Dodge Grand Caravan suspension problems

SUSPENSION

Transmission

NHTSA complaint #11676443 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

Was driving home from work (on city streets) and noticed that the engine seemed to be idling higher than normal RPMs. Van would not shift from first gear and would not accelerate beyond about 30 MPH, very sluggish, while RPMs rose above 3K and engine made a grinding/whining sound. No warning lights of any kind came on while driving or while stopped. While stopped at a traffic light, heard several loud clunks from under the hood and van had difficulty accelerating from stop. Was able to get it to the shop where they diagnosed transmission failure - the mechanics couldn't get it out of first gear by the time they were done looking at it and had to push it off the lift. Total cost of a remanufactured transmission plus new hubs and axles because they couldn't get the old ones removed without damaging them to remove/replace the transmission was $5600. Van has 128,000 miles.

NHTSA complaint #11633430 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

I drove like regular the transmission was starting to delay in response but nothing to this extreme. I parked it after an evening of m working; Once parked the vehicle will shift through all gears but only Park is engaged and stays engaged even while shifting to R, N, D it only stays parked. This is a safety issue as I can not even get it in neutral to tow and get it looked at or anything. I was not expecting it to not engage ever again so my vehicle is on an angle parked and I cannot gear shit it to N to get it moved and out of the road. Also the sway bar seems to be faulty as well. I think that’s suspension but it rocks back and forth really badly actually while taking on bumps or cracks it’s caused concerns enough that I stopped having my 3 children in it now while driving until an investigation is completed.

NHTSA complaint #11592360 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

The contact owns a 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan mobility vehicle. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver's side rear wheel air bag was deployed. The vehicle was driven to the contact's residence. The contact stated that the vehicle had been converted into a mobility vehicle by Compacity Trucks. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and unofficially agreed to cover the cost of the repair. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

NHTSA complaint #11578451 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

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.

SUSPENSION

The rear sway bar mount on frame had completely broken off and the sway bar was making a loud clunking sound as we were driving which caused difficulty to control the vehicle. Upon inspection, mechanic found that the sway bar had broken away from the bottom axle area. This caused the body of the vehicle to be off center which caused the vehicle to rub the left tire which in turn rubbed the fuel neck and rubbed off the protected rubber coating. It was advised to not drive the vehicle as it was not safe. We have an independent mechanics report.

NHTSA complaint #11492615 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

The van slid backwards then accelerated at a higher speed going from a stop to slowly with a light tap on the gas pedal. The speed does not go higher than 15mph with the rmp too high when this occurs. It jerks back when trying to drive it forward. Has not left the dealership parking lot. Drove out 3mile out with this occuring. 3 attempts to fix. Still not driving well and can't leave the dealership lot.

NHTSA complaint #11490429 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

There is a creaking noise in the front end of the Dodge Caravan. Upon inspection at a service station, it was identified as a bushing that was partially missing on the front subframe crossmember attachment to the chassis. When attempting to purchase a replacement bushing from Chrysler it was discovered that the bushing was no longer made for this vehicle. Instead Chrysler now makes an entire new subframe crossmember with fasteners, that will need to be purchased and installed. It seems like this the bushing part was defective and therefore Chrysler made an adjustment which is now going to cost a lot more money to repair. This should be a recall and not an expense to the consumer.

NHTSA complaint #11466224 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

The contact owns a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle experienced abnormal vibration and shaking. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who rotated the tires, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 67,000.

NHTSA complaint #11435735 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

I WAS TRAVELING WITH MY FAMILY OF 4, BACK FROM A VACATION. TRAVELING AT ABOUT 65 MPH WITH TRAFFIC ON WET INTERSTATE HIGHWAY. 2 LANE HIGHWAY TRANSITIONED FROM BLACK TOP TO A CONCRETE BRIDGE, SLIGHT BUMP. WE HEARD A LOUD CRACK AND THUD, AND THE REAR OF VEHICLE BEGAN TO GO SIDEWAYS, AS I FOUGHT FOR CONTROL. BRAKING CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO FURTHER BECOME UNSTABLE UNTIL I REDUCED SPEED AND SLOWLY PULLED OFF THE BUSY ROAD AND FOUND THE DAMAGE. THE LEFT SIDE CONTROL ARM OF THE BEAM AXEL ASSEMBLY CRACKED AND THE SUSPENSION ON THE LEFT SIDE WAS ONLY ATTACHED VIA THE SHOCK AND COIL SPRING. WE SLOWLY EXITED THE HIGHWAY AND LIMPED TO A GAS STATION TO PARK AND CALL FOR A LONG DISTANCE TOW TO MY SERVICING DEALER BY MY HOME 135 MILES AWAY. WE NEEDED AN UBER AND A RENTAL CAR TO GET BACK HOME. VAN IS CURRENTLY PARKED AT MY DEALER, AWAITING FOR A TECHNICIAN TO GET IT LOOKED AT AS OF 4/12/2021

NHTSA complaint #11407706 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN FRACTURED REAR AXLE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED, NOT DIAGNOSED BY A DEALER YET THE CONTACT WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE SUSPENSSION AND REPAIRS PAID BY THE CONTACT THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, A LOUD RATTLING NOISE EMERGING FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE STARTED. THE VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED BY A NEIGHBOR MECHANIC, THAT DETERMINED THAT THE REAR AXLE WAS FRACTIURED AND NEEDED REPLACEMENT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT ALSO WANTED TO MENTION THAT THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN REPAIRED AT THE DEALER BENITEZ CHRYSLER,DODGE,JEEP, CARRETERA 3, KM 77.2, BO RIO ABAJO, HUMACAO, PR 00791, APPROXIMATELY 6 TIMES FOR THE EGR( EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION ). THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED FOR THE AXLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 99,207.

NHTSA complaint #11308431 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

AT 48,000 MILES RATTLES IN REAR END GETTING LOUDER. SOUNDS LIKE COMING FROM REAR SUSPENSION. NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AFTER 36,000 MILES. HEAR RATTLING WHEN IN MOTION.

NHTSA complaint #11307800 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

DRIVER SIDE STRUT FAILED. THE STRUT MAKES A TERRIBLE SQUEAKING SOUND AS YOU DRIVE. I TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC AND HE SAID "YEP THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE, I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT". BOTH FRONT STRUTS HAVE TO BE REPLACED. WHY ISN'T THIS A WARRANTY OR RECALL ISSUE?

NHTSA complaint #11288593 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

BAD STRUTS BAD BRAKES

NHTSA complaint #11176196 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

FRONT RIGHT STRUT SPRING BREAKING AT THE UPPER TIP 2-3 INCHES. THIS IS THE 3RD OF OUR GRAND CARAVANS THAT THIS BREAK HAS HAPPENED TO IN THE EXACT SAME SPOT. IT'S HARD TO SEE SO YOU HAVE TO LOOK CLOSELY AT THE VERY TIP OR IT WON'T BE NOTICED.

NHTSA complaint #11165957 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

REAR SUSPENSION RATTLES EVEN OVER LITTLE ROAD IMPERFECTIONS. BROUGHT TO DEALER ONLY FOR THEM TO TELL ME ALL NEW GRAND CARAVANS RATTLE OVER BUMPS. CONCERNED OVER PREMATURE SUSPENSION FAILURE MAYBE BY FAULTY OR DODGE NOT USING APPROPRIATE SHOCKS OR OTHER MEANS OF DAMPENING REAR SUSPENSION. ING BETTER NEW SHOCKS

NHTSA complaint #11142389 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

RECALL

NHTSA complaint #11072038 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

THIS IS THE 2ND OF OUR 2009 GRAND CARAVANS WITH THE SAME FAILURE IN THE EXACT SAME LOCATION. PASS SIDE STRUT SPRING BROKE OFF AT THE UPPER END ABOUT 2-3 INCHES OFF THE TIP. VERY HARD TO SPOT SO LOOK CLOSELY. 1ST ONE WAS CAUGHT ON A STATE INSPECTION AND THIS ONE WAS CAUGHT DURING ROUTINE PM. IS THIS A COMMON PROBLEM?

NHTSA complaint #11064389 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.