At what point do the transmission troubles start for the Chryslers? I have two 2005s, one at almost 200k and one at 130k. Like mentioned above, they're not the smoothest transmission I've ever been behind, but they don't feel any different now than when I bought the first one at 130k 4 years ago. I'm a big fan of the T&C's. Anything they've needed has been cheap and easy to do so far.
I thought it was only the Hondas that had big transmission woes.
In reply to WonkoTheSane :
I don't think they are a common failure. It's just a side effect of so many being on the road. A small percentage of problems is still a fair number of cars.
Here's your cheat sheet for Odysseys:
99-04 - avoid due to transmission issues, especially avoid if used to tow
05-06 - Improved transmission, watch out for VCM issues on the EX-L and higher trim packages. Look for one than has many documented transmission services, and avoid one that's towed without an aftermarket cooler.
07-10 - Ridgeline transmission, much better. Think the VCM issues still exist here, but I've never owned one this new, so I'm not 100%.
Sine_Qua_Non said:I have a 98 Chrysler T&C lxi that has a failed transmission. It just sits in the storage yard because everyone I have talked to wants $3k-$5k to rebuild it.
I think it cost me about $100 in rebuild kit plus $75 for a new sprag assembly for my old 98
Patrick said:Sine_Qua_Non said:I have a 98 Chrysler T&C lxi that has a failed transmission. It just sits in the storage yard because everyone I have talked to wants $3k-$5k to rebuild it.
I think it cost me about $100 in rebuild kit plus $75 for a new sprag assembly for my old 98
Did it have the part time AWD feature?
Personally I think minivans are the work of satan. Especially the Chrysler/Dodge variety, I refer to those as Chrysler Road Hazards. Left lane hogging, bad gas station etiquette, ugly...
That being said, in my part of the country there is a large community of ... religious, big family types... and what I hope is a disproportionately large amount of these vehicles. These road hazards get used hard. Full seats, work loads, pets, dirt roads, terrible dust storms, bad pavement everywhere, and let us not forget the summer heat that generally keeps it over 100 for about 5 months at a time. The damn things just seem to keep going and I think I hate them a little more for it. And they go for about half of what any of the japanese vans sell for.
I'll be the outlier.
We had a Caravan that was decent, but needed a lot of repairs before it was totaled. No one in the family liked that van.
The Caravan was replaced by a Chevy Venture that was a better vehicle in every way possible. Drives better, rides better, more comfortable, more durable and quick. We ran it from 40K to 220K with minimal problems other than the dreaded intake gaskets. They are a fairly involved repair, but not horrible. We then gave it to my son who put another 60K on it at the cost of another set of intake gaskets. Other than the intake gaskets and power window switches, the van was pretty much flawless.
The Venture was also better than the Quest that replaced it in every way. The Nissan has been a bit of a maintenance hog as well, and it's been a pain work on.
Did it have the part time AWD feature?
That does change things a bit. The R&R is harder because of having to mess with the transfer case. The trans and the T-case are pretty much totally separate units even though they bolt together. They don't even share fluid and the only part in the trans that is actually different for AWD is the diff carrier itself. So, if the problems are contained to the actual transmission and don't involve replacing the diff carrier itself for some nasty reason, it should be standard rate + a bit extra labor cost.
If dankspeed wants a no-rust southern 07 T&C Lx w/~180k and a lower miles engine (which is odd because 3.3s hardly EVER blow up in the first place, i've never personally seen one!) that's been fixed up and vetted by a GRM member who happens to have 12 ASE certifications and teach automotive at community college, i have one i'd sell for ~2500-3000. I'd need 2-3 wks lead time to prep for sale and you'd have to arrange to get it home from Texas. 
Another +1 for Chrysler vans. In that price range, $2500 to $3500, you will find nothing better.
We bought our '02 T&C with 120k miles for $2,300, though it had a CEL for a set of $40 O2 sensors.
Cheap to buy, cheap to own, maybe not as nice as the Sienna or Odyssey, maybe need a little more attention and preventive maintenance, but overall a great choice.
Trans issues after year 2000 I think are overblown. They sold almost 5x as many T&C/Caravans as Siennas in the 2000's, so of course there are more failures and more chances for idiots to kill their vans. Just take care of it, change the fluid! and it will live forever.
Avoid the GM vans. Unless it's an Astro. Those are cool and generally as simple as an S10.
Ford vans are fine, but they have some very weird no-warning trans/torque converter and ECM quality issues.
In reply to Vigo :
I'd love a reason to travel out to texas but can't take the time off from work. Appreciate the offer though.
Going to look at a '07 gc today. Owner says it has an exhaust leak.
Anything I should look at or focus on?
Thanks
Just regular used car stuff for the most part. Trans fluid condition is important. Look for signs of lower intake gasket leakage, that's a mild job it'd be nice not to need to do. Water pump is at rear of engine behind passenger tire, maybe look at that for seepage.They tend to have front window motors and sliding door power lock actuators fail. Sometimes vent window motors fail. 3.8 is a lot nicer to drive than 3.3 although many may not care.
More than likely the crossover pipe is leaking , it goes over the trans.
dankspeed said:Going to look at a '07 gc today. Owner says it has an exhaust leak.
Anything I should look at or focus on?
Thanks
WonkoTheSane said:At what point do the transmission troubles start for the Chryslers? I have two 2005s, one at almost 200k and one at 130k. Like mentioned above, they're not the smoothest transmission I've ever been behind, but they don't feel any different now than when I bought the first one at 130k 4 years ago. I'm a big fan of the T&C's. Anything they've needed has been cheap and easy to do so far.
I think it's mostly internet lore from problems with the early units, and typical neglect, not many American automatics go more than 150k if you never service them. To add an anecdote my parents had a 97, 3.8, long wheelbase, AWD, pretty sure that's the heaviest one they sold. They bought it used from a dealer with an original trans, It had a cooler fitted when they bought it and occasionally used it to tow 4000lbs. Knowing my dad he probably serviced it with Dexron at that time, which allegedly kills them, which makes no sense to me as it's a grabbier fluid than the correct AFT4. At something like 150k it blew a hose off the aftermarket aux cooler on the highway and undercoated the car, fixed on the side of the road, probably refilled with cheap Dex III fluid and kept going, a couple years later it lost the lockup clutch, threw a reman converter in, serviced it again (probably with dexron) and kept going, still worked fine when they sold it to a plumber at 190k. The van was pretty trashed and getting rusty, but the powertrain was solid.
I can also confirm that the 3.8 will take some abuse, my mom babied it and changed the oil about half as often as it should have been. I'd come home from college ever couple months, top off the oil and take it out to reseat the rings, this involved a WOT blast down the length of nearest on ramp, which it would completely fog, then quit smoking for the rest of the drive.
Donebrokeit said:More than likely the crossover pipe is leaking , it goes over the trans.
dankspeed said:Going to look at a '07 gc today. Owner says it has an exhaust leak.
Anything I should look at or focus on?
Thanks
Is that a pricey or difficult repair?
In reply to ebonyandivory :
My parents are on their 4th or 5th Chrysler minivan and other than the first one (89( haven't had tranny problems or other major issues. They put a TON of miles on them and haul a lot of stuff (they own a marina) and buy a late-model used "new" one every 4-5 years once the miles get too high.....
I do not recall how much the pipe cost, the only hard part is cutting the two rear bolts off with a small wizard wheel tool..
dankspeed said:Donebrokeisaid:More than likely the crossover pipe is leaking , it goes over the trans.
dankspeed said:Going to look at a '07 gc today. Owner says it has an exhaust leak.
Anything I should look at or focus on?
Thanks
Is that a pricey or difficult repair?
In that price range, don't forget the Mazda MPV. A little smaller, but easily the best driving and best looking van from that time period. '02 and up had the 3.0 Ford motor and 5 speed trans. They are not immune from tranny issues, but the most common problem with them can be fixed for cheap without removing the tranny. I bought a nice one for cheap that way- I looked for one with a bad tranny and fixed it for less than $300.
Boost_Crazy said:In that price range, don't forget the Mazda MPV. A little smaller, but easily the best driving and best looking van from that time period. '02 and up had the 3.0 Ford motor and 5 speed trans. They are not immune from tranny issues, but the most common problem with them can be fixed for cheap without removing the tranny. I bought a nice one for cheap that way- I looked for one with a bad tranny and fixed it for less than $300.
What was the fix?
Went and checked out the van. Overall it looked like it's been well cared for. There's rust on the passenger side sliding door at the bottom and below that on the body. Not too excited about that.
Other than the exhaust leak the lock on that passenger sliding door doesn't work. You have to manually lock and unlock it. I assume it's an actuator or something gone bad inside the door.
It is the base model so 3.3 ltr and no fancy stow and go.
Seemed to have enough power though and shifted smooth.
I told him I could $1800 but had research the door lock issue.
Thoughts?
The power lock issue is more than likely a door latch as I think the lock motor was built into it by that year. At that price point I doubt you could go wrong.
Do you have a local inspection in your state? If so that might be a good investment.
Paul B
Donebrokeit said:The power lock issue is more than likely a door latch as I think the lock motor was built into it by that year. At that price point I doubt you could go wrong.
Do you have a local inspection in your state? If so that might be a good investment.
Paul B
No state inspection in Ohio. I could take it to a mechanic to have it looked over.
Other than the exhaust leak the lock on that passenger sliding door doesn't work. You have to manually lock and unlock it. I assume it's an actuator or something gone bad inside the door.
I've seen both the actuator go bad and the linkage seize and be repairable by cleaning/lubing. Since you can still manually lock/unlock it it's probably just the actuator. There's a big electrical connector right at the bottom of the door when it's open that you can check for power/ground on the appropriate wires before taking off the door panel and/or buying an actuator. Reason i mention testing there is because there is an articulating harness in the door channel on the bottom that flexes to follow the door back and forth and there are sometimes issues there as well.
My van has stow and go and i'm honestly not crazy about it, although i can see why many people would be. It adds a ton of nooks and crannies which accumulate filth and make the thing extremely tedious to get 'actually clean' once it's soiled. Plus a bunch of plastic which gets stood on and takes damage, scratches and sometimes cracking/splitting. Less visually durable than if it were just carpet which tends to be completely fine if it's not horribly horribly stained. Anyway i'm a weirdo and nobody else nitpicks the finer points of van design in the particularly irrelevant way that i do..
Might be worth an hour check out to have a trusted person to put it on a lift and give you an independent opinion.
Paul B
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