I own a 2001 Grand Caravan sport. At 35,000 miles I brought it to a dealer for the 30,000 mile check and to service a grinding noise in the ac unit and a shudder when turning at slow speeds. They fixed the ac and shudder by truing the rotors and new pads, however they also said there was a bulletin out on the steering pump and the unit was on back order...would call when it came in...yeah right. After an attempt on my part 3 months later to locate this pump, I gave up trying and continued driving. At 54,000 miles, I againg brought in my car because the ac compressor failed due to another bulletin on the PCM unit. I inquired about fixing the old problem with the pump and they admitted they made a mistake by not ordering the pump or contacting me but they would not honor the repair becaues it was now out of warranty and they would have to pay for it...even though it was under warranty when I brought it in and they admit to their mistake!!! never again for Dodge...in fact, we are selling it to buy a Honda.

- Rock Hill, SC, USA

I have a 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan ES that has on 3 separate occasions had grinding noises coming from the left front tire area prior to the steering wheel locking up when making low speed turns. On the first incident the power steering was so tight I had to fight to turn left onto my street. Fortunately there was no one behind or in front of me because the car kept going straight even when the road didn't. I was able to stop before I hit the curb. On the second incident, again I was turning at a slow speed, this time right, and again had a lockup of power steering. I was in the middle of the street again. This time with frightened passengers as they watched me struggle with the steering wheel to get us out of oncoming traffic. On the last incident, again fighting to turn onto my street, I didn't attempt to turn into my garage. I parked on the street and called for a tow to the Dodge dealership to have them look at it. I didn't feel safe driving it. I wanted it to be checked out. I wasn't looking forward to going since the car is out of manufacturer warranty with 44,716 miles on it, but I took it and the dealer stated they tested the vehicle and made several turns and found the vehicle is operating as designed at this time, so I picked up my van and I told the service advisor that intermittent problems are always the hardest to find and I wouldn't have inconvenienced myself 2 days if there wasn't a problem. I feel there is a problem that should be investigated more completely. Many problems don't show up until after the warranty has expired and people in the real world have driven some miles. Under real life driving conditions. There is where you'll find any flaws. I am making this complaint because people may get hurt or killed if the power steering unpredictably continues to fail without warning.

- Lake Elsinore, CA, USA

I have a 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan ES with stock 17 inch wheels. Power steering groans and vibration is felt in the steering wheel at low speed. I originally thought it required new brakes (due to millage being 42,205) and brought vehicle into a repair shop for that purpose. Brakes were determined to not need servicing yet. Then brought car to local Dodge dealer (where purchased) for investigation. The dealer charged me $60 to tell me that it has a tsb (19-001-02) on the power steering and refuses to cover cost of correction due to car being 6,000 miles out of basic warranty. I claim this is a design defect as Dodge wants to replace power steering reservoir and power steering return line as well as change the fluid normally in the reservoir from power steering to atf fluid!!! I called the Chrysler consumer line and only got them to agree to split the cost (they pay for parts and I pay for labor).they were not sympathetic at all because the car was out of the basic warranty window. Consumer line person went on to say that it would be my fault if power steering failed for not addressing the problem. I called the dealer to do the corrections and was told that the parts were not available and I would get a call when they get a confirmation for the parts!. I feel that chrylsler is not admitting to a design defect and forcing the consumer to pay for their problem which could lead to serious injury if the power steering failed.

- Mansfield, MA, USA