Awesome van! I love the stereo, the All Wheel Drive handles very well on slick surfaces, The quad captain chairs are really nice for long trips, very roomey, keyless entry is very nice, the heat gets it so hot in there in winter you can melt a chocolate bar (almost), and the A/C is REALLY COLD.

The driver side wiper dosn't wipe far enough to the left (but not a big deal), the rear break drums rust very fast in the rain

I give this a good rating because we've had more good experiences than bad experiences. and I just think it's the greatest vheicle around.

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It dosn't compare to anything, because I THINK that this is the best.

Great van for a large family with 6' tall teenage sons and significant cargo/passenger needs due to family activities. Get the extended warranty, though.

High repair bills from minor collisions which is largely a defect of the ES model's lack of protective cladding. Additionally the whole front bumper comes off like it was unzipped in a low speed collision, with a $1,000 repair bill for the ES model due to the way the ES model's front lights are wired.

Air conditioning initially unreliable. Windshield wipers don't age well - the usual problem but ours appears only on the intermittent setting.
Low milage (19.2 mpg over 88,000 miles) but this should be expected given its size, engine power, San Joaquin Valley heat causing us to have the air conditioning on a lot, and the general load from carting a large family & all our childrens' friends around. 25 mpg on the highway.

We loved this van, bought it new for $30,000 in July 1995 when the 1996 model first came out, and it is now 5 years 10 months old with 88,000 miles. Our only significant service issue with it in this time was a clearly defective air conditioner design which was fixed multiple times and replaced twice on warranty. The second whole system replacement worked. We've had only one air conditioner problem in the past 3 and a half years.

The options we ordered were a V6 engine, the tow package (to obtain the heavy duty engine cooling system -we didn't intend to tow anything), rear heater/air conditioner, extended warranty (a must!) and the top line sound system. We had to get the ES model to have the V6 engine and the tow package so early on in this model's life span - our van was specially ordered from the factory and was one of the first 5,000 Grand Caravans produced for the 1996 model year.

Our Grand Caravan has just developed an oil leak and the reports here indicate our heretofore minimal service expenses are about to soar.
The sound system was great in its day. The van's sound insulation was quite effective early on but seems to have become less so recently.

Chrysler's 1996 model large minivans clearly beat the comparable Windstars, as new models. We needed a large minivan to have shoulder harnesses for three children and needed a lot of cargo space, which is what beat the Windstar.

Chrysler's Grand minivans showed there was a market niche for large famiiles, and our 1996 model was first rate in its day as a _new_ vehicle. There are now more reliable products in this niche. We loved this van and used it hard. It worked for us.

I give it a value rating of five stars as an excellent deal for us. Used it would be three stars overall based on my personal experience.

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I have no comparable experience.

Awesome van.. absolutely no problems whatsoever!

Not so great on gas.. but hey it's a v6 3.0

This Van weighs well over 3,000ibs and has only 146horsepower but picks up very fast considering. I have owned the van for many years with no problems. The Wheel Covers are a pain to clean, but the look nice. The only complaint I have against this van is the lack of Air Conditioning! It's really a must have for a family van.

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Faster than a V6 Chevy Lumina. (raced my friend)

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I brought this dodge carvan with 3 miles on it the motor went at 77,000 miles transmission went at 77,099 miles ac went at 50,000 miles transmission went again at 140,000 miles

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This is a great improvement over the 1990 Dodge Caravan cargo van I'm driving now - very tight turning radius - very roomy & comfortable - engine compartment is well laid out - good visiblity - a well engineered vehicle!

Headlights are dim(I understand this has been corrected on the 2001 models) - a air bag clock relay spring went out- it was replaced - other than that - no other problems!

I had heard back in 1994 that Chrysler was going to upgrade the current minivan line-up & I'm glad I waited! This is just a well engineered vehicle - I especially like all the warning lights(especially the low fuel warning light - something not featured on earlier Caravans!)I have nothing else to add - it's just a good vehicle!

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I've driven a 1984 Dodge Caravan cargo van - a 1988 Dodge Caravan & a 1990 Dodge Caravan cargo van

Roomy, pretty comfortable and handles well.

1. Power locks do not work all the time.
2. Both sliding doors are noisy and have had parts replaced and been readjusted a few times in the past 6 months.
3. Passenger side window noisy as if it will not close all the way.
4. A pretty constant rattle, clicking, knocking noise in the horn/airbag area and looseness in the steering wheel.

We owned a 96 Dodge Caravan and the brakes had a high-pitched squeak from the beginning. We had it in many times for repair, but were told it was normal due to the brake lining. We ended up trading it in because we hated the vehicle. We thought it was just that vehicle, so we bought another new Caravan - BIG, BIG MISTAKE!
We owned this one for 10 months when we began to experience a loud rattle and clicking sound (quite often it almost sounds like a ball bearing rolling around inside the horn/airbag area). The service department, when I brought it in the first couple of times, told us this was normal and completely safe to drive. A few months later we found a TSB on the problem and the dealer would not acknowledge it because they never heard anything about it. The only positive experience is that when we called Chrysler customer service they got an appointment for us. In the past 7 months we have had more than a dozen appointments for repairs (some lasting days long), many return visit to ride with technicians and many, many months of sheer frustration. We have been told everything from... 'it is normal', 'it is because Dodge uses cheap plastic', 'we can not duplicate the problem', 'we can't do anything for you' and 'Chrysler will not let us do anything else at this point'. They have lubed it, packed it with foam, taped it, replaced the clockspring, replaced the steering assembly, and replaced the power steering rack among other things. Every time the vehicle was returned to us 'ready for pick-up' and every time the problem/defect was still there! As of today the dealer has the van again. This time we are going on day three and have not heard anything from the service dept. (a zone technician was to be there yesterday to look at the vehicle.
Decent marketing, but poor quality and very poor customer service from the dealer and Chrysler - they do not stand behind their product!
Hindsight is 20/20 - we should have paid a little more and bought the Honda or Toyota minivan, it would have been worth it.

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Honda Civics and Accords - wonderful
Volkswagen - great
Ford - so, so.
1996 Dodge Caravan - Very squeaky brakes from the start

Roomy, comfortable seats

a/c stinks replaced it twice. head gasket repaired wipers don't work part to fix it very expensive. dooorlock motors break. Have had to fix problems twice because the engine light.

UNRELIABLE! I've replaced the A/C twice, had head gasket fixed, the wipers used to come on whenever they wanted for years and now they won't come on at all. The part to replace this calles a body control module and the part alone costs $425.00. To those out there with phantom wipers there is a technical service bulletin out there for that problem they say my problem is not caused by this but I don't believe them. The service number is 08-31-98A. You can go to alldata.com to check for all the recalls and service bulletins for all cars. I also put a complaint in with (NTSA)? You better believe when I get a new car I will be visiting that site very frequently and having them fix anything there. Also before I buy anything I will be reading all the reviews I can find

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I had a 1990 lumina that wasn't much better.

It is roomy.

At 3,000 miles the idler arm pully had to be replaced, at 36,000 miles the brakes went out (master cylinder as well as other various parts). Agian at 75,000 brakes agian, then at 90,000 there went the transmissiom, it was replaced. Now at 103,000 the transmission is going agian.

This is a lemon of a car, very unreliable.

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Ford, no comparison

Pleasing, smooth, lines, great ride and handling with good comfort inside, and exceptionally low noise levels.

Would like to see factory sun-roofs available as options.

When I read negative reports on Dodge Caravans I can hardly believe they are writing about the same product I am driving. My last Caravan was a 1996 LE Grand, drove it 82,000 miles with no problems other than normal maintenance and one computer problem which was fixed under warranty. My new 2001 ES Dodge Grand is simply great. Everything on the vehicle has been improved and refined (although I could find no faults with old design). 3.8 engine delivers smooth more than adequate performance, noise levels inside vehicle have been greatly improved, as has ride and I belive general fit and quality. One thing noticeably improved is headlights which put out far more light on the road. You can sit and drive this comfortable vehicle 6 and 8 hours a day, and still look forward to getting back in it to go again. My personal feelings is that anyone not driving Chrysler built vans simply don't know what they are missing. Strongly recommend this product.

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Owned two Chevrolet Suburbans which will tow great amounts of weight but other than that, the Dodge van will do anything a suburban will do, cheaper and with more comfort.

We purchased an ES model, still looks great, looking to resell it for $5,200 Cdn Bucks., this amazes me. The ES really holds it price. Since there are so many sold parts are very cheap at any wreckers. I loved the stero, seating position and fuel consuption 33 MPG, imperial gallon. 2.5 turbo still is powerful just replace the oil very often and it works and works and works.

Back door rusts out, Back wiper and front wipers where a pain found a trick put a smaller wiper on the back window for the wimpy motor. Sliding door would freeze shut in the winter. Not enough heat in the van in Canada. I just could not stand the Low waterlight for the windshield wiper. It comes on too early, I removed the sensor really buggy.

In summary I just love caravan's Have owned GM the only thing that stays together on them is the built like rock Decal. Got tired of bouncing around on Coil springs, Tired of motors that used to much fuel a charging sytem that would not charge fast enough, and bills to get them started in cold weather. GM sucked, along came Caravan
Why you should buy one, Make sure you get a warranty, in Canada we have warranty on vechicles 7 years and younger get one pay the price. Caravans are, comfortable, fun sporty, roomy, Easy to re-sell if
"YOU" have maintained it. Find a back yard mechanic not a dealer after warranty, I have found the dealers are too expensive and also very un-educated on their products. IF you like good view, good seating positions. Working power toys for "real people" by a Caravan

One suggestion Caravans need something for cargo storage in the rear, the Grand size gives you more room but you still have waisted vertical space, which frustrates me when we pack for the lake.

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We bought a 1994 ES AWD see that report