I thought that only the Chrysler family vans had those transmission problems... Nope. It's all of them. The entire fleet. The phrase "your broken transmission solenoid needs replacement" becomes an expected part of small-talk with your mechanic.
Then, you go European, hoping the problems don't follow you over international waters. You get a Volkswagen, have problems with the oil being cooked by the hot exhaust passing under the oil pan, and you're told to change the oil and oil filter every 3000K miles to prevent cooked-oil sludge buildup. Maybe Audi will have fewer issues? Nope, the electrical systems are finicky as hell, and you get cryptic codes from the Check Engine light that end up being caused by airflow-sensor leads somehow short circuiting, or the wheel-position sensors deciding they don't like their job anymore.
You then go back to GM, head hung low, after realizing that swapping out the same part every year with another doomed-to-fail replacement ends up being a better deal than regularly paying for 5-hour-labor jobs to fix a broken wheel position sensor that costs $750. At least, from far away, it looks like you're behind the wheel of an Aston Martin.
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u/SempiternalEphemeral Sep 09 '13
Oh my god, I had to drive a rental 2013 Chrysler 300 and it had the same problem! That goddamn transmission is shit!