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 lights on my 2005 Dodge Caravan will randomly shut off, or not come on at all. After doing some research on-line, I find this to be a pretty common problem and the dealers don't appear to know what the issue is. This is a serious safety hazard causing me to drive this vehicle with no headlights after dark.
Power door locks on my 2005 Dodge Caravan have quit working. There is only one door that has a key hole to use a key in. I have to unlock the driver's door, then reach over and unlock the other doors. This has been going on for over a year now. I can't afford to trade my vehicle in or I would. I have seen numerous complaints about the same problem on countless websites. Dodge needs to be do something to fix this problem.
Failure of headlights on 2005 Dodge Caravan. Intermittently when the headlight switch is turned on, the parking and tail lights illuminate, however the headlights do not. The headlights can only be illuminated by holding on the temporary high beam lights. I have read of numerous similar complaints to Dodge with only a response of a denial of the problem. This is an extreme safety issue in that loss of headlights while driving at night could easily result in an accident or fatality...
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Caravan. The contact stated that the sensor for the door locks did not function properly and doors would suddenly lock on their own. The contact had to unlock the doors manually. When the failure occurred and someone approached the vehicle, the panic alarm would begin to sound. The contact called the manufacturer who stated that repairs would have to be performed at her expense. The failure mileage was approximately 49,000. The current mileage was approximately 49,500. Updated 11/19/10. The consumer stated the connection from the battery were removed several times. Finally, after three times the sensors started to work again. The consumer stated there have been no problems since. Updated 12/01/10
There are 3 separate incidents happened to the vehicle. Once while driving on the street and twice on the highway, 3 times the vehicle shuts down on its own in the middle of the traffic.
- Yuba City, CA, USA
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Power locks stop working both by remote keychain and on doors, requiring doors to be manually locked and unlocked, and leaving the rear hatch door unlockable manually and occupants and property vulnerable. This has been an ongoing problem for about 2 years now, and only corrects when the 20 amp fuse is pulled and reinserted. This "correction" is progressively lasting less time, and has probably occurred 3 dozen times over the past 2 years. "corrections" last less than a day now, and with 2 young children in my car, this is a safety issue.
Letter from senator kohl on behalf of constituent re problem with Dodge Caravan (respond directly to constituent) dot/I#2010-1105 the consumer stated auto manufactures shouldn't have direct control over the operation of automobiles once in the consumers possession. The consumer stated his vehicle was designed where the dimmer switch operated a relay that did the actual switching and caused a noticeable delay. Which meant the consumer was unable to dim the headlights if suddenly faced with oncoming traffic. The headlights themselves operated through another relay and he had to have it repaired when the lights started going off and coming on while driving at night.
The door locks on my 2005 Dodge Caravan SXT are going on and off without activating the button. In my opinion this is a safety item that needs to be addressed. Along with other people complaining about the same thing this should be a recall on this vehicle.
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Caravan. While putting grocery into the trunk of her vehicle, the vehicle started then stalled on its own. She was holding the keys in her hand and there were no occupants in the vehicle at the time. She also does not have a remote key starter. The failure occurred twice. While driving approximately 20 mph, the automatic door locks activated and within a few minutes while driving the alarm engaged. The manufacturer was unable to offer any assistance. No repairs were made to date. The failure mileage was 101,000. The current mileage was 102,062.
Parking lights stay on when switch is off. Took to dealer and they changed switch. Lights have been ok since. Problem may be solved. Had this problem from time to time in the pass. Had to turn lights on and off several times to get lights to turn off.
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan. When driving or idling all of the warning lights would illuminate on the instrument control panel, and the head-lights would fail. This failure lasts from 30 seconds up to one minute. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but no remedy was provided. The technician at the dealer was well informed about electrical failures for her model type. The manufacturer was notified, but she was still waiting for a response. The current mileage was 106,987. The failure mileage was 106,701
I own a 2005 Dodge Caravan and the power locks quit working, the horn blows and the lights blink when you push the keyless button but the locks don't lock or unlock. This is very dangerous as the kids in the back can open the doors and we think they are locked. I have asked the Dodge garage about a fix and am told it needs a computer flash fix or something for $130. This is a safety issue and should be recalled and fixed by the manufacturer. Also the doors no longer lock when the speed reaches 20 mph.
I have a 2005 Dodge Caravan, I continue to have multiple issues with this vehicle.. last year my car kept staling so I took it in.. only to find out my egr valve needed to be replaced( of course not covered under my extended warranty)... now my power door locks have stopped working completely, and now my power windows quit for a period & then start working on there own again.. I have taken it to the dealership and was told this is a known computer problem & it needs to be reprogrammed @ my cost of over 350.00.. when other vehicles that had not been sold were upgraded prior to the sale... now on top of all of this my vehicle is making a horrible noise in my front end while driving & when my engine is turned off.. could poss be my transmission... at this point I am so frustrated im ready to turn my car back over to Chrysler & let them deal with it...im not getting any help at all..
Automatic door lock/unlock failed to lock/unlock on my wife's 2005 Dodge Caravan. This is apparently a common failure on this model as I determined from a web site. www.carcomplaints.com/Dodge/Caravan/2005/electrical/power_door_locks_quit_working.shtm the push buttons on the key give the indication of locking/unlocking the vehicle doors as the headlights blink and the horn signals a receipt of the signal, but the doors do not lock. Also, the door lock switches on the inside of the door do not activate the locks. You can lock and unlock manually by using the buttons on each door - manually pushing them down to lock or raising them up to unlock. However, that is hard to do on a van as lock buttons are not easily reached. While there was no accident or damage from our failure, I can see the possibility of a problem, as an example : 1) a person thinks the doors are locked and a child is able to open the door while the vehicle is moving, 2) a person leaves the vehicle in a parking area thinking the doors are locked when they are not and someone breaks into the vehicle to steal it or to hide an attack the driver when they return. Our Dodge dealer was aware that this is a common failure and offered to apply a fix for around $50. Apparently, the fix is to disconnect the battery or pull a 20amp fuse which as far as I can determine from the above web site "resets the computer module". so, I did the 20 amp fuse removal myself and that fixed it. However, from the complaints in the web site - this fix apparently does not last (that is sometimes it lasts for hours and sometimes for day or weeks). I will add that a few on the web site discussed having their computer "reprogrammed"and my dealer mentioned that term when I let him know I had been reading the web site. My extended warranty folks mentioned that probably the activator module would need to be replaced. All I know is-it is a class problem and as far as I am concerned should be fixed by a recall.
Dodge Caravan 2005 automatic door locks don't work properly. With small children this could be a real issue if they unlock or lock themselves in the car and the adult doesn't have the actual key on hand. Only way to get the doors or trunk open is manually with a key now and only driver's side door has a hole for the key. The automatic side doors work half the time and seem dangerous for toddlers since they are erratic open/closing.
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Caravan. The contact stated that the doors failed to open when he used the keyless entry. He was able to open the doors manually with the key. The dealer informed him to bring in the vehicle for inspection. The vehicle has not yet been inspected or repaired. When the contact disconnected the battery cables from the battery and then reconnected the cables, it resets the keyless entry system. The keyless entry will work for approximately one week before it fails again. The contact is in the process of notifying the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 58,000 and current mileage was 61,000. Updated 07/24/09.
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Caravan. When the contact starts the vehicle, the speedometer dial, fuel gauge, and temperature gauge increase and then goes back down and resets. The contact called the dealer and they stated that an appointment to inspect the vehicle could not be scheduled until May 27, 2009. The contact will try another dealer. The failure mileage was 63,000.
Failure of electrical system on 2005 Dodge Caravan, namely power door lock failure, including with key fob, switch on inside of vehicle and automatic locking mechanism. Can be remedied by disconnecting battery and reconnecting or removing fuse and replacing. This only helps for up to 2 days. Bought my van used at 115,000 miles, but every complaint I have read started at 40,000 miles. More than 40 complaints on one website alone. Widespread problem among this model. My almost 2 year old son was able to open the door and climb out of the van on his own. Thankfully we were stopped and parked. Could have been a tragedy had we been in motion, and if I did not keep him securely fastened in his car seat until the vehicle stops. This was after resetting the battery for about the 20th time in the less than one year since I purchased my van. But again it had failed and the automatic locking mechanism hadn't engaged. I know that many have complained to Dodge directly, but they refuse to acknowledge it as a safety issue and recall the electrical system. Not the only problem I have found with the electrical system. Others include headlights going out while driving, and turn signals not working properly, etc. People with small children (especially multiple small children) are a huge number of consumers for this vehicle and it would be a shame to have someone get hurt because Dodge doesn't think it is a safety concern. I do and many others do as well. Will it take a death of a small child for someone to get a recall initiated?
The door locks on my 2005 Dodge Caravan had stopped working. I naturally figured it was the fuse that controlled the door lock circuit. I could not find the door lock fuse, or even any instruction where to find the fuse in the owners manual. I went online and did a google search containing "2005 Dodge Caravan fuse location". I could not find any info on where the fuse is located, but I did find numerous other complaints regarding the exact issue I have. I turns out the 'fix' for this issue is a software upgrade to the vehicles BCM computer, as the installed software is bugged. I read it is a $130 charge to perform this update. My complaint is, why should the consumer have to foot the bill for a known defect with one the vehicles safety systems" it is obviously known that this problem exists as there is a fix for it, when will the company back its product" I am positive my complaint is not the only one of this nature, please have the company address this safety issue!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Southwick, MA, USA