Automatic Transmission problems of the 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan - part 1

Automatic transmission broke for the third time in just 30,000 miles, this time my wife and 4 kids were nearly killed on a busy interstate because we were almost hit . This vehicle is a 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan.

Bought a 1996 caravan new, in August 1999 the transmission went with about 36,000 miles and rebuilt put in - lasted till Jan 2005. Transmission went out Jan 2005 and a rebuilt was put in and lasted until July 2005 and another rebuilt was put in.

We have had the car approx 6 years and had to put in five transmissions. They keep burning up and nobody can tell us why. We use the vehicle for very little transportation to and from school mostly approx 2 and 1/2 miles each way. The van constantly bucks when slowing down from high speeds to low speeds and will often die doing the same thing. The transmission always seems to be making a sound that indicates it is being stressed while in 2 to 3 gears.

Took my 1996 Dodge caravan in for transmission repair. Shop would not repair and said the vehicle was inoperable due to rusting out of strut mount tower. Have not seen this on any other vehicle.

As I brought down speed of my vehicle from 65 mph to stop today, just stopped dead at the stop sign and the transmission of my vehicle failed. When I searched the internet, I found a tons of people having the same problem. With so many people out there with the same problem there has to be a recall or a class action law suit .

The consumer stated the transmission malfunctioned. As a result the vehicle hesitated before shifting gears. Please provide additional information.

While driving 55 mph vehicle stopped but engine was still running. Vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that pin slipped out and broke through the transmission casing. This caused a loss of transmission fluid, and transmission needed to be replaced.

Dealer has replaced 3 times automatic transmission. Consumer states has to be replace again the transmission, and vehicle is not any longer under warranty.

Transmission locked-up on 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan. When we contacted someone about obtaining a transmission, we were informed that the manufacturer had already sent letters to Dodge dealerships to expect to be contacted about transmission problems on the 1996 & 1997 Grand Caravans; the dealerships were told that the transmissions in these vehicles were defective, but that they(manufacturer) would not have them repaired. My husband was traveling on I-40 business outside of winston salem, nc, when this happened. He had with him our 8 year old daughter and my step-daughter, they were stranded on the side of the road for over 4 hours, and at night. We had previously had a "pin" of some sort in the transmission repaired and the van seemed to be fine after that; we had no other indication that there was a problem--the van's transmission went out without any indication that there was a problem. This happened on a very busy part of the interstate; it just shut down and could have been a very dangerous situation if they had been traveling in the left lane of traffic. Due to being in the right lane, they were fortunate enough to get it off the road without being hit by other traffic. We also had to have the van towed over 60 miles to get it home. I would appreciate any info. Or assistance you can offer. Please contact me if other info or questions are needed. Thank you.

Nar 03-27-2003 mr the consumer experienced problems driver side windows, and the transmission died out.

Consumer states had a transmission defect. Consumer advised that the "hollow rope" theat holds the "pin" in place broke, causing the pin to become dislodged and blew holes in the transmission casing. Consumer states issue could have resulted in holes being blown into the floorboard. Nlm.

Replaced defective transmission every 2 years at 37,000, 100760, and at 147654. Obviously there is a problem with the manufacturer as tranmissions do no typically fail every 24 to 28 months. The nthsa should force daimler-Chrysler to stand behind a known defective component and replace these at no charge when failures occur frequently. This is a known prevalent problem with the Chrysler/Dodge minivans and has been reported on extensively. Actions should be taken to protect consumers as it is unlikely daimler-Chrysler will take responsibilty on their own.

At 65mph and with no warning transmission will go out,causing vehicle to shut off. Dealer notified.

No summary listed for above vehicle.

Transmission has locked up 4 times. 1st time @ 54kmiles/2nd @ 37kmiles/3rd @ 30kmiles/ 4th (which was a remanufactured) @ 48k mile. All of these occurred while I was pulling into an intersection or through a light.

We were driving the vehicle on the interstate at 65 mph when the transmission suddenly and unexpectedly gave out. The vehicle dropped in speed from 65 to under 40mph in less than two seconds causing the vehicle to nearly be involved in a catastrophic rear end accident with a tractor trailer truck following behind my van. This is a common problem with Chrysler vehicles please do something about it since they are not. Thank you.

Vehicle was going 15-20mph and lost power after exiting from one highway and entering another highway on the on ramp. Vehicle coasted to side of road. Had to be towed to dealer. Cause of transmissions failure was not determined.

A $32,000 vehicle w 49,000 miles should not incurr this problem w a transmission seal. This is in addition with 10-14 other problems and recalls that I have had since purchasing this van. Thank you for your concern.

Transmission would no longer shift from first to second gear. Had to be replaced at 72000 miles. The hinges on the door were replaced and the front rotor was turned.

Second van owned the other a 1990 ply. Gr voy same mileage @ failure. . Chrysler refuses do do anything . . This is a serious problem that can happen 2 high speeds ie the 1990 failed on I 90 doing 65mph. No safety defect.

The transmission first bl;ew at 49000 miles. My wife was only doing 20 mph when the transmission went bang and stopped. We had the repairs done at the cost of $1500, of which we had to pay half. I now have the same problem at 101,000 miles. She was traveling at 45 mph this time. I have not approached the dealer yet, but I have done my research and found numerous other people having the same problem. I refuse to pay for this again. I will be contacting Dodge about this problem. I am also registering a complaint with the attorney generals office.

While traveling at 30 mph transmission cracked, vehicle would not stop. Consumer had to use emergency brake to stop. If consumer was traveling any faster may have lost control.

While driving about 18 mph vehicle stalled without a prior warning, just quit working. When lifted up by tow truck could see part of transmission went out.

350 miles after I purchased this vehicle from tillery Chevrolet the transmission started to go out. Tillery Chevrolet has offered to cover 50% like the contract covers but I believe that Dodge is responsible for 100% because of the many 4 speed transmissions that fail at about 50k miles. Someone needs to make Chrysler responsible for this expensive ($1200) repair.

Transmission gear cracked and teeth broke off. Van now moves in park. Also occasional gear jams and van jerks to a stop while moving from 1 to 10 mph.

How can radical failures like this go on unaddressed? Chrysler is satisfied to sell cars that fail as long as they don't get sued. The problem is not new and is very frequent.

When the gear shift was placed into the "park" position, the transmission remained in neutral; when put into the "reverse" position, the transmission went into drive. It would not go into park or reverse.

Transmission shifts from into neutral itself while driving. Multiple incidents, dealer claims ignorance.

Heading out on vacation, cruising along the interstate at 70 mph, when the transmission shifted itself into neutral. Crossed multiple lanes of high speed traffic to the shoulder. Stopped, inspected, restarted all was well for about two hundred feet. Car went into "limp mode". Limped back to the dealer. Verdict: new tranny required. Cost: $2475 (not including the 8. 5% sales tax). After moments on the internet, discovered this is a rampant problem with these vehicles. We're angry that we were endangered by a well known problem. A serious problem which should be the subject of a recall.

Transmission locked into 2nd gear. I was told by Chrysler that it was out of warranty, therefore all repairs were our responsibility. There are numerous incidents on the internet that point out that this is a defective transmission. I believe that Chrysler should pay for the repair.

Noticed hesitation during highway driving. Mechanic reports transmission is pulling apart and would need to be rebuilt or replace w/in 6 mos.

Upon applying gas from a dead stop, van began making a harsh grinding sound and wouldn't move. Van was towed to Chrysler dealer who said the output shaft had snapped. Transmission had to be replaced.

Second complete failure of trasmission assembly; 1st @ 29k, 2nd @ 50k.

This is my second Dodge gr. Caravan to drop a transmission at 71,000 mile mark and I insist that Dodge reimburse me the $1711. 82 it cost me to repair it. . . . . . I have all invoices on the repairs.

When first starting out in the morning, I put the shift lever in reverse and noticed a hesitation before it engaged. After backing out I dropped ithe lever in drive and started to pull forward-again hesitation,then a clunk, when it shifted to second. I then drove it to a transmission shop to have them look at it. They said Dodge caravan transmission problems were not uncommon. They put the van on their test equipment and nothing showed. The shop owner suggested that since the van had so few miles on it, a filter and fluid change may take care of the problem. When he dropped the pan he found alot of metal in the base of the pan. I am planning to contact Dodge Monday morning to discuss their shared responsibility in this matter.