I installed an auxiliary transmission cooler last year because of the tendency of the automatic transmissions to run too hot.

Then came the J30 recall. The recall letter said Chrysler would reimburse me if I had already paid to try to mitigate the problem that the recall addresses.

So I sent them the bill for my B&M transmission cooler.

Got the check in the mail today!!!

 

Wow, thats really nice, I haven't taken it in but have had one instance where it was overheating. I was pulling up a hill and I pulled over because I was getting a lot of smoke coming from the back of the vehicle. I assume it was the overflow spitting hot fluid and vaporizing.

I wonder if I could install one now and then send them the receipt?

 

Dang! that sounds like it could start a fire!! I'd get the recall done and/or get a tranny temp gauge.

 

On the recall letter it said:

"If you have already experienced this condition and have paid to have it repaired, you may send your original receipts and/or other adequate proof of payment to the following address for reimbursement: Chrysler Recall Customer Assistance, P.O. Box 21-8007, Auburn Hills, MI 48321-8007, Attention: Reimbursement."

So I sent them my receipt and they sent me a check about 4 weeks later. If I had been thinking I would have hit them up for the additional quart of ATF I bought!

I think you can only get reimbursed if you made the mod before you got the recall letter (or before it was announced....)

 

I think it's great that you were reimbursed for your trans cooler. I also think it sucks that the solution avoids addressing the root cause, which is that automatic JKs do not have appropriate differential gearing for the power-train. No automatic should be coming with less than 4.10 gears. 4.56s when you move up to the 32" tires, and a premium gear set on the Rubicon with 4.88s.

There are literally thousands of posts on this forum where a 40% increase in gear steepness is the widely accepted solution for a 10% increase in tire diameter.

So while I think a reimbursement for a transmission cooler is great, in fact awesome, someone needs to take them to task on a ring and pinion upgrade as this addresses the plague for automatic transmission owners not just a symptom.

 

I wished I had done that. I got the dreaded warning chime and HOTOIL light while wheeling in Moab. Had to stop, leave the Jeep in idle and let it all cool down for a bit. Not a fun thing to do in the middle of no where with an upset wife sitting next to me.

 

Well stated. I think you just earned yourself that job!

 

Fortunately or unfortunately that won't be me as I have a 6 speed.

The problems with Chrysler transmissions is pretty well documented, and I have personally seen two Dodge Caravans blazing in hilly areas where I believe the culprit to be cooked transmissions. Not a pretty site when you see the family of 4 watching their vehicle with the Sears cargo container strapped to the roof go up in flames. Not a great start to the family vacation.

I think we've all been there and crawled around under vehicles and asked ourselves what they were thinking. There are certainly marketing decisions that need to be made as far as price point and what's going to happen with EPA estimates to fuel efficiency. The answers sometimes put the consumers at risk sometimes at body but most often monetarily. This certainly isn't limited to Chrysler.

Also, on my Dodge Ram the transmission is so sensitive to transmission fluid levels that it is advised to have the fluid only serviced by a Chrysler technician. There are plenty of cooked 545RFEs as a result and the second prime will tear up a transmission in no time if you don't have a tall enough gear to minimize it's use or use a programmer that has a second prime delete option.

Anyway, I'm glad Chrysler is doing something, although for sport I 'd love to serve them up with a registered letter that suggests they are acting in bad faith.

 

Hey jPop; Great to see your posts again. I followed the superchip thread with much enthusiasm! Anyway, what is a "second prime?"

 

The 2011 JK's that will be coming with the new V6 will most likely also get a 5 or 6 speed auto trans, which should fix the issue of poor gearing. Its that huge jump between 3rd and 4th gears that the current 4sp has that causes a lot of the issues. Since the torque converter doesnt lock in 3rd gear, only 4th. A modern auto will typically lock from 2nd gear on.