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 contact owns a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. While parked, the vehicle went into auto reverse without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
Premature wear and failure of front wheel bearings, all rotors, brakes and pads. Possible failures are due to inferior parts being used during vehicle assembly.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. While driving at approximately 60 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to another dealer where it was diagnosed that the door module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 11V139000 (electrical system) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 125,000.
I was driving at 45 mph when suddenly van revved up from 1500 RPM to 3500 RPM, and speed went down to 30 mph. Somehow I got my car to my work place and parked it. I suspected my transmission had gone bad. I decided to take my car to a transmission shop. I drove the van at 30 mph at 3500 RPM to the transmission shop. Their technician drove the van around, did some other inspection and reported that there was no problem with my transmission. However he mentioned there was a electrical power loss which made my van go into limp mode. Remarkably my van started driving normally after the inspection. I took my van to authorized Dodge dealer. They pulled some codes from the computer which indicated power loss to several equipment. They suspected the tipm module, but did not have hard evidence from the codes. They advised me to leave van overnight at the service area, and have them check it out. I declined because arranging alternate transportation was difficult. Today morning, while driving the van, wiper blade suddenly started running. It stopped on its own after few cycles. Now I am unable to start the van. Reading through forums where drivers have experienced similar issues, I am confident it is the tipm on my van. It is a safety issue, since I drive on the freeway a lot, and if van goes into limp mode, it will be a hazard. Looks like Dodge is aware of this issue. Why don't they accept the situation and deal with it by issuing a safety recall and fixing the tipm. Please force Dodge to issue recall, else I will need to spend $1000 atleast to fix tipm.
Vehicle intermittently does not start. Turn the ignition key and hear the starter click, but does not engage starter and engine does not turn over. Sometimes, on next try (turn ignition switch to off position and then back to start position) will start. Sometimes after many tries it will start. Sometimes turn the key to on, place shifter in drive, then hard back into park and will start then. Have replaced battery, starter, relays, and made no difference. Codes do not come up and dealer has no idea of how to correct.
- Hemet, CA, USA
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When I stop the van, put it in park & shut it off, the key is stuck in the acc position and will not move to the off position. In order to get the key to release, I have to start the car multiple times, move the shift in & out of park, move the steering wheel and eventually I will hear a "clicking" noise and the key releases and will then move into the off position. I contacted Chrysler and asked if this could have anything to do with the current recall for the ignition switch and was told no. Has anybody else experienced this problem?
TL- the contact owns a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the key would remain stuck in the ignition switch and fail to power on or off the vehicle. In addition, when driving the steering wheel seized and the vehicle stalled. The contact mentioned that the speedometer, the tripometer, the cruise control and the power doors failed. The power door locks only operated when the vehicle was powered off and the security door lock feature activated intermittently. The contact also stated that both the accelerator and brake pedal traveled to the floorboard as a result the vehicle delayed to come to a stop. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the control module, the transmission leak on the transmission line, the oil pan and the molding needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign id number: 14V373000 (electrical system) and NHTSA campaign id number: 11V394000 (air bags and equipment). The approximate failure mileage was unknown. Djr
My father has a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan and on May 14 2014 he went shopping stopping at 3 different places and then returned home picked up the mail and drove to the top of the driveway. He put the van in park and shut it off he got out and walked over to my mom and handed her the paper then he turned around and walked back to the car and reached over the seat to get the rest of the mail when the car started rolling backwards dragging him with it for around 30 feet and then hitting the porch on the house next door. He was pinned underneath the vehicle and my son was home at the time and called 911. The fire department and ambulances came and they had to use air bag pumps and wooden blocks to get the car off of him. He was rushed to the hospital with a crushed leg and cuts to the bone. He had to have surgery on his leg and he was in there for 4 days and then they sent him to a rehab for his injuries. Then he came home after 2 weeks and then 8 days after with the home health nurses checking on him and changing bandages it got a massive infection so he ended back in a different hospital for another surgery this time they removed all of his skin on his leg in the front on the affected areas to the bone and muscle. He now has a phony skin graft on the open holes that are at least a quarter of an inch deep and he has to go to the wound center once a week until further notice and also the home health nurses are now back every other day to keep an eye on it and change bandages my mother is so disgusted no one will listen to her we told the state police who came that day that the car was in park and after rolling back 30 feet was locked in park and would not come out but the steering wheel and tires were still turning. He admitted that yes there is something wrong with this car but that is as for as it went. Also when we called geico we told them the whole story.
On numerous occasions my 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT will shut down unexpectedly while driving. Plugs, wires and battery have been changed. Win module has been changed at my request and not covered under warranty. The vehicle has been to the dealership numerous times and they have been able to find anything because no codes have been thrown. I replaced the fob recently thinking the key my be worn out but that has not improved the situation. Dodge is aware of the issue but refuse to do anything about it until I guess someone id killed. Thanks Dodge.
I had the win module and the gear shift assembly replaced 11 months ago. Complained and Chrysler refunded the $1200 charge. Currently the car shifts by itself into first or second gear while driving. I called the dealership and they say that is not related to the work listed above! these issues are all inter related and I should not have to pay again to have the car shift properly!
I was stopped at my church for a women's banquet when I realized I could not remove my key from the ignition. After about 20 minutes of playing with it, I became frustrated. I then turned it on and tried to put it in reverse so I could leave, and it would not budge. My husband has had to insert a butter knife in the top in order to force it to change gears so we could get it home. We will be getting it looked at tomorrow and hopefully repaired.
When my wife was driving on the highway at 70 mph, with my child. The car died. Wife rolled to side of the road and attempted to start it again. The car started and promptly died again but wipers were going at full speed along with the windshield washer fluid pumping out, and the horns and lights turning on and off, she removed the key and it continued. She had already called me and by the time I got there (approx 15 min) it had shut itself off. I tried to restart it with the same problems as mentioned before. I opened the hood and there was a lot of noise coming from the relay box ( tipm ), I unhooked the battery, and the problem "self resolved" fired up car and drove it the 15 miles home. After looking up problem on line, have found that this is a ongoing issue and that the repair part is back ordered nationally, tells me that this is an ongoing issue, Chrysler does know about but has not done anything about it. This is a major safety issue.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that he was unable to remove the key from the ignition and was unable to shift gears. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 76,648.
There is a heater hose assembly leading from the top of the engine to the heater cores in the passenger compartment. A hose comes out of the engine and into a Y-coupling, where it splits into two hoses. One hose leads into the firewall and the front heater core. The second goes under the vehicle to the back heater core. A coolant leak developed in the Y-coupling, leaking coolant onto the exhaust. After leaking for some time, the check engine light came on to indicate low coolant. This appears to be a common problem, as a simple google search turns up many results like this: dodgeforum.com/forum/Dodge-Caravan/275625-2008-grand-Caravan-coolant-leak-3.html either the Y-couplings are defective, or are not designed to handle the stress and heating/cooling cycles inherent in carrying hot coolant.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the transmission failed. As a result, the transmission shifted hard and the check engine lightilluminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced due to the second gear failing. The failure mileage and the current mileage was 37000.
The transmission started slamming into gear when starting the vehicle from a stop (both forward and reverse). According to the technician at the Dodge dealership, there was a significant amount of metal shavings in the transmission oil pan indicating the transmission was grinding itself apart. Two repair options were given - replace the transmission entirely or have it rebuilt at the dealership. Since there was the possibility of more significant damage internally, we opted to have the transmission replaced to ensure safe and reliable operation in the future. The vehicle has less than 50K miles, has not been driven roughly, and is not used for towing or hauling heavy loads. Essentially, there is no reason the transmission should have self-destructed on this vehicle.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that while turning at an intersection, the vehicle hesitated and stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who performed a diagnostic, which located the failure at the transmission. The transmission would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 71,000.
We purchased vehicle with @ 15K miles in May 2010 - in January 2011 at @ 30K miles we had to replace the brakes and rotors the whole way around. I spoke with 3 mechanics who 1) said rotors at this low mileage was unheard of and 2) this was a known problem with Dodge Grand Caravan. Then, just 3 weeks ago, at 55513 miles, my left front axle / cv joint snapped. From (plenty of) online research, I learned 2 things - 1) this break should not occur in a vehicle so new and 2) all 2008 Chrysler / Dodge vehicles are known for this! in fact there was a recall in 08 for a lot of vehicles (not the Caravan) for just this! when I called Chrysler/Dodge - they first said that this wasn't a part of the powertrain warranty (um, it's an axle!!! attached to the drive shaft) and second - if I was the original owner, it'd be covered, but since I'm not, it wasn't. this was a $500 repair job. 2 weeks later!!!!!!! at @ 56000 miles, I started having front end problems again - back to the garage - this time, I'm surprised with the fact that I need brakes and rotors the whole way around again. And, ABS sensors, a new caliper and brake hoses. New brakes - again"!?!" here comes the online research again... I found a website (carcomplaints.com) that had 1027!!! entries from 08 Grand Caravan users that have had to repair or replace their brakes and rotors at an average of every 10000 miles - that is not normal!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Veneta , OR, USA