2.2

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
70,259 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

1997 Dodge Grand Caravan drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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1997 Dodge Grand Caravan Owner Comments

problem #6

Nov 262019

Grand Caravan

  • 104,233 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Car suddenly lost power while driving on the freeway at 60mph; engine remained on. I pulled over, turned off the car, and it started back up again and drove fine for about 2 miles. 'service engine soon' light came on. When it lost power again, I slowed and then tried to reaccelerate, and it drove fine for about 5 miles, enough to get me off the freeway and to a safe location. I checked the oil and transmission levels, which were ok, and there was nothing leaking under the car. Went to an appointment, and came back to the car, which started up and drove ok for about a half mile, then it shut down completely at a traffic light. This time it wouldn't start back up again, so I pushed it onto a side street, where it started up fine and drove to the nearest gas/repair station. Now, the van won't start again. Van was proceeding straight in all situations.

- Santa Clara, CA, USA

problem #5

Jan 162013

Grand Caravan 6-cyl

  • 126,321 miles
Was driving the van about approx 35 mph in a snow storm when it started to slide, I accelerated to keep from spinning out and the transmission let go..took it to the transmission shop that put it in and they said the spider gears were "welded" to the shaft and it caused the shaft to break..this is the second tranny we put in this van for the same thing. Manufacture defect..they should pay for the new tranny.. it cost me over $1950 to put this tranny in and it is a rebuild from advanced auto..they said its a manufacture rebuild..also, the switch for the headlights is very loose and you have to play with it and get it in a certain position to get the lights to stay on. You have to turn them all the way to the right then pull it out a little then it will stay on..

- Honesdale , PA, USA

problem #4

Sep 152003

Grand Caravan

  • Automatic transmission
  • 100,000 miles
The transmission does not shift gears if the air conditioner is on. The air conditioner turned all the way up will blow out air as if it was on mid way. The wind shield wipers come on when the turn signal is activated, which causes me to buy blades more often. The brakes seem to lock up when the ground is wet. You can hear metal hitting together, and the car continues to roll. My sister-in-law, and one of my daycare moms had the same problem, but they were not as lucky as I was it caused them to rear end another vehicle.

- Fresno, CA, USA

problem #3

Jul 152003

Grand Caravan

  • Automatic transmission
  • 91,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

At 91,000 miles the vehicle had a sudden and catastrophic transmission failure. Given the fact that we have had a number of neighbors & friends also experience Grand Caravan transmission problems in 97 & 98 models, there obviously is a major design problem. I had owned a 1989 Grand Caravan that had two transmissions replaced under warranty. I took a chance going back to Chrysler and lost the bet. While Chrysler "customer no service" has told me "'sir, when you signed the dotted line, you knew the warranty was 36,000 miles", clearly the public perception is that transmissions in $30,000 automobiles should last more than 90,000 miles. While Chrysler can hide behind the warranty all they want, they clearly are breaking with the public''s trust. The fact that Chrysler has had 100,000 mile drivetrain warranties on other years of Grand Caravan bespeaks to the levels that they: 1. had to go to gain public trust 2. the recognition that they may have design problems. Lastly, as I have learned, their "customer no service" department is a very short one way street. When I called, I described the problem and inquired about the process to file a complaint. I was shocked to learn in very short order that the first person I talked to was also the last person that I would to talk. He quickly made the decision the Chrysler was not interested in helping in any way and that his decision was final. There was never any "I am sorry about this problem, but there is not much that I can do". it was "you knew what you purchased, and I am not going to help you in any way". in fact he kept reminding me how long we spoke on the phone and that I was wasting mine and implicitly his time. All in all a very poor experience with a lousy product and non-existent customer service.

- Evansville, IN, USA

problem #2

Oct 152001

(reported on)

Grand Caravan

  • miles
While traveling noticed air bag indiactor light was on intermittently soon after, radio came on and been replaced. Also, speedodometer gave wrong reading. Dealer has been contacted, and replaced battery. Has been replace 6 times. Dealer could not duplicate problem.

- Downey, CA, USA

problem #1

Jul 011999

Grand Caravan

  • miles
This van at various speeds will jerk suddenly as if it is losing power. It also stalls out and has done this at speeds as high as 40 mph driving in traffic. I admit that this is a intermmitent problem. I have had it to the dealer several times and the problem has not been diagnosed. Obviously this is an accident waiting to happen that could bring severe injury to my family.

- Louisville, KY, USA

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