The transmission is slipping in cold weather. I plug in the engine heater each night, warm it up for at least 10-15 minutes before leaving and as I pull away & before the automatic transmission shifts the first time it slips and the vehicle comes to a halt. I put it in reverse, 3rd, low... and it won't move for several minutes.
I took the vehicle to a mechanic. Being a woman I expect to be treated like I don't know what I am talking about. The mechanic told me he has seen several of the same make/model/year that have had the same problem. His opinion of the problem is that there is a pin within the transmission that is loose. He asked me if I was losing transmission fluid and I said yes. He said when the fluid level is brought back up it holds the pin in place and the problem ceases. That was last winter.
This winter (2004-05) I am not losing transmission fluid, but the transmission is slipping more often.
Your transmission is probably about to fail completely.
Unfortunately this was fairly common for Chrysler products
built in the 80s & 90s.
I have been all over the Internet researching a used 1997 Plymouth Grand Voyager SE/Rallye that I am considering buying. My biggest concern, after reading comments on this site, was buying this vehicle and having to replace the transmission soon after. I found some interesting information though. Plymouth/Chrysler transmissions are known for being sensitive to what kind of fluid they are run with. If you are having problems with it slipping (which can cause small amounts of fluid loss) have your transmission system completely flushed and the fluid replaced. It said NEVER use dexron or mercon fluid (which is generally what repair shops use) make sure ATF3 or ATF4 (per your owners manual) is put in, even if you have to stand there and watch them pour it in. I hope this will save someone from replacing a transmission when they don't need to.
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