David said:
The trannies did improve in the late 90's, but it's still true that they
were designed for cars and not the heavier minivans. My '96 is on it's 3rd
tranny and it's always been maintained on schedule and is driven well within
the norm, i.e., no "abuse". I'm not sure what that means; when I was in
high school I had a buddy that would drive down an old country road at 45
mph and then put it in Reverse and hit the gas (smoke, spinning tires,
etc.). Now THAT was abuse! My wife drive pretty normal, maybe a little
fast when she's in a hurry. Mostly around town driving. Is that abusive?
It's harder on the tranny than straight freeway driving to be sure, but it's
certainly "normal" usage.
I'm not a transmission designer and don't claim to be one on TV,
however, I don't understand this "it was designed for cars" theory.
Most specs I've seen for transmissions didn't include the weight of the
vehicle they were going into, but listed the torque that the
transmission was rated to handle. Torque is a function of the engine,
not the weight of the car. A 3.3L engine in a car will apply the same
torque as a 3.3L engine in a minivan. The only difference is that the
torque will need to be applied for a longer period of time to accelerate
the van to an equivalent speed, but this doesn't out any more mechanical
stress on the transmission. It can very well apply additional thermal
stress, but handling this is as much a function of the oil cooling
system as it is the fundamental design of the transmission. And unless
the temperature rise is extreme, the temp won't cause instant
transmission failure. The main detriment is it degrades the oil, which
is the main reason I change my oil at shorter intervals than even
Chrysler recommends.
To me abuse is making every start a full-throttle start. I see many
people who drive this way. This won't cause instant failure either, but
certainly adds thermal stress to the transmission and the clutches
during full-throttle shifts. Shifting into drive while still rolling
backwards in reverse. I see this in parking lots all the time. People
back quickly out of a parking spot and the next thing they are moving
forward without the brake lights so much as blinking. Using the
transmission to hold the vehicle in place on a hill waiting for the
light to change rather than using the brake. This can generate a lot of
heat in the torque convertor, especially on a nice hot day. Trying to
rock an automatic to get it unstuck in the snow and winding the wheels
up in one direction and then shifting into the other. Spinning on snow
and then hitting dry pavement with the wheels spinning at a high RPM.
I'm sure there are many other ways to abuse an automatic, but these are
some of the things I see on almost a daily basis.
Fluid/filter changes are always done on schedule by the dealer. So am I an
old tape? or abusing my van? There's probably not a single Chrysler minivan
on the road from the early 90's that's on it's original tranny and that
hasn't been for several years. I believe the ratio is much better for
minivans from the late 90's. It's probably too early to say for the 2000+
minivans. These minivans use components designed for cars and they don't
hold up as well because of it.
Doesn't sound like you are abusing your transmission, at least not from
a maintenance perspective, but without seeing your driving habits I
can't comment on them. Also, I said above that I believe the early
editions of the transmission were more troublesome. My 96 is going
strong at 146,000 miles. That isn't early 90s, but it is now 8 years
old. Time will tell how long it lasts. I think my minivan has held up
very well for the most part. The main problems I've had have nothing to
do with car vs. van components. I'd say fully 80% of the problems with
my minivan have been electrical in nature (clock spring, rear blower
switch, wiper switch, rear windshield washer control, etc.). My van
still has the original suspension components, including the struts (I've
never had another vehicle go this long without needing new shocks or
struts), tie rod ends, etc. Even the sway bar bushings are original,
but they are in need of replacement now. The mechanicals of the van
have been very reliable. I've replaced the started, the water pump and
the idler pulley and that is about it. Even the exhaust system is still
original which is pretty good after 8 northeast winters.
The thing that amazes me is all these stories of people on their third
or fourth transmission, and who STILL own the vehicle! No way I'd keep
a vehicle that had experienced two transmission failures. And many
folks that say they've had such troubles go out and buy another Chrysler
minivan. To me this would be insane. So, I'll admit that I think many
of these stories are in the urban legend category. Nobody in their
right mind would keep a vehicle that is eating transmissions, or, even
worse, buy another of the same model.
Matt
-- but the standard I use to measure wheather we are abusive is whether