I just baught my First Dodge ever, on Dec 23rd
2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT 3.8 L / 118000 Km 62TE Transmission

It was one of my Companies Fleet Vehicules. It was maintained regularily at the local Dodge Dealership. The Vehicule was used by one of the more responsible sales guys, hence why I baught it.

So prior to buying the Van, I had the dealership apply any outstanding TSB's, including the TSB regarding Power Train Transmission updates for the 62TE.

Then last week, while I was driving to the grocery store with my wife, the Van made a sudden Jerk in 1st Gear to 2nd, like it was looking for the gear. She was able to make it home (approx 10 miles) and I took the Van for a drive around the block.

Sure enough it was not able to change gears correctly, and would "POP" in Reverse / Neutral / Drive.

Later after researching online, I took the Van for another drive, but it will not engage in Drive, and there is a loud grinding noise.

So in your opinion whats the best thing for me to do.
1) Could the TSB that changed the shift points could have led to this problem becomming more pronounced.
2) Take it into the dealer and have them diagnose / Fix it
3) Go to a Local Transmission Expert and have them fix it

Also since its past the 100Km / 5 Year powertrain warranty , do i have any recourse with Chrysler , will they cover the cost of the parts at least?

I was very reluctant to buy a Dodge, and was concerned about the transmission history that Caravans had.

Please give me some ideas on what I can do. I really can't afford to to throw more money at this van, I would like to fix this once and not worry about it again.

 

the vehicle you bought is broken and Chrysler will not fix it for free or any other assistance. They are bankrupt and won't be helping you. The shifting TSB has nothing to do with your problem. You have a an internal geartrain failure. Time to shop around for prices on a rebuild with warranty. Call at least 5 repair facilities. don't go on the cheapest, go on which shop will treat you right, has the best reputation, and customer satisfaction.

 

First thing you may want to do, is call the dealer and have the run a fuction 14 to find if you still have some kind of warranty.

 

Ok so 92Dak95, you were 100% on the money, there was a complete failure of the geartrain, the entire Transmission has been affected ,and requires a complete rebuild.
So much for the 62TE being better than previous versions of the Caravan Vans. I guess I was the unlucky one. Its gonna cost me $4500 or so so fix this. Not impressed at all, by the quality control.

Since this transmission is so new, there are no Rebuilds available by the manufacturer, a New one is over 6K with the Torque Convertor.

Anyone who lives in Canada , please beware. Chrysler Canada warranty is not the same as the USA.
USA = Unlimited Lifetime Warranty --> 2008
USA = 100 000 Mile / 5 Years ---> 2009 >

Canada = 100 000KM / 5 Years (FYI 100K KM is only 60 000 Miles)

So much for Chrysler Canada really standing behind there product.

I will also add this for everyone , I agree with another poster from another site.
This happened as I was turning Left from a complete stop at a Red Light.
I heard a Bang and the Entire Van Jerked Forward and that was it... Tranny Gone.
That Poster mentioned it might be related to the Stability Control and Pressure on the Casing as he made a left Turn.

Everyone make sure you are careful , my van has 117000 Kms. There are not a high availability of parts so far on the aftermarket world.

 

torch it

 

Oh, that's a valuable reply. What I would do is contact various transmission shops and see if any of them would take on your van as an experiment so they can get up to speed on the before these start hitting the door. You must come across as you want to help them out, be very patient, never call wondering where your van it at, how they are doing etc. let them take their time. Buy them a rebuild service manual as part of the deal. You can also do some leg work first before making contacts, hunting down parts like a master rebuild kit and planetaries. There are used transmissions out there www.car-part.com Maybe you could find one hit hard to break the case but all the interal planets would be ok. These are examples of how I use proper problem solving techniques