Chrysler Repair: 1998 Chrysler Concorde Shift Cable binding up, 1998 chrysler concorde, chrysler concorde

Question
Hi Roland:

I think that you and I wrote to each other this summer when my son was driving my old 94 chrysler concorde across the US to SF.  He wound up putting another $5k into it.

Last night in Peoria, I could barely shift from R to D and back (very tight, a lot of resistance) on my 1998 Chrysler Concorde.  I had the dealer pick it up this am and they say the shift cable is binding up.  This is an automatic transmission.  Is this the beginning of the end?  What will go next?  Chrysler Condcords seem to have a lot going wrong.  I also have a 2001 CC.  Please don't ask me why our family keeps buying Concordes.

Answer
Hi Michele,
Probably the best way to get an idea of longevity is to go to the library and look up the April editions of Consumer Reports or their Annual Reports wherein readers are surveyed for services they have had on their vehicles, listed by systems and year models. I can't speak of the Concorde/LHS/300M frequency of repair record myself, nor have I had experience (my newest Chrysler is an '89 LeBaron)
But I do note that the Haynes Manual for '93-97 I have has a complete description of changing out and adjusting the shifter cable on both the column and floor shift models of the Concordes. My thinking about this is that one needs to get a manual for his/her car and do the maintenance work that you are capable of doing. Soon you become the local "expert" in that car and save alot of shop repair dollars. It is the only way to keep a car over time, and to avoid the trash heap unnecessarily.
I hope that the cable repair will deal with your present problem.
Roland