NHTSA Complaint #11476127 — 2015 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN

My 2015 Dodge Dodge Grand Caravan was traveling home to St. Louis from Michigan. The car began to make a whining noise. My wife, who was driving, pulled off the interstate in Indianapolis. As she started driving on the local surface streets, the van began to lurch and behave erratically. She stopped completely and found an auto service center nearby to take it to. As she tried to get there, the engine would spin and the rpms would rise but the van would barely move. The service center did not work on transmissions so we had it towed to a transmission specialist. They determined that the transmission pump failed causing a loss of hydraulic pressure. The loss of pressure burned out the clutches which deteriorated and are present in the transmission fluid. Those issues created a number of waterfall issues with the gears in the transmission including gear ratio errors, skipping over 2nd gear, flare shifting into 3rd gear, and the transmission losing all engagement when it reaches operating temperature. In contacting Dodge/Chrysler, they informed me that there isn't an open recall for them to cover the $4,500 repair under despite the fact that this completely aligns with a prior recall on the 2015/2016 year Grand Caravans. Recall No. 16V461000, Automatic Transmission, where the transmission pump seizes, causing a lack of hydraulic pressure, and the vehicle loses motive power.