Dodge/Plymouth/Chrysler Minivan Problems & Solutions

bychrysler1 · June 2002

My heater keeps switching to heat on it's own. The vent or air will be running and all of a sudden hot air will come out. Sometimes if I wiggle the temperature selector, it will go back to blowing cold air, but sometimes not. I have talked to two dealers and they have not seen this problem. Any thoughts? The problem is getting progressively worse. I have a 98 Grand Caravan.

badgerfan · June 2002

This question may have come up before, but I am too lazy to go through all 1200+ postings. Our 96 Caravan with the 3.3 liter V-6 has developed an intermittent chirping somewhere in the serpentine belt drive line. Is this usually related to the belt tensioner problem, or in the alternator or some other component? It comes and goes, has been happening off and on for over a year. Anyone have this, what was the cause, and can it be handled by a do-it-yourselfer?

miffed1 · June 2002

Has anyone had any luck getting Chrysler to cover repairs once the vehicle is out of warranty. I have a 96 Grand Caravan that had the trany replaced in Aug 99, now I just had the drive shaft seize into the differential, and they found filings in the trany, so another $3000 plus $500 tax ($3500) to repair. I've had all my servicing done at the dealer including transmission tune-ups, plus replacing A/C evaporator, struts, water pump, starter, power steering lines, sliding door control assembly, ABS light sensors, engine service sensors. Alot of problems for a 96 with only 115,000km (70K miles). I have complained to Chrysler's customer service 800 number, and am awaiting a response. They supposedly need to speak with the District Service Manager. The dealer isn't saying diddly. What leverage do I have to raise a bigger stink? I can threaten to never buy a Chrysler vehicle again, but do they care?

stever · June 2002

I don't think they'll care about threats not to repurchase (they probably figure you won't buy another DC for a while anyway at this point).

I had an out-of-warranty head gasket fixed on my Voyager, but it was the 3rd one they had done, so they didn't fight me too hard on it. I went in with the attitude of "this shouldn't have happened, what can you do for me" instead of yelling and raising a ruckus. That's what lawyers are for :-)

Maybe a follow-up letter to the dealer telling him what a good customer you've been and asking for some consideration would help. (will the peanut gallery please hold the Pollyanna comments down ).

good luck!

Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

dmathews3 · June 2002

True. I had a 97 Tracker I towed behind my MH and it had about 26k on it in about 5 yrs. Had problem with trans (stick shift) and it was out of warranty 3/36. Dealer quoted almost $1600 (4 X 4) so transfer case/trans all together. Anyway called GM and gave them sob story about always having all maintainance done at dealer and about 10k was pulled behind MH so engine wasn't running and had always bought Chevy and it ended up after they investigated that they covered all parts and 50% labor. Cost me about $375, but I talked the talk and was very nice on phone. Not a bad deal since it was 2 years out of warranty.

hersbird · June 2002

I wouldn't rebuild that tranny just because of the filings in it. I'd hacve it flushed and filled and then see if it works. No reason just to shotgun the whole thing because maybe there is a problem. You're not running the Michigan 400 in a Winston Cup car this weekend, your just driving to work. If it drives fine and your worried about it, take it down and trade it in. If you had a problem and found metal filings in your motor's oil pan, would you just automatically repalce the entire motor assembly? Why are people so afraid of the "magic" going on in their automatic transmissions? Tranny shops (and dealers) make a killing rebuilding transmission that only need a minor part or repair.

jfz219 · June 2002

I would guess that the tensioner pulley and/or the power steering pump is the source of your chirping. I have to replace the pulley on my 98 with the 3.8 engine. On my 2001, the noise was caused by the power steering pump. There was a TSB that involved the replacement of a hose and a conversion to ATF for the power steering. This was a dramatic improvement in the noise level.

The least expensive step would be use Lubegard PS additive. This will improve the lubrication of the pump, and reduce the strain on the tensioner pulley. Second step would be draining and refilling with the ATF prescribed in the 2001 TSB. Third, repair/replace the tensioner pulley.

I highly recommend the ATF switch because of my own experience with pump and rack failures on DC products.

petra02 · June 2002

We were just getting the 1996 Grand Caravan we'd purchased into our driveway, and guess what happened?

Buda Boom! The Power Steering goes out! So we have to drive it, sans power steering, to the next town, where we bought it, which has to be about 30 km. away [about 12 Miles, I guess, for the Americans] and we didn't get it back for 5 days.

Anyone ever have that happen?

miltkim · June 2002

I successfully got Chrysler to cover work on my 2001 Caravan after the warranty expired. However, you have to support that the problem existed prior to the warranty period expiring. We had to meet with the GM of the dealership to get something done. I will tell you, it is a painful process to deal with Chrysler. They quickly avoid any liability when it comes to post warranty claims. Talk to the President of the dealership and work something out with him/her. If you can show that Chryler somehow has not fixed an original problem during the warranty period, you could takr them to arbitration. Best wishes

emale · June 2002

miltkim,

your 2001 van is already out of warranty? wow, that's alot of miles in one year...

badgerfan · June 2002

I checked the problem out in detail this weekend. I could not at first locate the noise source. I then put a bright piece of tape on the serpentine belt flat surface so I could see if the chirp occurred every at the same rate that the tape appeared while the engine idled. I found that the chirp occured once per belt traverse and was not related to any one pulley once-per-revolution.

I then held a strip of sandpaper onto the smooth surface of the belt with a blunt stick while the engine idled, to remove any glazed surface. I really didn't expect this to fix it, but it worked! No more chirp.

While I could not see any problems with the belt, sometime soon I will probably replace the belt to be safe. I have about 57,000 on the van.

Hope this might help someone else with the same problem.

poopdeck90210 · June 2002

I just bought a used, 1996 Plymouth Grand Voyager off of the original owner last month. It had 89,000 miles on it. The owner kept all service records -- and I must say, he had it in the shop a lot! He had both head gaskets replaced, plus a whole host of other odds and ends done -- including the timing belt. The week after I bought the car, the serpentine belt starting squeaking. I took it in to a 5 star Chrysler dealership for the 90,000 mile service and had the belt replaced, along with the front brakes and the other usual services items. The bill came to just under $900.

When we picket up our van, we hadn't even gotten off of the lot yet, when the "Check Engine" light came on. We brought it back into the garage and they hooked it back up to their diagnostic computer -- which I don't think told them very much. Then, as a last resort, they pulled the new spark plugs they had put in as part of the 90K service and found out that one of the "new" plugs was either faulty (or, as I suspect, was put in wrong).

Since we use our van as a 3rd vehicle, it basically sat for a couple of weeks. We then took it on a long camping trip. When we got home from the trip, I tried to pump windshield washer fluid on the front windshield and nothing came out. I checked the rear windshield washer and saw that it worked. I looked under my van and realized that fluid was now leaking from the bottom because the hose had been disconnected by the dealership during the 90K service. Arrgh...

At the same time, I noticed that the transmission was starting to slip. The next day, my wife drove the van to her work. She called me in the morning and told me that the van was losing power. She checked the transmission fluid and saw that it was full. Hmmm...

When my wife got home that night, the van lost power all the way home. When she finally pulled into the culd-e-sac that we live on, she had to stop for another car. When she did, the van died and she heard a splashing noise coming from outside! She got out and saw that all of the transission fluid had been dumped at the same time! %#!*!!!

*sigh*

badgerfan · June 2002

Sounds to me more like you have a lemon dealer. No routine service, even including brake job, should cost $900, and it sounds like some of the problems induced were as a result of taking it to the dealer who screwed up more than they fixed. My guess is the dealer screwed up something on your transmission as well. Did they do any transmission service?

Your '96 Caravan is not "new" to anyone but you, so some problems are likely to crop up beyond 90,000 miles.

Get them to fix everything they screwed up, then never go back to that dealer again!

bychrysler1 · June 2002

My heater keeps switching to heat on it's own. The vent or air will be running and all of a sudden hot air will come out. Sometimes if I wiggle the temperature selector, it will go back to blowing cold air, but sometimes not. I have talked to two dealers and they have not seen this problem. Any thoughts? The problem is getting progressively worse. I have a 98 Grand Caravan. I understand that there is a way to "calibrate" the system controls. Does anyone have any details?

sauron666 · June 2002

I live in hot and humid South Florida. Since the purchase of my 1998 Grand Caravan SE, I have replaced 3, three!!!, A/C evaporators, at least one per year. So far, Chrysler has honored warranty replacements. It all starts with a moldy smell, apparent when turning the A/C on. Then the under dash hissing occurs, noticeable when stopped, say at intersections. Then within days, no A/C. I have been told that it is a design defect and that the A/C was never intended for constant use as it is here in this part of the USA. Really?

emale · June 2002

hummm, my dad has a 96 town and country and it has never had any a/c problems whatsoever...and it gets used very frequently.

sounds to me like your system has some sort of leak that hasn't been found. 3 evaps in 3 years is unheard of...either that or you must be one unlucky sole!

rich091069 · June 2002

I had the same problem with my 1999 Intrepid. I live in Delaware. The dealer diagnoised the problem and fixed it under warranty. The problem has something to do with you remote keyless entry device. The device needs to be recalibrated because its signal effects the electronics built into the vehicles climate control system. Kind of like buying a garage door opener from sears and after installing it you find that your remote opens both your garage door as well as your neighboors but in no particular order. I'm not a mechanic but thats how the dealer explained it. Hope it works for you.

wildvan · June 2002

My 1999 grand sport with only 38000 has been in twice for transmission work, speed sensor was one and a adjustment?? was on the second. I am patiently waiting for the tranny to decide to just give up all together. I have read many a complain of dodge transmission problems but have yet to read any resolutions by dodge to fix the problem

backy · June 2002

My '99 GCS with 31,000 miles had the speed sensor replaced many months ago. Not a big deal, and it was done under warranty. It does not mean the tranny is about to fail. I have had sensors of various types go on many cars. What kind of "adjustment" was done to your van's transmission? In normal service a modern automatic transmission should not require adjustment (not like the old days when the bands had to be adjusted), but it does require maintenance i.e. fluid changes. Did the "adjustment" include a fluid change?

edgarmac · June 2002

I've had my 01 Caravan about a year without any problems except: the huge expanse of dark gray dashboard absorbs a huge amount of heat through the huge windshield and then radiates it into the passenger space, causing the AC to struggle mightily to keep up. Of course I keep one of those folding reflectors there when parked, but it can't stay on the dash when driving. Does anyone know of a cover that could be installed to help reduce heat absorption? My 89 Caravan doesn't have this problem - I wish they had kept the same design. I guess the new way is sexy, but it's not very practical.

tomtomtom · June 2002

Have you considered one of those ugly but functional dashboard carpets?

badgerfan · June 2002

I posted a while back about chirping serpentine belt on my 96 Caravan with the 3.3 V-6. The chirping came back shortly after I sanded the flat surface. So last night, I replaced the belt myself. The new one went in very easily. I drove up on my ramps to get more access under the front end. I just needed to remove the plastic stone guard under the belt beneath the van. It is held by two bolts and a plastic clip. I removed the old belt by using a box metric wrench on the bolt on the end of the tensioner pulley to remove the belt tension(it helps to use a 2 foot piece of pipe over the metric wrench to get more leverage). Then I threaded the belt through from above and below onto all the pulleys, lastly backing off the tensioner pulley and slipping the belt over the top idler pulley. There is a convenient belt routing diagram sticker in front of the radiator to refer to so you don't have to memorize the routing. Then I started the van up to make sure the belt ran OK. Shut it down, bolted the guard back, and I was done. Now I have no chirping. Total cost for the belt $29 plus tax. Total time for replacement including getting the tools and ramps out and put away, 45 minutes. I probably saved $50-$75 over having it done. If you have any mechanical aptitude, this is a no brainer to do yourself.

backy · July 2002

My '99 GCS just turned 3 at the end of May. It has 31,100 miles on it. Today I loaded up the van with my family and their luggage to take them to the airport. It was dead. I thought the battery had died (hot weather, lots of short trips) and after taking my family to the airport in my trusty Hyundai, I called the 1-800 number for Chrysler service (for the extended warranty). Fortunately, the wrecker came within 30 minutes and the warranty paid for the call. OK, so then I start driving the van over to my neighborhood Batteries Plus to check the battery and get it charged, or buy a new one. As I start driving down the street, I get an early fireworks display from the instrument panel--lots of flashing lights, including the odometer. The ABS and battery light stay on. Being a bit worried, I drive all the way to my Dodge dealer so they can check it out. Turns out the battery did fail, but in doing so messed up the computer, causing the flashing lights. By the time they have run their diagnostics and put in a new battery (5-year warranty, big deal) the bill is $180. Of course, batteries are one of the parts NOT covered under the extended warranty.

The moral of the story is, if this happens to you and you see the light show, save a few bucks and drive over to your local Sears store or wherever you can buy a quality battery for a lot less than $180.

strokeoluck · July 2002

Hi, we have a '96 Plymouth Grand Voyager. We bought it used with ~33,000 miles on it. Currently it has 90,000 miles. Aside from routine maintenance we've had a few problems: head gasket (that's not routine at 75,000 miles is it?) and there's still a tiny leak somewhere but it doesn't seem to concern the Dodge mechanic too much, some goofy wiring/computer stuff that messed up the wipers (fixed) and maybe one or two other things my weak mind can't recall. Current "possible" problems: front shocks are making a funny squeaking sound when we turn left, brakes probably need to be replaced, just recently noticed a slight decrease in power (maybe it just needs new plugs?). We owe about $7k on this van and, while retail is about $7k - $7500, wholesale is about $5500.

But in general I really like this van and feel that ALL minivans are simple utility vehicles...at least for my family. My wife drives it 80% of the time to haul our kids around and run local errands. Every 4 months we take it on a 8-10 hour trip to visit out-of-state relatives and it performs well and suits our family well.

Here's the rub. I'm about to start a new business that will mean we'll need to live even more frugally than we presently do...at least for 1-2 years until this business (cross your fingers) takes off. Should we trade this van in and take advantage of Dodge's 0% financing deal they're now offering? Yes our payments might be $50-$60 higher/month but that might more than offset additional repair charges we could be facing. Or should we hang on to our present van, drive it for two more years until it's paid off (would then have 130k miles) and hope/pray that we don't have to spend more than $500/year on problems/maintenance??? Thoughts anyone?

Thanks,
Rob

backy · July 2002

Sounds like a cash flow question to me: can you better afford a known $50-60 increase in costs each month, or unknown costs that could easily be over $600-700/year--but may not be. A couple of things come to mind: 1) if you go the new route, see what the Dodge/Chrysler dealers will do for you on a trade-in; they are trying to sell a bunch of vans this summer so they may be extra-generous, especially if you tell them you'll keep the old van unless they give you a great deal; 2) in keeping with your "frugal" living situation, get the lowest-cost van you can find to keep your payments down, e.g. maybe a short-wheelbase model vs. a Grand van, with the fewest options you can live with; 3) will you be using your van for your business at all? If so, you might want to consider a lease, assuming the payments are less than a purchase and then write off the payments as a business expense.

tsu670 · July 2002

...wouldn't tighten when I replaced the transmission pan today after doing routine tranny fluid and filter change. Free wheels in its hole. No bite in the aluminum casing the bolt screws into. NAPA guy gave me a new bolt with a real aggressive thread pattern to it, but I had images of cracking the aluminum casing around it, so didn't use it. Instead, just stuck it back in through the thick rubber gasket and added new ATF+3 fluid ('96 T&C Lxi), then started looking for leaks. Hmmm, none yet. Started it up and ran it for 3 minutes. Still no leaks. Ok, got really brave and drove it a couple of miles around the neighborhood, and still no leaks. Will I sleep tonight?!! Not sure. Do repair garages have tools to remachine the bolt hole to perhaps a size larger, then put in new bolt?

fant16 · July 2002

I just bought a 98 Grand Caravan, when I run the VIN through CARFAX, the report states that the vehicle has a 3.0 engine. I thought that most Grand Caravan's have the 3.3 or 3.8. What is the easiest/most reliable way to determine what engine I have?

Thanks

hersbird · July 2002

The 3.0 is the only over head cam V-6 in the Dodges. It is much different looking then a 3.3 or a 3.8 wich are normal pushrod motors. There will also be an emissions sticker under the hood with the motor size printed on it as well. If the VIN says it's a 3.9 I'm sure it's a 3.0.

fant16 · July 2002

What can I expect from this GC? My parents have a 96 GC with the 3.3 and have over 130K trouble free miles on it. I know many others with with 96-98 Caravans and none seem to have the problems described on this board. My Caravan has 126k (body and interior in good shape) and new tires. Paid $5,850 (out the door price) from a wholesaler. Could have gotten a 96 with similar mileage for $4000, but Consumer Reports rates the caravan a don't buy until 98.

vcheng · July 2002

"Freewheeling" means the threads are stripped. You can either bore and thread it out to the next bigger size and then use a larger diameter bolt, or use a helicoil repair kit. Just forcing in a more agressively threaded bolt may not work, or as you suspected, crack the rim of the very expensive transmission casing.

teekson · July 2002

IU am posting this to WARN others first and foremost, and secondly to find out if others have had this similar scare!

I just purchased a used 99 Grand Voyager from a local Plymouth/Chrysler dealer. Jumped on the price and was very happy with the deal. When I went to the dealer to pick it up, he had the van in the parking lot running. I drove it home 10 miles and parked it in my driveway. That's when I realized I was only given one key. Ironically, thing my wife's immediate response was "we are going out to get a key made first thing".

She had to feed our 1 year old daughter and get her ready to go out and in the meantime, I proceeded to armor-all all the rubber door seals etc. I opened all 4 doors and the back latch. I spent about 1/2 hour cleaning it and then closed all but one sliding door to air it out from the armor all.

My wife and daughter came out 20 minutes later and she walked to the opened sliding door and I grabbed an infant car seat and walked around to the opposite sliding door (which was closed but unlocked). I opened the door and started to strap the car seat in. I couldn't get a grip on the strap while holding the keys, so I placed the keys on the front seat. when secured, my wife placed our 1 year old in the car seat and fastened the straps. She closed her door and I looked up to make sure she didn't lock it (which she didn't). I then gave my daughter a toy and closed the sliding door being cautious not to lock it, just to be safe, knowing that the keys were on the front seat.

Upon closing the door, I took 2 steps and heard a frightening click of the locks. It sounded like every door suddenly locked itself. I walked to the other side and sure enough all doors including back lift-up door were locked with my daughter inside.

I failed to mention earlier that it was 3:00 PM and the outside temp was 92 degrees. I was parked in the sun and and humidity was extremely high. I immediately told my wife of my predicament and she immediately started to panic. I saw it as overreaction at the time, but in hindsight, I realized I was under-reacting. I decided to start looking up the dealer's number to find out what happened and how to remedy it and she drove the half block to the fire Department to get help).

I then decided that there probably wasn't any immediate remedy via the dealer and decided to keep my daughter calm and cover the car with a tarp til the firemen arrived. I figured I could keep it from getting warm too quickly and keep it comfortable for my daughter.

withing 5 minutes, the firemen pull up in a quarter million dollar truck and out pops a fireman with a 2 cent twisted coat hanger which he was calmly twisting into shape. I couldn't believe it...that was their answer. No slim-jim as I was told that they no longer carried them due to being sued by others for damaging their cars in the process. While he was fruitlessly attempting his remedy, 2 police cars and a paramedic arrive...none of which have a slim-jim. I was even being told by one not so bright fireman that I should just call a locksmith or triple-A as if I had all the time in the world.

I was checking on my daughter the whole time through the window and she was getting progressively more unhappy and by the time 10 to 12 minutes rolled by, she was covered in sweat. When I saw this I instructed them to immedicately smash a window. Which they quickly did, scattering glass throughout the car. I quickly got her out cutting my leg in the process on fallen glass and covered her in cold wet towels.

The most important thing is my daughter is fine due to quick reactions on my wife's part. But initially I found myself completely at a loss as to how this all happened and whether our actiuons were proper, so I started to look into 2 things...the dangers of kids in locked cars on hot days and why my 99 Plymouth Grand Voyager did this.

I discovered via the manual that unbelievably, the car was DESIGNED to do just what it did. Apparently I must have somehow unknowingly pressed the power door lock mechanism down while I was cleaning around the dash area. This caused the locks on all but the 2 opened sliding doors to physically go down into the locked position. But the locks on the 2 sliding doors stay in the "unlocked" position on both doors until BOTH sliding doors are closed, at which time they go down into the locked position.

So, as in this case, the doors can appear to be in an unlocked postion but actually be locked automatically upon closing. That is a ridiculously bad design. If a child were to lock those doors without you knowing it, or you were to bump the switch, you would not know whether they would lock until AFTER you close the doors....and that would mean even hours after the lock was "triggered".

I have since talked with other Chrysler product minivan owners and found that at least in the 2001 model, they have redesigned the sliding door locks to physically go down as soon as that lock button is depressed so there can be no misinterpretation of the "locking" status prior to closing. So it appears Chrysler knew it was a problem yet failed to recall them.

On a side note, but very important, I've since found that a car's interior can climb to 125 degrees within 20 minutes on a 90 degree day. A one year old child can only handle one fifth the heat exposure of an adult and merely 5 minutes exposure to temps over 120 degrees can lead to death or at least heat stroke. THIS IS SERIOUS STUFF and that fireman had far too relaxed of an attitude based on the circumstances. If I had known all this I would have smashed that window immediately, but at least we were smart enough to seek help from the start.

I am very interested in finding out if others have has similar experiences with this design. I am mad at the dealership for not walking me through all the features and not giving me a 2nd key. I am mad at Chrysler for designing a feature with such potentially disasterous ramifications and not posting warnings in the vehicle. I am mad at a fire department for not having a simple tool to resolve the problem without resorting to the traumatic effects of smashing a window with a baby inside (which by the way, I found splinters of glass in her car seat). And finally I am mad at myself for not knowing that the potential for disaster was there in spite of the fact that all my prior experiences in life taught me that closing a car door when a lock is in the upright position doesn't result in them going down on their own.

Sorry this was so long, but if it forewarns even one person, the time we all spent reading this wasn't wasted.

ladypilot · July 2002

Thank you for posting that scary story/warning! I'm glad your child is okay.

hersbird · July 2002

I don't think it's a saftey problem, so much as an unlikely chain of events. I think it is a good design as I use it all the time to my convience. I get out and as everybody else is getting out I push the power door lock button. Then I can close my door and help everybody out of the back and then close the back doors and they lock on their own. We don't have a keyless entry, so otherwise I'd have to open back up the front door and puch the power lock button again to lock the rear doors. I don't think the actual movement of the lock lever to tell you it's locked would help most people in your situation. They would have never looked at the lock in the first place to check it. If you really had so much pre-thought about it to look at the locks why didn't you just simply pick up your keys? How were you planning on getting into the front doors with them locked and no keys? I'm sorry you had to break you window, but ultimately the responsibility is your own. More people need to accept personal responsibility and get away from blaiming others (the same reason the firefighters and police didn't have a Slim Jim by the way.) Both this and the brake interlock discussed before come down to the fact that a child should never be the sole occupant of any vehicle. My wife had this similar experience back when our daughter was about two. It wasn't a minivan but a pickup, and at least she left the A/C running. Plus Navy Shore Patrol weren't afraid to carry Slim Jims. It by some streatch have been blaimed on the design of the locks, because it would be possible to engineer a way for it not to happen, but bottom line it was here fault. She felt really bad, and it took a lot longer then 20 minutes, but luckily a regular cab pickup with the a/c running is more in danger of freezing the baby, otherwise I'm sure we would have bought a new window as well.

stever · July 2002

I had a sort of similar story with an idling, empty rental car at 20 below one time. Not life threatening, but I hate cars that lock themselves. Who knew it'd do that? (not that I would have read the owner's manual had there been one in the rental anyway).

Put "get a hideakey" on your ToDo list - mine has saved me several times, and the locks on my van don't "automatically" lock themselves.

Thanks for sharing the story.

Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

royallen · July 2002

Here's one more embarrassing than unsafe. My cousin loaned me his '95 Explorer to drive on the beach to fish. The vehicle is parked under a carport and has a rod holder on the front, so I prop my rod, unlock the drivers door, step in without closing the door, back up 20 feet (which apparently tripped an automatic door lock), stepped out, closed the door and put the rod in the rod holder. I now discovered I was locked out with the engine running. After a call to my cousin and his call to the dealer, the local locksmith was called and came to open the locked door.

tomtomtom · July 2002

I always open the window whenever I step out of my car while loading or unloading people/things. Makes this a habit.

stever · July 2002

Heh, even at twenty below (and assuming the window isn't frozen in its tracks)?

This kind of thing happened to my neighbor's friend. It was cold out so she left her car idling while delivering something to my neighbor. She opened the passenger door and then shut the driver's door to get the box to the house. She knew better than to shut the passenger door since her sedan had the autolock device. The neighbor's poodle didn't know about it though :-)

Luckily the door didn't slam shut tightly when the dog hit it and I was able to snake a coat hanger down to the power window switch. Oh yeah, she had also left the car idling in drive.

Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

tsu670 · July 2002

The reply to my original posting on this subject by vcheng was most interesting. Having heard of helicoils before, but not knowing anything about them, I searched under Google.com and discovered something even more interesting. When I removed the freewheeling bolt from the pan I noticed it came out with a bright coil wrapped around the threads. Now wondering if someone else had already put a helicoil in there once before. Anyway, so far the operative solution has been to do nothing. The new thick rubber gasket that came with the filter kit (from NAPA) appears to be doing just fine. No leaks so far, and the T&C transmission is working quite well. For what it's worth, this is our third Chrysler minivan, the first two being a '90 Grand Voyager SE and the second a '94 Grand Caravan LE (which was totaled when a lady on her cell phone ran a red light and hit it -- no injuries, thank goodness). Both had to have their transmissions rebuilt, but they had the same thing in common. In the course of normal maintenance I had the transmission fluid and filter changed at a local garage and didn't know to tell them to use ATF+3. After recently reading through the first 400 or so postings on this board, and the associated links to Allpar, it is easy to understand the error of my way and why I decided to perform the service on our T&C myself. Special thanks to the individual who suggested using a crowbar or claw hammer to help gently pry the ever so slightly exposed rear driver's corner of the pan off after loosing the bolts. Despite a gallant effort otherwise, the RTV finally gave up and the fluid finally started to drain.

teekson · July 2002

In response to hersbird's response....

I have to say i agree with your opinion that people should take more responsibility for their own actions today and we'd all be happier. The world is full of people looking for others to blame for their own mistakes.

But in this particular case, I don't see your point. We are talking about a very simple design issue that is misleading and as a result possibly lifethreatening. When something is lifethreatening, we should all want something done to prevent it from happening again as taking responsibility for an error, no matter wo is fully to blame, doesn't bring a life back.

As to your comment regarding the front doors being locked, I didnt really get into it, but there was a second judgement error that I found to be non-critical. When I looked at the front door lock, being unfamiliar with the car, it apeared as if it was in the up position. If you own one of these vehicles you'd know what I am talking about. I one is unfamiliar with its normal use, first glance lead me to believe it was up since there is much room in the track below it as if to imply it goes down from that point. I admit that it appeared that way but felt it wasn't critical to determine since I wasn't going to take a chance and lock the other doors. If I had not later seen my wifes's sliding door fully up and unlocked, I certainly wouldn't have taken the chance. (Simply reaching over to grab the keys was an option, but was well out of reach with the car seat in the way and I thought I was in no danger if I just walked around the car to get them when I got in.)

And your comment about never leaving a child alone in a car sounds good, but almost impossible in many cases. Who do you suggest shuts the back doors when someone has the single sliding rear door design (opposite the driver's side) after placing an infant in the car seat?

And yes, none of these factors (including the lack of slim jims or extra keys) is completely to blame but each was a contributing factor which resulted in a very bad situation. But again, we are talking about life threatening situations and I think we should all be looking at ways to eliminate them any way we can. None of us operate in a perfect world where we can calmly think about every single possibility without distraction. (And a one year old offers all kinds of distraction). That's why Monday morning quarterbacks have all the answers

Bottom line is any design that misleads common sense and is potentially life tratening as a result, seems to me to be a poor design. Common sens says that if a door is unlocked and appears to be unlocked, it should be unlocked and remain so upon closing. Otherwise, make it appear locked prior to closing. Very simple answer we can all live with.

pat84 · July 2002

How did your only set of keys get onto the front seat, out of reach ? I think that may have been Heresbird'a whole point.
I had a third set of keys made. One is hidden outside my van.

odd1 · July 2002

I did this once in my teens. We were changing drivers so the eighteen year old was in the drivers seat at the beer drive thru. We both locked our doors out of habit with the car running in middle of the street. The police office slim-jimed it in about two seconds. Ever since I take the keys out of the ignition and put them in my pocket when getting out of the car for any reason what so ever.

Teekson- glad your child is all right. Here in Texas it seems like not one year goes by without someone leaving their child in a vehicle and the child dying from the heat. You were very wise to have them break the window.

ramarquardt2 · July 2002

I wanted to add my experience to the many that I see posted regarding Voyager Vans and their reliability. We purchased our first Chrysler product, a Grand Voyager SE on 9/95. At the time, the standard warranty was 3/36. The dealer sold me a comphrensive 7/70 extension warranty for $625 with only a $25 deductible. The extended warranty has just expired and the costs covered under the warranty came to $2914 that I did not have to pay. Major issues covered were:
* AC evaporator (this was expensive)
* AC condensor (and so was this)
* Front right axle
* O2 sensor
* Starter
* Water pump
* Thermostat

After some pestering, I just bought another 2yr/24k warranty from the dealer from DC that will take the van to 9yrs/94k. It cost me $840, has a $50 ded and covers the engine, driveline, transmission and A/C. It is referred to as DC's Powertrain Plus coverage. The dealer sold it to me for $100 over their cost. While $840 may should steep to some, one A/C problem will pay for the cost.

I wanted to make sure that I had the tranny & AC covered since they were the most probable sources of problems. The newer AC's use R134A and run at a much higher pressure than the old R12 systems, thus they are more prone to develop leaks.

Other than above, I have paid about $1k out of pocket for things like battery, brakes, front rotors, accessory belt, tranny change, etc..

teekson · July 2002

I completely understand his comment and if you want to go back and forth as to what triggered what, I think you have to go back to the car's design as the startng point of the problem. If the car lock system was designed properly in the first place (again, why did they change it in the following year's model?) then I get in the car from the other side with no issues. Was placing the keys there the best decision...easy to say no at this point. Should it have been an acceptable option...most certainly yes. But had the carlocks been designed properly, they wouldn't have stayed there before closing the door. So, the problem lies with the manufacturer. I've shown half a dozen people the same scenario and asked them to tell me whether they felt it was safe to close the door and each and every one of them agreed with me.

Even if I am easily mislead, (which I am not) why design a system that misleads even one person...especially with so much riding on door locks. I have no doubt that this system was a mistake to make and Chrysler was awaew enough to redesign it for the following year's models. Where they fall short is in not having done a full recall on that year's model.

xingze_cai · July 2002

Hi there,

I have 98 Caravan sport and the current mileage is 39000. Is the above service required? Thanks for any advice!

LoveVan.

hersbird · July 2002

Well the 2001 had a lot more changes then just the locks, it was a complete redesign. Those locks you are talking about date back to 96 and maybe even back to 93. Most cars you can't really tell anymore weather the door is loked or not just by looking at it. Millions of new cars have a horizontally mounted lock switch so there is no up or down just right or left, front or back, red showing or just black. Point is having owned the car all of 20 minutes it would be hard for anybody to tell how exactly a new car functions. I read a writeup on the new BMW 7 series, you almost need a semester long college class just to figure that thing out! I really am sorry for your experience, but really don't think your baby's life was in danger. You could have just broke the window 20 seconds after it happened, no danger of loss of life in that situation. Now just yesterday some dingbat locked here baby in the car, in the sun on a 90 degree day and went into the casino to gamble, now there I have a problem.

ody01 · July 2002

Owner Manual contain information on required service. Additional service = More Profit dealer or service facility.

pluto5 · July 2002

I haven't found any need for a fuel injection flush in 60K miles. I think this is a dealer profit center along with engine flushes. I did need the TB service once but now spray Gunk TB cleaner into the air intake with the engine running, about every other month and haven't had another problem with the TB.

xingze_cai · July 2002

Anybody has done that job? If yes, can you share your exprience, easy or hard, etc? Thanks!

jimmeh · July 2002

I haven't written that many posts in here, but until now they have been quite positive towards my 01 DGC Sport. On May 25, there was a loud squeal from the engine compartment, which resulted in the A/C breaking. After 4 trips to my dealer, leaving each time with the problem unresolved and waiting for a different part to be ordered, I had enough. Because there are no courtesy cars for basic warranty customers, and Dodge doesn't stock replacement parts to cut costs, the customer is left doing the leg work making repeated trips to the dealer. I contacted the GM of the dealer, and I was promptly provided with a replacement vehicle (a 2002 Caravan SE) to use until they repaired my AC. After 2 weeks, they called to say that it was ready, but within minutes of turning it on, I knew that the AC was not working correctly. I took it straight back, where the mechanic who worked on it was called up and agreed that the AC system (although running) was not blowing cold air. Today was one month to the day that I dropped the van off and the dealer called to say that they were finally finished. They replaced many parts including: the compressor, evaporator, dryer, H-valve etc and the service manager himself conducted an exetensive road test to make sure that the problem was now fixed. The problem is that whereas the system is blowing reasonbly cold air, I still dont believe that it is as cold as it used to be, or as cold as the Caravan replacement vehicle I had. Actually, considering that my replacement van only had the base AC and my van has 'dual' ACs, mine should technically cool down faster. How can I tell if the system is working to factory specs? Can I myself take the temperature of the air from the vent? If anyone knows, or has a recomendation of what to do next, I would be happy to hear your suggestions!

royallen · July 2002

xingze: You would be well served to obtain a Haynes manual for lots of help like fuel filter change. On my '95 the fuel filter is under the right rear. There are two clamps to loosen. The main concern is high pressure in the line even after the engine is stopped. A complicated procedure is described to bleed off the pressure. The gas filler cap should be loosened. Also some gas will leak out and will present a fire risk. I admit I did not do the long decompression procedure but waited 3 hours for pressure reduction. Maybe 3-4 oz of fuel spilled. Wear latex gloves.

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