Summamab***h Tranny Issues

Discussion in 'Car Repair' started by nismo, Jul 11, 2004.

  1. nismo

    nismo Full Member

    i was driving my parents 98 dodge intrepid around today. it has 65000 miles on it, and i noticed that it was downshifting roughly when slowing down. this happened maybe 3 times, and then the car wouldnt shift into 1, 3, or 4 gear. i have 2nd and reverse. i was 20 miles from home, but i had a friend that i was following. i drove about 2-3 miles in 2nd gear and parked the car at a safe place so that we could go get it tomorrow.

    i cant figure out what the deal is, but i know for a fact that the car was never neutral dropped or anything of that sort. as far as how the gears went out, i noticed that i lost 1st gear first, then 3 and 4 went. i tried forcing it to shift with the autostick paddle, but it did nothing. oh yeah, the check engine light came on right when it decided to stay in only 2nd gear.

    any guesses as to how bad, or how much this'll cost?

    thanks,
    eric
     
  2. sandt38

    sandt38 Full Member

    It is a Dodge Intrepid.... It would be nothing you did. When you take it to the tranny shop you will likely see a half a dozen on the lot. Their trannies suck. Caravans, have shitty trannys too.

    However, you may be in luck. The way the tranny is shifting it sounds to me more like a TPS or throttle position sensor. The computers primary input for the shift points is the TPS, and the SES light on kinda leads me in that direction.
     
  3. jstutman

    jstutman Full Member

    Yep its an interpid. When you meet other members with intrepids. Its not "how many miles does your car have" ITS "how many times have you changed your transmission" My dad just got smart and purchased the ammaco transmission shop. They give some kind of lifetime warranty or some BS. Anyways what ever he did, they havent charged him again every time it kicks the bucket. On that note, the other dodge transmission that is very shitty. is the pre 2000 A604 found on every avenger, sebring's. I know i own one :)
     
  4. nismo

    nismo Full Member

    hmm, i wonder if thats the same tranny that was in our 91 caravan. we lost reverse...so dad took it in to have it checked out. they put it on the computer, which said there were no problems. at my dads insistence, they tore the tranny apart, and were amazed that there was no reverse gear even in there...it was just gone!

    well thanks for the info, im seriously hoping that it IS the TPS.

    eric
     
  5. sandt38

    sandt38 Full Member

    No. The Caravan is a transverse engine, the intrepid is not. They are differant trannys, and the Intrepid is considerably more expensive to repair :(
     
  6. nismo

    nismo Full Member

    sorry, i was referring to the avenger/sebrings :)

    eric
     
  7. jstutman

    jstutman Full Member

    Yup thats the same one. A604. Same problems at that. Most tranny's dont make it past 100k without falling apart. They made these crappy trannys for so many cars and they all suck. Then they actually get away with it. I think they should be legally responsable for replacing all our trannys with good stuff. I will never buy another dodge because this has been such a problem. Most dodges are dodges anyways. there rebadged mitsubishi cars. the avenger/sebring V6 is a 6g73 (6 cylinder) mitsubsishi engine. The ONLY thing that does not fall apart in the car. Dodge didnt even make :(
     
  8. nismo

    nismo Full Member

    the nice thing is that most car makers are using powdered metal to make gears now...not all, but most, and its STUPID if a car is to last over 80k miles with normal use.

    btw, the intrepid was a vehicle speed sensor.

    thanks guys,
    eric
     
  9. jstutman

    jstutman Full Member

    had those replaced on mine as well. when the computer cannot get its speed from the speedometer it goes into a limp mode. cause believe it or not. it dont know when to shift. gay dodge's huh?
    :(
     
  10. Honest Bob

    Honest Bob Full Member

    The tranny on my mom's 94 caravan died at 120k miles. Reverse had been clunking really bad in the cold for about 2 years. The whole front end would nose dive when put into reverse. I dont know why they fixed it. Didnt seem logical to me but its not my car. :(
     
  11. jstutman

    jstutman Full Member

    God bless those A604's :(

    built dodge "shitty"
     
  12. sandt38

    sandt38 Full Member

    Interesting. I have seen a shitload of the VSS's dump in the Dodge trucks, but never in the Intrepids. Makes sense though, the trucks will default to 2nd gear as well. It is just more common to see the TPS in the carlines. Did you get to see the sensor? I wonder if it is like the trucks, white plastic threaded into the tranny? Yeah, no kidding guys, they use plastic threads on them.
     
  13. sandt38

    sandt38 Full Member


    Have you guys seen the new "Mercedes" redesigns yet? They have a tendancy to sheer the spider gear rod in the differencial , chucking it out and cracking the entire case. It is hard to find those damn cases too, there seem to be alot of these failures.

    Oh, the Sebrings motors are crap. They spit the water pump and load the crankcase with coolant. Bearing tolerances are frikken slim too, so they eat main and crank bearings. There is a big problem with their V6s right now.
     
  14. nismo

    nismo Full Member

    that i did not get to see. i wish i did, but i never even went to the dealership. we had it towed there without us going, and my mom picked it up.

    eric
     
  15. jstutman

    jstutman Full Member

    Sandt. Im gonna say its 100% like the A604. The VSS is threaded into the tranny using plastic threads. Although it is protected with a rubber seal and covered by a panel.

    they still fail all the time.

    20$ replacement from the dealership.