NHTSA Complaint #10146036 — 2002 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN

2002 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN WITH 69,500 MILES. TRANSMISSION MADE A JERKING AND DID NOT WANT TO SEEM TO SHIFT. TOOK TO DODGE DEALER AND THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE. THEY ALLOWED SERVICE MAN TO DRIVE HOME AND DROVE APPROX. 100 MILES. THEY CONCLUDED NO PROBLEM THEY COULD FIND. 3 MONTHS LATER WHILE DRIVING SAME SYMPTOMS AND THEN LOUD CLUNK BUT THIS TIME WAS COMPLETE TRANSMISSION FAILURE. CALLED DODGE 800# TO OBTAIN WARRANTY INFO. DODGE INFORMED ME IT WAS IN WARRANTY. CALLED LOCAL DEALER AND SET UP APPOINTMENT TO FIX. THEY CALLED BACK AND SAID DODGE WOULD NOT WARRANTY IT. I THEN CALLED DODGE 800# BACK AND TALK TO THEM. I ASKED WHY LESS THAN 2HR AGO MY VAN HAD A POWER TRAIN WARRANTY ON IT AND NOW IT DOES NOT HAVE A WARRANTY. THEY INFORMED ME THE VAN DID NOT HAVE A WARRANTY AND THAT I HAD NEVER CALLED THEM (THEY RECORD AND COMPUTER SHOWS IF YOU CALL, BUT DODGE CLAIMS THEY HAVE NO RECORD I CALLED). I INFORMED THEM I CALLED THEM LESS THAN 2HR BEFORE AND THEY REPLIED I WAS MISTAKEN. MY PHONE RECORDS INDICATE DIFFERENT THAN THEIRS. ANY WAY THEY WILL NOT TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS TRANSMISSION THAT FAILED. TOOK TO LOCAL TRANS SHOP AND FOUND HE HAD TWO OTHER CARAVANS WITH COMPLETE TRANSMISSION FAILURE WAITING IN LINE TO BE FIXED. THE SHOP OWNER SAID HE HAS FIXED MANY MANY OF THESE TYPE TRANSMISSIONS. HE SAID IN HIS OPINION THAT THESE WERE VERY POOR PERFORMING TRANSMISSIONS AND THAT THEIR TRACK RECORD OF FAILURES SHOULD BE LOOKED AT. *JB