Took the Grand Caravan 2005 in for brake job. Came back and within a day, brakes were very hot and smoking. Took it back to the dealer (Fury Motors) and they said they couldn't find the problem, but they could do another $500. Worth of work and see if that would fix it.
Have tried to work with the dealership. Nothing. Just more money and no assurances that this will fix it.
Called the corporate complaint line. They are trying to reach Chris, the mechanic. Chris has not returned multiple calls and voice mails from Corporation. According to Dodge, there is nothing they can do.
I just want the brakes fixed, safe without taking it in multiple times with multiple bills.
this is my 5th change of my brake pads in my caravan. I have always had them done at the dealership but my husband is doing them this time. Hoping getting away from Dodge/Mopar products will do the trick. I have been driving for 35 yrs & have never had an issue with breaks in any of my cars. This is the pits! :)
I have had the brake pads replaced twice and the rotors cut twice since august i have not gone to the dealer because van not under waranty so i have gone to midas. there is a horrible grinding sound again, but midas keeps telling me i ride the brake which i dont. I am excited to see im not the only one who has had this problem now i know its not me. I am not bringing it in again as its starting to get very costly, unless I hear the noise frequently or loudly I will wait
Bought van new Dec 2005. Don't drive much as I live close to work. During inspection at dealer while changing oil at 18056 miles in Aug 2009, they told me my front brake pads were worn too far to be safe. I had noticed reduced braking efficiency and lots of brake dust around front wheels. Mechanic expressed surprise that the brakes were worn so soon and asked if I drove with one foot on the brake. (I do not) I had the pads replaced, but already I see lots of brake dust again. I'm now just past 21000 total miles. Tires still have lots of tread life - in my experience tires wear out before brake pads. We'll have to wait and see what happens.
- Michael W.,
Boise, ID, US
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Well being a mechanic I can say that Dodge definitely has a problem with their front brakes. This is the 3rd time in 27,000 miles I have had to replace the pads. Not that I actually had to mind you, I just want a good chance of avoiding an accident when I hit the brakes.
The problem is that when the brake pads wear down some there is no stopping power.
I could slam on the brakes and it would take forever to stop. I would not be amazed if this problem has caused 100's of accidents. The pads I am replacing are oem with only half the pad (if that much) is used. It's simply a insufficient braking system plain and simple. I can't believe this isn't a recall. In the back of your owners manual there is a number to call if you think there is a serious problem to be recalled. I suggest everyone do it as I am sure family's are dying because of this.
Our front brakes were making awful screeching noises, grinding noises, and finally had to be replaced because they were worn. We had it for about a year and about 35,000 miles on it. There were lots of other problems since we bought it (used in 2006 from Enterprise).
The parking brake shoes on the van wore out - I don't even use the parking brake - how could they wear out?? They made a really awful rattling sound; very embarrassing.
Bought a used van from Carmax and found that in less than a year I had to change the brake pads (the emergency brake light kept coming on and going off) took it to the dealership and they said the brakes needed to be changed (never had to change the brakes on any other car in less than 50,000 miles. But, I thought the previous owner had to be hard on them. Now one year later, I have to change the brakes out yet again. Luckily, I bought my Duralast Gold brakes from Autozone - they have a lifetime warranty, so Autozone is going to exchange them for free. This time, Ill either have the rotors turned/resurfaced or spend the $36ea to replace them. I'm really upset I have to change the brakes so often, I'm happy that Autozone is my savior, too bad for Dodge, maybe if they cared about their customers, they would do this for free...
Update from Sep 5, 2010: So I changed the rotors and the pads the next year, since the pads wore out yet again after maybe 12,000 miles of use. Its now Sept 2010 and I am again having to change the pads. They are low but not as low as the first time and I noticed the passenger front pads are lower than the driver front pads. Rotors still look good. Also I'll need to check the rear pads since they may need to be replaced as well.
Duralast Gold pads still have the lifetime warranty and I can take them to the Autozone for a free replacement. They have the purchases tied to my phone which makes it easy as well. Just have to buy them and take the old ones back for a refund or take the pads off first and swap them out at the store. Thank God for the Lifetime warranty on Duralast Gold Brake Pads.
We replaced the front brakes at a dealership at 20,000 miles. We justified this early repair with our trip out West, which we thought was hard on the van.
Currently at 32,850 miles, local brake shop just replaced back/rear brakes & rotors (5% brake pad left and into rotors) for $280.00 and told me to come back in 6 months to have my front brakes checked/replaced.
WHAT????
20,000 on a set of Chrysler brakes, brake dust on the wheels all the time.
No more Chrysler brakes for me! Chrysler/Dodge brakes are a joke!!!
Update from May 3, 2009: 39,500 Replaced front brakes for the SECOND TIME. Rotors had to be replaced too. 21,000 miles left on my extended warranty and this van is "outta here".
We have a 2005 Grand Caravan SXT - we bought this car as a replacement to a 2000 Toyota Sienna (which we NEVER had problems with). It won out over the other models because of all the great features (stow and go is awesome)...
The car has 37,000 miles and is in the shop for computer problems and low and behold its; third, yes third, set of front brakes. It is evident from all the internet research and the mechanic comments that this is a problem for the caravan- I am frustrated that the engineering causes this and that Dodge is not doing anything about it!!!! I will NEVER buy another dodge!!!!
Bought new in 2005, 25k miles later...passenger side front caliber has rubbed into the rotor. Estimated cost is now $350 to replace brake shoes, calipers, and rotor. Not sure what if anything this warranty will cover...It is amazing how many others out there are having the same problem, it seems like a big issue, why no recall???
I have replaced the rotor three times and the brake every six months. Brakes wear out unevenly always on the driver side way before the other side needs replacing! The bearings where replace at 36,000 mile at no cost to me. A recall has be made on a sensor for the air bags. Replace sensor for gas cost $350.00 (part was $250).No other [problems so far.
When the noise started, it was horrible immediately. I was afraid to drive the van because the brakes sounded so bad (not to mention completely embarrassed that my 2.5 year old van sounded so bad).
The first set of Brake pads were replaced at 37,800 km. we have replaced them 5 times in the 134000km life of the van. No notice as to wear, they are fine for a bit, then all of a sudden, grind, growl, grate. We are fortunate in that our Brake shop stands behind their warranties on lifetime brakes and rotors. Have had to replace the rotors 3 of the 5 times. Also have a lot of black"soot" on the rims as well. Never had this before. This is our 7th Caravan. Never have we had such a problem with brakes and rotors. I see on the forum that there are others that have the same challenge. We have gone to the ceramic rotors and high grade brake pads. We like to camp and pull a 14 foot fiberglass travel trailer with this van. We have not been out once this year. Not wanting to chance going out with the trailer and not having brakes to stop with. I see that many others have the same challenge, what is Dodge doing about it??
I had taken the van in for an oil change and service, and the service advisor told me that when they checked the brakes I only had 2% left! I told him he was crazy, that I only had 26,000 km on the van, but his response was amazing. He told me that the Grand Caravan gets on average 20,000 to 40,000 km on it with the factory installed brakes and for average city drivers like me it is very common for replacement to happen at the mileage I had! He then told me that when they replace the pads they use better parts than than Dodge puts on and I should get more mileage the second time around. I've never had to replace brakes before 60,000 km in the past. I had the work done, and hope to get better distance this time. Pretty sad if that's true, and if it's not true I just got ripped off by another Dodge dealer - either way, it's a lose lose for Dodge - definitely should have got a Honda, but those middle row stow and go seats are sure handy....
The front brakes were totally shot. I had to replace the rotors and the brake pads. When I turned in my van for repairs, they also found that the generator box was defective and the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. All covered under the warranty except the brakes. I'm starting to hate this van except for the stow n go function.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Took the Grand Caravan 2005 in for brake job. Came back and within a day, brakes were very hot and smoking. Took it back to the dealer (Fury Motors) and they said they couldn't find the problem, but they could do another $500. Worth of work and see if that would fix it.
Have tried to work with the dealership. Nothing. Just more money and no assurances that this will fix it.
Called the corporate complaint line. They are trying to reach Chris, the mechanic. Chris has not returned multiple calls and voice mails from Corporation. According to Dodge, there is nothing they can do.
I just want the brakes fixed, safe without taking it in multiple times with multiple bills.
- David C., St. Paul, US