07 Grand Caravan Shuddering

At this point, I suggest that you drive your Caravan until the wheels fall off, as is. You may get 1,500 miles or 15,000, it’s impossible to tell, though, I suspect it will be closer to the former than the latter.

If your vehicle were a pickup or an SUV, I probably would have suggested getting a rebuilt transmission — or one from a similar vehicle with fewer miles in a scrapyard (you can save a bundle on the transmission) == because the pickup and SUV are two sides of the same platform.

It’s a platform that is far more robust than a minivan, one that can easily go another 50,000 or 100,000 miles with reasonable care. A minivan, on the other hand, isn’t built to the same standards as the pickup platform (it’s a car with a van body, after all). And, while it may run nicely for another 50,000 of even 100,000 miles, it’s more than likely that the minivan will turn its wheels up well before any pickup would.

With that said, though, you mentioned the tranny fluid looks good — it’s pink, the right color — but that it was a tad low. That could also account for your transmission slipping (it could be the gears, or bands/clutches or the torque converter, as well). It would suggest that you fill it with a quart or so of transmission fluid to see if this solves the problem. If it does, you have just saved yourself about $3,393 (a rebuilt transmission costs about $3,400). If not, then you are looking at the transmission replacement, either with one from the scrapyard, as mentioned — which could save you maybe $1,800 or so — or the rebuilt.

Let me know what you decide.