As this vehicle carries a 7 year 70,000 powertrain warranty I would seriously doubt that Chrysler would make a repair that would impair the long term reliability of the tranny, as they would be on the hook for fixing it.
Ted
If you read the books 'The Critical Path' (about the design team's work on the 96 minivan), and 'Behind the wheel of Chrysler' (about the Lacocca legacy), they both agree that Lee Iacocca rushed the 'a-sick-oh-four' into production to proclaim to the world that Chrysler had the FIRST totally electronic auto trans 'ULTRADRIVE'. The early failures were due to a snap ring falling off inside the trans, and self destructing the works inside the case. This was alleviated a year later, and the 'ultradrive' name was dropped so people would think the updated trans was 'all new'. Then early failures were due to misdiagnosis of solenoid packs, eprom modules, wiring harness, etc, etc. My friend who owns a trans shop claims they still have reliablity issues due to cutting corners on cost such as cracked cases, poor quality solenoids, erratic wiring harness, etc.
Now, having said all that, and I know you won't believe this, I have a
1991 LeBaron convertible 3.0V6, a-sick-oh-four trans that I bought brand new in Oct 1990. Guess what? It has the original trans! Currently has 79K pampered miles, fluid and filter was changed for the first time three years ago at 59K miles, and I INSISTED that type 7176 fluid be used. I will admit that I had a new eprom module put in under the 7/70 warranty in 1996 for erratic downshifts, but other than that, it is original.I still wonder when it will go; most shops tell me I am on borrowed time. I guess time will tell.
Bill
Bill,
I have a 1991 Mitsubishi 3000GT (3.0L Mitsubishi V6, same engine as your Lebaron) that has the Chrysler designed 4 speed electronic transmission and it currently has 127K original miles. (I bought from my sister about 18 months ago and she was the original owner.)
Never got any new programming or other service till the fluid was replaced at a Jiffylube place at around 80K miles. They only flushed the fluid and did not replace the filter or drop the pan (the Mitsubishi version of this transmission has a drain plug). I dropped the pan at about 124K miles, cleaned it up (lots of sludge), cleaned off the magnets (some metal filings), changed the filter, replaced the gasket and replaced the fluid (5 quarts of Chrysler approved Quaker State ATF +3). FYI, it still performs perfectly, and there are no leaks or other problems (although I always wonder if it will go out...)
But, then again, the 3000GT is a much lighter vehicle than a T&C minivan, so the wear and tear is not comparable. So, if my experience is relative to your Lebaron, your transmission should continue to give you good service for at least another 50K miles!
bob
So maybe this tranny is not good for the heavy cars ones like the Caravan etc. Thanks
I don't think it's that way. I realize that some people got a new transmission every 30,000 miles. But lots of other people just drove the cars with no problems and traded them off. In other words, if 10% of the transmssions are duds that's a really bad transmission, although 90% of people driving it won't have a problem. I had a 92 Caravan AWD with the 3.3 and A604, and we drove it 130,000 miles with no trouble at all. Like most people with a minivan, I knew about 100 other people with minivans. The repairs certainly matched the stereotype, but most folks could wear one totally out without much of a problem. In fact I never actually knew anybody personally that had a bad A604. Sure, the guy in the transmission shop thinks they're all bad. What else is he supposed to think? That's where the bad ones go.
| > Now, having said all that, and I know you won't believe this, I have a | > 1991 LeBaron convertible 3.0V6, a-sick-oh-four trans that I bought | > brand new in Oct 1990. Guess what? It has the original trans! | > Currently has 79K pampered miles, fluid and filter was changed for the | > first time three years ago at 59K miles, and I INSISTED that type 7176 | > fluid be used. I will admit that I had a new eprom module put in under | > the 7/70 warranty in 1996 for erratic downshifts, but other than that, | > it is original. | >
| > I still wonder when it will go; most shops tell me I am on borrowed | > time. I guess time will tell. | >
| > Bill | | I don't think it's that way. I realize that some people got a new | transmission every 30,000 miles. But lots of other people just drove the | cars with no problems and traded them off. In other words, if 10% of the | transmssions are duds that's a really bad transmission, although 90% of | people driving it won't have a problem. I had a 92 Caravan AWD with the
3.3 | and A604, and we drove it 130,000 miles with no trouble at all. Like most | people with a minivan, I knew about 100 other people with minivans. The | repairs certainly matched the stereotype, but most folks could wear one | totally out without much of a problem. In fact I never actually knew anybody | personally that had a bad A604. Sure, the guy in the transmission shop | thinks they're all bad. What else is he supposed to think? That's where the | bad ones go. | |Good point. You can look in the lot of your local AAMCO or other tranny shop and you'll see just about every make and model vehicle represented waiting for transmission work.
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