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 check engine light came on and we had the vehicle checked. We were told that it was dealing with the transmission and to go to a transmission specialist. A day later, the tires were locked and the van did not respond to any gear. Had the van towed to transmission shop. They said that the torque converter failed and in turn the oil pump was not circulating oil to the transmission. The transmission was completely welded together. We had to purchase an entire new transmission costing over $2,600. The vehicle had only 48,000 miles. I read online where other individuals had same problem at 37,000 miles and 40,000 miles.
On Saturday 12/29/07 as I was returning from my mother's home with my 2 young children our transmission failed. I was driving approximately 60 mph on the highway when, with absolutely no previous warnings or problems or even an indicator light, my 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan sport with 128K miles made a sudden loud thump noise (according to my 6 year old son in the back seat it sounded like we ran over something) and the vehicle proceeded to down shift dramatically. I was able to pull onto the shoulder but was unable to continue. I had to have my wife drive, with our youngest child, back to rescue us from the side of the road. The car had to be towed as it would not move after that. We are still waiting for repairs. I don't think this should have happened and certainly not without any warning or problems previously.
At 62,000 miles the car would not shift into gear. After moving the gear shift all the way up and down it engaged, but began downshifting very hard from 4th to 3rd. Dealer performed maintenance and reprogrammed the module which resolved the problem for about 8,000 miles. Again, same thing happened this time dealer just reprogrammed module. The problem was resolved for about 9,000 miles and again the transmission has begun down shifting very hard. When decelerating the car clunks and catches.
I own a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan (we have had the van for 3 months, the previous owner was an 81 year old lady). Out of nowhere my radio started having a major malfunction. When I turn on the vehicle the radio is at full blast if you touch the volume knob it goes off but when you touch it again I goes back to full blast. There is nothing abnormal that I have done other than use it like every one else. I also discovered a mysterious puddle on the passenger floor board which when it dried it turned white. The first thing I did was take it to the Dodge dealer and told them the problem. The first thing they asked me was if I had a warranty, I said no. They told me that there was nothing they could do. They said " we don't have anyone here that can look at it and if we did we couldn't fix it anyway". they said " all we can do is sell you a new radio for $300". so then I called daimler Chrysler, and they said the same thing as the dealer. About a month later I was given a recall notice from autosite.com, it said there was a recall for my year and model van. (campaign # 04V531000) I called daimler Chrysler back and asked about recall and reminded them of my problem. They said " your specific vehicle was not included it that recall and there is still nothing that we will do". I have three children one of which is a four month old baby that ride in this van. I would hate to think of the possible hearing damage that could cause. I have many friends who are looking at purchasing a new van and we have told them not to buy a Dodge because of the customer service that we have received and the lack of help that Dodge has given to us. We also just had to replace our transmission that cost $1500 with only 60,000 miles. We would like to know if there is anything that you can do to help us.
While vacationing in atlanta, ga. We were backing out of a parking space and experienced a loud thud. We had difficulty in getting our car to go forward or reverse. We drove immediately to a Dodge dealership about 1 1/2 miles down the road. They confirmed that it was our transmission. No prior problems had been experienced with the transmission. We had 64,000 miles on the van, and all work had been kept up on the vehicle. The warranty had expired. The dealership estimated that the work would cost between $2900 to repair the transmission, or $3500 to replace it. They would determine what needed to be done when they pulled the transmission. We decided to go down the street another 2 miles to an aamco transmission shop. They estimated the repair to be $1400 to repair the transmission, or $2900 to replace the transmission. We decided to have them do the job since the estimates were considerably different. Four days later the job was done, and the final cost was $3000! they put a rebuilt transmission in. We have approached Dodge for a reimbursement. They will not give us a penny towards the job. They claim that had we stayed at the Dodge dealership, a partial consideration could have been worked out. Since we do not have the old transmission, they say that we cannot prove why the transmission failed. This van only had 64,000 miles on it......this should have never happened. And why did the dealership that we took it to, not tell us that something might have been able to be worked out with Dodge.
- Youngstown, NY, USA
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Driving on the freeway going 65 mph the van down shifted to a lower gear with a jolt. Following the owners manual I pulled to the side of the road and put the mini van in park. Restarted the van put it in gear and started to move and heard and felt the transmission grinding. Called a tow truck.
2002 Dodge Grand Caravan with 69,500 miles. Transmission made a jerking and did not want to seem to shift. Took to Dodge dealer and they could not duplicate. They allowed service man to drive home and drove approx. 100 miles. They concluded no problem they could find. 3 months later while driving same symptoms and then loud clunk but this time was complete transmission failure. Called Dodge 800# to obtain warranty info. Dodge informed me it was in warranty. Called local dealer and set up appointment to fix. They called back and said Dodge would not warranty it. I then called Dodge 800# back and talk to them. I asked why less than 2hr ago my van had a power train warranty on it and now it does not have a warranty. They informed me the van did not have a warranty and that I had never called them (they record and computer shows if you call, but Dodge claims they have no record I called). I informed them I called them less than 2hr before and they replied I was mistaken. My phone records indicate different than theirs. Any way they will not take any responsibility for this transmission that failed. Took to local trans shop and found he had two other Caravan with complete transmission failure waiting in line to be fixed. The shop owner said he has fixed many many of these type transmissions. He said in his opinion that these were very poor performing transmissions and that their track record of failures should be looked at.
While driving consumer Dodge Grand Caravan will go into neutral. The consumer stated on one occasion, the vehicle was in drive, but it would not move. The consumer had to move the lever a few times in order for the vehicle to move. The consumer was told the problem she was experiencing could not be duplicated in the 2 weeks the mechanic had the vehicle. The steering wheel pulled to one side and vibrated when slowing down. The rotors needed to be resurfaced. The emission hose and gas cap were replaced. The passenger side door has to be opened and closed several times before staying shut. The oil pan gasket and axle seal were leaking.
While driving on a highway the back end of the transmission mounting dropped. Causing vehicle to become inoperable. It was the first time this occurred on the vehicle. The consumer was en route to an event when the parking lot attendant thought the transmission was out because the way the car was pulling in a jerking motion. Upon inspection there was no transmission fluid at that time. Later that evening there was a large amount of fluid that turned out to be the transmission fluid. Aaa came and towed vehicle home. The vehicle has not been to a dealership but was later towed vehicle to a service repair shop. No repairs have been made as of yet. No explanation as to why this happened. Consumer contacted customer service at Chrysler, who inquired if she needed financial assistance to repair the transmission mount. After doing some research and then being on hold they could not offer any solution for this problem.
Contact states transmission was slipping, the service dealer informed him that the solenoid pump needed to be replaced. Ontact had this component replaced.
As my wife was driving on the interstate at 70 mph she heard a loud noise then the vehicle came to a stop. Once I arrived at the vehicle, I noticed a trail of oil leading to the vehicle. I looked under to find tho push rod hanging through the oil pan. The vehicle was towed to the shop with the motor replaced. When the test drive was taking place, the mechanic discovered that the computor chip caused the transmission to drop down to low gear in which ran the RPM's into the danger zone which resulted in the engine coming apart. The vehicle had only 59,000 miles on it. I made attempt after attempt to speak with someone at Chrysler and could not even get a return call from anyone other than a dealer. I just received a recall notice about a moister leak from the air conditioner which may lead into a short that could cause a fire. I called the number given on the recall and asked if I could speak to someone at Chrysler, and was told that they do not have any phone #'s. that's when I decided to contact this department. I truly believe that this issue is certainly a risk and should be investigated, as well as expenses reimburesed by Chrysler.
Premature failure of the transmission at 60,458 miles. The transmission failed while moving in reverse in a parking lot. There were no signs of any problems with the vehicle before this happened. The vehicle was in garage and kept in great shape. Service records were kept up to date. Consumer has been in contact with the dealer and the manufacturer, and no one will call the consumer back. Consumer talked to a service representative from Chrysler. Consumer was told he could not talk to the manager at Chrysler manufacturing company at headquaters. And the service manager will not call back either.
Power steering pump, rack and pinion seals, transmission soleniod pack. On Dec 16, 2003 I took van in for brake problems. The dealer did a recall job on the power steering cooler hose. 1 week later the power steering started growling. I checked fluid and noticed the pump was dry. Apparently the dealer didn't top off the fluid. I filled resevior and drove but it still had a little growl in the power steering. I took the vehicle back into the same dealer on Nov 19, 2004 for an oil change and another power steering hose recall and told them the story and to check out pump. They said the pump checked out ok but there was a little noise when making sharp turns but they weren't going to replace the pump. I told them I would bring back in colder weather because it was stiff to steer. I returned on 2/22/2005 because the pump was really growling and it was hard to steer. The dealer checked the pump said it was low but they did notice leaks from the rack N pinion and transmission soleniod pack. I asked them if this was due to the power steering pump and they said no. I explaind I purchsed the vehicle from them exactly 2 years ago and it was less than a year old and only had 20K on it. They said they can't warranty it but would fix it for $1600. I declined at this point.
I have a Dodge Grand Caravan 2003. It did ok for about six months after that it has been one problem after another. When I'm waiting to go on a road if I take my foot off brake it starts rolling backward fast. You have to hold the brake while pushing the gas to keep it from rolling back. It's steering has given me trouble, the gas gauge has caused problems, etc.... I have contacted Dodge several times, but have gotten no help from them.
Transmission would delay up-shift at approx. 25 and 40 mph. Acceleration is delayed for several seconds. Neither speed nor rpms will increase by pressing pedal. This creates a hazard while trying to merge in traffic. Vehicle had 42,000 miles. Transmission and torque converter replaced, new solenoid block and input/output sensors.
While driving 55 mph consumer heard a loud noise coming from the front of the vehicle. Consumer was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and drove it to the dealer for inspection.
Problems with vehicle's transmission on 1998 Grand Voyager. The vehicle only had 50045 mile on it whe the transmission failed. The consumer believes she should be clear of any financial responsibility and reimburse 100% since the vehicle failed after only 2 months of ownership.
1998 Grand Voyager was totaled in an accident. The consumer then purchased a 2002 Grand Caravan, however at 50,0445 the transmission failed on the vehicle. Even after the consumer received a brand new transmission, the vehicle still not perform correctly, it took the technicians one week to find out from Chrysler how to set the computer/ transmission.
Air bag clockspring has been replaced 6 times. There was a leak inside the vehicle on the passenger's side, a broken chain on the driver's slider door, a hesitation upon acceleration and a stalling problem (possible fuel filter problem), and a grinding noise due to the idler pulley being faulty. The consumer request compensation.
At 7,600 miles in November of 2002 the automatic transmission failed. Dealer replaced the transmission with a rebuilt one. Since then the speedometer reads incorrectly. At lower speeds it reads under by 4 to 7 mph, at higher speeds -- 60 mph it reads 15 - 20 mph under. I discovered this when on a road trip I was stopped for going 85 when I thought I was going 68 in a 70mph zone. I thought the police officer was crazy -- even protested and had him verify the callibration of his radar. His reading was confirmed when I passed a roadside speed indicator, and was stopped again. Speedometer was reprogrammed at a dealer in Michigan after which it read 4 mph under for the most part. Had it looked at by dealer in Florida again in April 2004, they replaced a sensor. Since, it again reads 4 to 10 miles under at lower speeds -- e.g. when I think I'm going 35, I'm really going 42 or 43, at 65 mph actual speed is 76mph. Dealer says its "the way you're driving" -- a poor excuse for shifting the blame and not making the repair correctly the first time when the transmission was replaced. This is a real hazard and safety issue not just for myself but for other family members who drive the van and people on the road.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lafayette, LA, USA