Van was slipping not going into gear when it was cold and now just will not go into gear. The transmission is shot has to be rebuilt will cost anywhere from $2300 to $2800 to fix.
1997 Dodge Grand Caravan transmission complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 81, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The transmission does not shift gears if the air conditioner is on. The air conditioner turned all the way up will blow out air as if it was on mid way. The wind shield wipers come on when the turn signal is activated, which causes me to buy blades more often. The brakes seem to lock up when the ground is wet. You can hear metal hitting together, and the car continues to roll. My sister-in-law, and one of my daycare moms had the same problem, but they were not as lucky as I was it caused them to rear end another vehicle.
At 91,000 miles the vehicle had a sudden and catastrophic transmission failure. Given the fact that we have had a number of neighbors & friends also experience grand caravan transmission problems in 97 & 98 models, there obviously is a major design problem. I had owned a 1989 grand caravan that had two transmissions replaced under warranty. I took a chance going back to chrysler and lost the bet. While chrysler "customer no service" has told me "sir, when you signed the dotted line, you knew the warranty was 36,000 miles", clearly the public perception is that transmissions in $30,000 automobiles should last more than 90,000 miles. While chrysler can hide behind the warranty all they want, they clearly are breaking with the public''s trust. The fact that chrysler has had 100,000 mile drivetrain warranties on other years of grand caravans bespeaks to the levels that they: 1. Had to go to gain public trust 2. The recognition that they may have design problems. Lastly, as I have learned, their "customer no service" department is a very short one way street. When I called, I described the problem and inquired about the process to file a complaint. I was shocked to learn in very short order that the first person I talked to was also the last person that I would to talk. He quickly made the decision the chrysler was not interested in helping in any way and that his decision was final. There was never any "I am sorry about this problem, but there is not much that I can do". It was "you knew what you purchased, and I am not going to help you in any way". In fact he kept reminding me how long we spoke on the phone and that I was wasting mine and implicitly his time. All in all a very poor experience with a lousy product and non-existent customer service.
In the past three years consumer changed four times automatic transmission. Vehicle was imported from canada.
Transmission gears slipping. Sometimes takes a few moments for it to 'catch' first gear to go from a light or shifts 'hard' when accelerating. Also, down shifts 'hard' when decelerating.
Child was able to move gear shift into reverse without depressing brake.
Consumer stated there is a defect in the transmission solenoid pack prndl.
Consumer stated that when in reverse the vehicle would pop out of gear without warning causing a distraction to the consumer. Dealer notified. Ts
Consumer states while wife was driving the vehicle at 10mph the automatic transmission failed prematurely. Dealer has been notified. Please provide further information. Ts
Consumer stated that while driving at any speed and without warning transmission failed causing the vehicle to accelerate. Dealer notified. Ts
Car had serious damage whoses source cannot be determined by dealer and manufacture will not investigate.
While driving transmission failed, almost causing a collision.
The transmission broke down due to differential pin failure and was replaced. The transmission failed again for the same reason, but the consumer believed the failures were due to a defect in the vehicle.
While driving RPM stayed high and would not shift gears. Dealer states transmission needed replacement. Please provide any further information.
Consumers is able to put vehicle in gear without pressing brake, this could be very dangerous. *ak
The dealer had replaced a leaking fuel rail prior to the recall. (00v‑268).
While backing up there was a loud noise under the hood, then at 40 MPH transmission would not shift. Dealer determined that transmission needed to be replaced.*ak
While driving to super market there was some noise coming from vehicle. Then, after parking vehicle and getting back in, and trying to put vehicle into reverse, vehicle would not move.
Vehicle was parked/ engine off/ emergency brake not applied, and 2 year old moved gear shift from park to third gear, causing vehicle to roll and hit a tree. No injuries.
While traveling noticed air bag indiactor light was on intermittently soon after, radio came on and been replaced. Also, speedodometer gave wrong reading. Dealer has been contacted, and replaced battery. Has been replace 6 times. Dealer could not duplicate problem.
While driving about 70 MPH transmission lost power and consumer managed to drive off the road. Then, towed vehicle to a shop, where they could not determine what had caused the problem. Contacted manufacturer. Please provide more infomation.
Transmission shelled out. This should never happen with normal use and care.
The automatic transmission shifts erratically/ late, tsb 21-07-98 was issued but the dealer refused to repair the vehicle because the mileage was beyond warranty, the consumer believes that since the shifting problem occured prior to warranty expiration that repairs should be covered under tsb. Nlm
While traveling heard a grinding noise. It got worise when backing out . Dealer has been contacted. Please provide further information.
Transmission has failed constantly. Prior to failure consumer had numerous problems with transmission. Cause unknown. Dealer told consumer at only 70,000 that transmission would need to be replaced or rebuilt.
The transmission failure occurred without warning. I was picking up my kids from school when the car would not accelrate after stopping for a traffic signal. The car was brought to a dodge dealer and I was told a new transmission was needed. I had the recommended routine maintenance done on the car. I have noticed that there is numerous customer complaints about transmission failure about 45k-55k mileage.
Transmission failed at 42k + miles. Chrysler has a well-documented history of transmission failures. Although we did not have an accident due to transmission failure, that certainly was a possibility. If the transmission failed during acceleration (high load) onto a highway or pulling out of an intersection, the results could be catastrophic.
There are apparently no safety interlocks to prevent van from being placed in gear. This allowed my 5 year old daughter to place the car in gear without the engine running. The van rolled down the driveway, pinning my 9 year old son beneath the rear axle. Fortunetly, he was not seriously injured, though,emergency medical bills totaled $11,000. I decided to report this now after hearing of a similar incident on good morning america, in which a women was killed.
Transmission failed replaced, no geer shift lock resulting in toddler being able to change geers resulting in crash.
I have been told of many other caravan transmissions that are failing within 70000 to 80000 file range. My extended warrany expired at 75000 and chrysler is not assisting in payment of replacement transmission. This requires full replacement of transmission though I have done all warranty work at 7500 mile intervals
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