I'm glad to hear you've had a good experience with the Caravans. At 33k, I dropped the trans pan, changed filter, and added a new pan with a drain bolt for easy trans fluid swaps.
We found the "one", then walked away
- Thread starter dja4260
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I'm glad to hear you've had a good experience with the Caravans. At 33k, I dropped the trans pan, changed filter, and added a new pan with a drain bolt for easy trans fluid swaps.
I understand what you are saying, however you are also reinforcing the fact that the current generation Caravan transmissions are troublesome, If i understand correctly you are saying you 2014 has 60k miles and is acting up, which is par for the course from people I know of that have them. My mothers neighbor has a 2013, its on its third transmission, a coworker had a 2011 its transmission is horrible at 100k miles, another coworker had a 2015, traded in at 70k miles when transmission started acting up. Yet another coworker had a routan which had to have the transmission blow a pump seal under warrant and when it was approaching 100k miles the transmission started doing Chrysler stuff like you described so they traded it in.
Reading your post you say you have never had transmission issues, then go on to describe the transmission problem you are currently having with your 2014....
I would wager that per miles driven FCA products have more transmission issues comparable vehicles just from people I know of.
I am on a Chrysler van group on FB, transmission problems on the current generation of caravan are abundant. I just cannot fathom having a vehicle that has a transmission that has a high relatively high percentage of vehicles that cant make it to 100k miles without transmission issues.
Even the junk early '00s honda automatics could usually make it to 100k without issue.
To be fair my mother has a 02 Caravan with 100k and the transmission is still perfect with one filter change and 3 fluid changes since new. I will also say it is a 4cyl so maybe that has helped. I also think they had the 41TE as good as it would ever be by then. It was purchased new and has been a great value, it has had its share of problems common to that generation of caravan so it not has been perfect. (Abs, Trac and brake light are on and vehicle doesnt have Abs or traction control, the problems have largely been electrical gremlins)
We have a AWD Sienna which as you pointed out has a transmission that is very expensive to replace, We are at 16 years old and 100k miles and it has been flawless, and from what I am seeing it is likely to make it at least another 100k miles without issue. This particular vehicle does more towing than many f150s will ever do in their lifetimes, I maintain it, though I dont baby it.
Yes there are some Sienna transmissions that have blown up, yes there are some current generation caravans with 300k on the original transmissions. It just seems there are so many horror stories with the 62TE transmissions it will make your head spin.
This is the first I've heard of it. I checked car complaints.com and they have very few reports of issues. People say that site isn't reliable (usually when defending certain vehicles with high complaints) but it usually seems to reflect reality for the vehicles I've had experience with working in the automotive repair industry
I agree 100% with you walking. I see it this way: Even under warranty it's still a problem. With dealers screwing up something as simple as an oil change a problem with a transmission can turn into a nightmare, real fast. It might be something as simple as a re-flash, it might not. If I really wanted the vehicle I'd explain the problem to the not so savvy/not caring salesman. I'd tell him to get it fixed under warranty, have him produce proof the work was done, then take another test drive before buying it. If the repair was satisfactory then pull the trigger. But in all honesty I'd pass and look for something else w/o issues. When I shopped for a used vehicle I avoid rentals and lease returns. Most of them are not as well maintained or driven with as much care as a car someone actually paid for.
A transmission shudder can take YEARS and thousands of miles to get to the point of transmission failure that would require repair / replacement. The likely scenario would be, new owner takes to dealer and is told "there aren't any codes, that's normal behavior". Then 3 years later when the van is out of warranty the transmission fails.
OP, good on you for walking. It certainly isn't worth settling for a car with a potential flaw. Keep looking, the right one will come along in time.
What Honda DI engine is that?
The 62TE in our 2018 Grand Caravan also shifts firm pretty much all the time, but the same exact engine and transmission behaves totally different in my moms Chrysler 200... seems like it’s just programming. I think it feels worlds better than the mushy slush box of a 4 speed in the old 2004 Grand Caravan, and I don’t see any problems hitting and exceeding 100k in ours (at 65k now), especially since we don’t abuse our van like my parents did with theirs.
Putting the ZF 8 speed in everything RWD based is the best thing Chrysler has ever done though, other than “Hellcat all the vehicles!”
My early 2000's Odyssey only made it to 70k with frequent atf changes every 10-20k miles only with Z1. The dreaded third gear slipping. Just could not drive it and expect to get anywhere once it got hot. Junk for something so highly praised. No fanboi-ism for me. This was not the only defect of the Odyssey.
Almost everyone at work with an Odyssey at the time had their transmission break. Most of them at lower mileage than mine. Junk transmissions.
Here are just a few of the numerous complaints a quick cursory search turned up. Plus as I stated I know of several people that have had issues with these transmissions. If you go on the Facebook caravan group there are constantly posts about transmission issues on the 62te
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I agree those are junk. I have known some to fail before 100k, some to make it to 100k and I know of one that made it to 170k. It depends on how much shifting the transmission does and therefore how much clutch material ends up in the fluid I believe.
I’ve learned to take complaints like this with a grain of salt, ESPECIALLY if it was a used vehicle regardless of the mileage on it. We don’t know how they maintain it or how the previous owners maintained it, how they or the previous owners used it, or anything else other than “it broke! Why did it break?!” People almost always overstate their maintenance unless they have the records to back it up and understate how much abuse they put on their vehicles.
I personally know several people that have had various transmission maladies with the 62te. My moms neighbor, two coworkers. Two have owned them since new. One had to come out under the warranty period, the other started having trouble at 50k miles and by 80k it was gone.
The other is a van with 110k on it and probably hasn't had any transmission maintenance. History unknown. He has been fighting it for the past year since it started doing chrysler stuff. It started with hard shifting and now has very erratic operation.
My vehicle I am assigned (superduty ford) to at work has 100k and has never had the fluid changed despite manufacturers recommendations, it works perfectly. Now we can pick the rest of it apart mainly the junk front end components, the point is a transmission should he able to make it to 100k no problem regardless of maintenance.
The 62te is a problem child, but go ahead and live in a fool's paradise. Let me drink the koolaid. Ok. The 62te is just as good of a transmission as any others today. Despite sometimes erratic operation and people complaining about them left and right it is a great transmission. In fact I will now say the 62te is the best transmission ever made and it is bulletproof. Anyone stating otherwise is incorrect and is exaggerating.
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A firm shift into gear is desirable, not a problem. It is not mechanically desirable to have that little bit of slip for the smoothness that people desire and equate with good function, many people expect this "smoothness" and take their transmissions back to the dealer if the transmission does not exhibit this artifact. There is also the matter of cost of ownership. Probably enough of a monetary difference to buy a transmission or two if ever needed. The buy in on the FCA minivans is substantially less than their Japanese counterparts, the American way of huge discounts and rebates doesn't seem to happen with the Japanese minivans in any approaching proportion. Next time you are in NYC after the pandemic ends, take a look at the taxis. Count how many FCA minivans there are in comparison to any other make. That means something.
Probably why CVTs are gaining popularity with the manufacturers.
You need to make comparisons to other similar vehicles with similar sales numbers to get anything from carcomplaints.com. I am too busy today with xmas to look again but I already went the other day and the transmission problem reports were very low on most recent model years. Either way nothing will change your mind because you have different personal experiences than many of us. I remember when caravans actually did have terrible transmissions, in the 90s when I was young.
I am on a Caravan facebook group, you frequently see transmission complaints on there. I am also on the Sienna page, you see very few complaints about transmissions, most that you do see are on the newest 8 speed used up until the 2020 model year I believe.
All but one of the people I personally know with the current generation caravan has had transmission issues with theirs. I know 4 people with siennas one with a second gen, 2 with 3rd gen with 6 speeds and a 3rd gen with an 8 speed, plus ours which is a second gen. No one has had transmission issues.
I am just going by what I observe, what technicians have told me that work on chryslers all day, and by the sample which I know the history of can tell me.
I remember the ultradrive debacle in the 90s, to be fair some of the problems were due to incorrect fluid being used but the design had many flaws. My mother drives an 02 with 100k and by then the ultradrive is an acceptable transmission I feel. It still has never had the greatest shift quality imho, I still feel the comparable GM and Toyota products of that era had better transmissions than the caravan, however at least the ultradrive was fairly reliable by then.
Oh I almost forgot the guy at work that traded thier late model caravan in because the dealer told them they needed to change the transmisiion fluid frequently because the 62te was problematic and weak! They traded it on a pacifica and have started having rough shifts and lurching problems shortly after they purchased it new! It has a 9 speed I believe. Chrysler has no business putting a 9 speed in thier vehicles when they could even perfect a 4 or 6 speed!
The coworkers with the 62te that have had problems with "firm shifts"are experiencing very excessivly firm or somewhat violent shifts. Not normal or good. These are characteristics that were not normal to the vehicle until the problems started. There are othe issues that accompany these issues such as stalling in gear, slipping and then banging into gear the list goes on.
The shifts in our vehicles with Aisin transmissions are positive and firm though not violent. They are also consistently like this, operating as designed.
These minivans are dime and dozen and OP made a good decision on passing because the transmission didn't behave normally. There will always be another one that will meet the requirements.
OP seems to be aware of what these minivans are and aren't, but as usual, it is a Chrysler thread, so there are some that just cannot pass up the opportunity to get their "wisdom" in.
OP seems to be aware of what these minivans are and aren't, but as usual, it is a Chrysler thread, so there are some that just cannot pass up the opportunity to get their "wisdom" in.
Life isn’t black and white, life is far more pleasant when you stop living like it is. They’re not perfect, but they’re also not as bad as you’re 2nd and 3rd hand knowledge is leading you to believe.
"The first thing to look for is the Chrysler emblem on the front" - used to say my teacher in Shop class.
