The transmissions in all Dodge Caravans, Plymouth Voyager and Chrysler Town and Country 3.3 engine automatic transmissions model years 1999, 2000 and 2001 have an internal pin that breaks. When this happens (with no warning)it not only destroys the Transmission internally it breaks the case. So you now need to find a new case. Of course this will not fix the problem. It seems that if you do not purchase an after market case that stabilizes the tranny to prevent the metal fatigue it will happen again and again. We met a man that had put 5 transmissions in his vehicle in 1 year. Chrysler Corp is more than aware of this problem, but will not admit the problem or help owners to fix it. This was my second Chrysler van and it will be my last.

Well one can tell their age coming home from their birthday party 2am and the damn transmission goes out.

It must have been one of the coldest nights on record. I was coming home from my birthday party at my brother’s place 16 miles on the out skirts of town. I started the car and went back inside for it to warm up before heading home. It warms up quick so I hugged everybody and left. I got about 6 miles down the road starting up a small hill and the engine started to race and the car went slower. I eased on and off the peddle to the top the hill coasted down and that was where the wrecker had to pick it up.

Six miles behind me to my brother’s house, or four to the Wal-Mart the other way. No cell phone cold as hell, I walked back to my brothers.

AAmco Transmission said they could fix it but could not warranty it because all those transmissions come apart before 100,000 miles. He called it Chrysler junk through a ways.

I should have driven it off a cliff but I missed my chance. The last time it was on my birthday, this time I was just tiring to get home from work.

With a new rebuilt transmission just under 20,000 miles ago who would guess the transmission would break again so soon. AAmco who put it in last said they were done they had to many that kind of van transmissions come back and said they didn't warranty before. Ok, so I take it to Lee's Auto group and they said they know just how to take care of the problem but it was not going to be cheap. Two months later and thousands gone I get it back. Shifts a little hard but works. Third transmission has to be a charm. Go figure, now it’s broke. Three transmissions in 100,000. No wonder Dodge is broke they can't make a good product. And to think our government and all those other people bailed them out, for what?

Well, true to history, my 1999 Grand Caravan had transmission problems at 134k miles. I guess I should be happy it lasted that long. We let Dodge put a new one in for us and now, at 175k miles, we are starting to notice some bumping between the gears. A little fluid leaking here and there. In case you want to know how great these vans are. In the last 3 years, we have spent $11,000 dollars on our van trying to keep it running. The Jasper motor that we had to buy to replace the factory motor that blew up at 117k miles immediately had problems. It is now consuming as much as 2 quarts of oil between oil changes. The is perfectly normal according to Dodge and Jasper. If you are thinking about buying a Jasper motor, keep this in mind. If Dodge or Jasper decide to go down the crapper with the economy, it will be their own fault I suppose!

Have a great day!

Paul

This is the fourth transmission that I had to have rebuild. 3.3L V6 and transmission are not compatible. 3.3L V6 was used in trucks and transmission was used in cars. Plus it is the same vinyl bushing that keeps failing. The bushing could be replace with a brass bushing but causes the warranty to be voided. The first failure came at around 68K, the second happen at 102K. The third occur at 143K and the fourth at 180K. My sons has a grand caravan 1999 but it has the 3.0L V6 with 180K and has never had the transmission fail.

We had not had this car that long for it to have transmission problems. I know it cost somewhere in the range of $2500-$3000 and we took it to a highly recommended tranny shop but we had to take it back in about 2-3x to get it running right.

Overall, we still have this vehicle and its been ~Okay~. Its been good to us overall, as long as we treat it really gently.....but I was not happy to see recalls on it, and most likely, am trying NOT to buy dodge again. I think they do not care enough about safety.