[mgill3]

So far I've been staying away from these cars because I hear of reliability issues. I had a look on consumerguide.com and it indicates several transmission issues with these cars.

It shows they made them through 1997, and the 97 model year was not included in these list of transmission issues.

In general, I came here to ask those who know these cars about general reliability, transmission reliability, and what to look for. Is there a "best year" for the car that won't exhibit these problems? I don't want to buy anything I need to worry about replacing a transmission on. I'd rather get an older Chrysler product with the 3-spd automatic if this is the case.

Here's the list of trouble spots:

Automatic transmission: Bad seals in the transmission lead to premature friction component wear, which causes shudder when starting from a stop. (1993-95)

Automatic transmission: Automatic transaxles could take several seconds to engage at startup because of a problem with the valve body. (1993-95)

Automatic transmission: A defective throttle-position sensor, not a transmission problem, could be the cause of late, erratic, or harsh shifting. (1994)

Automatic transmission: A transmission shudder under light-to-moderate acceleration is caused by a leaking front pump due to a worn bushing, which requires replacement of the pump as well as the torque converter. (1993-96)

Engine noise: Hard starting and a miss at idle can be traced to defective fuel rails. (1993-94)

Engine noise: The motor mount on the left side of the engine tends to break. (1992-93)

Engine noise: Clatter in the valve train on 3.5-liter V6 may be due to damaged rockers and camshaft. Revised parts are available. (1993-96)

 

[valiant67]

It's basically a repackaged and slightly heavier duty A604/41TE that is call A606/42LE. Same cautions apply - find a car that hasn't been abused and has always had the proper ATF+3 then ATF+4 fluid in it.
I think you'll find the overall package much better than the K car (no offense intended but the LH, cloud an Neon cars were a vast improvement).

If you dead set on having a 3 speed automatic, find a pre-2002 Neon.

 

[mgill3]

I've seen several New Yorkers with only around 50-70k miles on them... they seem like a fantastic deal when they only cost around 1500 dollars... I'm still a bit worried.

Do you suppose if I found a car like that and just maintained the transmission very well, it would last? I like the New Yorker/LHS style and interior, just worried about transmission problems :scared:

I want to find something that is practical, reliable and cost effective. I don't particularly care for Neons to be honest. Right now I've narrowed my search to K's and AA Bodies because I know those 3-speeds and 4-cylinders are overall very reliable.

 

[MickM]

My 97 intrepid had a tranny rebuild at 166,000 miles and I dorve the car very hard. I blame myself for the failure. I also think I may have mixed some dextron of type F in it when I topped it off but the was several years ago and I had no idea there were differant fluids. The fuel rail was a recall it may still need it done. The most issues I ever had was rodents building nests under the hood and chewing the # 1 spark plug wire. (They just loved that car) if you take care of it you can get over 200,000 miles out of it.
Mick
P.S. good luck

 

[valiant67]

The LH transmission tends to hold up pretty well from everything I've read here on allpar. The steering systems can often need work.

 

[mgill3]

So that all being said and taken into consideration, it sounds like it's quite possible that a beautiful 94 (ish) New Yorker with less than 60k miles at only around $1,500 would be a pretty great deal? I haven't driven one of them let alone even sat in one, so I'll have to check them out... but they can be had for a song due to the fact they were likely senior owned and need to be sold due to death or not being able to drive the car any more.

 

[fjb37]

In 1998, I purchased from CarMax a 1995 LHS. It was a lease return from PA. and somehow CarMax got it to the Chicago area. It was White with a Taupe interior and drove like a dream. On a hunch, I bought a two year/24K mile warranty for an additional $1050. Turned out to be a wise move.

The first thing that went out was the Infinity radio/CD head unit. CarMax sent it out for repair and it came back just as bad as when it left. CarMax replaced it with a Kenwood cassette unit with a 10 disc CD unit in the trunk. Worked great! Price was right too--N/C!

THe car had 44K miles on it when purchased. It didn't take long for the A/C to act up. Chrysler had an extended warranty on the evaporator coil and replaced it under warranty but would not recharge the system because the condensor coil was also leaking and that was out of warranty. CarMax replaced it under the extended warranty and recharged the system. System worked fine after that.

At about 55K miles, the tranny started acting funny. Strange shifting pattern when cold, OK when warm. Back to CarMax. They farmed out the tranny repair to a local shop. Problem was related to the seals. Chrysler had made a change in seal shape and material and a rebuild with the latest parts cured the tranny problem. N/C under the extended warranty.

I took a one year subscription to Alldata and copied everything they had. Plenty of TSB's on these cars. Steering rack hold down hardware and inner tie rod ends were a problem. Also had a cold weather start problem solved with another TSB. Had both the PCM and TCM upgraded. Leaking tranny oil cooler lines also replaced under extended warranty. I installed an external tranny oil cooler just in case since the car didn't have one. Also installed a vent tube to the differential per another TSB.

These cars are wonderful highway cruisers and deliver very good gas mileage. If you are a DIY person , you can enjoy a good looking and comfortable ride. If not, you will go bankrupt. Just my $0.02.

FredB

 

[Bens90W150]

I think a 60K mile car for $1500 is an extremely good deal if the body and interior are OK. In Virginia, you couldn't get nearly that good a price on such a low mileage LH. I agree that the key is maintenance. The lease car described above may not have gotten much. I still believe that there is no substitute for finding a place to mat the accelerator pedal and see what the car does. If the car is a 3.5/AT and it picks up well, $1500 is a super deal. I have had three 3.5/AT cars, no engine or trans problems

 

[hrmwrm]

just from the year, if it hasn't been done, it's due for a timing belt/water pump replacement. fortunately, that is a 1st gen 3.5, so if it breaks, it can still be replaced. 2nd gen 3.5's were interference motors. (98 up).
i have a 95 intrepid, with the same drivetrain that just lost a rod at 327,000km. i sold my 95 new yorker at 326,000km and it's still running at over 345,000km. i didn't own either since new, but experienced no tranny problems with either. the new yorker is a comfortable 6 passenger car with a trunk good for a few bodies. plus the rear seat room is great.