Jeep Needs New Transmission

northeastmom · 02-05-2007, 05:11 PM

Well my H's jeep just quit and fortunately it happened just 5 minutes from the local car dealership. We are more fortunate that the repair will be covered under warranty, and his car rental is covered too (except for $5/day for the week). I never heard of a car with about 30,000 miles needing a new transmission. H just informed me that this is an easy $2,000 repair! Fortunately he also has an extended warranty on this car!

chocoholic · 02-05-2007, 05:14 PM

Well the really annoying part about this problem, is that they will now put in a re-built transmission !!! And that may possibly be warranteed for 36,000 miles. I hope that he thoroughly interrogated the dealer, and also got in touch with the manufacturer.

WashDad · 02-05-2007, 05:22 PM

My Honda Odyssey is about to get its third transmission at 106,000 miles. I feel your pain. At least you aren't paying for your second new transmission. I bought my last one for this car at 78,000 miles.

northeastmom · 02-05-2007, 05:24 PM

Well, he has an extended warranty because he drives a ridiculous amount of miles every year for business. He fortunately leases, so the lease is probably for another 2 years or so. It does not pay for him to buy a car since at the end of three years the car will have over 100,000 miles on it! We don't own this baby (yay!). He prepays for the extra miles when he leases, in case anyone wonders how he pays for 100,000 miles on a 3 year lease (much cheaper this way). I guess that his extended warranty will carry him to the end or close to the end of his lease. It paid to buy it this time! He usually does find that it he breaks even on them, so he buys them.

I am sure he will have some discussion with the dealer, but it is premature, since it needs to be officially diagnosed tomorrow. My H is certain that it is the transmission.

Rachacha · 02-05-2007, 05:28 PM

Ouch - what year is it? I was thinking of replacing my 2000 Jeep (currently at 140,000 miles) but this is the second case I have heard of a newer Jeep having these transmission problems...

northeastmom · 02-05-2007, 05:29 PM

Wow, washdad. This is the first one that we have had to replace.

Chocoholic, just checked with my H. It will be a new transmission. I thought that I had better ask!

northeastmom · 02-05-2007, 05:31 PM

Editing this post...It is a 2006!

cnp55 · 02-05-2007, 05:41 PM

I had a Chevy Blazer that needed a new transmission at 50K miles. The service writer said there was water in the transmission, and queried if I haddriven the vehicle through a stream.

Ahem. I pointed out that this was a 4WD SPORT UTILITY VEHICLE and their advertising showed it being driven through small rivers. In point of fact, I had only driven it through puddles on the way to kiddie soccer plus normal on-road use.

Dead silence from the service rep. They repaired it under warranty.

northeastmom · 02-05-2007, 05:48 PM

One thing that I have to say is that my H gets very good service at the car dealer. They usually have loaner available for a day, and they take him right away. I find that there is a double standard though, and I do not get the same service when I call for an appointment, or try to get them to a loan a car to me. Perhaps it is just a coincidence, but I always find repairs to be a hassle when I need it. I have asked my H to call to get the car in, b/c he always seems to be able to get in within a day. When I call they are usually booked for 2 weeks and never have a car to loan. It really might be that I call at super busy times, but has happened every time that I have called, so I really believe that there is a double standard.

northeastmom · 02-05-2007, 05:50 PM

cnp, that is was interesting. My H has not even driven through puddles, lakes, streams, etc....Just plain old NYC potholes, LOL!

cnp, was this an extended warranty at 50,000 miles?

motherof4pearls · 02-05-2007, 06:30 PM

We drive old volvos that are still going on original engines and transmissions: '84 w/ 271K, '89 w/179K, '90 w/201K. To be fair, we also have an '86 w/ 245K that my s replaced the transmission at 200K.

They just don't make cars like they used to. I know that we will have to venture into a new(er) car eventually. Does anyone have good luck with their cars?

northeastmom · 02-05-2007, 06:34 PM

We have had many Jeeps before that my H has driven for 100,000 miles, and this is our first transmission problem, and at 30,000 miles too.

WashDad · 02-05-2007, 06:46 PM

Quote:

They just don't make cars like they used to.

And that's a good thing. Compared to a 25-year-old car, modern cars are faster, get the same mileage, produce almost no smog (NOX and CO, etc.), are much safer, and have better brakes and handling. I wouldn't want to have the average mid-80s car, including those old Volvos.

Regardless of brand, automatic transmissions usually need replacing at 100,000 to 150,000 miles. They don't live that long if you drive up and down hills a lot, or spend most of your time in stop-and-go driving. Manual transmissions do, in fact, usually outlive the rest of the car. Exceptions abound, of course, but automatic transmissions simply don't last as long as manuals.

cnp55 · 02-05-2007, 07:49 PM

Yes ... I had bought the extended warranty so it paid for the new tranny on the Blazer. In my Durango, it paid for the *new engine* at 51,000. I have never lost money on the extended warranty.

My transmission in the Blazer didn't quit ... it was just making horrid whining noises and the diagnosis was water in the transmission, and theoretically it had damaged it and needed replacement. That was in ... 1997 or 98 ... it was a 95 Blazer.

My Durango is a 1999 -- now with 130K on it (that would be 80K on the new engine... and 5 yrs since the repair!)

northeastmom · 02-05-2007, 08:00 PM

cnp, My H does a lot of driving, so he always gets an extended warranty on his leased cars. He has never lost money on an extended warranty yet (usually breaks even).