Wife phoned that the van was dead. She drove to WMart and when she wanted to leave, the engine would not even crank. She had two 3yr old kids with her. All the dash lights came on, power windows worked, fan worked so it was not the battery. Battery is 1 yr old. An extra red light on the dash was on. This apparently means the security system is enabled. Tried my other key. Still nothing. Reset everything by disconnecting the battery - no luck. Had to pay tow truck to tow vehicle 400 yards to dealership. They found the PCM was busted. This apparently is a common issue on this model. Parts alone for a new PCM is CAD$900, no labor. Also informed me that the rack and pinion would be due soon another CAD$1500 touch and the van is only worth CAD$5000 according to dealer :-( Will not be buying another Dodge. Imagine if this happened in Feb this year, the outside temp was -40C.

I had a problem with my 2003 Grand Caravan a year ago where it would occasionally not start. The problem got worse over a short period of time (2 weeks). When it was acting up the starter would not turn over when I turned the key but all the dashboard lights would come on like normal.I had a good friend that was a mechanic that helped me and spent allot of time testing different things like the starter and ignition switch and concluded it was the computer (PCM). His theory was that the Alternator was malfunctioning and likely damaged the computer. The total cost to repair this was around $1000; his cost on the parts. Fortunately he didn't charge me any labor. The computers for the Grand Caravan are very expensive and if it doesn't fix the problem you can't return to the dealer. If you fix it yourself you still have to take it to the dealer to have it programmed. (another $80 - $90)