Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | ||||||
| EA04031 | CHRYSLER GROUP LLC | 11/22/2004 | 04/07/2005 | POWER LIFTGATE LATCH | 05V134000 | |
| This investigation was opened as pe04-054 regarding reports of alleged power liftgate (plg) opening while driving.the investigation was upgraded on november 22, 2004 based on information provided by daimlerchrysler corporation (dcc) in its september 17, 2004 response to pe04-054. by letter of april 5, 2005, dcc has notified the agency that it will conduct a safety recall of 70,235 model year (my) 2003 chrysler town & country and dodge grand caravan vehicles equipped with the plg option.dcc has identified a problem in early production my 2003 plg control modules that can prevent the plg door from latching closed in a power open/close cycle.in this condition the plg can rise (not power open) during vehicle operation.dealers will install a revised plg control module to remedy the affected vehicles.see safety recall 05v134 for details. | ||||||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - TAILGATE - LATCH | ||||||
| EA04031 | CHRYSLER GROUP LLC | 11/22/2004 | 04/07/2005 | POWER LIFTGATE LATCH | 05V134000 | |
| This investigation was opened as pe04-054 regarding reports of alleged power liftgate (plg) opening while driving.the investigation was upgraded on november 22, 2004 based on information provided by daimlerchrysler corporation (dcc) in its september 17, 2004 response to pe04-054. by letter of april 5, 2005, dcc has notified the agency that it will conduct a safety recall of 70,235 model year (my) 2003 chrysler town & country and dodge grand caravan vehicles equipped with the plg option.dcc has identified a problem in early production my 2003 plg control modules that can prevent the plg door from latching closed in a power open/close cycle.in this condition the plg can rise (not power open) during vehicle operation.dealers will install a revised plg control module to remedy the affected vehicles.see safety recall 05v134 for details. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | |||
| 05/21/2011 | 77000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 dodge caravan. the contact stated the doors could not be opened automatically or manually. the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who stated that the doors had to be taken apart in order to locate the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure and the current miles were 77,000. | |||
| 05/21/2011 | 77000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2002 dodge caravan. the contact stated the vehicle doors can not been open automatically or manually. the vehicle was taken to the local mechanic and the mechanic advised that the doers had to be taken apart to locate the failure. the vehicle has not been repaired. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure and the current miles was 77,000. li | |||
| 02/16/2010 | 120000 | 1 | |
| I own a 2002 dodge grand caravan. the drivers side sliding door will not close. this has been happening for some time but after fooling around with it manually and with remote, i could somehow get the problem fixed. not this time. i went online and found that many others have same problem. i feel this is a recall issue not just a repair. it is a defect by dodge/chrysler. my car is totally undriveable because the back door will not engage. *tr | |||
| 02/01/2009 | 63000 | 1 | |
| The power door locks on my 2002 dodge grand caravan have stopped functioning. there were no events leading to this failure, just working one day and not the next. this seems to me to be a safety hazard and i cannot believe that something hasn't been done to correct it. if the vehicle were to catch fire how would anyone be able to get out. *tr | |||
| 03/24/2009 | 78300 | 1 | |
| 2002 dodge grand caravan sliding door locks and can't be opened manually or remotely. passengers must exit opposite side of car. started 3 days ago, haven't had time to bring to dealer yet. this complaint is common on site: http://autoforum.classifieds1000.com/dodge-grand_caravan/power_locks_will_not_lock_or_unlock. *tr | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - DOORS - LATCH | |||
| 03/17/2008 | 1 | 04/21/2006 | |
| While driving i smelled smoke. i couldn't see where it was coming from so i continued driving. then i saw smoke coming out from behind the panel on the passenger side rear sliding door. i then pulled over to see what was going on. i couldn't see a fire from inside and the door didn't feel hot. i walked around to the outside and touched the door, which was hot. i then noticed burn marks through the paint. i went back into the van and pulled part of the panel away and saw flames inside the door. i then took a fire extinguisher and put out the fire. i called 911 and asked for the fire department. *tr | |||
| 04/05/2007 | 72000 | 2 | 07/26/2002 |
| The door latch on the 2002 dodge grand caravan required replacement twice in a 15 month span. thiswas for the power sliding door. it was replaced on 12/29/2005, and required replacement again on 4/5/07. i have been fortunate the failure has not occurred while the vehicle has been in motion, but am concerned about the frequent failures. the doorwas not subjected to abuse, and has not been modified in any way from factory specs.*ak | |||
| 01/11/2005 | 35000 | 1 | 10/13/2001 |
| We own a 2002 dodge caravan with a passenger side power sliding door. in cold temperatures (below 40 degrees) the motor fails to operate the door and the door must be opened and closed manually. due to its weight and design the door is quite difficult for a school aged child to open. in an attempt to get leverage, our son has had his head between the door and the frame as he attempts to slide the door closed. thankfully no accidents have yet resulted. however, i do see a potentially hazardous situation should a child's head get caught as they pull the door shut. there is a sensor that prevents the door from closing all the way when the power feature is used to close the door but i don't think it operates when the door must be shut manually.*ak | |||
| 04/25/2002 | 8 | 04/17/2002 | |
| Problems with seat tensioner and automatics doors malfunctioning.*mr air bag light remains on, as a result consumer has had the seatbelt tensioner and airbag module replaced. automatic doors have also malfunctioned and has been reprogramed. *ts | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE - LOCK | |||
| 10/18/2002 | 1 | 07/02/2002 | |
| Where to start, since the dau we bought it in 7/02, we have brought it in 3 times for faulty windshield wiper problems, we lost powering steering (thank god my wife was not driving it with our two small kids), the rear hatch didn't work and it took 3 months for us to finally get it fixed, we have to replace the brake pads at 14,000 miles, and just recently the alternator had to be replaced. now there is a problem with the brakes they make a horrible sound when pressing on them and is going into the dealer again next week. my wiper refuses to drive the caravan that we bought so it would be easier for her with the kids, but she feels that something else is gonna go wrong. we wrote a letter to chrysler and they responded we're sorry for the inconvenience. (the date of the first incident listed below may not be exactly when it happened, the paperwork is at home.) *la | |||
| 04/09/2003 | 1 | 04/17/2002 | |
| I purchased a new 2002 dodge grand caravan on 4/17/02. since then, this vehicle has been in the shop for multiple problems with the airbag light/seatbelt tensioners and malfunctioning automatic doors. this time the van was in the dealership for the airbag light again. per the dealership the airbag module was replaced again and tensioner overlay harness completed as per star. the rear automatic door wouldn't open again, had already been reprogrammed and this time the liftgate latch was replaced. this vehicle is a safety hazard!!!!*ak | |||
| 03/20/2003 | 1 | 04/17/2002 | |
| On 4/17/02 i purchased a new 2002 dodge grand caravan. this vehicle had been in the shop several times since the time of purchase. this time it was the airbag light again. according to the dealership, airbag diagnostic tests were performed and the left front seatbelt tensioner circuit was reprogrammed. i informed the mechanic that the second row seatbelts would not lock when you jerked on them, but according to the mechanic they were operating normally at this time. i also had to have them look at the rear liftgate again. per the dealership, the codes were reprogrammed again. *ak | |||
| 05/08/2002 | 1 | 04/17/2002 | |
| I purchased a new dodge grand caravan on 4/17/02. on 5/8/02 the vehicle was in the dealership for malfunctioning automatic rear liftgate and right side door. the dealership could not duplicate the problem and did not do anything.*ak | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - TAILGATE - LATCH | |||
| 11/20/2002 | 1 | 04/17/2002 | |
| I purchased a new dodge grand caravan on 4/17/02. on 11/20/02 (for the second time since purchase - first time was 5/08/02), i had to take the van to the dealership because the automatic tailgate and sliding doors were malfunctioning. according to the dealership, it was reprogrammed plm as per bull.*ak | |||