Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | ||||||
| EA01007 | CHRYSLER GROUP LLC | 02/21/2001 | 11/22/2002 | AIR BAG CLOCKSPRING | 02V293000 | |
| There is no summary currently available | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 12/28/2011 | 223001 | 1 | |
| Computer failing to send signal to fan relay. *tr | |||
| 12/28/2011 | 223001 | ||
| Computer failing to send signal to fan relay. | |||
| 06/15/2011 | 142350 | ||
| Driving down road and all of sudden my guages go out on instrument panel-speedometer,fuel,temp, etc. it goes out and comes on whenever it wants to- i do a lot of traveling and rely on mileage re-imbursement but i get none cause my odometer and tripometer go out also, sometimes to never come on for a week or two | |||
| 03/05/2009 | |||
| Dashboard instrument panel keeps coming on and going off, abs light comes on then the instrument panel goes off. speed is unknown, amount of gas is unknown, oil, etc. this is ridiculous in the fact that so many have been complaining about it and the company still hasn't recalled the vehicles to have this issue fixed. yes i may have a 1998 plymouth voyager, but i don't feel that because of the incompetence that this company has that i should have to shell out money to have it figured out and repaired. i understand normal wear and tear but this is not normal (for other vehicles, obviously very normal for this one in general). the strangest thing is, if the vehicle is warmed up from the sun, the panel seems to work, the majority of the time, where i live it doesn't work, and i have to guesstimate everything. how is this safe?!?! | |||
| 06/13/2006 | 110000 | ||
| Randomly a short circuit in the instrument cluster has developed in the 1998 plymouth grand voyager. when this occurs, the dash board remains illuminated but the gauges do not function(speed, rpm, gear, temp,etc) and the vehicle doses not communicate to the transmission and the vehicle does not shift into overdrive gear. the brakes and airbag will illuminate on dash. the computer codes and reads ecm failure. twice taken to dealership don drennan hoover al. | |||
| 02/26/2000 | 1 | ||
| My van is a lemon. all kinds of electrical problems - defogger sometimes work and sometimes not, windows won't roll down, stereo speakers sometimes works, instrument panel lights go off and on, dim yellow headlights, etc. found pin hole in head...defect in metal. van over heated and gauge did not say it was hot. fan went out. now something going wrong with front end. occasionally smell gas. the lifter head gasket now leaks oil. van sometimes jumps in park and rolls. i can not afford to fix this stuff... bail me out not chrysler.... *tr | |||
| 01/02/2009 | 1 | ||
| I have a 98 plymouth voyager, for the last couple of months i have had problems with this car, the dashboard keeps going out while i'm driving-i have punched the dashboard while i'm driving and sometimes that have made everything light back up, i have pulled over to the side of the road at night and almost got into a accident because of this problem; it even happens when the car is off, when this happens the car starts and than shuts right back off, than the car doesn't start at all, i have replaced the starter,ignition box,alternator and other things. my car is now stranded in a different neighborhood than mine. the other problem is the fanbelt keeps coming off, i have been driving with my kids in the car in the rain and it has falling off, another time it happened i was going over a train bridge down a hill with my kids in the car and i had to force the car into a near bye school parking lot. i have went to the dealership and they said they didn't know anything about a kit supplied by chrysler to help prevent this from happening and they said there was no recall on this problem, this is a very dangerous situation, please help me! *tr | |||
| 08/09/2007 | 97000 | 5 | |
| Headlights, interior and other lights, come on and go off automatically. this can happen when vehicle is running (lights flashing) and this happens even when engine and ignition is off. eventually battery is completely drained. mechanics are unable to properly diagnose problem. some mechanics say it could be because of a faulty bcm, but not sure. reading through edmunds.com and other blogs, this seems to be a common problem with many plymouth/dodge/chrysler mini van owners, with no real solution. flashing lights when driving can distract other drivers on the road. a dead battery at any time and especially in the wrong place can cause all kinds of difficulties. headlights going off during night driving can lead to accidents. took the vehicle to a local mechanic who ran a diagnostic test and was unable to find root cause, but suggested could be faulty bcm (diagnostics cost $150). took the vehicle to chrysler dealer who ran diagnostics and said could be because of an after market alarm. recommended removing the alarm (cost $400 for diagnostics and removing alarm). problem was not solved and now says caused by faulty bcm (which they say could have been caused by alarm), suggested replacing bcm. cost of new bcm quoted is $700+ labor. vehicle is currently inoperable (dead battery). is this is a common problem with plymouth/ dodge/chrysler minivan's? *tr | |||
| 05/01/2005 | 75000 | 100 | 03/05/1999 |
| I see there is an investigation on dodge caravan and grand caravan, plymouth voyager and grand voyager and chrysler town and country and voyager minivans from the 2001 and 2002 model years. owners have reported that the headlights are flickering, dimming and periodically shutting down while the vehicle is in motion. the problem has led to the minivans being towed in some cases. i would hope that you can add my year minivan. i have a 1998 plymouth grand voyager experiencing the same problems. i am not able to get it fixed because the mechanic can't figure out what is causing this. is there anything you can do to add my vehicle to this safety investigation??? the headlights are flickering on and off, the dash lights do this at the same time. sometimes the headlights just stay on. | |||
| 05/01/2005 | 54 | 14 | 05/01/2002 |
| There is no particular event that triggers the following problems: the instrument cluster / controller is defective. the gauges fail constantly. the abs light stays on which i believe is related to the clock-spring recall, and the speedometer, odometer, tachometer,fuel gages stop working. i read an article in a forum that said disconnect the battery because it was a problem with the ecu. it seems resetting the ecu did fix the problem temporarily. so each time it happens that how i fix it. a recall for the defective ecu may be in order. i have read many articles with people with this same issue. (2) the leds for the a/c, heating and rear wipers don't work. they just blink. i have found that if you drive long enough, they start working usually non-stop driving for over an hour. | |||
| 01/10/2004 | 1 | ||
| Nothing on dash board works. *jb | |||
| 02/07/2003 | 60000 | 4 | 10/25/1999 |
| While driving 30 mph or more the abs and the check engine lights illuminated simultaneously. the condition caused the instrument gauges and the power door locks to be inoperative. the vehicle has been to the dealer on three separate occasions. they replaced three difference sensors and a module and the problem keeps recurring. *jb *sc | |||
| 06/09/2004 | 88000 | 1 | |
| When car is off, my front and back headlights constantly click on and off. i here a clicking sound in the fuse box. with the constant on and off, my battery dies. i am taking my vehicle to the shop today but was wondering is this an electrical problem. i often heard that the vehicles always usually has electrical problems. i never noted a recall or complaint before but would like a response to whether this problem is common. *jb | |||
| 04/25/2004 | 108000 | 06/05/2000 | |
| One day, the air bag light stayed on, horn would not work, neither will the cruise control. bad clockspring on the steering wheel is the cause. found problem simply by searching on clockspring and this problem shows up pertaining to 1998 plymouth grand voyager. currently it is still broken. | |||
| 5 | |||
| The vehicle is experiencing a loss of power steering,a/c,and the electrical system.also, engine belt needs to be replaced. dealer has replaced engine belt 3 times. the problem has happened 5 times. *ak | |||
| Due to an electrical shortage within the system, the abs warning light reamains illuminated, as well as the air bag warning light. the door locks do not lock and other malfunctions occur. please give any further details. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS | |||
| 11/29/2007 | 151467 | 1 | 02/05/1998 |
| Chrysler designed the power distribution block cover to hold water and retain moisture. this causes the connections to corrode and fail leading to failure of critical, electrically-operated, safety systems including the airbag safety restraint system and the anti-lock braking system. chrysler has been aware of the error and redesigned the power distribution box. however, they did not recall and offer to replace the failed component. *tr | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||
| 08/20/2003 | 1 | 05/01/1998 | |
| A service bulletin was issued from diamchrysler on june 2000 regarding the ignition locking. the ignition locks up. i would like to know why there weren'tny recalls regarding this manner. if so, when was it recalled. unfortunately no longer am under warranty for this problem. i was never notified of the serviceletin when it was issued.*ak | |||
| 08/15/2000 | 1 | 06/01/1998 | |
| I have contacted chrysler and they paid for the ignition and the manifold gasket replacement. they paid $1,000 of the transmission failure. the total bill for the transmission failure was $2500. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - MODULE | |||
| 08/07/2000 | 5 | ||
| Had let vehicle idle a while before moving. shifted into reverse & started to back out. engine stalled out. no prior warning. took to dealer 1st time & had map sensor replaced. 2nd time throttle sensor was replaced. 3rd time control module. 4th time mechanic took engine apart & found wires under the hood had melted together & all the electrical wires needed replacing. this was due to the wires being too close to the exhaust system.*ak | |||
| 04/15/2000 | 3 | ||
| While driving on the highway vehicle would die out/stall without prior warning. has happened 3 times in 2 weeks. contacted dealership & was informed engine needed new spark plugs & wires, which were replaced. however, problem still exists. contacted manufacturer & informed consumer to take vehicle back to dealership. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - SWITCH | |||
| 01/02/2009 | 130000 | 1 | |
| 1998 plymouth grand voyager se. key would not turn in the ignition switch. this has happened several times in the past. on friday, 02 january 2009, we had driven the vehicle to a destination and then upon trying to get in and start it, the key would not turn in the ignition switch. we tried turning the steering wheel to release any pressure, wiggled the steering wheel, etc until finally, the steering wheel became locked. at that point, there was nothing that we could do with the vehicle. we were blocking the drive into a glass repair shop such that no other vehicles could be moved in or out of the business, not to mention the weather was very cold. we had to have a tow company come and release a linkage underneath the van in order to get it into neutral just to push it back out of the way. we had it towed to a dodge dealer in bloomington, indiana to have it looked at. the result was a faulty ignition cylinder. the dealer replaced it at a cost of nearly $300. after much research online, it appears that this is a wide spread problem across the entire chrysler product line. this fault puts a person at risk of being stranded. chrysler should answer for this, as this seems to be very widespread. *tr | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - STARTER ASSEMBLY | |||
| 05/09/2003 | 54000 | 1 | 06/15/1999 |
| Dear sir: to who it may concern. i have a 1998 plymouth caravan van (they call it a truck) with a 3.3 liter engine. with about 54,000 miles on it . last week i made a short trip to lowes about 3 miles from home. when i returned home i parked in my driveway and went into my garage. after about 2 min i saw fire dripping from my engine, i got my fire ext. and used it under the car. then i opened the hood and put out the rest of the fire. i then disconnected both battery terminals and called the wrecker to tow my car to the dealer for repair (autowest dodge in roseville auto mall--- roseville ca) . i followed the wrecker to autowest and told the dealer to repair my car. they called & the next day i picked up my car . they told me it was a short in my starter and they had put in a new starter and repaired the burned up wiring harness. my car seems to be working ok now. my extended warranty covered all but $50.00 . i am writing this report because what if---i had driven into the garage closed the door and went into the house ? it would have burned down the house or worse. i asked the dealer if they had any other cases of this and he said no. i do not trust auto dealers to tell the truth. so i will let you guys take it from here. *jb | |||
| 09/08/2002 | 3 | 05/01/2098 | |
| At 600 miles, instrument cluster failed, a/c not working, no reverse. dealer replaced instrument cluster, could not duplicate the no reverse condition, and replaced the a/c fuse. at 6,363 miles, transmission slipping and scraping noise when turning left in reverse. dealer could not duplicate. at 7,586 miles, no start condition on numerous occasions, after the dealer had the van for over a week, they finally duplicated the problem and and replaced the starter. at 36,141 miles the serpentine belt broke because of a defective tensioner pulley, dealer replaced the belt and tensioner, supposed goodwill, but we all know about the tsb, and all the other complaints. at 36,741 miles, leaking coolant, dealer replaced the rear head gasket, and did not even check the front head. (now who ever heard of replacing one head gasket on a v-6 motor, i guess chrysler must think they are superior). at 53,000 complete engine failure, 2 hours away from home, and now waiting to see what the cause is. according to the service manager the motor is knocking and there is a lot of metal in the oil. and i forgot to mention that this vehicle has not even fulfilled the lease term. nlm | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - STARTER ASSEMBLY - SOLENOID | |||
| 10/14/2003 | 88862 | 1 | 05/25/1998 |
| Failed starter. replaced starter. engine 3.3l. mileage 88862. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING | |||
| 09/10/2005 | 64100 | 2 | |
| Break pedal stop light switch. the wire harness moves every time you step on the pedal, thus making the wires break. when the wire breaks the stop lights don't work and could and almost lead to a few rear end crashes i had. wires replaced and had pedal and harness to configure not to move when the break pedal pressed. *nm | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - FRONT UNDERHOOD | |||
| 09/05/2002 | 10/01/2098 | ||
| No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak | |||
| 01/10/2001 | 1 | ||
| Consumer noticed liquid dripping on the garage floor and placed a rag under the vehicle, when backing out of the garage the rag attached to the axel and consumer noticed that he did not have brakes and was notified by passers-by that his car was on fire, comments from the adjuster is engine wiring harness damaged heavily and brake sensor wire burned up, no signs of a rag or anything (claim # 42-1330-502). *yd | |||
| 10/27/2000 | 1 | ||
| Vehicle being driven normally at highway speed. detected fire coming from under vehicle. when stopped, engine still running and flames engulfed vehicle from under front portion just rear of engine compartment, quickly spreading to rear and interior. *ak | |||
| 08/07/2000 | 5 | ||
| Had let vehicle idle a while before moving. shifted into reverse & started to back out. engine stalled out. no prior warning. took to dealer 1st time & had map sensor replaced. 2nd time throttle sensor was replaced. 3rd time control module. 4th time mechanic took engine apart & found wires under the hood had melted together & all the electrical wires needed replacing. this was due to the wires being too close to the exhaust system.*ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - INTERIOR/UNDER DASH | |||
| 08/06/2003 | 150000 | 1 | 06/02/2003 |
| Dt: contact stated when driving at 35-40 mph all panel lights went out, and there was not indication of speed. currently, the panel lights no longer came back on . however the turn signal lights were still working. the contact did not know the number of occurrences because there were too many. *ak updated 12/27/2005 - *nm | |||
| 05/01/2005 | 75000 | 100 | 03/05/1999 |
| I see there is an investigation on dodge caravan and grand caravan, plymouth voyager and grand voyager and chrysler town and country and voyager minivans from the 2001 and 2002 model years. owners have reported that the headlights are flickering, dimming and periodically shutting down while the vehicle is in motion. the problem has led to the minivans being towed in some cases. i would hope that you can add my year minivan. i have a 1998 plymouth grand voyager experiencing the same problems. i am not able to get it fixed because the mechanic can't figure out what is causing this. is there anything you can do to add my vehicle to this safety investigation??? the headlights are flickering on and off, the dash lights do this at the same time. sometimes the headlights just stay on. | |||
| 10/11/2002 | 131000 | 30 | 02/12/1999 |
| I own a 1998 plymouth grand voyager. it has 168,900 miles on it. for the past 13 months, we have had numerous occasions when as we are driving, all gauges will suddenly stop functioning. this includes the speedometer. when our gauges go out, the airbag warning light comes on, indicating that system will not function properly in the event of an accident. are other voyager owners experiencing a similar problem? *la | |||
| 09/08/2002 | 3 | 05/01/2098 | |
| At 600 miles, instrument cluster failed, a/c not working, no reverse. dealer replaced instrument cluster, could not duplicate the no reverse condition, and replaced the a/c fuse. at 6,363 miles, transmission slipping and scraping noise when turning left in reverse. dealer could not duplicate. at 7,586 miles, no start condition on numerous occasions, after the dealer had the van for over a week, they finally duplicated the problem and and replaced the starter. at 36,141 miles the serpentine belt broke because of a defective tensioner pulley, dealer replaced the belt and tensioner, supposed goodwill, but we all know about the tsb, and all the other complaints. at 36,741 miles, leaking coolant, dealer replaced the rear head gasket, and did not even check the front head. (now who ever heard of replacing one head gasket on a v-6 motor, i guess chrysler must think they are superior). at 53,000 complete engine failure, 2 hours away from home, and now waiting to see what the cause is. according to the service manager the motor is knocking and there is a lot of metal in the oil. and i forgot to mention that this vehicle has not even fulfilled the lease term. nlm | |||