Chrysler

[raceannouncer]

Originally Posted by Gary Smith

As I said I gave the first the benefit of the doubt and chalked it up as bad luck. Guess I was wrong.

Regarding Jap vs. American... well, when Chrysler decides to stand behind their product instead of shoving it up customers asses (like mine), I may have a change of heart. But until then, I have yet to hear more good than bad about Caravans. In fact, anything good about the big three these days (and I've been a diehard American car advocate until I bought my first ricer). Okay, maybe not the best cars, but at least much better service.

Well, Gary, I owned a 1990 Caravan cargo van that I took to 245,000 miles and had only 1 transmission issue. It was replaced by a rebuilt unit at 65,000 miles under warranty and it never gave me another problem the rest of the way. The only reason why I don't own it today was that road salt had its way with the undercarriage and several body panels, rendering them unsafe. The motor and tranny were more than willing to keep going.

Since then, I have owned 3 more Caravans, all with the so-called pesky transmission and the near-bulletproof 3.3L V6. My strategy with the trannys is to keep a keen eye on the fluid levels and watch for leaks. NEVER, and I mean, NEVER crack open the transmission unless you're going the rebuild route. For me, the most important thing was to find a tech at the Dodge dealership that knew their way around the transmissions, inside and out.

Your experience suggests to me more of a problem with the dealer that you've transferred to the make of the vehicle. Find another dealer!

And BTW, Dodge is not alone--I seem to remember some pretty ugly electronically-controlled tranny problems in the early-to-mid '90's on the GM full-size pickups...

Bottom line: Every make of vehicle is a mechanical object. It can have problems right off the assembly line or it can be the best vehicle you've ever owned, regardless of make. In either case, however, proper maintenance is an absolute necessity.

Mike Paz, Motorsports Announcer