Styling, interior, comfort

Transmission failure and too many minor problems

This is the second Dodge Caravan I have owned and I should have known better! The first was a 1987. By 1994 I had replaced the head gasket three times, twice at my own expense. The ''94 which I bought to replace it had a better engine but a variety of other "stupid" problems arose, the most annoying of which was when the sliding passenger door just slid off and crashed in the road. I had the door reassembled but after that the interior lights never worked right and I wound up keeping them turned off all the time which made the instrument panel lights very dim while night driving. There was a problem which prevented me from using the rear wiper or fuses would blow and then just about everything electrical wouldn''t work. But the bigger problem was the transmission. I had it rebuilt once in ''99 and a year and a half later it needed to be rebuilt again. That was when I decided just to junk the vehicle and I won''t be buying another Caravan.

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I like the way it drives. Nice and smooth, like a car not a truck. Plenty of room for kids, bookbags, camping stuff, etc....

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I had a Ford van extended version. Worst nightmare I ever had. I shopped around for my next van. I wanted a Nissan (I''m on my second Nissan Maxima, great cars) minivan, but too small for a family of five. So we opted for the Dodge grand Caravan. Everything went great for 1 1/2 years. Then, suddenly without warning going less than 10 miles per hour the car made a noise like metal grinding metal and the entire thing started shaking. I called the Dodge dealer in HP, NC and had them pick it up. The piston rod broke which cracked the cylinder which set off a whole series of events. Basically the engine BROKE! Fortunately it will all be replaced under warrantee, but I want a new warrantee to cover this new engine. They will not give me one, so I am going to follow through and write to Chrysler and Mopar and whoever else I can think of to get this thing guaranteed.

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runs on 5 cylinders...

cold start is ok...hot start after stopping for 30 minutes is very hard to start.

3.3l v6..UPDATE....Dealer informed me that they had several cases like mine..and sorry they won''t have to bore it out, but service manager informed me that he didn''t know if this would be a long term fix. "we have reports of this from all over the country"..."long term fix, I don''t know, If i were you i''d buy an extended warrenty"....I called Chrysler and told them if the service manager didn''t think the repair would fix my problem long term i felt they should provide me extended warrenty..again my van has 16,000 miles on it....Chrysler basically told me tuff.

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gonna go buy a kia sedona van with the 3.5 v6 standard and 5 speed auto trans and 100,000 mile factory warrenty loaded for $20,000. Dodge can kiss my ass and talk to my lawyer.

next time buy the Kia Sedona van

Sh*t stay away from it

losing compression...been in the shop 3 times...now they tell me they have to pull header and bore cylinder and put in new rings....my van has Fuuc''N 16,000 miles on it.....eat sh*t Dodge

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Lota room.

A mechanical failure, to say the least!

My overall impression...mmm...let me think a split second.
A pile of junk!

TRANS WENT OUT TWICE! $4000
A/C WENT OUT TWICE! AS A MATTER OF FACT IT'S STILL OUT
REAR STRUTS WENT BAD TWICE IN THE FIRST TWO YEARS!
POWER LOCKS WENT OUT TWICE. AS MATTER OF FACT THEY'RE STILL BROKEN
WATER PUMP IN THE 4TH YEAR
OIL VALVES LEAKING IN 4TH YEAR
ORIGINAL BATTERY DEAD-LESS THAN TWO YEARS OLD- LEFT MY FAMILY STRANDED ON VACATION! ARRRGGGHH
A GHOST PUTS THE WIPERS ON WHENEVER HE FEELS LIKE IT
RADIO RECEPTION GOES IN AND OUT
INTERIOR FALLING APART
I'M SURE THERE'S SOME OTHER STUFF I CAN'T THINK OF RIGHT NOW
ALL OF THIS WITH ONLY 66,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER CURRENTLY!!
I'M GONNA TRY A HONDA NEXT YEAR.

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I could fit my 4 kids comfortably. (THank God every day that they were not injured by this piece of junk)

Every aspect of this vehicles mechanical workmanship

Very disappointing. We bought our 1996 Dodge Caravan used in 1999 with 60000 miles on it. We bought an extended warranty that covered us until
75000 miles. Shortly after the warranty expired the fan relay went out ($168), 2 days after we payed to have it replaced we received a recall notice on it. Luckily the dealer reimbursed us. Next the water pump went out, turns out you have to drop the engine to get to the water pump ($480). We had a collision where a drunk driver turned head on into us as we were nearing a stop sign, their airbag deployed, neither of mine did (wonder if they work). The Next the Power door lock on the sliding door quit working and still isn't fixed. Then the surpentine belt began to shred and break every couple of weeks. We had to replace the tensioner pulley ($175). Then we developed an oil and transmission fluid leak. Then comes the ever so famous transmission problem. It began hesitating and then jerking when going into reverse, not wanting to shift out of second and after stopping it felt like you had your foot on the brake when you tried to restart. The dealer replaced 6 seals, 1 gasket and the front clutch ($491). Now 11,000 miles later we were on our way out of town for vacation with our 3 small children and were left stranded. We spent 5 hours on the roadside waiting for someone to pick us up and bring us home, not to mention the tow truck bill that we spent vacation money on. The current estimate is $1500. Dealer states that a bearing locked up, causing a shaft to break which sheared off all the internal gears (pretty much gutted the inside of the tranny). I still owe nearly $4000 on this van and am now waiting for the dealer to give me a trade in value and tell me how much negative equity will have to be added to my next purchase. If anyone hears of class action against Chrysler, let me know!

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1993 Dodge Dakota (motor blown up at 120000 miles)

Size, ride, Style

TRANSMISSION

We loved the just about everything about his car until about the 4 year(jan 2000)/70000 mile mark. The transmission had to be rebuilt ($2000). Today (JUl 2001)I was informed by the Service Manager at the dealership we use, that I needed another rebuild ($2600). We puchased this vehicle planning on keeping it for 10+ years. It is going to be traded in before the repair warranty runs out.

I would not recommend a Chrysler Minivan to anyone who plans on keeping a vehicle beyond the Warranty period.

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I think my strenght on our van is that, it hadn't given us any on the road problem.

I'm really disappionted in the Dodge Caravan paint job. Our paint is peeling off. I think there should be a recall on that, because there're so many Caravan like that.

I have really enjoyed my Dodge Caravan, and hadn't had any problem with it except this year. We had to replace a fan and a starter.

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WE CHOSE THIS VEHICLE FOR THE ROOM.

TRANSMISSION!!!!!!!!! POWER LOCK ON SLIDING DOORS WON'T ALWAYS UNLOCK.

WE HAVE HAD THIS VAN FOR LESS THAN ONE YEAR. IT HAS ALREADY BEEN IN THE SHOP ONCE. NOW, WITH ONLY 37,000 MILES, THE TRANSMISSION HAS GONE OUT. THIS HAPPENED LATE ON A FRIDAY NIGHT, LEAVING ME STRANDED WITH MY 2 YEAR OLD CHILD. WE PREVIOUSLY OWNED A 1996 PLYMOUTH VOYAGER AND HAD NOTHING BUT TROUBLE OUT OF IT. AS FOR MY HUSBAND AND I, WE ARE THROUGH WITH DODGE/CHRYSLER PRODUCTS. MY RATING IS SO LOW IT WON'T EVEN REGISTER.

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PLYMOUTH VOYAGER---SAME PROBLEM WITH TRANSMISSION

Very dependable. Always starts.

Rusty tailgates.

This is the second van of this type I have owned purchased for $1,000 from a private party with 170,000 miles on it. I have since put another 116,000
on it with nothing more than normal maintainence, brakes, hoses, oil, tune ups, etc. Still runs like a top, starts everyday, no matter how cold it is out.

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Wife has a 1993 Plymouth Grand Voyager, runs great, owned a Dodge Caravan,
ran great, rust is worst problems on all.