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.
Traveling at approximately 40 mph brakes were applied and quickly failed. Resulted in accident. Noticed fluid leak in the road where brakes were applied.
Incident occurred Aug 2008. The owners manual and dealer service manager report brakes revert back to standard brakes and vehicle can be driven. This is not so!!! in my following experience, when ABS light comes on, vehicle should not be driven. I had front disk pads replaced by an independent mechanic. After 2 days, the ABS light came on. Owners manual, confirmed by service manager reports brakes default back to standard brakes. Not true. Brakes were slightly engaged and overheating. I was told it may take up to 5000 miles for new brake pads to "break in" and not to worry. Applying my brakes resulted in pedal going to floor and a grinding noise coming from under the hood. This was later determined to be the master ABS module. Dealer inspection resulted in a defective ABS signal sensor to the rear left brake. Replacement cured all of the above problems. This vehicle and perhaps all others of this type should not be driven when the ABS light comes on.
2002 Dodge Grand Caravan with defective brakes. Consumer states that the front brake pads, rotors, and rear drum brakes have been replaced or fixed 5 times.
The contact owns a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan. While driving between 10-20 mph, the brakes squealed and made a grinding noise when applied. However, the vehicle still stopped normally. A police report was filed. The front brakes were replaced, the front rotors were cut, and the rear drums were cut and adjusted at 9,000, 22,000, 33,000, 45,000, and 61,000 miles. The dealer stated that the failure was caused by the brakes having a lot of weight on the front end. The failure mileage was 9,000 and current mileage was 67,000. The dealer stated power steering noise, vehicle revving on hills. Updated 11/14/07
- Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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2002 Grand Caravan brakes failed. The consumer is seeking monetary compensation for the flawed braking system. The consumer stated he was never notified of the problem and only became aware of the problem after the damage had already occurred. The improperly designed backing plate allowed water and snow to enter the brake drum enclosure and when the temperature dropped to freezing the brake shoes froze to the drum. The situation most likely occurred when the emergency brake was applied.
Coming back to Ohio from Oklahoma ( vacation ) got to St. Louis and tried to apply the brakes and my foot went to the floor, absolutely no brakes. Got the van slowed down and got off interstate 70, it was approximately 9-9:30 at night. Spent the night at a motel got up in the morning and tried to put brake fluid in the resevoir, seeing that it was low and hoping that would fix the problem but the fluid was coming out as fast as I could put it in. Had to call Chrysler hotline and have the van towed into a Chrysler dealer. There were no parts to be found so we had to spend the night in a motel and called the dealer the next day (Friday). Was told parts would not be in until maybe Monday and one passenger had a plane leaving Sunday to go to las vegas and the other passenger had to be back to work on Monday morning. Had to find a car to rent to come home, received a call at 12 noon on Tuesday July 13th and had to schedule the 2 days off to go back and pick up the van and return the rental. Had to take 2 days off work, hotel bills, meal bills, gasoline bills, car rental bills and misc.. asked for the part back and was told it was sent back to the factory.
My vehicle has ongoing problems with abnormal brake wear. At 17000 miles the brakes hung up. The front left rotor was completely worn away. New pads and rotors. Right front caliper not functioning properly and was replaced. Prior to this I had the oil changed and brakes checked 1500 miles earlier--I had noticed that the brake pedal travel was varying and it was taking longer to stop the car. Mechanic had stated that left front had a little over half of brake surface left. Second brake failure at 34500 miles. Again, left front hung up. Took the car to arrigo Dodge and was told I was lying about first incident even though I had receipts. Service rep told me both brakes completely worn away, even though again the problem presented with the left front brake hanging up. Was told it was my fault brakes were wearing prematurely. Car pulled to right after brake replacement when I called dealer again was told it was my fault dealer refused to do anything about it. Brakes began squealing - most noticeably left front again - within 500 miles of replacement. Left front brake sticks when starting off, brakes squeal, brake fluid seen leaking from right front, brake pedal already has a lot of play in it, takes an excessive amount of distance to stop even with strong force applied to brakes. I have narrowly missed having several accidents because of this. Called dealer, again told it was my fault -- driver habits they call it. In the 25 years I have owned and driven vehicles, I have never had to replace brakes before 38000 miles or had any problems remotely similar to this. P. 245 of owners manual states "if either of the two hydraulic systems lose normal capability...there will be some loss of overall braking effectiveness. This may be evident by increased pedal travel during application, greater pedal force required to slow or stop..." what will it take for this problem to be correctly addressed -- people dying because of this brake failure?
On 6/11/03 vehicle was making power steering noises & auto dr locks wouldn't lock at 15 mph. Replaced power hose, hose clamp & oil trans. Informed I needed new brakes (22, 153 miles & didn't req that they do this when I arrived at shop). 7/2/03 took van in 'cause left rear (driver side) speaker caught on fire while at a gas pump. While at gas pump w/2 of our 4 kids in the car. Brakes that were just replaced prev month were squeaking as well as the steering again. (dealer-brakes squeak 'cause they are metal & there is air in the steering line). 9/23/03 van battery blew up when started. Replaced battery. 12/3/03 steering making noise during turns. Replaced both sway bars links. 12/29/03 steering is very tight & shuddering again & auto lock button on key chain won't work. Ordered new power steering rack & resevoir. Then on 1/6/04 tach spiked at 4K, vehicle lost power & engine light came on while on expressway w/my baby in the car. Determination was the transmission solenoid assy failure & replaced the same. This cost me $107 (would have cost more if I wasn't given an extended warranty for fire I had). 1/19/04 van was giving a burn smell from under the hood along with smoke. They found A/C compressor clutch shorting in coil. A/C compressor replaced & recharged. 2/5/04 vehicle taken for the last time for loud popping sound under the dr's ft area when turning left. All suspension parts tightened. Next visit is req'd by the fl lemon law to give them 1 more chance before paperwork can be filed. Done on 3/8/04 for steering noise when stopped & just turning wheel. Replaced pt that was replaced before: Power steering pump resevoir. Paperwork filed for Florida lemon law on 4/5/04, unsave vehicle & fear for safety of family.
Where to start, since the dau we bought it in 7/02, we have brought it in 3 times for faulty windshield wiper problems, we lost powering steering (thank god my wife was not driving it with our two small kids), the rear hatch didn't work and it took 3 months for us to finally get it fixed, we have to replace the brake pads at 14,000 miles, and just recently the alternator had to be replaced. Now there is a problem with the brakes they make a horrible sound when pressing on them and is going into the dealer again next week. My wiper refuses to drive the Caravan that we bought so it would be easier for her with the kids, but she feels that something else is gonna go wrong. We wrote a letter to Chrysler and they responded "we're sorry for the inconvenience". (the date of the first incident listed below may not be exactly when it happened, the paperwork is at home.)
Consumer complained about a ball joint problem. She took vehicle to repair shop about 20 times because it was making noises and squeaking while driving. Mechanic could not resolve the problem. The dealer replaced many components related to the front end noise. The air bag light was illuminated. The technician determined that there was an open circuit. The technician replaced the passenger side air bag. The driver's seat belt had internal damage which made it difficult to buckle and unbuckle the seat belt. The consumer stated that there was a noise coming from the left front wheel. The technician determined that the front pads were worn and the rotor were grooved. The technician replaced the front pads and resurfaced the rotors. The inner tie rod was loose and caused the steering to make noise. The technician replaced the gear assembly.
On 4/17/02 I purchased a new 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan. The salesman sold the vehicle to me with the airbag light on, informing me that it was supposed to be that way. Immediately after reading my owners manual, I discovered that it was not supposed to be that way. I made arrangements to have the van checked out and since then I have had nothing but trouble with the airbag light/seat belts/automatic doors, etc. This van has been in the shop eight times for the above reasons. On 7/24/03 the ABS light along with the hydraulic brake light came on. I took the vehicle to the dealership and it is still there as of today's date - 8/23/03. I contacted Chrysler directly on 8/22/03 and informed them of the hazardous history of this vehicle - the airbag module has been replaced several times, the seatbelt tensioners replaced several times, automatic doors reprogrammed, etc. I informed the customer service representative, arlene, that I was afraid of the vehicle and did not want it back. I was informed by "arlene" that the vehicle parts had been delivered to the dealership and that the van would be fixed. I don't want the van "fixed". it doesn't stay "fixed"!! it is a safety hazard and I do not want to base my children's safety on their idea of a situation being "fixed" when their track record obviously stinks. Am I going to have to wait until an accident and either myself or, lord forbid, one of my children are sent airborne through the windshield" I was informed by "arlene" that since the van was not in the shop for the "exact defect" every single time, that I was not eligible for a new van. I would think that the fact that the airbag system has shown it has consistent problems, the seatbelts obviously have consistent problems and now the airbag system and hydraulic brake system lights are on - isn't that enough???? or do I have to die in an accident for my family to get a safe vehicle".
Consumer states that rear-end felt as if dragging while driving. Dealer diagnosed that plate, which covers the brake system, is defective causing water to leak into the system, resulting in rusting. This condition causes complete brake failure.
I recently purchased a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan sport 3.3 liter,18,000 miles on odometer when purchased, vehicle wants to pull to right, and brakes pulsate when applied. Notified Dodge dealership where purchased, (lee Dodge, West brook, Maine) brought vehicle back for service and was told "they" could not duplicate problem"???? I told them I felt vehicle was out of alignment, they supposedly did the alignment, and vehicle still pulls to right! at this point they had a tech. Go with me, the tech explained that he felt it was the crown of the road, I have driven plenty of vehicles over the course of my life and I am aware of a road crown, but this is completely unacceptable, something is wrong with this mini van, and all the dealership wants to do is patronize me!!! I have made another call to lee Dodge and told them that I will be bringing this back to them and they had better get it right this time! ps and since my previous visit I now have a vibration in my steering wheel upon slow moving turning, they say they will also look into this.....................is any one else experiencing these types of problems??" please help, I just bought this vehicle for my wife and 3 kids, and I sure do want to be certain its a safe vehicle! I have only had this vehicle 10 days!! purchased on 5-28-03 dealer was notified 1 and a half days later of these problems..............
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lakeland, FL, USA