Dodge Caravan/Chrysler Voyager

hayneldan · February 2004

Another feature that no one has mentioned is that if you remove the third row seat headrests you can fold and tilt the 3rd row split seats up against the second row seats without removing them. Use only the 1 and 2 latches and not latch 3.The headrests fit under the folded 3rd seats. I have used this when the large screen TV I was picking up needed a mite more room to be transported with the right side up.

backy · February 2004

That is cool! Do you know if that works with the short vans as well as the Grand vans?

hayneldan · February 2004

If you can get the short wheelbase van with 50/50 3rd seats, it will work. I'm not sure if the 60/40 or full bench will do this.

uga91 · February 2004

On the way home last night, my wife commented about how great it was that we could remove half the bench for storage and that it is much better than the solid bench we had before. I've never tried removing the headrests and storing it forward--like on a PT Cruiser. I'll look into it. Would be handy when you end up buying more than you expected to on a Target run or something!

Also, I'm sure you knew what I meant above, but I wrote the words "in" and "out" backward in reference to the usage of the seat in either position. Obviously.

backy · February 2004

I found a '04 Caravan SXT with the split rear seat and took it for a drive today. The good news is that the rear seat really is easy to fold and get in and out of the van, as noted earlier. The bad news is that the seat back does not recline. There wouldn't be enough head room for it to recline much, anyway. And it is not a place I'd want to sit in the middle for any length of time. But the outboard positions were fine.

The real bad news for me is that there is only one '04 Caravan SXT with the split rear seat and ABS in my region. The dealer is willing to order it, but did not offer me the kind of deal I would need to cancel the order on my Prius. They offered $19,500, which is a good discount but only about $1000 less than the Prius I have on order, which will save me about $600 a year in fuel.

I also checked out the new '05 T&C with Stow and Go seating--I'll post that in the '05 Caravan discussion. Bottom line is, I think the stowable seats are very clever, but not worth a $5000 premium over the '04 vans IMO--which is what the difference is right now between a '04 and '05 Grand Caravan SXT.

uga91 · March 2004

Also remember that the stow and go seats are LWB only. Just get what will work best for your situation and you'll do just fine. Good luck!

backy · March 2004

Yes that's right. If I want a short van with stowable seats, looks like the only option is the MPV.

uga91 · March 2004

Have any of you 2001 to 2003 Voyager owners (of course, I may be the only one here) seen the front end of the 2005 Town & Country? Except for headlights with a slightly different shape, it looks EXACTLY like the front of of our van! We had the winged logo on the top edge of the grill and T&C vans had a "fancier" winged logo in the center of the grill. The new vans have the same grill as my van now. I love it, current T&C owners will probably hate it.

hayneldan · March 2004

Not only the grille and lights are changed, but the whole front bumper cover is different. The lower grille is different and it has no separate licence plate holder as that is now integrated into the cover.From the rear, the exhaust pipe exits from the drivers side instead of the passenger side. The spare is stored under the front passenger seat under the van to make room for the stow and go folding seats.

uga91 · March 2004

I did not notice that. That changes everything--except that the nose still looks like the front end of a 2001-2003 Voyager. Yeah, the little chrome looking strip is different and the flat spot to hold a plate is different and the fog lights are different; but, from a glance while driving down the road, they will look a lot like each other.

kini · March 2004

My 2001 Dodge Caravan (AWD) has an electrical problem. I have had it in to the Dodge dealer for this problem 3 times. The first time they said that it passed the electrical test and that they couldn't fix it unless I could duplicate the problem for them. The second time they found a TSB that told them that the computer needed to be re-programed. The third time they replaced the body control module. It is still doing it. The dash lights go on and off by themselves, the chime goes off even when the lights are off and the keys are out of the ignition, the tail lights and the parking lights flash sometimes too. Does anyone have any idea what is wrong with my van? The dealer is at a loss and just want to experiment at my expense.
Thank you.

uga91 · March 2004

Wow, I used to have a 2001 Chrysler Voyager (the Caravan twin) and the dash lights did some weird things a couple of times--but never like what you describe. Good luck getting it fixed!

kini · March 2004

Thank you UGA91. I took it to the Dodge dealer yesterday and they are replacing the headlight switch. We shall see or should I say not see flashing lights!

candlemaker2 · March 2004

After owning this Caravan for 3.5 months and having it break down 3 times. We said good by to it. Last Wed. night I had my daughter and her friend in the car. We were on the highway and had to stop for a stop sign. I pulled onto the next highway, got it up to 50 Km and clicked resume on the cruise. Well the thing would not get over 80 Km. I had the gas peddle right down. It then lurched and went into the next gear. I told my husband about this and we decided to take it in for servicing. He found the transmission to be shifting long and rough. At the service dept. We were told the van was in limp mode. They wanted us to leave it for a few days so we said ok. They also said they could not give us a rental( even though we had the extended warrenty that covers a rental) because Chrysler was cracking down on them. We left there and later decided that enough was enough. We told them, you have it, keep it. Yes it will affect our credit but we could not see putting up with this. I did alot of research into Canadian law and found that if Chrysler kept taking the van in for service but was unable to find a problem and fix it, they were doing what is expected and we had no other recourse. Remember, this was our second Caravan in 10 months that was extremely problem prone. Trading the first one on the second one had put our payments quite high.
I am glad no one else on this board is having these problems. I am back to driving a 10 year old vehicle that I feel safer driving since I know it is not going to leave me stranded. I bought auto club membership and I have a cell phone.
Good luck to everyone with your Caravan.

uga91 · March 2004

We left there and later decided that enough was enough. We told them, you have it, keep it. Yes it will affect our credit but we could not see putting up with this."

You are just abondoning it? That will put a HUGE hit on your credit.

badgerfan · March 2004

Why ruin your credit on this issue? Abandoning it is not the proper option here. It is under warranty. Have them keep it and drive it until they experience the problem, then get them to fix it.

Then after it is fixed, if you decide you no longer want it, trade it in for what you want. Yes, you will take a depreciation hit, but better this than ruining your credit rating.

No lemon laws in Canada, eh?

cutemorganite · April 2004

What do you guys think is the most popular color? I am thinking of getting one, but I mostly see that green color, what color do you guys think look the best?

backy · April 2004

Especially on the short-wheelbase van.

uga91 · April 2004

My last one was the dark green. White is definitely cooler here in Georgia in the summer.

hansienna · April 2004

The only negative to white is the addition of business names on many white minivans. Inferno Red appears on all Dodge advertising which gives it a little overkill.

clint98v6at · April 2004

I just received an 05 Caravan fleet vehicle. I was not able to add the center removable console as an option prior to receiving the van. According to the Dodge website, the console will cost me $205. Does anyone know if the console is the same on previous year models? I was going to check local scrapyards to see if I can pick one up. An ebay search was unsuccessful.

Is the factory console worth $205? There are some aftermarkets out there by Wolf for around $100, but I don't know how good they are or how well they will match the interior. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

hayneldan · April 2004

Try http://www.moparsupercenter.com/default.aspx

jtheron · April 2004

I have seen several on ebay in the past. We bought another one new from our dealer for our 2004 T&C for around $115, price was not much different than used ones on ebay. If your adding it to the van you will need the mounting brackets and wiring which will cost more maybe thats the $205. Good Luck

backy · April 2004

But how many Inferno Red Pearl vans do you actually see on the road? I don't see that many. But then I like red. White is psychologically cool but a little boring IMO unless it's a pearlescent. I read an article the other day from the color designer at GM that noted brighter colors are making a comeback, with the upturn in the economy and all. That means reds, oranges, even yellows! The ever-popular silver may drop a bit, at least according to this guy.

clint98v6at · April 2004

Thanks hayneldan & jtheron. Looks like I'm stuck with around $200 unless I can find one on ebay. The price through dodge is $125, and $123.50 through moparsupercenter.com. Once I add in the wiring kit and mounting bracket I'm right around $200. Not sure if I want to spend that on a company vehicle that I won't be keeping.

uga91 · April 2004

spend my money on an upgrade for a company vehicle

clint98v6at · April 2004

That's kind of what I'm thinking too. On the other hand, I will have if for three years and the extra cup holders for my kid's drinks, cell phone holder, and extra locked storage space would be nice. I just wish I could find one for around $50 instead of $200!

hayneldan · April 2004

Check out Pep Boys or some other auto parts stores. WalMart might be a source too if all you are looking for is an extra cupholder or two and storage.

hayneldan · April 2004

Do a google.com search for minivan consoles. Plenty there at your price range and transferrable to the next minivan.

cutemorganite · April 2004

Thanks for the color suggestions, I currently have a 2003 Mazda6 red, but am looking at a Minivan for I have acquired a lot in kids (marriage) in a short period of time. Thanks everyone....

backy · April 2004

The new JD Power Initial Quality Study has the Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan ranked 2nd to the Odyssey, and ahead of the Sienna.

http://www.jdpower.com/news/releases/pressrelease.asp?ID=2004037

uga91 · April 2004

Very interesting information. Who would have guessed that Hyundai would have overtaken Toyota on initial quality so quickly?

dustyk · May 2004

Say it's not true. A Chrysler ranked above a Toyota in IQS?

crkeehn · May 2004

Any Survey that has the PT Cruiser tied with the Honda Civic for initial quality can't be all bad.

dustyk · May 2004

Crkeehn,

Well, JD Powers must be apologists then.

Haven't you heard of the monopoly of invincibility of Toyota?

Regards,
Dusty

dgcowner · May 2004

Have a dealer parts department tell you if the part number on a center console for a 2005 model Caravan is the same as one for the a 2004 model. I believe they may be smaller than the one used in the 2001-2004 model. Good luck.

hansienna · May 2004

They will fanatically cling to their biased CR that uses their input to rate Honda and Toyota tied for most reliable and best quality.

stever · June 2004

"Chrysler has announced it will pour $113 million into its St. Louis South factory in Missouri to increase production of 2005 model-year minivans equipped with the company's "Stow 'N Go" seating system."

Chrysler Goes With "Stow 'N Go"

Steve, Host

andrelaplume · June 2004

We are thinking of purchasing a used 2003 Caravan. It has 19K miles. A friend who has a used car lot who used to work (and has ties) to a Chrysler dealership has been looking for a van for us. The van he found appears in fine condition. My questions:

1) Can you by a genuine 'NEW CAR' Chrysler Brand extended warranty for the used van? This would be the same warranty you could have purchased when the van was new.

2) What durations do the warranties run? 7/70, 7/100 etc.

3) Is there a true Bumper to Bumper No deductble warranty. To be explicit I purchased such a warranty for my Camry. It did not list what was covered but rather the few items NOT covered.

4) Can I shop around for the warranty at any Chrysler dealership or must I buy from the place where I buy the car.

5) The biggie...WHAT DOES IT COST!!!!

Thanks for the info. After buying American and Foreign I am of the opinion the the foreign are not nearly as great as folks would have you believe AND they are overpriced. The domestic do have more mechanical issues but cost far less. I think if I can get a year old van which has already depreciated a bit with a bumper to bumper warranty then I should be set. My only concerns are the tranny problems I read about and AC problems.

masterpaul1 · June 2004

The 2003 Caravan should still be covered under the original warranty. If not, you can contact a Daimlerchrysler dealer to see were you could go to obtain an extended bumper to bumper warranty.
Our 2001 Grand Caravan EX had 37,027 miles on it when we bought it in September 2003. We purchased the extended Maximum Care Bumper to Bumper Warranty for about $1800 I believe, to 75,000 miles or May 2007(which includes a $100 deductible per every visit, first day car rental up to 100 miles free and $30 a day rental car allowance, $1,000 trip interruption and road side assistance which included sign and go towing and roadside assistance up to $100 each occurance). We purchased our van and extended warranty at a Daimlerchrysler dealer. Hope this helps.

andrelaplume · June 2004

Did you really mean $1800!!!!!!! And with a $100 deductible? This starts to put me back in the camp where the domestics companies must realize there will be issues and thus charge a fortune for their warranties. I spend $670 for a 7/75K bumper to bumper no deductible warranty for my Camry. Please tell me you meant $800!

$1800 will pay for the tranny when it goes!

badgerfan · June 2004

For what its worth, our 1996 Caravan has had no engine or tranmission problems and it is at 79K miles. All put on by us as we bought it new, so I know the entire maintenance history.

It has had two very costly AC repairs, however, last year and again this year. By now just about all the major AC components have been replaced.

Still, I would take my risks and not buy an extended warranty. Especially when it appears to me DC minivans reliability has improved strongly in the last several model years.

If I could buy a pick and choose a warranty, I would just want one that covers AC repairs for about ten years and 100K miles, as that has been the only weak point of our van. We still like it a lot. Drives and handles nicely for a van, is rattle free except for a few door rattles only when going over very rough railroad type bumps, and it still looks nearly like new when I waxed it up a couple weeks ago.

Just one sample though, hardly statistically significant. Though, if you read some of the posts in Edmunds you would think all 10 million or so DC van buyers have had transmission failures in the last 20 years!

masterpaul1 · June 2004

We pay $150.00 a month for twelve months which = $1800.00. (that's without interest). I have heard of other places that you can get a cheaper warranty but not sure where. My advice to you is to shop around. If your the type of person that has thousands of dollars saved up in a savings acct. for those unexpected mechanical repairs, then don't get the warranty. In our case the warranty was a good deal. Another thing to think about is I would rather pay a $100.00 deductible then $500.00 for the repair. A few days after we bought our van, both driver and passenger window regulators went which coast about $500.00 to fix with labor. We only had to spend $100.00 for the job. This might not seem like much, but when your money is tight like ours, its easier to come up with $100.00 then the $500.00 and not fall to far behind in other bills. (Just something to think about). Also, since most vechicles are run totally buy computers, your more likely to have something to go wrong with that. It cost about $75.00 to $90.00 just for them to hook it up to another computer to let you know whats wrong. This isn't even going towards the parts and labor for the repair. So as you can see with certain things it will cost you more then what you would think.

davids1 · June 2004

Dealers make a ton of money on these. They pay a fixed price and try to charge the customer as much as possible. I don't know what the fixed price is. On my 03 Grand Caravan Sport I paid $795 for the extended warranty. It essentially added to the 7/70 poertrain warranty to include all items in the bumper to bumper basic 3/36 warranty, with a $100 deductible.

Shop around.

uga91 · June 2004

Like when I bought an extended warranty on my 2003 Voyager LX, I got things like 3 years of free oil changes, extended roadside assistance, and free rental cars when the van is in for work as part of the deal. I don't know about when buying a used van, though. I think those are all worthless. If I'm not mistaken, don't publications like Consumer Reports all say to never buy one of those aftermarket 3rd party warranties?

Kirstie_H · June 2004

Make sure you check out our Extended Warranties discussion, and the Smart Shopper board in general to see what folks have to say about the 3rd party warranty you're considering!

kirstie_h
Roving Host & Future Vehicles Host

andrelaplume · June 2004

$800 for an extended warranty sounds more realistic, especially when the car comes 7/70 anyway. Funny thing about everyone mentioning AC repairs. My father in law had a 96 van and they can not even figure out why the sucker will not hold a charge. He just pays $50 to charge it each year; it lasts 3 months or so which gets him thru the summer. You'd think Chrysler would know how to get an AC to work by now.

uga91 · June 2004

I had a 1993 Caravan SE (3.0 L V6) that had A/C problems. No one could figure out why it would lose its charge. My last 2 Chrysler vans have not had this problem--knock on wood!

shipo · June 2004

Chrysler (and other manufacturers as well) had a problem with their A/C units when they switched from the CFC based R-12 refrigerant to the more "Environmentally Friendly" R-134a stuff. Unfortunately, the R-134 is a much smaller molecule, and can easily leak through microscopic pits and fissures in the fittings. What Chrysler found was that the "Boiler plate solution" as set forth by the group that set the standards up (ASA? EPA?) would pit when exposed to road salt and thus allow all of the R-134a to egress the system.

Given that our 1998 GC SE is still operating with the factory charge in spite of the fact that it has spent its entire life in the north east, I suspect that by 1998, Chrysler figured out how to keep the stuff in the system.

Best Regards,
Shipo

andrelaplume · June 2004

was there a resolution to the Pre-98 AC problem you describe. So far Pop - Pop is content to pay $50 a year to get it recharged. I wonder what a more permanent fix would cost?

Dodge Caravan/Chrysler Voyager

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles