We got this vehicle due to size and ability to get my disabled wife to and from appointments. We have up to date service on this vehicle, and drive like grandma's. I now have to take time off work to get my wife to where she has to go which is very costly. If I had known of the possibility of the transmission going out this quick I would have went with another vehicle.
I contacted Chrysler Motors, told them my problem with the transmission being out of warranty due to mileage and 5 year limit and was given a case number. Was told to take my 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan to my nearest dealer to confirm the transmission was bad. Once that was confirmed they would let me know what kind of Relief Assistance they could help me with. I took my van to the nearest dealer on Mat 24th.
Long story short, I had to call them on June 4th for an update. My vehicle is out of warranty. They cannot help me. No sh*t, I knew that before I even went thru their damn process. Apparently this vehicle has had problems from day one with the transmission that I thought was just cold start issues. The thing that pisses me off more than anything is that Chrysler led me to believe that they would help me with replacement costs once the problem was confirmed. Do not purchase these vehicles. I explained that I am retired and on Social Security. Traded my previous 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan in at 68,000 miles for the 2011 so I would have a decent vehicle when I retired.
My 2011 Grand Caravan does have 170,000+ miles. I have gotten a lot of use out of it, yes! However, without warning, the transmission just failed. Went to my mechanic and was told that it was going to cost almost $4,000 to repair because, with these fancy 6 speed electronic automatics, they cannot rebuild them "in-house" but rather have to be ordered from specialized transmission shops. At least they were able to provide a 3-yr 100,000 mile warranty on the rebuilt transmission.
I bought the van at 65k miles and 3 days after I bought it I knew something was wrong with the transmission. It took 4 months and 5k miles to get the dealership to listen to me! These shops and dealers need to stop assuming women don't know their vehicles! I grew up in a shop for Pete's sake. We bought a $4000 national warranty not to have to worry about replacing these things and it was one of the biggest drama fests ever! We had to stress for 3 days yes they will no they won't pay for it. It had to be proven that WE took care of it since we had purchased it.
How on God's green earth can I ruin a transmission in that short amount of time? I didn't! The previous owner did and got rid of it and we were the unlucky sucker's that bought it. In the end it was replaced with a re-manufactured transmission so we will see how it goes.
Transmission just went out. The engine revved up as I was going 25 onto the freeway and then slammed into a gear and would not shift up. Transmission light did not come on at all. Heard from many mechanics that this is a known problem on this transmission which is in Jeeps as well and Chrysler is doing nothing about it. Had it at one highly recommended auto repair shop to diagnose problem and he said it was not repairable and could replace with a new one for $4,900. Decided to go with a used one and paid first mechanic $125 for his time and had it towed - at my cost - to a highly recommended transmission shop - They wanted to try to repair it to see if it was possible (I did not care how long it took because I bought a new car - Toyota this time.), It turned out not to be repairable at all and they replaced it with a used one.
This transmission shop also said that these are a known problem and he had just had one in there the week before mine came in and it was the same thing. He also said he has never seen one make it to 100k miles. I had a 2003 caravan with 180K miles that never had an issue and this one had that TIPM problem too, and I believe Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep has really stopped caring about the quality of their vehicles. I am now a Dodge hater for life.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
We got this vehicle due to size and ability to get my disabled wife to and from appointments. We have up to date service on this vehicle, and drive like grandma's. I now have to take time off work to get my wife to where she has to go which is very costly. If I had known of the possibility of the transmission going out this quick I would have went with another vehicle.
- Jeff W., Longmont, CO, US