After driving about 350 miles back from a trip, transmission failed. Was driving down the interstate when traffic started to slow down and come to a stop (this was not a sudden stop). I tried to slow down but the vehicle lurched forward and started making grinding noises. I had to steer to the side of the road to avoid hitting the car in front of me. There was no indication of trouble prior to this during the trip. While in idle, there was no grinding noise. When we started to move again the engine would not shift and started making grinding noises. I had the vehicle towed to the dealer who told me the entire transmission was ruined and needed to be replaced. There is only 67,000 mile on the vehicle. Dealer charged almost $3,000 to put in a rebuilt transmission. When I picked it up, the service shop was very rude. When asked if it was normal for this to happen and if this was the kind of quality one could expect from dodge, the serviceman said he didn't know and acted like he didn't care. He said to call the 800 number if I wasn't happy. When I called the 800 number, the person I talked to acted like he didn't care and basically tried to tell me it was because I did not have my vehicle serviced properly. I told him the car was properly maintained and the transmission fluid had been changed july 1st. He told me that if I brought it to places like jiffy lube to have the transmission fluid changed or if I brought it to other places for maintenance that they did not do a good job and did not do it properly. I asked if there were any other complaints regarding transmission failures and was told there were none. This is not the first time I have had problems with the transmission. I have had an air sensor go out (which caused the vehicle to be stuck in second gear). The vehicle still does not seem to be shifting properly. It now whines when driving in heavy traffic and will probably have to go back to the dealership.
1995 Dodge Caravan: jerking or lurching
5 of the 488 complaints about the 1995 Dodge Caravan describe jerking or lurching.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 1%
- recalls
- 0
Jerking or lurching by model year
What owners say
Consumer states vehicle stalls out while driving. Intermittently lurches and misses either at a stop or when going about 50 MPH. Will happen either cold or warm. Lack of power when trying to accelerate.
First time was a modulator, we paid for it to be fixed at about 34 to 40000 miles.at that time car was shifting repeatedly. This time it was shifting very hard and jerky, while driving 3rd gear went completely, almost caused an accident on interstate. Now the dealer says the transmission needs to be rebuilt, at a cost of $900 to me! Shouldnt a transmission last longer than that? The cars value as trade in is only about 4000 without the trans problem. That would mean I could only get 2800 if I was lucky. Will never own another.
When turning a curve or hitting a bump in the road steering column feels loose and also jerks. Vehicle has a had a loose bolt in the column. Problem exists again.
Backing the vehicle into a parking space and the inner tie rod snapped, causing the steering wheel to jerk, and the individual to lose steering power.
Service bulletins that may apply
- This bulletin announces the availability and installation of a resuable automatic transmission oil pan gasket
- Subject regarding reusable automatic transmission oil pan gasket
- Service and parts information on 1999 running changes to transmission range sensor (TRS) tt
- Subject on delayed transaxle engagement
- Information on 41TE/42LE service information
- Concerns with 41TE/42LE transaxle shudder during an emcc (electronically modulated converter clutch) shift
- Vehicle shudder during torque converter emcc (lock up) operation/diagnostic trouble code 38
- Unknown
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 1995 Dodge Caravan jerking
Is jerking or lurching a common problem on the 1995 Dodge Caravan?
5 of 488 owner complaints about the 1995 Dodge Caravan (1%) mention jerking or lurching. The model year with the most reports is 1996.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1995 Dodge Caravan?
There are 0 recalls and 16 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1995 Dodge Caravan
Stalling 35No deployment 25Transmission failure 23Wipers 20Airbag light 17ABS 14Brake failure 12Door locks 12Loss of power 10Power steering loss 10Headlights 8Grinding brakes 6Overheating 6Won't shift 6Ball joint 5Fuel pump 5Hesitation 5
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