Do Chrysler Minivans last a long time?

Well...that depends on your definition of "long ago". American cars of the '60s and early '70s were often good for several hundred thousand miles. They'd never reach it intact if you lived in a salty area, but then

*nobody's* cars, except perhaps for certain Volvos, were particularly salt-resistant back then. Mid-'70s to mid-'80s US cars were, as a lot and with a few exceptions, pretty grim.

Totally depends on the year, engine, transmission, equipment, and prior maintenance. Up here (salty Toronto) there are *scads* of first-generation '84-'90 Chrysler minivans still in daily use in good condition.

DS

It's very hard to wear the engine out on anything these days, with reasonable maintenance. Some of the minivan engines are a little better than others in basic reliability. The 3.3 is particulary good. The 3.8 is a derivative, so I guess it's okay too. If you're going to drive a car 300,000 miles, usually the one big ticket item that won't make it is the transmission. You'll have to have that overhauled some time. As for what it costs, as somebody at a transmission shop about a particular car. Don't bother asking here. All the other mainteance items are small stuff that you usually pay a few bucks here and there as you go. You might get charged $1000 for the small stuff, but that doesn't mean it's not small stuff. How you pay depends more on your looks and where you get your car fixed.

I've had three. 87, 93, 99 (still have this one).

87 not worth talking about engine/transmission no longer supplied, however it was a good vehicle that I kept to 130K miles with minimal non routine-maintenance.

93 also kept to about 130k miles, however went through three transmissions. Chrysler coverd 2.5 of them. (7/70 Years). In all other aspects minimal non-routine maintenance.

99 Currently approaching 130K and it has been very good with almost no non-routine maintenance.

My view. The engines are great, durable and reliable. The transmissions have a clouded history, however, I'm told improvements in later models have minimized problems. All other systems seem to be very reliable and at the highest trim levels they are without a doubt the most comfortable and well appointed of the mini vans if that matters to you.

My experiences....

85 Caravan 148,000 miles 87 Caravan 241,000+ miles (odometer stopped working year before I sold it) 95 Caravan (current) 161,000 miles

Only major repairs ever needed on the 3 was a new timing chain on the 87' and a new timing belt on the 95.

The 3.8 is not a "derivative", it is the larger of the two engines (3.3,

3.8) in that family. With the sole exception of the difference in piston displacement, these two engines are identical.

That's would not be a derivative?

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

"That..."

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

That would not be a derivative.

You guys are so cute, having your discussions about vocabulary words when a guy asks a simple question about minivans.

They seem to be astonishingly pretty good. Now sometimes you get the wrong engine and the wrong year, like 1993. And the transmissions with overdrive seem to be a bit touchy and a mechanic told me, no problem, he just budgets a new tranny as a maintenance item. But new or rather rebuilt trannies are 50% more expensive than they used to be, so that's some money there.

I am 199,000+ miles. If you're talking about recent minivans within the last couple of years, I don't know about those except some of them have been reputed to be quite good, from also other manufacturers.

I see a lot of Chrysler Minivans on the road and I think I see a lot more of them than any other minivans that are old. And quite a few still look quite nice.

OK - we'll give him his money back. :)

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Ah crap.

(Hoping you're not referring to the 3.0/3-speed)

The 1993 3.0/3 speed is the one I had that stopped going in reverse. Drove it another 60,000 or so after that, only going forward.

Hi...

Gee, another old guy flashback :)

Had a 59 Galaxie 500 that quit reverse. Back in the days when dollars were really really tight.

Lot of effort finding stopping places where there was no chance that you'd have to back up to get out... but you do what you have to.

Thanks for triggering the memory :)

Ken

OK, but that doesn't mean a 1993 with 3.0/3spd is "the wrong engine and the wrong year". The 3spd transmission is considerably more dependable and durable than the 4spd overall; that doesn't mean failures never happen with the 3spd.

A mechanic I know recommended against the (used) Chrysler minivan unless it had recently had a new transmission (or two) because he said the transmission on these vehicles only last about 60,000 miles.

I've owned 12 Chrysler minivans and had three catastrophic transmission failures. Two were overdrive models, and the other was the aforementioned 3-speed.

By the way, I like the 3.0 engine.

Robbie and or Laura,

What specifically do you like about the 3.0L Mitsubishi engine? I ask since I own a 1991 and although it is in a Mitsu 3000GT, it is basically the same engine. Mine is the 222 HP DOHC and has 128K original miles. The engine still runs well, but the overhead valves are noisy as can be and it burns about a quart of oil per 1500 or so miles. It really needs the heads removed and a valve job and new valve stem seals, but I am waiting so I can do a complete rebuild when I have some $$$.

I also do not like the basic maintainability of the 3.0L engine itself. It basically requires plugs, a new timing belt and water pump every 60K miles. OEM NGK double platinum plugs are very expensive and you need to remove the intake manifold to get at them. The timing belt and water pump accessibility are also a royal PITA. I'd imagine that my 60K mile "tune up" would easily cost $1K or so at the dealer if I did not do the work myself.

Don't get me wrong, it has been a decent engine and develops some good power above 3,000 or so RPM, but I've owned 3.3L and 3.8L Chrysler vans and although the rear plugs can be obstinate, the engines were much more durable and required far less regular maintenance. The maintenance and repairs were also far easier to perform as well, a recent water pump on my 3.8L as a case in point. They also developed more torque at lower RPMs which is a good thing when pulling about a heavy minivan.