Dodge Grand Caravan Sudden Acceleration

downie283

Yesterday, as I was exiting the interstate after a fairly lengthy drive at 75 m/hr, my 2011 Dodge Grand caravan kept accelerating as I tried to disengage the cruise control. It felt like the gas pedal was stoked down to the floor. Pressing hard on the brake pedal didn’t change anything and the engine kept revving up like made. I finally got the gas pedal to disengage after a few seconds.
The same problem happened one more times about 30 minutes later and a third time while the cruise control was not even turned ON.
Not sure if this is a Electronic Cruise control issue or a mechanical gas pedal problem. Has anyone experienced a similar problem in the past?

chryslergroup

Hello downie283,

Sorry to hear you are having a concern with your 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan.

I checked for Technical Service Bulletins but could not find anything related to sudden acceleration as you described.

Please contact your local authorized Dodge Service Department so they can diagnose your vehicle.

Lisa
Customer Care
Chrysler Group LLC

harvey1717

I had similar experience with my 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. After a lengthy drive, both local and highway, my van kept accelerating even after the cruise control was off and my foot off gas pedal. I could not get the car to slow down except by tapping the brakes which caused the lightning bolt to appear on dashboard. I exited the highway and put the car in neutral. The RPM's roared & went all the way over to the left. At no time was my foot on the gas. I was able to park on a residential street & had the car towed to the dealer. The car has been there 3 days and they are unable to find any trouble.

Was your issue ever resolved?

downie283

Hi, Yes it would appear the issue is resolved. I reported the problem to my local Dodge dealer. They found the cause was a faulty "Accelerator pedal APP Sensor" which was replaced under warranty in November 2012. I have not had any further issues since.
Hope this helps with your problem as well.................. Cheers

harvey1717

Thank you. At first the service dept @ dealership said they could not find anything wrong and I could pick up the vehicle (I refused based on my experience); after an email to dealership general manager, the service dept replaced the "accelerator pedal APP sensor". Hopefully problem resolved but you can bet I will keep an eye on EDMUNDS should anything else go wrong. Thank you so much!

lavp

I had the same thing happen on my 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. But each time mine happened I was at higher elevations. First time was on -I25 and a few taps of the brakes stopped the problem. Next time was on same extended trip but was on LaVeta Pass and the other after just leaving Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado. Car got up to 75 and 85 before I could get it to respond. Brakes were totally disengaged so to slow down and stop I had to slowly downshift and finally put it in 1st then park...still had quite a jolt but was better than just not stopping as I was running out of room due to windy mountain roads. LaVeta pass incident was on way home from a trip and was on a Sunday afternoon so I really had no choice but to continue on. Got home with no further incident (except for hitting that darn deer!) and took to dealer 1st thing next day. Our wonderful service guy found a ruptured vacuum line from Cruise control to brakes so fixed it. All along I thought it was fixed until it happened again.

The next time (14 months later) I was on way to Durango & it was the exact same M O except I didn't have the cruise control on when it happened.

Once I got it stopped it took like 10 minutes for the brake light to go off, and once it went off the car started just fine. Prior to that when I turned the key it would start at max RPMs. (Same with each incident)

Each time it happened I was going at least 65, and each time it happened I was in the process of passing an RV! Once on flat road, once uphill and once downhill.

After the 3rd time I took it straight to the Dodge dealer in Durango and rented a car to go back to the cabin on the other side of Wolf Creek Pass. Dealer kept it overnight but said they found no problem and the next time it happened I just needed to bring it in while it was happening. (Really? Is that really possible?). He did say that some Chryslers have a problem with the cruise control taking over the accelerator when you are finished passing with the cruise control on. So I not only incurred the expense of a 2 day rental vehicle (he called me too late to get back over WC Pass in time to return on the first 24 hours), I had another four hour round trip drive involved to get my unfixed van back to cabin. Honestly, I felt like the guy at that dealership didn't even take me seriously. In fact, someone in the service dept told me I that I should shop for a new car while I was waiting for the rental car guy to come get me (made me question their tact or motives).

Took the van back to our home in Texas and our local dealer kept it for 3 days but never found a problem...it just wouldn't replicate itself. My local service rep is awesome and really felt bad, he even drove it home & floored it, etc, but problem never happened for him so they have nothing to fix.

My husband is a disabled veteran and I got that vehicle because it works well for his needs (wheelchair is inside so stays clean and dry when we travel, etc). Money's tight so I can't just go out and get a new car. I resent even having to since I bought this vehicle to drive for more than 4.5 years. I cannot in good conscience sell this car to an individual knowing that it has this problem so will therefore be stuck trading it in and getting less money than it is really worth.

I am going to the National Highway Safety people about these incidents because I feel like I have no other recourse. The next time it happens we could all be killed.

skor1234

Same problem here...2010 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. This van was modified for wheelchair accessibility. Bought the vehicle to transport a family member who has since passed. We would like to sell the van but like you...can't sell it knowing that this malfunction could cause catastrophic damage, injury and death. Can't get the vehicle to repeat the error after leaving it with the dealer for almost two weeks and 200+ test miles. If you get anywhere with figuring our how to repair this malfunction please advise. I think I will have to video of this malfunction. My Chrysler Case # is 24460861.

larrr

if you ( the mechanic) can't find the cause to the problem he should have been smart enough to solve it any way (Alexander the Great "untied" the Gordian Knot by cutting it) and it is not the Accelerator pedal APP Sensor Accelerator pedal APP Sensor, just disconnect the cruise control,
you really don't need it.

piercene

I had a similar experience with out 2009 VW Routan (mechanically identical to the Caravan and T&C). I went to pass a vehicle at 65mph and the pedal did not release, hit 80-mph before I popped it in neutral and then back into drive to correct the issue. Hitting the brakes had no effect on the acceleration. I think I'm going to replace the Accelerator pedal APP Sensor like someone had stated above. Its clear that bringing it to the dealer is pointless if they are not going to be able to replicate the issue.

tigermom1

This just happened to my mom with her 2014 Dodge caravan. She ended up in an accident with three other cars! Thankfully, no one was hurt. What can be done to ensure her van will be safe to drive?

_deanna

I just experienced the same thing with my 2016 Town & Country. I went to pass another vehicle, when I took my foot off the gas pedal, it was still accelerating, acting like the pedal was to the floor, or stuck. I put my foot on the brakes a few times but it didn't stop it from accelerating. I put the vehicle in neutral, and was able to get it to the side of the road. Put it in park and it started to accelerate AGAIN. (Going up to 6 Rpms in seconds) I turned the vehicle off. Got out of the vehicle. I could smell something. Either the brakes or motor? Called my step-father that is a mechanic, checked that the floor mat wasn't stuck under the pedals. The pedal was not sticking. It seemed fine. Turned vehicle back on and it acted normal. 
Of course it is a long weekend when this happened so I have to wait to call the Dealership but it is still under warranty and I will be taking it in to have it looked at. Scared to drive it! Scariest thing ever! 

phillipsmick

I had this happen with 2010 dodge caravan. Have never used cruise in the 3 years I've had the van. Cruise came on, no I did not bump it, was in full throttle and brakes would not cut the cruise, very dangerous situation! Dealerships test said its either the brake or accelerator sensor is faulty..