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 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that while driving at the speeds of 40 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to a local automotive store, where it was diagnosed that the coil pack malfunctioned. The dealer was notified and they could not assist the contact with the failure of the coil pack. The vehicle experienced this failure a total of six times and it was repaired. The failure mileage was 122,000 and the current mileage was 130,000. Updated 03/05/12 updated 03/08/12
When driving in the rain we hit water on the road and the serpentine belt comes off, you lose power steering at the time if it happens in heavy traffic you could have a crash. When looking for a solution for the problem I found it happens to a lot of people. Gates makes an after market fix part# 38379K. Dodge will not fix it.
The belt tensioner on my 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan SE 3.3L engine is a safety hazard. It has a design flaw, the belt comes off when the van is driven through puddles. I have owned my van for 2 years and I have had to replace the belt and coordinating parts about 7 times. I am at the point where I do not feel safe driving my children around during wet weather conditions nor do I feel comfortable selling this vehicle to another family and passing this severe problem on to them. Please come up with a solution to this design defect and do a recall!!!!!
The problem is with a 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan, the accessory belt keep coming off if you drive the vehicle through water. It has happen a least 20 time in the last year which lead to power steering failure and over heating and battery failure. I tried to fix the problem by changing the tensioner the belt also the idler puller all about twice which did not solve the problem.
The contact owns a 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan. Whenever the contact shifts, the vehicle makes an unfamiliar noise. When the vehicle is parked, it operates normally. The transmission stalls and will start back up, but it is unreliable. The vehicle would rev and have to be restarted in order for the revving to stop. If there is a power fluctuation, the rear wipers will turn on and off at random. The high beams on the headlights do not work, but the failure was repaired. The parking light on the front driver's side failed. He replaced the bulb, but it still does not work. The contact stated that he is constantly replacing the low beam lights. The serpentine belt slips off; however, it has been repaired. The check engine light flashes on and off and there is a burning electrical smell coming from the vehicle. The front strut assembly is rusting and rotting. The rocker panel on the driver's side is rusted completely. The current mileage was 186,000 and failure mileage was 149,766. Updated 09/10/08 updated 09/11/08.
- Jamestown, NY, USA
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I have a 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan last year on December 2007 my serpentine belt came off while I was making a right on one street under the rain, I almost lost control off my car but I was fortunate that no cars were around. It was hard for me to drive my car but I called the mechanic and he told me not worry that I would be able to get safe to the shop. That incident broke my windshield hose water, my air conditioner and my steering wheel hose and heat it up the car so I had to stop several times before I got to the mechanic shop. I was so afraid but I got safe. Then it happen again a week later, I was so angry with the mechanic because I thought that he didn't do nothing to my car and that he was taking my money only, since I was around the corner I was able to go back to him. Within the las 7 months, my serpentine belt came off around 5 times and every time that it came off it broke something, so I had to pay the mechanic more money. I would really like for someone to try to contact Chrysler and try to see what they can do, unless they are expenting for someone to get kill because they can't maneuver the wheel. Thanks for your time monica huaman
: the contact stated that while driving at 30 mph, the vehicle rpms dropped to zero, the vehicle jerked, and the engine stalled completely. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road, and was able to restart the vehicle after 10 minutes. The vehicle has not been taken in for inspection. The consumer stated several attempts have been made to fix the vehicle. The oil pan was leaking oil. The valve cover gaskets were replaced. The transmission was heavily damaged and had to be replaced. The power steering pump was replaced. The front end of the vehicle pulled to the left. Updated 08/15/06.
I purchased the 1997 Grand Caravan in January 1998 at the marlow heights dealership in marlow heights, Maryland. The first time I started experiencing issue with the vehicle was 5/1999 at 24,006 miles vehicle had little power when accelerating, transmission not engaging, transmission had to be reconditioned. In 12/1999, there was transmission fluid leaking inside of the vehicle on the driver's side causing a very strong nasty odor. Carpet had to be replaced. This caused a hazardous condition to my family especially my kids having to breath in this fluid. 3 /2000 same fluid leaked again in auto because of defective heating coil. Then again in 8/2001 the leak happened again. This time I contacted daimler Chrysler in North Carolina and complained daimler Chrysler agreed to repair the vehicle under what they called one consumer repair per customer per vehicle. In 11/2001, the check engine light came on 3 times. At this point, the vehicle was also due for emissions testing and did not pass the test because of a cylinder misfire code. Once I was able to obtain the funds for repair, in 5/2004 @ 118,668 miles, I decided to take the vehicle back to the dealership for the repairs. I was told that I needed to have the spark plugs replaced and that would solve the issue. So I paid $114.24 to replace the 6.spark plugs, problem not solved I ended up paying $3,758.82 in 7/2005 to replace cylinder heads, timing belt, and water pump. This was the second time I had the timing belt replaced. Recently, in 3/2006, oil light came on. Had to replace both vc gaskets, cam plugs, both ft cam seals and rear cam seals and timing belt once again for third time. This cost to me was $2,677.50. Now the oil light is back on again.
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.
The front brakes were worn, air bag light illuminated, tensioner assembly failed, horn was inoperable, and the water pump leaked. As corrections, all defective componets were replaced.
While driving and with no warning vehicle will shut off, making it hard to control. Dealer has been notified. Also, consumer had many other problems with this vehicle.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Dairy , NH, USA