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Battery went bad inside of two years.
Passenger-side sliding door rollers - replaced twice, third set is failing (door slides slow and requires effort to close).
Windshield wipers - turn on for no reason, wipe back and forth a few times and then stop, usually not in proper stop location. Also, when we turn the wipers to the intermittent setting, the wipers are on full (as though there is no intermittent capability). When wipers are turned off they stop immediately, regardless of where on windshield the blades are (they just stop!). Takes several clicks of wiper control to get wiper blades to normal stopped location (at base of windshield).
Rear brakes - tinker toy quality. Several visits to brake shop, drums turned, drums replaced, master cylinders replaced, shoes replaced. Still dissatisfied with brakes.
Air-conditioner - this one hurt the wallet. Compressor failed in August of '98. New compressor $800.00
Infinity ten speaker stereo (cassette w/o CD) - replaced once. Unit currently in van is bad (volume controls don't work a majority of the time. Turn up volume, gets quieter or no effect. turn down volume, sometimes no effect have to turn knob 10, 20 times to affect volume).
Serpentine belt idler tension pulley - the shaft that holds the tension pulley to the engine block broke completely off, allowing the tension pulley to fall off and get entangled in serpentine belt which was in process of coming off due to broken tension pulley. Dashboard lights lit up like a space shuttle launch gone bad. Immediate and complete loss of steering (had my wife been driving she would have crashed!). It was all I could do to manhandle the steering wheel and get us off the highway and out of traffic. Vehicle towed to Dodge dealer and repaired. Called Chrysler customer hot-line and they took care of bill for this, but still had the aggravation of another mechanical problem on this vehicle.
Cruise control - van accelerates on its own. I haven't taken vehicle in for this yet.
Power door locks - driver door lock does not always work when locking doors. It sounds as though mechanism slips. You can hear motor for door lock spin, but lock does not go up or down. On several occasions we've had to use key and manually lock driver door.
Thanks
Inswiz, recall or no recall, I don't think I know a human being who would not sue Chrysler if that accident happened as you say!
Guitarzan
Community Leader/Vans Conference
Guitarzan
Community Leader/Vans Conference
1984 Cutlass Supreme: other than maintenance, it had no problems, original engine and tranny, 167,000 miles. car was rear-ended and was totalled.
1978 Chevy Van: 170,000 other than maintenance, same tranny, same engine, we call it the ferrari because of it's poor gas mileage (no offesnse to ferrari owners), but it still runs well.
1991 Chevy Camaro: 102,000 same as above, no problems.
1997 Dodge Caravan (Base): Grinding brakes finally resolved with different brand brake shoes. frozen calipers, left and right sliding door locks malfunction, (why is the door totally inoperable if the power locks fail?), the popular wiper problem: they have a mind of their own. and now at 45,000, the tranny decides to fail.
lack of maintenance? remember the previous cars listed at the top of this post? all GM...not that all GM cars are great either...but at least the ones listed above are/were going strong at over 100,000 miles and no problems.
should've stayed with GM. gave chrysler a chance, they failed miserably. they're nice to look at, they're nice to sit in, but start putting on the mileage and prepare for something to go wrong. just from my experience. sorry if this is too long.
I have replaced the trans filter and the fluid on the '90 three times. Prior to the last change I was getting some shudder at 45 mph on hills. I finally adjusted the kick-down and the reverse at 95k for the first time. I have always used Dextron but I now know to use ATF+. After the adjustments and Pennzoil Dextron that said it would eliminate shudder, I have no shudder and the trans works great. I do all my own basic maintenance.
My only problem with the '90 now is a minor oil leak that may be coming from the rear camshaft seal or the valve cover gasket.
One final thought. In '90 the regular Caravan cost me about $16k new, with AC, the V6, and the auto being the only add-ons to the base price. The 1999 Grand Caravan with 3.3L, 4 speed, tilt, cruise, power locks, windows, etc, cost me $19.5k new. Given reliability comparable to that I have had on the '90, I'd say the '99 was a much better deal. Time will tell but so far I am happy with both our minivans and I feel we have gotten good value out of them.
I explained the fact that the control panel occasionally lit up items like the low gas light even when I just filled the tank fifteen to twenty minutes prior and my windshield wipers would occasionally turn on by themselves.
The dealer had in my opinion decided fixing the problem would not occur because the warranty did not give them enough money to diagnose a problem they could not repeat or have the talent to find.
At 70,000 miles my Caravan started leaking fluids. My Dealer said that it was a leaky oil filter. Even after they changed the oil it still leaks the dealer says that happens after an oil change.
I don't care for my dealer... I tryed another dealer but he indicated he did not want some other dodge dealers problems. I called Dodge and they got my dealer to fix the window yet again but I feel that since the warranty is up and so is my blood pressure I will dump this thing and not buy another Caravan again.
A few people (dog-something), find it hard to believe that anyone would buy a DC van knowing that there are transmission problems. Yet when they are told that the Honda site posts plenty of problems, they still are OK with buying a Honda.
Use your own logic, or take it easy on DC.
Great movie title but a scary direction for American car manufacturers. Being Dad to four and saddled with a minivan as a family mover, I chose the Candy Apple Red Dodge Caravan ES in 1996 sticker'ing at 29 large. Quite the looker for a mini-van. This was to replace the 87 Ford Aerostar which had served us relatively well with 85,000 on the clock, and we'd now make the move into front wheel drive van-land for snow conquering.
Was that "Caravan" or "Aspen all over again". The first two stormy years of our relationship included three trips up town on the hook. For all the "1976 right reasons" brought to you at a 1996 price... Cooling fans in-op, Battery in-op, than the classic Water Pump at 42,000 miles 300 miles from home, and take note that these are only the tow truck assisted troubles with my three year old son enjoying the ride from high atop the tow truck cab with Billy-Bob and his home made lunch. Now the dealer goes for the full house reporting "dead spots" in my starter at just out of reach of the warranty period. This apparently a common occurrence. Being a spoiled Toyota owner my mind sees visions of unspoken customer service programs which soothe the troubled vehicle owner and foster a repeat consumer, but I was quickly shaken from my Toyota Land slumber by the cold God Bless American Auto manufacturer policy of "Maybe if more than 2% of the vehicles have problem". 2% of the Caravan, Town & Country, and Voyager market?? That's leave 49 states of customers who might return to the 35K, we'll get it right next time, counter. The service manager did see light at the end of the tunnel with policies now the Daimler headed up the Chrysler name..
Current undocumented features:
AIRBAG Light On always
Wipers like to cycle 2 to 6 times when shut off
CD Player Skips on high number tracks ( Second Unit )
Leaking Transmission Fluid from Radiator lines
Driver Side Sliding Door is rubbing Paint off external door jam
Daimler Chrysler seems to think they are loosing market share due to the lack of GEE WIZ features like automatic sliding doors, Rear hatch opening obstacle sensors, and more powerful engines. I don't think so. I think it's the same engineering that went into the Aspens of yesteryear, which Lee Iacocca spoke of in his book.
I would suggest not waiting for another model year for Chrysler to get it right. The types of problems most people have listed here are LOW TECH.
Batteries ( Been Around a While )
Cooling Fans ( Not exactly new )
Water Pumps ( Already said it )
Wipers
CD Players ( My $250 Alpine works great in my
Camry )
Leaks
Etc.
Take your $20K - $35K and try a manufacturer who does the engineering before they embarrass themselves! - My $.02
PS - Would LOVE TO HEAR FROM A CHRYSLER ENGINEER or Executive on this topic!!!
However, ABS will not pulsate unless the vehicle is in park. If the dealer told you that this is normal, give him his sign!!!!
ABS will not pulsate IF the vehicle is in park. Only if you are moving and 1 or more wheel is locking up.
After every 2 to 5 brake applications you MAY hear the ABS pump motor running. This will occur whether the brake applications were normal braking or anti-lock braking. The sound of the pump motor may be accompanied by a slight vibration in the brake pedal under light brake application. These characteristics indicate the ABS is recharging itself. THIS IS NORMAL OPERATION OF THE ABS.
Isn't that weird??? Does anyone else have the vibration while you are in park like I do?
I have a 1989 Probe GT with ABS. Being an early application for ABS, I get that pump sound and sometimes feel it in the pedal whenever I start the car. I don't hear or feel anything like that in my '97 Town & Country. I wouldn't doubt if you get this on your '93.
However, you described it as "violent". Again, I would need a definition of "violent". The pedal vibrating against your foot is not violent. If the whole van is shaking and you don't feel safe, that's violent!
buckalew
A brake rotor or drum is a hunk of iron exposed to the air without any corrosion protection...... that spells R-U-S-T. When it is damp, and you leave your car parked (even for a few hours or overnight), rust starts to form on the braking surfaces. When you drive the car again, it will take your brake pads a few applications to rub away this small layer of corrosion, which is why your problem goes away.
This is normal.....don't worry about it.
thebrakeman
I just traded my 97 GC ES with the 3.8L engine (I'm not familiar with the 3.6L). While I occasionally saw highway gas mileage in the mid-20's, I more typically got highway mileage in the 21 mpg range. I typically drove 70-80 mph, and was not shy about moving it along to pass in traffic. I'm sure that if I had kept to the speed limit and been more gentle in accelerating, I would have seen better gas mileage. People I know who claim to get significantly better mileage than I get drive at a slower pace. In comparing your GC to the Japanese vans, you should remember that your GC is bigger, and catches more air. The front and rear profile of a GC is smaller than a full size van, but not by a large margin. While you may get poorer mileage than the average GC, my experience says that you are within the "norm."
I used to change the engine oil myself and want to change the transmission oil on my own also. I looked at the transmission fluid pan underneath of my 98 Dodge Caravan (Sport model), it seemed that I have to unscrew all the screws there and take out the whole pan cover, not like the pan for the engine oil tank. Is that correct? If that is the case, will that make dirt everywhere when the pan cover is losed? I appreciate if you can give some advise and instructions! Also, what transmission fluid should I use, Morpar from the dealer or other brand? Thanks a lot!
Use ATF+ fluid only. I have used Quaker State as it is cheaper than the Mopar and meets the same specifications. When you refill, start with 4 qts for the 4-speed transmission and then add additional fluid in small quantities so that you do not overfill. My change took about 4.5 qts. Best of luck.
The horn, airbag, and cruise control were fixed by replacing the clock spring under the steering wheel ( $250.00 )
The leaking transmission fluid was fixed by tightening them fancy clamps and rubber hoses Chrysler's been using for 4+ decades ($29.00)
The Wipers were fixed by replacing the control stalk ( Number 3 ) Extended Warrenty
The CD Player and Radio had to be replaced
Thanks for listening and thanks for the horn tooting lessons boys!
The 2000 Caravan I have the transmission is slipping/jumping on the freeway at about 60 MPH while maintaining speed. Has Anyone else had this happen? Do you have a clunking noise in the LR of the van? It sounds like a bottle rolling in the tire and goes away at acceleration. Please let me know. I am taking it in the Dodge on THURS. and telling them to FIX IT!
Suppose I should have the transmission fluid and filter changed soon but beyond tires, brakes, oil and wiper blades I haven's spent any major time getting to know my local Dodge service dept. Some of you folks have had so many problems I think you could have solved a lot it with a rural untraveled road, a match and a long walk to the nearest telephone. Good luck with your new manufacturer!
I went to the auto show here in phila and I tried closing te doors of the honda and they felt like a mercedes. Closing the door of our van is like smashing garbage can tops together. Tin ones nonethless. When we go into our Honda everyhtin is so quiet. Go into the CHryisler and it sound like you are at a football game.
Despite all of the problems we still love our van. But an oddessy may be coming soon!