring harness that goes from the transmission to the TCM for continuity and found a problem. We found a used wiring harness from a wrecking yard and when the tech pulled the harness out, the plastic coating on the wires were completely melted together and some wires were shorting out. The car still went into limp mode and after diagnosis from the dealer the recommendation was to rebuild the valve body. We found a shop where the tech had worked at the dealership and had experience with this problem. He rebuilt our car's valve body with an upgraded rebuild kit and the actual valve body itself had some kind of hairline crack or another flaw, so he rebuilt another used valve body and the car now works great with better shifting and no problems. Since the wiring harness is clipped to the transmission and the engine, we were told it is common for the harness to melt and cause problems as the catalytic converters run right below the transmission and it gets blazing hot in that area especially in the summer.

#40 of 43 Re: stuck in gear+safe mode [ronm7] by pitmanoeuvre

Apr 18, 2012 (1:46 am)

Replying to: ronm7 (Apr 17, 2012 9:32 pm)
It's a good idea to have your alternator output checked at idle whenever you are going to rely upon fault codes , to see if the output is normal instead of maximum full time. Maximum full time suggests either a bad battery or voltage regulator/alternator , or just plain old shorting wiring within the harness etc.
 
That test can save you alot of time and money replacing parts.

#41 of 43 Re: Loose output shaft on transmission [1566may] by knipplerpin

Sep 26, 2012 (9:31 am)

Replying to: 1566may (Jan 27, 2008 2:59 pm)
Just came across your post - did you ever figure out the problem as my 300m has a similar issue.

#42 of 43 Re: Loose output shaft on transmission [knipplerpin] by alcie

Sep 26, 2012 (4:44 pm)

Replying to: knipplerpin (Sep 26, 2012 9:31 am)
yes, but can't remember all the details now. My husband says it was a "switch" - something electrical - it wasn't very expensive to fix, but that's all I remember now. Now I'm trying to sell it - 2000 300m with 90K miles.

#43 of 43 Re: Transmission Problems [emmar] by cinnamon55

Nov 05, 2012 (11:18 am)

Replying to: emmar (Dec 17, 2007 6:48 am)
i too had the same problem with my 300m 2003. I took it to an independent repair shop and found that my solenoid switch was sticking. And get this, Chrysler knows all about this. Service bulletin 21-008-04 REV.A tells which ones are bad. Date range between 3001 and 0603 (to read this the first 3 characters are the day of the year, the 4th is the year, ie.3001 is the 300th day of 2001) I called Chrysler about this and got the runaround. Because I took it to an ind service center, they wouldn't consider paying for the part even though they knew the part was bad.

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