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 serpentine belt that runs the car jumped off track the first Monday in October when it was raining. I first noticed my power steering went out. Then a few minutes later it over heated. So when I got under the hood to find out what the problem was, it was the belt it was not broken just off track. Had it fixed. The same thing happened again on October 25, 2003 some 3-4 weeks later. Again it was raining. The person who fixed it the 2nd time states that every time it rains and if I get water in my undercarraige it is going to pop off. This is very discouraging, I am the single mother of four young girls and I should not be afraid to drive my van when it is raining. Can someone please make some sense out of this for me.
For 3 summers in a row, we have had to recharge the air condition system for it to only work 3-4 weeks at a time. Our mechanic says that it isn't that the air conditing unit has failed it seems to be loosing the freon some where.the locks on the van to the tail gate doesn't seem to work correctly, 90% of the time you have to beat on the lock from the out side for it to unlock. We have also replaced the brake pad approx 3 times and they still squeak and seem to grab at times.
We took our 1996 Grand Caravan in for recalls that Dodge sent us. They called my wife back and told her it was condemnable and unsafe to drive, because the strut tower was very badly rusted. By the time I had the chance to call them, because I was at work, the person she talked to had left, however I did talk to another person acquainted with the vehicle. He said because of the mileage and that I wasn't the original owner Dodge wouldn't do anything for us. He also said it would cost $2000 per side to fix and the van wasn't worth it. I said this is a serious thing and it should be fixed by Chrysler because they obviously used inferior materials on that part of the van. He said that they would not fix it, and the weather where we live had something to do with it. I said so I am just out of a vehicle to drive", and he said you can drive it but it's not safe. Now the other man told my wife that if she hit a hole or went over rr tracks it could come completely through and she would lose total control of the vehicle. The auto body man we took it to said that the part should have been galvanized when they made it and this wouldn't be happening. Another thing I would like to note is that our 1994 Caravan did not have this problem and it had over 270,000 miles on it. Also this 1996 does not have rust anywhere else. Someone is going to get hurt or killed if they don't recall these and fix them. They recalled a clock spring for the airbag, and they didn't ask the mileage of our vehicle, and they performed all the other recalls on it that day so they could get there money, but they won"T do anything about a suspension component that is life threatening. I would like also to add that your car doesn't need to have an airbag to be safe or run, but it does need a suspension. This is not an only case, we have another 1996 Grand Caravan that looks like rust is bubbling under the paint at that same spot, so it is a very easy thing to not see.
A/C internal fan switch fails in at least two positions and have had smoke enter inside the van while driving, from I think the fan. Once the fan is turned off the smoke goes away.
Car suddenly begins to idle very irratically & roughly when at a stop light or stop sign even when fully warmed up. The idle air control was replaced on 1-30-02, but car started stalling again on 2-11-03.
- Glen Allen, VA, USA
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I saw an atricle in the paper, my airbag light was intermittent for several months now always on my stopped working 1 1/2 month ago I haven't checked my cruise control but I will know.
Doors do not close properly and do not stay open when opened. A problem with the clock spring has caused the airbags to be inopperable, the cruise control does not work, the horn does not work, and the windshield wipers do not work (it does rain in phoenix sometimes). We had to replace the power window motor in the drivers door. This is the first 6 of 15 problems with this vehicle.
Uges on dash would float up or down and not give a true consistent reading. Dealer fixed but I was not satisfied with the result - this appeared to be a manufacturer defect.
NHTSA recall 99V216000 and manufacturer's recall 845/ fuel pump. It was repaired on 8 June, 2000 and still is having the same problem. Engine warning light comes on.consumer should be able to get 16-17 gallons in gas tank, instead, it only takes 10 gallons.
Recall 99V216000 DaimlerChrysler/fuel pump; after having rcall work peformed engine check light came on. Owner did not have any problems with engine check light until recall work was performed. Engine check light came on the day after recall repairs were performed. Dealer stated that the problem was not a part of recall, and would not be serviced free.
Dear NHTSA, please look into this problem. We have had this van only 7 months!!! we have a 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan SE that has 97,000 miles on the odometer. We took a trip in the last week to California to see our daughter when the engine check light came on. Even though we could not see or hear any problems, we took it to a dealer in reno, Nevada - (3223 mill St, reno, nv 89502 -- #(775)-323-3106). They said that the spark plugs needed replacing. At a cost of 300 dollars, we agreed in hopes that the light problem would be cured even though nothing seemed wrong. After picking up the vehicle the next morning, we noticed that the van was running terribly and would die when stopped. Frustrated that "no" problem with our van progressed to worse we returned to the dealer and asked them to check it again. After testing it again, they said the camshaft had to be replaced. Since we had to return home for work, we could not wait to get it fix. On returning home we took it into our trusted mechanic immediately. He checked the vehicle and said that we will need a new engine. Our complaint is that our engine should not of failed only after only 97,000 miles - it is ludicrous.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Detroit, MI, USA