Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||
| 09/13/2006 | 149766 | 1 | 06/01/2006 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 1997 dodge grand caravan. whenever the contact shifts, the vehicle makes an unfamiliar noise. when the vehicle is parked, it operates normally. the transmission stalls and will start back up, but it is unreliable. the vehicle would rev and have to be restarted in order for the revving to stop. if there is a power fluctuation, the rear wipers will turn on and off at random. the high beams on the headlights do not work, but the failure was repaired. the parking light on the front driver's side failed. he replaced the bulb, but it still does not work. the contact stated that he is constantly replacing the low beam lights. the serpentine belt slips off; however, it has been repaired. the check engine light flashes on and off and there is a burning electrical smell coming from the vehicle. the front strut assembly is rusting and rotting. the rocker panel on the driver's side is rusted completely. the current mileage was 186,000 and failure mileage was 149,766. updated 09/10/08 *bf updated 09/11/08.*jb | |||
| 07/20/2006 | 135995 | 2 | |
| Dt*: the contact stated that while driving at 30 mph, the vehicle rpms dropped to zero, the vehicle jerked, and the engine stalled completely. the contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road, and was able to restart the vehicle after 10 minutes. the vehicle has not been taken in for inspection. the consumer stated several attempts have been made to fix the vehicle. the oil pan was leaking oil. the valve cover gaskets were replaced. the transmission was heavily damaged and had to be replaced. the power steering pump was replaced. the front end of the vehicle pulled to the left. updated 08/15/06. *jb | |||
| 02/12/1997 | 02/01/1997 | ||
| When driving over 20 mph up until 40 mph the vehicle will start vibrating without prior warning. vehicle has been in shop for service since consumer had the vehicle. dealer thinks the tires are causing the vibration. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT | |||
| 08/16/2009 | 154700 | 1 | |
| Upon turning left, the left front strut sheared from lower control arm. (ball joint failure) the wheel assembly remained attached at the upper mount of the strut, but turned and pushed sideways against the bodywork, pulling the axle out of the trans and destroying the cv joint. the car skidded to a stop with no steering control. there were no injuries. this is the second time this has happened. the previous incident occurred two years earlier (about 20k miles ago). the upper portion of the strut had a failure under similar conditions with similar results. the strut was replaced, but the lower control arm may not have been. *tr | |||
| 08/01/2008 | 95000 | 1 | |
| The strut tower on the 1997 dodge caravan, that has 99,500 miles rusted and needed to be replaced. after researching this problem i discovered that this was a common problem. dodge admitted to a design flaw for the premature rusting strut towers. a tech service bulletin from chrysler dated october '02 explicitly stated that all '1996 to 19'99 chrysler vans plymouth, dodge, and chrysler, had the problem with the strut towers. all of them will eventually rust from the bottom up. as i stated, the strut towers were defective in there design. clearly, when the rusted strut tower gives, the strut will come up through the hood. at that point, lives will be in danger, as the probability of losing control of the vehicle is inevitable. please consider this my formal complaint. will chrysler live up to the responsibility and repair this know defect for those of us out of the warranty timeline. *tr | |||
| 10/13/2006 | 100000 | 1 | |
| Make : dodge model : caravan year : 1998 manufacturer : daimler chrysler corporation service bulletin num : 2304402 date of bulletin: oct 14, 2002 nhtsa item number: 10000317 component: structure:body summary: cosmetic corrosion or perforation at upper strut tower/s usually between the strut and upper load path beam inner panel (inner fender). *tt *nm | |||
| 09/01/1998 | |||
| Defective transmission, causing difficulty in reverse position and surgeing while driving. also vibration and the vehicle pulls to the right badly which may cause an accident. dealer cannot determine problem, but is going to replace the tires. michelin stated that it not the tires, but the vehicle itself. *ak please provide further information. | |||
| 09/03/1996 | 1 | 08/24/1996 | |
| Vehicle misaligned. | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - MACPHERSON STRUT | |||
| 06/15/2005 | 100000 | 1 | 04/27/1999 |
| Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle failed the annual inspection. both front strut towers were rusted and worn. no repairs have been made. *ak | |||
| 03/29/2005 | 05/14/2002 | ||
| Over the past 2 years we have had to replace the struts multiple times. we have now been told that the strut mount housing that holds the strut mount plate has become oval and not round and therefore it sounds like a bad clunking noise whenever going over larger bumps....what do we do now? i am a mechanic and have no idea what to do and have been told there is nothing i can do by another auto repair. we also have had problems with the transmission shifting since basically when we bought it about 3 years ago and would liike to know if you have had problems with other 97 grand caravans. please help. we have 4 children and can not be without a van. thanks. | |||
| 03/18/2001 | 1 | 03/20/1997 | |
| Lower strut mounting bolt snapped causing vehicle to be undrivable. *slc | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - SHOCK ABSORBER | |||
| 06/02/2002 | |||
| Strut tower is not working properly. struts will only last another year due to rust. contacted dealer , and dealer is not willing to do anthing. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - AIR SUSPENSION SYSTEM | |||
| 02/22/2006 | 120000 | 1 | |
| Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle was taken to the auto shop for tire replacement and a wheel alignment. the mechanic alerted the owner of the vehicle about a possibility of a left spring support may become fractured due to heavy corrosion. the mechanic stated to the owner that many of these vehicles have the same problem and there has not been a recall for this issue. | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - SPRINGS - COIL SPRINGS | |||
| 1 | 12/01/2096 | ||
| Clockspring failure $250 repair possible recall. dt | |||
| Consumer called complaining about having problems with the clock springs which it affects her cruise control the air bag and horn consumer also stated that she knows that a recall may come out soon and just wants to make sure her vehicle is included on the recall. manufacture stated that this is not a oficcial recall yet. ts | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - WHEEL BEARING | |||
| 1 | 10/01/1996 | ||
| Bearing failed. | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR | |||
| 03/16/2010 | 104000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 1997 dodge grand caravan. the contact stated that when changing the tire, he noticed that the rear axle was cracking and rusting. the vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint because replacement parts were unattainable. the contact had not spoken with the manufacturer at the time of the complaint. the current mileage was approximately 107,000. the failure mileage was approximately 104,000-bk | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR - SPRINGS - LEAF SPRING ASSEMBLY - U-BOLT, LEAF SPRING TO AXLE | |||
| 02/24/2005 | 152000 | 02/01/2005 | |
| The 1997 dodge grand caravan front and rear brake pads and rotors wear out nearly every month. the vehicle begins to sway while driving 55mph on freeway or when changing lanes. the emergency brake light is on due to a leakage in the brakes. the egr valve keeps going out and the service engine light is on. | |||