DODGE CARAVAN TRANSMISSION FAILURE

keywords Dodge Caravan transmission failure, defect, class action, claim, transmission defect, Dodge Caravan transmission defect proble, malfunction, lemonlaw, Dodge Caravan lemon law.

Owners of the Dodge Caravan have reported transmission problems:  

Dodge Caravan LE, 21,000 miles
while sitting at stoplight i took off and turned right. van gave two large shuddering lunges and the transmission quit completely. i was able to coax it into a parking lot and get it parked. my dealer picked up next day. would not give me a loaner. called on wed and said vehicle would be ready. replaced front transmission pump and clutch pack plus various seals and gaskets. called back on wed and said he was going to have to give me a loner because they found the torque converter was bad also and couldn't get me one for a few days. picked up a Dodge Stratus on wed for a loaner. it has the same cruise control that mine has and found that one side of my cruise control apparently does not work at all.

after reading many letters on internet i find that i had a problem with this transmission from date of delivery. every once in awhile it would feel as though I was losing traction with the tires when leaving a stoplight and making a turn. it also had a slight feel of driving over a rumble strip every once in awhile. these are both common problems to the 4 speed automatic transmission. what is worse this is apparently a reoccurring problem and I suspect it will go out again. I bought the 7 yr/70,000 mile warranty so I expect I will keep it until it goes again, have it repaired and trade it. if it does not go out before 70,000 miles I will trade it before I get to the end of the warranty. other than this, van has been a very good vehicle.

Ken V.Rome, OH, USA

2004 Dodge Caravan ES, 16,500 miles
Took nine days and only reimbursed up to 150 of rental. Currently, the steering wheel locks and the abs light came on cause a cable snapped windshield wipers are constantly crossing after 3 complete replacements and it seems like nothing ever is covered under warrenty I have 32000 miles on it now and I also have had to deal with bad factory battery and brakes.
Melody M.Pearland, TX, USA

2006 Caravan Sport, 37,003 miles
My wife attempted to drive the vehicle home from her parents' house one afternoon. Upon starting the vehicle and shifting it into drive, she pressed the gas pedal to be rewarded with a clunk, followed by a lurch and the sound of lots of metal grinding. The transmission then disengaged from the engine. No other coaxing could get it to re-engage. The vehicle was towed (at our expense) to the closest dealership. They proceeded to claim that the vehicle was out of warranty (the bumper to bumper expired at 3 years, over 8 months before it made 36K miles) however, this vehicle included DCXs 7 year, 100K mile powertrain warranty with $100 deductible. It took a while to get them to remember that promotion. They took the vehicle in and looked at the transmission.

They then called me at a later date, apparently with chunks of gears in their hands and claimed that the transmission was abused and uncared for. I pointed out to them that the vehicle is a minivan, driven by my wife, with my three small children (all under 4 at the time) inside it most of the time to and from the store and the day-care for the kids. I then reminded them that, if they checked their own records, it would show that they had replaced all the solenoids, the fluid, seals, and a clutch pack in the tranmission less then 20K miles before that from a previous trip to the dealership with a transmission that wouldn't shift out of 2nd.

Once they verified the original repair job, they apologized and replaced the transmission and billed us the $100 deductible. The transmission has not acted up since then, though, the CEL lit up a month ago without generating any codes in the computer.
Joel H.Kenner, LA, USA

2007 Dodge Caravan V4, Automatic transmission, 99,000 miles
Bought 2002 van in 2004 with 46,000 miles. Transmission failed and local Dodge dealership repaired it for $100 deductible. Now at $99,000 miles it has failed again. Two transmissions in less than 100k miles. Still trying to find some way to fix it without paying $2,000 + First and last Dodge I'll ever buy. Too bad - otherwise OK vehicle. excerpted from www.autobeef.com

 

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