Nine problems related to automatic transmission have been reported for the 1998 Chevrolet Astro. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Consumer stated that while driving and without warning the transmission would cause the vehicle to jerk. Dealer notified.
Very hard bang when transmissions shifts,it was very costly to have it fixed.
Tranmission valve body bad. Trans. Shifts hard and when not expected.
The Chevrolet Astro shifts gears violently. The problem was first noticed as I left an intersection and the van violently shifted gears throwing my family's and my head back with extreme force. Thinking that I had been rear-ended and knowing that other cars were in front and alongside my vehicle, I quickly stepped on the brake, almost causing a true rear-end collision. The vehicle was not in warranty so I took it in for inspection by my local mechanic, who had previously worked as a service tech for a chevy dealership. He was unable to find the problem. He contacted one of his friends who still worked at the chevy dealership where he was formerly employed. My mechanic told me that his friend stated that the defect was known by Chevrolet but there wasn't any recall and there was nothing they would do about it. I paid a hefty price for what was supposed to be a great van only to find out that Chevrolet has manufactured a vehicle knowing that it has severe defects in the transmission that could cause costly repairs, injury, or possible crash-related deaths and refuse to remedy the situation. How many more people must continue to drive an unsafe vehicle beforecorrective action is taken?.
The sun shell, a part in the transmission broke loose and caused the transmission to malfunction.
Repeated attempts to fix transmission beginning with a complete rebuild at a certified facility; transmission may function properly for as long as 2 months. Repeated visits to the transmission shop are met with apologies, and stories of the same design transmission with the same problems from other individuals. I at first suspected the mechanics, but research has shown there are many other Astro van owners experiencing the same problem; believe it to be a manufacturing defect.
Transmission gears shift hard.
Pawl within the transmission malfunctioned after 300 mile trips in hot weather causing the gears to change very hardly. Fuel would leak and the transmission would lock, which could have resulted in a fire.
Car stalls when in reverse gear, dealer could not solve the problems. Yh.