Owner-reported complaints naming the transmission system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the automatic or manual transmission, including shifting behaviour, shudder, slipping and transmission control modules. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1998 Chevrolet Astro submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 19 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
FIRST, THE DRIVER SIDE POWER WINDOW WORKS ONLY SOMETIMES. SECOND, THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WORK ONLY PART OF THE TIME. IT MAY TAKE 5-10 MINUTES TO COME ON AND THEN MIGHT ONLY SWIPE 2-3 TIMES. LASTLY, ROUGH SHIFTING IN TRANSMISSION. *LA
CONSUMER STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AND WITHOUT WARNING THE TRANSMISSION WOULD CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO JERK. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK
THE GEAR INDICATOR IN THE DASH BOARD DID NOT WORK.*JB
WHILE VEHICLE WAS IN PARK, CHILD WAS ABLE TO MOVE LEVER SHIFTER AND CHANGE GEAR FROM PARK TO DRIVE. *AKWHENEVER THE VEHICLE IGNITION IS BETWEEN THE LOCK AND OFF POSITION THE SHIFT LEVER CAN BE MOVED WITH OUT APPYING THE BRAKE PEDAL. *JG
CONSUMER STATES TRANSMISSION IS SLIPPING AND THERE IS HARSH SHIFTING FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEAR. DEALER FOUND TORQUE CONVERTER AND VALVE BODY NEED TO BE REPLACED. *TT
VERY HARD BANG WHEN TRANSMISSIONS SHIFTS,IT WAS VERY COSTLY TO HAVE IT FIXED. *AK
TRANMISSION VALVE BODY BAD. TRANS. SHIFTS HARD AND WHEN NOT EXPECTED. *AK
THE CHEVROLET ASTRO SHIFTS GEARS VIOLENTLY. THE PROBLEM WAS FIRST NOTICED AS I LEFT AN INTERSECTION AND THE VAN VIOLENTLY SHIFTED GEARS THROWING MY FAMILY'S AND MY HEAD BACK WITH EXTREME FORCE. THINKING THAT I HAD BEEN REAR-ENDED AND KNOWING THAT OTHER CARS WERE IN FRONT AND ALONGSIDE MY VEHICLE, I QUICKLY STEPPED ON THE BRAKE, ALMOST CAUSING A TRUE REAR-END COLLISION. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT IN WARRANTY SO I TOOK IT IN FOR INSPECTION BY MY LOCAL MECHANIC, WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY WORKED AS A SERVICE TECH FOR A CHEVY DEALERSHIP. HE WAS UNABLE TO FIND THE PROBLEM. HE CONTACTED ONE OF HIS FRIENDS WHO STILL WORKED AT THE CHEVY DEALERSHIP WHERE HE WAS FORMERLY EMPLOYED. MY MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT HIS FRIEND STATED THAT THE DEFECT WAS KNOWN BY CHEVROLET BUT THERE WASN'T ANY RECALL AND THERE WAS NOTHING THEY WOULD DO ABOUT IT. I PAID A HEFTY PRICE FOR WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A GREAT VAN ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT CHEVROLET HAS MANUFACTURED A VEHICLE KNOWING THAT IT HAS SEVERE DEFECTS IN THE TRANSMISSION THAT COULD CAUSE COSTLY REPAIRS, INJURY, OR POSSIBLE CRASH-RELATED DEATHS AND REFUSE TO REMEDY THE SITUATION. HOW MANY MORE PEOPLE MUST CONTINUE TO DRIVE AN UNSAFE VEHICLE BEFORECORRECTIVE ACTION IS TAKEN?*AK
THE SUN SHELL, A PART IN THE TRANSMISSION BROKE LOOSE AND CAUSED THE TRANSMISSION TO MALFUNCTION.
TRANSMISSION HAS TO BE REBUILT DUE TO BAD SHIFTING. ALSO, ENGINE ROD BEARING WAS MAKING A KOCKING SOUND THAT FORCED REPLACEMENT. *AK CRACK IN COOLING SYSTEM HAD TO REPLACE SEAL.*JB
WHEN THE CONSUMER CHANGES THE GEAR INTO DRIVE, THE VEHICLE JUMPS INTO GEAR HARDER THAN IT SHOULD. *SLC
REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO FIX TRANSMISSION BEGINNING WITH A COMPLETE REBUILD AT A CERTIFIED FACILITY; TRANSMISSION MAY FUNCTION PROPERLY FOR AS LONG AS 2 MONTHS. REPEATED VISITS TO THE TRANSMISSION SHOP ARE MET WITH APOLOGIES, AND STORIES OF THE SAME DESIGN TRANSMISSION WITH THE SAME PROBLEMS FROM OTHER INDIVIDUALS. I AT FIRST SUSPECTED THE MECHANICS, BUT RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THERE ARE MANY OTHER ASTRO VAN OWNERS EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM; BELIEVE IT TO BE A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. *AK
HAVE A FRIEND WHO EXPERIENCES EXACT SAME SYMPTOMS ON 97 GMC SAFARI AND 97 ASTRO VAN. TRANSMISSION FAILURE AT ABOUT 60,000 MILES, WHEN ACCELERATING IN 1ST GEAR AFTER DRIVING IN OVERDRIVE.
TENSIONER ARM HOUSING BROKE OFF OF ENGINE BLOCK RENDERING VEHICLE UNDRIVEABLE. TRANSMISSION SLIPPED BETWEEN 2 & 3 & 4 GEARS. REPLACED TRANSMISSION WITH NEW GM TRANS. NO MONETARY RELIEF FROM GM WAS RECEIVED.
WHILE ENGINE IS OFF TRANSMISSION GEAR WILL JUMP FROM PARK TO DRIVE. PARKING BRAKE WAS APPLIED PRIOR TO PARKING VEHICLE. *AK
PAWL WITHIN THE TRANSMISSION MALFUNCTIONED AFTER 300 MILE TRIPS IN HOT WEATHER CAUSING THE GEARS TO CHANGE VERY HARDLY. FUEL WOULD LEAK AND THE TRANSMISSION WOULD LOCK, WHICH COULD HAVE RESULTED IN A FIRE. *AK
CAR STALLS WHEN IN REVERSE GEAR, DEALER COULD NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEMS. YH
TRANSMISSION GEARS SHIFT HARD. *YC
TRANSMISSION FAILED. NLM
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .