I was on a business trip, was unhappily surprised that within the first month of ownership wife is experiencing failures on this brand new van. I asked her to check the fluid, and I told her to take it to the dealer, and get the codes. She found no way to check the fluid, but got it to the dealer.

Throwing two codes: P0734 and P0792. Service tech wrote direct and low clutch assemblies to be cause of fault. They want to repair the transmission in house and need 2 days to do it. They told her its a factory sealed transmission, no way to check the fluid level.

I hate having the dealer work on my car. My experiences have been that the car always comes back with missing bolts/screws, and the job is always rushed.

Should I accept them repairing that transmission? What options do I have? What questions should I ask about the tech doing the job - certified on that trans?

Never had problems so early on a new car. Last van we bought new in 2001 is at 143k and still running great, so I figured I'd stick with success. Its not looking good!

 

Not sure why they would want to repair a month old trans, but you maybe with no other option...here is my concern, why did two clutch assemblies fail is such a short time?....I would ask is this is a common problem and what is the root cause...Also I would call several dealers and ask if they had dealt with thoses codes and have had sucess with a repair....If no one has been dealing with those issues, then there may be the possibility of a defect that may not be fixed easily.....

 

Dealer said it happens to only very few, and not just the caravan. They said on the few they repaired haven't been returned.

 

Is the van still under powertrain warranty?

 

Most definitely covered, its only been titled for less than 40 days and has 700 total miles. I buy new, and keep it 10 years... so I'm concerned about my investment over the long run. I don't know about this trans in detail, but to pull out clutch assemblies used to mean pull the entire transmission apart. I'm considering telling them I want a new trans, rather than have them repair that one.

 

You can ask for new all you want but the chance of you getting a new one is slim to none as they with in there right to install new parts into your trans as needed to get it working again..

 

I took it in and asked questions on Monday. They told me the compounder assembly needed clutches replaced. Trans could stay in place; they could service it since there are side covers that enable access. I let them proceed.

Wife picked it up today.... Receipt reports they removed the valve body and compounder... discovered the low clutch piston seal was torn, and they thought that was the reason for the fault. Replaced the low clutch piston, seals and direct clutch piston.

 

That is exactly what they did on mine when it was re-built at 35,000 kms. Definitely a defective tranny. It has worked good since the rebuild though so good luck with yours.

 

That is exactly what they did on mine when they rebuilt it at 35,000 kms. Definitely a defective transmission that's for sure. It has worked fine since the rebuild however. Good luck with yours.

 

So the big question is, how many miles does the fix get you? I don't want to be holding the bag on this thing, needing serviced again for the same fault down the road when I'm out of warranty.