Chevrolet Astro harsh shifting problems

Filed Sep 11, 2004 · Brakes, Electrical · AZ

Have brought van in 4 times in 4 years about electrical problems. Smelling wires burning. Have gone through 6 batteries in 4 years. Replaced alternator. Radio/cd has been replaced. New cd stoped working after 1 week of being replaced. Dealer refuses to replace again. Radio, overhead digital temp & misc gages goes out, speedometor, battery, fuel, and odomoter quits, only the oil still works. Abs breaking probems, pedel to floor, have ran intersections due to this. Have had minor dings to bumper because it rolled to stops at low speeds. Loud clunk in rear when stopped too. Dealer refused to call it a lemon. Refused to help fix because its a lease. Also handle over passenger airbag disintegrated in 3rd year, and now the driver arm rest is split in 4th year.

Filed Mar 15, 2004 · Transmission · 52,575 miles · NY

Purchased used astro van and noted on 2nd day when putting in reverse then to drive a loud clunk and hard jump forward unless you delay taking foot off brake or applying gas until you can feel the gear engage (approx. 5-10 seconds). This is dangerous when backing up, as I have almost been hit twice now. It needs to be fixed correctly or replaced.

Filed Oct 1, 2003 · Transmission, Visibility · AR

First, the driver side power window works only sometimes. Second, the windshield wipers work only part of the time. It may take 5-10 minutes to come on and then might only swipe 2-3 times. Lastly, rough shifting in transmission.

Filed Jul 14, 2003 · Transmission · 30,000 miles · OH

Code 1870 is well documented on multiple web sites. The aluminum valve housing is too small and wears out quickly. The sympton is a very hard shift from 1-2 and 2-3 as if being rear-ended only after the vehicle is hot. Chevy has reengineered to a bigger valve but still wants it's customers to pay half of $2000 for a $350-$950 problem that should be covered by it's warrenty. Sonnex makes a steel replacement and can verify how frequent the problem is. Chevy's aluminum replacement is questionable, let alone the deal they offer.

Filed Jun 28, 2003 · Suspension, Visibility · SC

3 main complaints: 1. Wipers work sometimes- will cut on and not off, will not work at all, or will work only at high wiper speed- dealer said that this was covered by a recall but when I picked up the van after the dealer fixed it (replaced circuit board) I was told that recall did not include 98 astro. 2. Paint on hood of van suddenly started to crack- has only occurred on hood 3. Front end problems- causing tires to wear out sooner than expected, loud popping/clunking noise from front end, dealer says that problem is with idler arms and ball joints.

Filed Oct 17, 2002 · Airbags, Body · 9,536 miles · IL

While driving the vehicle would surge and jerk then clunk, the dealer has attempted to repair the vehicle several time but the problem resurfaces, other failures include PCM failed causing the check engine light to illuminate, the gas gauge jumps from full tank to empty causing the vehicle to run out of gas, rear door handle broke twice, drivers side window motor was replaced and the air bag light would flicker on and off. *ts

Filed Apr 1, 2002 · Body, Engine · OH

Consumer states transmission is slipping and there is harsh shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. Dealer found torque converter and valve body need to be replaced.

Filed Feb 13, 2002 · Transmission · PA

After leaving a 4-lane interstate section of highway 19 in west virginia, and arriving onto a section with stoplights, the driver noticed a clunking noise while the transmission was shifting from 1st to 2nd. This occurred at multiple lights. During the occurence, the van would also lurch during the shift. We stopped at a rest area, and after allowing the van to sit for about 20 minutes, we restarted. The problem was not apparent when we left the rest area, but about 2 miles down the road, the "service engine" light came on. We drove to the nearest major city to find a dealer to look at the problem. Once we found an open dealer who could download the diagnostics, he informed us that the code indicated transmission slippage. He reset the code, and the van shifted fine. We continued to our destination without problems, and took the van to a dealer the following day. They studied the van, and determined that the valve body had failed, just out of warranty, of course. We spent $1100+ to have the valve body repaired.

Filed Jun 27, 2001 · Transmission · NY

Transmission slammed into gear after accelerating and shifted into next gear. After, slamming into next gear , vehicle shook violently. Dealer stated vehicle was built with a inadequate transmission to hamdle weight of vehicle. Manufacturer dd not plan to solve problem.

Filed Apr 9, 2001 · Engine, Steering · 30,000 miles · MI

The oil cooler lines leaked oil onto the engine which caused it to smoke. The oil cooler lines have been replaced three times within the last 30,000 miles. *nm there was noise in the front end due to a worn right front outer tie rod and when damp or cold out, a hard shift would be present when making turns.