This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 1999 Dodge Caravan SE. While driving approximately 30 mph, smoke began to emit from the front end of the vehicle. The contact maneuvered to the side of the road and detected smoke and sparks underneath the hood area. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated the failure was related to the engine wiring harness. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
Serpentine belt slipped off of pulleys after driving over a wet road. Vehicle is a 1999 Dodge Caravan, 3.0L V6, 4-speed automatic. Within the past two weeks, this has happened two times, both in wet weather. The same issue occurred on a 1996 Dodge Caravan, 3.0L V6, 3-speed automatic, twice in the same two week period. The idler and tensioner pulleys were replaced on both vehicles with oem-equivalent parts after the first problem with each, yet the problem persists. The belt on the 1996 Caravan also shredded at highway speed during dry weather during this period. When replaced, the belts on both vehicles ride off-center on the pulley for the power steering pump.
Dodge Caravan 1999 serpentine belt dismounting upon driving through water. A dangerous and immediate loss of power steering, overheating, and loss of alternator output ( warning light on ) is noticed.
The contact owns a 1999 Dodge Caravan. While driving approximately 35 mph, the contact heard a clunking noise and the vehicle suddenly stalled. The vehicle was pulled over. An independent mechanic appeared on the scene and informed the contact the serpentine belt shredded apart and disconnected. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where it was repaired. The failure occurred intermittently on several occasions. The failure mileage was 40,000 and the current mileage was 139,000.
- Salem, OR, USA
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I have had repeated shredding of the serpentine belt on my 1999 Dodge Caravan resulting in loss of power steering and systems shutdown (including engine) during driving. This is a serious safety issue and I have read numerous reports of the exact same failure. Brazil has recalled the Dodge minivan for the same failures and Dodge has made a modification kit (2005) for this problem but refuses to date to post a recall in the United States. I have replaced the belts 6 times and the tensioner 3 times in 60,000 miles. I have called Dodge and they have refused to pay for the correction of the problem even though I had the last tensioner and belt put on at the Dodge dealership although they used an old style tensioner not the new kit even though the new kit had been available since 2005 and I had the tensioner replaced in 2009.
We own a 1999 Dodge Caravan. Three weeks ago we took it in for a check up at a certified mechanics shop. They informed us the tensioner was bent and serpentine driving belt needed replacing. We authorized them to make the repair. We have owned this vehicle since 1994 with no incident. Last Monday we drove through standing water and the serpentine belt was thrown. We lost power steering not to mention that the driving belt powers everything else for the vehicle. Thankfully we were only a short distance out of town and were able to drive back to the mechanics shop. They informed us that indeed this is a problem Dodge minivans have. In the last 2 days we have gone online and found many web forums where this has happened to 1,000's of Dodge/Chrysler owners going back as far as 2002. Dodge has never issued a recall for this known problem and potentially deadly flaw in their engine pulley design. We can buy an aftermarket new designed tensioner and belt at our expense manufactured by 2 separate companies, but Dodge offers nothing to consumers who bought their vehicles thinking they are safe. We would like to see Dodge/Chrysler acknowledge this defect and recall these potential death traps off the road to fix this negligence on their part. Just because people are not dying in crashes because of this (or are they and we just never find out this was the cause) doesn't mean they should not be responsible.
I had a clock spring replaced in my 1999 Dodge Caravan. This was a recalled part replacement. After the clock spring was replaced the cooling fan would not shut off and drained the battery. The repair for this was $590.30 to me. Parts required to fix the cooling fan:1.battery, 2.relay MINI3.relay pkg, 4.relay.
Belt comes off in wet weather. Sudden loss of power steering. Have replaced tensioner 4 times. Sudden loss of power steering in wet weather can lead to loss of control.
Serpentine belt comes off pulley. Occurred four (4) times within the last 12 months. Twice during wintry conditions of less than three (3) inches of snow and twice during normal rainfall. Most recent occurred June 29, 2008.
The contact owns a 1999 Dodge Caravan. On April 24, 2008, while driving approximately 25 mph, the check engine light on the instrument control panel illuminated, and the temperature of the vehicle increased. The contact pulled over to allow the vehicle to cool. He restarted the vehicle and drove home. The dealer instructed him to bring the vehicle in to be diagnosed; however, the vehicle was not in driving condition and no longer covered under warranty. The contact repaired the vehicle himself. The failure mileage was 91,000 and current mileage was 91,929. Updated 07/07/08. The fan relay switch was replaced twice. The dealer replaced the wiring harness. The headlight had condensation on theinside. Updated
I have a 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan that the serpentine belt has come off of numerous times, because of a manufacture defect. Whenever the tension wheel gets splashed with water the belt pops off. You immediately lose power steering, it is so dangerous!! the car overheats. I have talked to many mechanics and this is a well known problem with that particular vehicle. I have spent much money to have it fixed and not to mention the stress. I have also researched this on the internet and found that they have recalled these vehicles in brazil because of the same problem.
Corrosion of left forward strut tower. During scheduled oil change, saw extensive corrosion on left shock tower in engine compartment. The corrosion appears to have developed from inside the shock tower and only became apparent recently. Corrosion is affecting the outboard half of the shock tower and affects two of the three bolts holding the strut to the tower. Took the vehicle to the dealers body shop. They said there is a factory kit to fix this problem, but they were not impressed with its structural strength or appearance. Suggested replacing strut tower as a better option at the cost of $1300. Said Dodge would not provide any warranty because the vehicle has 116K miles. Asked service manager if they had seen this problem before, said they had repaired a few, and this defect seems always to be on the left side of Caravan. He also said that he had not seen any strut towers fail, but researching this web site there have been numerous failures and constitutes a safety defect, the manufacturer needs to correct.
Intermittently air bag light and the oil light illuminated, and vehicle made a chiming noise when starting. The lights and the chiming continued for 5 to 15 minutes. Dealer could not duplicate or determine the problem.
I recently took my 1999 Dodge Caravan to my mechanic because of an anti-freeze leak. The mechanic found that the water pump needed replacement and suggested that the timing belt be done at the same time, since it was due to be replaced. I agreed to have the timing belt done. In the process of replacing the timing belt the mechanic found that the belt tensioner was faulty. He tried ordering a replacement part and discovered that the existing belt tensioner was no longer available and that it was replaced by an upgraded belt tensioner kit. My complaint is if Dodge found the need to change the design of this part why was it not made a recall? this problem ended up costing me an additional $245 in parts and labor to have this new belt tensioner kit install, not to mention a week without the car because of the part availability.
My 1999 Dodge Caravan (2.4 engine) is experiencing oil loss. I just had it tuned up about 5 months ago and it is still losing a considerable amount of engine oil(1 qt/500 miles; normal-according to several dealers).mechanic found problems with PCV system and replaced yellow restrictor. Charged $98. Recently had oil change. Ten days later, oil is black and broken down. Oil level on dipstick is down to half.
While driving a noise was heard coming from the engine. Dealer found that timing belt broke. The idler pulley made noises and the consumer found that the system needed to be updated. The update parts were the timing belt, tensioner, idler pulley, timing covers, water pump, two drive belts, thermostat and the oil pan gasket leaked.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Waldorf, MD, USA