753 of the
18,883 complaints filed about the Dodge Grand Caravan
are about the steering —
4% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 1996.
Am smells as if wires are burning and vehicle turns off whilst driving causing me to nearly hit a pole in one instance. Car will shut off also whilst parked or when reversing to park. Emergency Brake light come on at random times during driving as well. Or the seatbelt light will come on whilst seatbelt is engaged.
NHTSA complaint #11716641 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2020 Dodge Caravan. The contact stated that on one occasion while driving at while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost power. Additionally, the vehicle failed to steer as intended, with the front of the vehicle swaying. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the alternator had frozen, the serpentine belt was missing, and the tensioner needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was determined that the alternator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. On another occasion, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the EMC warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 83,749.
NHTSA complaint #11680665 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal whining sound coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the water pump was replaced. The contact stated that several months later, while driving 65 MPH, the steering wheel seized without warning. The contact used excessive force to steer the vehicle to an independent mechanic, where a power steering flush was performed; however, the failure persisted. The mechanic replaced the steering pump, which seemed to correct the failure. The contact then stated that the whining sound returned without warning. The vehicle was taken back to an independent mechanic, where the contact was informed that the valves inside the engine connected to the fuel injector were defective and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that after the diagnostic tests, the vehicle failed to start up after several attempts. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
NHTSA complaint #11662837 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the ignition became inoperable. The contact was unable to turn off the ignition with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact was not able to remove the key fob from the ignition. The contact removed the battery to turn off the vehicle and remove the key from the ignition. The vehicle was towed to the contact’s office. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 20V396000 (Air Bags, Steering) and 14V373000 (Electrical System, Air Bags); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 172,000. Parts distribution disconnect.
NHTSA complaint #11639601 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2010 Dodge Caravan. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 20V396000 (Air Bags, Steering) and 14V373000 (Electrical System, Air Bags); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
NHTSA complaint #11639602 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
As I was driving home on a city street, the entire car locked. I had no steering control. My brakes didn’t work the Entire vehicle locked. In the middle of the street. I turned the ignition off, put it in park and restarted the car only then did it work properly. This is the second time this vehicle has locked. This is very dangerous as I had a child in the car with me and I was in traffic. My brakes didn’t work, I had to use two feet really hard then I was able to stop the vehicle. The steering wheel didn’t work. Nothing worked. I don’t know What’s the problem. The very first time this happened, while dropping the child off at school, I put the car in park, I was not able to get the shifter out of park. The car locked. I sat in my car, wondering what to do decided to go on the web and check out problems with this particular vehicle, then I noticed there is a little door leading to the shifter to change it manually. But when you are in traffic, there is no time to look for a screwdriver to open the door to do anything manually. This is a safety hazard and I really don’t know why there is not a recall on this vehicle.
NHTSA complaint #11601844 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Without warning the car completely shuts off. This is very dangerous because it happened on the freeway (luckily the cars slowed down behind me). It is intermittent and two different mechanics have not been able to detect the problem. Was there a recall on this issue? What can be done to make this vehicle safer to operate. This has been going on for about 2 years.
NHTSA complaint #11584447 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My Transmission failed. My odometer reading is 92901. Dealership said not manufactured coverage. No message on dash. Happened while driving with children. Mechanic said needed to be replaced. This is a expensive repair. I believe manufacture should have told drivers about problems with transmission.
NHTSA complaint #11582257 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Travelling at the speed of 55 miles per hour the vehicle seemed to completely shut off on its own, thus causing immediate loss of power steering and power brakes. I was able to very carefully bring the vehicle to a complete stop after a half a mile or so. Fortunately, I was travelling on a long straight county road without any surrounding traffic. Once I turned the ignition totally off and back on again at the side of the road, everything seems to operate as normal. No check engine light, no other warnings came on thereafter. After doing some research online I found customer complaints experiencing the very same issues with certain Dodge Grand Caravan vehicles, however Dodge doesn’t seem to have any sort of recall for this extremely hazardous issue. It seems like it may be a faulty ignition switch problem!
NHTSA complaint #11577390 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and turning, the vehicle made an abnormal growling sound. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the power steering fluid was leaking. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the vehicle had been repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 04V386000 (Steering) in 2004. The failure mileage was approximately 329,281.
NHTSA complaint #11564617 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The TIPM failed which caused a loss of power to the vehicle and power to the fuel pump. I was driving at approximately 60 MPH when the vehicle lost all power and the steering wheel felt locked. I was unable to turn the steering wheel as the Dodge Grand Caravan came to a quick stop as if it was out of gas. Luckily I reacted quickly and was able to avoid an accident. After approximately 10 minutes of trying to restart the vehicle and drive to a safe location the vehicle restarted. This happened again when I was driving and came to a red light at a major intersection and the vehicle stalled out as if out of gas and the steering locked. I again tried to restart the vehicle intermittently for 15 minutes; after which it finally restarted, and I was able to drive and get out of the intersection without an accident. I was lucky that this didn't cause an accident. The other times the defective TIPM and power to the fuel pump caused the vehicle to fail to start and left me stranded. I have had the vehicle diagnosed and the TIPM repair price is quite expensive. The vehicle did not have any check engine or warning lights before this occurred. I have read many similar complaints of this occurring with others driving Dodge/Chrysler vehicles. I feel that there is evidence that the TIPM and the fuel pump on the 2011 Dodge Caravan are safety concerns. Every experienced mechanic I have spoken with is aware of the common issue with the TIPM, and power to the fuel pump and vehicle. Although I avoided an accident there is a concern for everyone's safety.
NHTSA complaint #11525717 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
In October 2022 I was driving down a residential road and slowed to turn into a parking lot and all power was lost. Was able to safely maneuver car and stop in parking lot. Put car in park, turned off the ignition. Restarted car, seemed ok. Mechanic said nothing was wrong. Now it’s happened twice more (April 14th and 17th, 2023). Once when trying to accelerate and merge onto a highway, once when slowing down to turn into a driveway. Both times the van just seemed to shut down and lose power. Steering became very difficult. Both times van restarted and continued driving after the incident. Waiting on word from mechanic to see what may be wrong.
NHTSA complaint #11518338 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Electrical system-intermittent failure. While driving or idling, the vehicle will randomly shut off. The vehicle has turned off randomly while being driven down the road with little to no warning, even while operating at high speed. When this happens, you are also left without power steering, ABS brakes, fuel pump, and literally anything that operates electrically. Sometimes it will turn right back on without the operator taking any action, but this is not always the case. There have also been times when it is not able to be turned back on for 20+ minutes. When it shuts down, power doors and windows are also inoperable and the side doors and back hatch cannot be opened either by pushbutton or manually, which compounds the risk of a serious collision with that of entrapment. This is especially dangerous given that they are a popular choice for families with children-like mine. My mechanic cited the problem as being the TIPM and said that this problem is endemic with these vans. A cursory internet search confirmed his claims. There are far too many anecdotes of people driving 80mph down the highway and all of a sudden having their vehicle stop operating completely while they are traveling at high speeds. This is a fatal accident (and huge products liability lawsuit) waiting to happen. A recall is absolutely imperative. My vehicle is available for assessment.
NHTSA complaint #11516640 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The steering and wheel alignment of the vehicle is habitually misaligned and pulling drastically to the right. The vehicle has been serviced and aligned multiple times, and the auto mechanic shop says that the alignment can no longer be set properly. They charged me extra for some additional part to help correct this and allow the vehicle to be aligned, however that did not help. Although the steering wheel appears in alignment, the front wheels continue to pull sharply to the right, causing a safety issue because the vehicle is constantly trying to move to the right.
NHTSA complaint #11503576 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Several times now, intermittently, my 2019 van has turned off on me as I am driving or am stopped at a red light, although most commonly it has occurred when I was driving. The van has stopped while I am driving various speeds, notably around the 10-40 mph. It will turn on once I come to a full stop, shift to park, and turn the key again. I've had the battery and alternator checked and they are in perfect working condition. This is a very dangerous situation.
NHTSA complaint #11503336 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
When driving the car will randomly shut off losing power. When trying to start it randomly it will turn on then shut back off. When it turns off as I’m driving it’s always under 50MPH but I lose steering. Very scary.
NHTSA complaint #11502730 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist and then stalled. Additionally, the odometer failed to display the correct mileage and the speedometer failed to display the correct speed of the vehicle while the engine revved. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 152,000.
NHTSA complaint #11471228 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The ignition is not responding as it should. I have to turn it more and more often when I should only turn it once. My grave concern is that of my wife and grandkids. When she is driving them to and fro, the car will hesitate to start and the real problem will be when it turns off. If they are all in the car and on the highway it could be a disaster. I had new key pods made and the vendor told me that Jeep uses the same ignition and they have a recall. Please help.
NHTSA complaint #11470204 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.