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.
Powetrain-automatic transmission. 1. made grinding noise when in drive or reverse gears 2. occurred all the time up until the transmission finally gave out. 3. teardown of automatic transmission and rebuild/replacement of "thrust bearings" and other parts determined by the dealerships service department.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that when she started the vehicle, the speedometer was non-functional and the engine, ESC and ABS lights illuminated on the instrument panel. The transmission also had to be replaced in January 2009 and the vehicle would jerk intermittently. The brakes were defective and were replaced by a local mechanic. In 2010, the instrument panel suddenly stopped working; the windshield wipers and turn signals also did not function. The dealer repaired the failure. The contact called the manufacturer who offered assistance with the other issues aside from the speedometer and lights on the instrument panel. The vehicle was not repaired for the speedometer and light failure. The current mileage was approximately 57,000. The failure mileage was unknown.
2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. Consumer states rapid deceleration the consumer stated while driving with the cruise control activated, the vehicle suddenly down shifted to what he believed was third gear. The braking effect of the lower gear caused a substantial increase in the engine speed to around the red line area. The rapid acceleration lasted about five seconds and the cruise control was disengaged as quickly as possible. The consumer stated the same incident happened three weeks prior. According to the dealer, it was a normal operation of the vehicle called interactive cruise control and it was more noticeable due to the vehicle having a 6 speed transmission and the vehicle would up and down shift more to keep the vehicle at its set speed.
There was no warning signs as to the following happening. My husband & 2 year old daughter were in the car and about to get on highway 101 ventura ca., in our 2008 Dodge minivan. Miles on vehicle: 50,000. The van was running but would not accelerate & he had to coast to the side of the road. I am the mother of the 2 year old that was in the van, I am also a nurse who has worked in a level one trauma hospital & have seen the results of terrible accidents. My concern is that if my husband & daughter were on the highway & trapped in a lane that they could not get over in this could of been a fatality. Dealership tells us that there is a crack in the transmission that caused the above situation. We had our van at a the local dealership in June 2010 for a different recall & they did a diagnostic test, so they said.... and now this. 2. my inlaws just bought a 2008 Dodge minivan 43,000 miles & one week after they bought it the same thing happened to them on vacation.
- Agoura Hills, CA, USA
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2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. The dealership never made customer aware of an internal memo (rrt - rapid response transmissal) to fix main lthrust bearing in transmission in summer of 2009. Transmission must be replaced as of July of 2010. Dealer/manufacturer is not cooperating. The dealership had information in July 2009 while vehicle was under factory warranty and never made customer aware of bearing problem. Vehicle has since passed out of warranty and dealer is charging $5000 to fix transmission. I believe this situation to be border line fraud with very dangerous ramifications to my wife and three children.
I have had problems with the power doors reopening themselves on this van. I have had items get trapped inside of the doors of this van as well. I contacted the dealer about it and of course could not get it to duplicate the problem. I had also said something about problems with the accelerator being sluggish in response and the dealer said they couldn't get it to duplicate that problem either. They said it was just the computer taking a little longer to respond to the accelerator which I feel is a safety hazard. I have also had problems with the overhead console coming down when the rear door is shut. I did not realize it had come down one time and I climbed into the back area and hit my head on the plastic part which caused a severe cut to my head and took a while for the bleeding to stop. I showed the dealer the problem and they said oh that's a plastic piece so if you want that to be right you have to pay yourself to have it fixed because its considered "normal wear". I feel that these are all severe safety issues with these vehicles.
There weren't any signs leading up to the device failure. Drove into a store parking lot and into a parking spot where I attempted to shift into park with the automatic transmission shifter knob when the whole knob popped of into several pieces leaving me stuck in drive and forced to apply the emergency brake. The vehicle was then turned off and I was able to get it into park. Vehicle has since been to the dealer for repairs, but the part is unavailable at the moment. Vehicle is drivable, but tricky when dealing with the shifter knob. I consider this a safety issue with the vehicle and have read elsewhere of the same problem occurring with the same year, make, and model of vehicle.
I am writing to Chrysler Canada because we are very unhappy with our 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan, one that I would classify as a runaway vehicle creating a potential safety hazard. Current odometer reading 25347 this vehicle went for its first service February 9, 2009 to a vehicle check-up peace of mind inspection. Primarily with an inquiry to check the brake system since the brake pedal felt somewhat spongy when applied. The inspection indicated the brakes pulsated because of a warped disk. The warped disk is most likely caused by high heat generated from prolonged braking. This appears to be in contradiction with the instruction in the 2008 Dodge owner's manual page 334 under note: To select the proper gear position for maximum deceleration (engine breaking), simply press and hold the gear selector lever to the left (-). the transmission will shift to the range from which the vehicle can best be slowed down. This is clearly not providing the desired result. To assist the vehicle in maintaining control downhill, shifting the automatic transmission into 3rd gear (at 60 kph.) should enable the vehicle to maintain control without having to 'ride the brakes'. this is not the case; the electronics controlling the shifting system in the automatic transmission drops out of low gear (3rd) into high gear (D) under the slightest downhill momentum, thus making it impossible to control the speed of the vehicle. Page 337 in the 208 Dodge owner's manual specifically warns that riding the brakes can lead to brake failure and possibly an accident. As we have experienced to our horror on numerous occasions driving on the West coast (vancouver island), while trying to maintain vehicle control on a downhill stretch of paved road, this 4 speed electronic transmission system is incapable of providing any engine braking assistance whatsoever. The only alternative is to ride the brakes to maintain vehicle control.
Poor transmission design robert C hodgkiss gentlemen: I recently bought a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan and while going down a long steep section of roadway I down shifted the transmission to slow the van down but being such a steep grade the van increased speed causing the transmission to automatically shift to the next higher gear, ending up free wheeling, leaving only the breaks to slow the van down. (if you are going to fast to start with it won?T even down shift). Now I asked the mechanic, what happens if I loose my brakes, the answer he had was it"S a design feature, so I concluded that if I would push on the emergency break, which locks, that would put me into an uncontrolled slide which makes no sense at all. I strongly believe that this is a very serious problem that must be addressed. What if you are coming down a mountain road while towing a trailer, you would have to apply the breaks to keep the transmission in a lower gear. What happens if your breaks fail, that?S right the van shift up to freewheeling? leaving you to do what, use the emergency break which locks you into a skid. Because the emergency brake pedal has to be pushed the second time to unlock. Now I ?am sure everybody can remain calm and remember to do all this while towing a trailer with your wife and six children in the back of the van, screaming what is the matter"
2008 Dodge Grand Caravan the car dies while driving, occasionally won't shift after dying and restarting. All warning lights go on and sometimes stay on or flash on and off. Have returned to dealership several times and they can't find anything wrong with it. Also had sliding doors open on their own had that fixed then they wouldn't close with back access button, apparently caused by a loose wire had that repaired, then rear bumper warped so back door wouldn't open, had to take it in to have that fixed, basically my car is in for repair most of the time and I have a small rental of which this time I had to pay for a cracked windshield and it costs me $50 every time I have to rent one. I have 4 special needs children who have appointments up to 300 miles away from home. I am a single mom and traveling alone with my children and no longer feel safe driving with them for these distances. The las time the car died I also had two foster children with me, six kids and the car died while driving it and they can't find anything wrong with it so I bring it home sometimes with 200 miles added on it and an empty gas tank. I think it's time Chrysler Corp. Take the vehicle off my hands so I can purchase a reliable vehicle.
The transmission of our 2008 Grand Caravan was having issues when going into reverse. When the vehicle was in neutral or park the indicator showed the vehicle to be in all gears at the same time. Also the back doors and hatch would not open due to the fact that the vehicle thought that it was in motion. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was found that the PCM had internal failures. Dealer had to replace PCM.
2008 Dodge Grand Caravan engine light came on while driving. Transmission started back into limp mode. Took to back to dealer on 05/03/08 for evaluation. Dealer kept vehicle for one week and finally tore transmission down and replaced internal parts.
2008 Dodge Grand Caravan transmission went into limp mode and was stuck in gear and would not shift. I had to exit to side of road, shut vehicle off and then restart. Vehicle started shifting but then engine light came on along with a burning smell. Dealership looked at vehicle and cleared codes and reprogrammed PCM. Dealer stated codes were related to transmission.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- York, PA, USA