1995 DODGE Grand Caravan

when i first bought this van i had a number of problems with this van. i had to replace the entire front end! brakes,tierod ends,both cv axles,3 wheel bearings, twice on the right side!, rotors. then at another time i was driving down a major highway in CT and the transfer case shattered and locked up the back wheels and made me skid on the highway and then as suddenly as it happened, the wheels unlocked and i was able to drive to my destination. when i tried to backup i heard a grinding noise and later found out that the transfer case was completely shatered. that cost me 2500 dollars to buy and have installed. as for the heat in the van it never worked correctly! i had to wait 1-2 hours for the heat to come up to temp. needless to say i froze in the winter time! i also had to replace another cv axle on the drivers side in 2008 and then the transmission died on the highway, it clunked, banged and then stopped running on the side of the road, no matter how much i pressed the gas pedal it wouldnt move, i turned the van off and let it cool on the side of the road. restarted and then put the transmission into gear and it ran for about 2 mins and then slipped out of gear, i slammed the transmission into low gear and got off the highway, the transmission failed again, i turned off the motor and let the transmission cool again. got someone to push me to the side of the road at an intersection and then slammed the transmission into low gear again and drove to a parking lot and then had to have the van towed all the way home where it sat and i then sold the van for 300 dollars for parts and then bought a 96 dodge caravan and found out that the transmission is going to do the same thing at some point!!!! i want to file a lawsuit against dodge because they knew of this transmission problem and has not done anything about it!

Two problems exist with our Grand Caravan–the 1st one, I do not know if it would be under the computer aspects of the van or not, but the windshield wipers come on for one swipe whenever they want to do so. We took the van in shortly after purchase and they supposidly put a part on it to correct the problem. It did not work, it was done once or twice more and to no avail it still sweeps the windshield at random times with the switch not in the one position. We have heard of this problem from other Dodge Grand Caravan owners but have never seen the issue addressed.The 2nd problem is that the headlight covers on the front of the van are very discoloured–to the point of being yellow–this has not only happened to us, but to my secretary’s Dodge Grand Caravan. It sure makes for duller light when the headlights are on. It makes you wonder if other people are dealing with the same problem.Thank you for you attention into this matter.

Transmission failed, causing it to leak. *dh

Windshield fogs up when air conditioner used.

Tensioner bolt broke causing vehicle to lose power and steering. yh

Tl* the contact owns a 1995 dodge grand caravan. the contact stated that while driving 50 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. the vehicle was jump started and taken to a dealer who offered no assistance. the manufacturer was contacted and they also offered no assistance. the failure mileage was approximately 160,000. updated 12/20/11*lj

In 2003 i bought 8 futura plus tires made by cooper and sold by pep boys. they went on 2 different vehicles. all 8 eventually separated. one was replaced by another futura plus and it has just separated also. each around 20000 to 30000 miles of use. in each instance pep boys refused to acknowledge the tires were separated even though you clearly could feel the bump in the tire , and driving with the tire caused the steering wheel to rock back and forth as you took off the to increase to a bad vibration. with some of the tires they refused to replace them, and i had to go to another store. the latest incident , wayne douglas at the orange park fl store refused to replace the tires and tried to blame me, but i quoted the warranty to him, and asked where he found his statements in the warranty and he refused to answer.*ak

1995 dodge grand caravan went to full throttle and no brakes due to a plastic break in restrictor jamming in throttle body holding valve open. result was full throttle and no vacuum for brakes. car was finally stopped by turning off ignition. *nm

A cross over in the fuel rail was leaking. recall 00v268000 was issued on this problem. consumer was concerned because vehicle was shooting out fuel.when it first started happening it was on the left side, and currently it is on the right side. there were no lights illuminating on the dashboard. *ak

Fuel injection racks on my 1995 grand caravan [xxx] split, spilling fuel over engine. i was told that other grand caravans were covered by a recall, but that mine was not. fuel racks were replaced at a cost of $560.71 but chrysler refuses to reimburse me even though this failure is similar to the recall. i would like the nhtsa to reconsider the limits of its recall for this failure on grand caravans.*ak updated 07/25/2012 *js information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)

Two problems exist with our grand caravan--the 1st one, i do not know if it would be under the computer aspects of the van or not, but the windshield wipers come on for one swipe whenever they want to do so. we took the van in shortly after purchase and they supposidly put a part on it to correct the problem. it did not work, it was done once or twice more and to no avail it still sweeps the windshield at random times with the switch not in the one position. we have heard of this problem from other dodge grand caravan owners but have never seen the issue addressed. the 2nd problem is that the headlight covers on the front of the van are very discoloured--to the point of being yellow--this has not only happened to us, but to my secretary's dodge grand caravan. it sure makes for duller light when the headlights are on. it makes you wonder if other people are dealing with the same problem. thank you for you attention into this matter.

While driving at approximately 55 mph, with the rear defroster on, back window blasted out of the tailgate. there was no evidence of foul play, such as a pellet gun or stones.*ak

Windshield wipers malfunction. they will either come on or go off without turning the switch. this is a common problem, and there's a tsb on this issue, indicating that the failing part is the bcm (not found in artemis), per the dealership.*ak

Integrated child seat located in the middle row had a five point harness system. the cable that locked the seat belt in place broke, and seat belt will not stay fastened.*ak

There is a structural weakness in the front doors of dodge/chrysler minivans that causes door failure. the doors become improperly aligned with the door frame, making them difficult or impossible to open and close. the door also fails to latch properly as a result of misalignment. this can cause the door to fly open suddenly while the vehicle is moving, particularly when turning a corner. it happened to me, but fortunately my passenger was wearing his seatbelt and was not thrown out of the car. others might not be so lucky. two and a half years ago, when the doors on my 1995 grand caravan began to fail, i went to an autobody shop for repair, thinking it was a simple matter of repairing welds. i was told that the door had been repaired before (by a previous owner). i have since learned that my local dodge/chrysler dealer has repaired many doors, so this is not an uncommon problem. unfortunately, at least in the case of my vehicle, the doors were braised, making it impossible, i understand, to weld them. it looks to me as if the only lasting repair would involve reinforcing the door frame, which would involve extensive body work. my doors are failing again, and i want a fix that will last! it scares me to drive the car, because i'm afraid i won't be able to get out of it in an emergency. *nlm

Failure of airbag system to deploy during a vehicular accident. vehicle impact had enough energy to bend the frame of "complaint" vehicle. both vehicles were written-off by their respective insurance companies. *la

Problems with 1995 dodge grand caravan cutting off while in motion. *mr manifold air pressure (map) sensor had to be replaced. *tt *jb

While driving the vehicle leaked oil from underneath the hood. *nlm

While driving, the vehicle stalled and could not be restarted for about ten minutes. *nlm the first occurrence was diagnosed as a glitch, then the problem was diagnosed as map sensor. the consumer hadn't experience another problem since. *scc *jb

The consumer smelled gas coming from the truck, he opened the hood and discovered a fuel leak. it was confirmed by a mechanic, there was a fuel injection rail crossover tube leak and the fuel rail needed to be replaced. *jb ph *jb

Intermittently, the cruise control, windshield wipers, and horn came on by themselves. *jb

Door structure : hinge and assembly.

The hinge and attachments broke on the vehicle. *ak *jb

The front driver door frame is breaking off metal. ts the driver door mounting point on the body, is cracking from the flex of the door and will eventually break completely off. scc

While driving around a circle at night, consumer felt a bump and vehicle stopped. consumer thought vehicle had hit a tree. vehicle was towed to mechanic, mechanic states tie rod was broken. please provide any further information. mr

While traveling on the highway without prior warning. the vehicle shut down she heard a knocking noise coming from the front rear of the vehicle. the dealership is aware of the problem. mr

Consumer states that while vehicle was not running and standing on the parking lot. the switch to move the side mirroms caught on fire, the consumer disconnected the battery and the fire stopped. nlm consumer states the 10 amp fuse for the mirror control switch never blew, but the mirror switch and connecting plug were melted. *yh

Consumer noticed a hair line crack through front windshield. which was caused by a stress factor. however, there is no other damage to windshield. please provide any further information.*ak

Airbag light comes on when turning on rear windshield wipers. rear windshield wipers shorted out. *ak

Left front door hinge rusted and door fell off. contacted dealer.*ak

Vehicle 1 was traveling, crossing the intersection at a green light when vehicle 2 made a left turn in front of vehicle 1. air bags did not deploy from frontal collision, claim 18-0612-628. *jg

As i was buckling my child into the far rear, center seat, the seat belt detached from the seat, rendering the seatbelt unusable. a couple of weeks later, when buckling my child into the far rear, left seat, the locking mechanism part of the seat belt detached from the seat, rendering that seatbelt unusable as well. neither part has been repaired or replaced.*ak

Bottom hinges for driver's door are failing, causing door drop down, resulting in failure of door to properly align with frame so that door can be closed and locked. please provide any additional information / attachments.*ak

Sliding door came off the hinges; dealer/manufacturer were notified,and werer unwilling to assist in this matter. feel free to provide any further details. *ak

Transmission failed at 65-70mph. there was no pressure or warning before vehicle acted without gears. motor was running with no overdrive/ brake lights, and no engagement of gears. also, there was a sudden loss of speed on a busy turnpike. transmission was rebuild in march of 2000 . transmission came with an under sized/ overdiver/ reverse clutch piston small size, causing it to be knocked around, and making some debris which got into area. *ak original transmission failed at 79665 miles when the original owner was in possession of the vehicle, the replacement failed at 79665, resulting in sudden loss of speed with no warning. *slc

Driver door is sagging, weld on hinge is rusting. hinge is pulling away from door. consumer has to lift up on door to open and close it.*ak

Door is rusting at hinges right off post . contacted dealer, and dealer can't do anything about it. *ak

When accelerating at 45 to 70 mph vehicle vibrates badly. *ak

Seat belt upper anchor came off while putting on seat belt. dealer notified, and repairs done at no cost to consumer. *ak *slc

Tensioner broke, and car was disabled because fan belt doesn't run. *ak bolt/mount holding tensioner to the engine block sheared off completely disabeling the fan belt. *yh

Driver's door hinge is ripping off metal of frame, door could possibly fall off. dealer said needed to either spot weld or replace frame. *ak upon examining the door, it was found that the door had dropped several inches and was gadually separating from the body frame. the solution was to replace the frame which cost the consumer significant amount of money. the manufacturer claimed it occured due to age of the vehicle. *yh

Consumers door is cracking at the hinge, it's beginning to deteriorate. dealer said it's cheap metal that's being used. *ak

Bolt that held tensioner pulley to engine block has snapped off. half of the bolt was still left on the engine block . there was no evidence of rust. *ak

The doors will not shut due to metal fatigue. dealer has inspected vehicle, and manufacturer has been notified. *ak

Intermittently transmission will not shift into gear or have a delay in the shifting, and will not go into reverse. *ak locks into low gear (limp mode). *yh

Automatic transmission shift: solenoid manfunctioned, causing vehicle to stick in overdrive . transmission has been replaced. *ak

Transmission seals is leaking fluid, resulting in transmission failure, transmission does not shift into gear when driving. consumer has contacted the dealer, dealer states the transmission needs replacing. please provide any further details. *ak

Transmission is going out, and the vehicle is getting stuck in neutral. also, vehicle isn't shifting properly, and their is a loss of power. *ak

Driver's door latch area has a crack which prevents the door from locking properly. can nhtsa help or provide additional information. *ak

Abs light came on and won't go off. *ak

Seatbelts will not stay locked. *ak

The vehicle is stalling without warning, causing loss of vehicle control. dealer cannot determine what is causing the problem,and replaced fuel injection and map sensor, etc. *ak

The front doors hinges have torn off from the post, causing the doors to sag and will not shut or close correctly. delaer has welded the door once, but defect has reoccurred, and then dealer replaced post. *ak

Front brakes applied by themselves, causing the wheel to be extremly hot . dealer replaced master cylinder and caliper. but, problem still exists. *ak

Vehicle can be put into gear without brakes being applied. also, this was done by a child. *ak *ml

Intermittently when accelerating the vehicle would jump. after a while the vehicle would not exceed speeds of 55mph. the dealer has inspected the vehicle and disassembled the transmission and discovered that the clutch was burned out. owner contacted that manufacturer. *ak

While driving vehicle about 55 mph and when applying the cruise control and then come off, vehicle sometimes has a sudden acceleration without cruise control being on. this problem was repaired ones. also when stopping on a red light the engine was still running, but vehicle did not move. *ak

Consumer was involved in an direct frontal accident at 35 mph, in which there was no deployment of driver's or passeger's side airbags. cause unknown. manufacturer ran diagnostic check on airbag system and found no error. *ak

While driving at 30-40mph had a direct frontal hit with a vehicle traveling and bother driver and passenger defective airbag system did not deploy which did not protect the occupants in this accident. no previous problems with airbag system. mfr said the airbags wasn't to deploy because the other vehicle was traveling.

While parked, the center seat/right front seat belt anchorage became detached from floor, vehicle has not been to dealer for this problem. *ak

The safety belt on the rear passenger's side came detached from upper panel above the window. the problem has not been corrected. *ak

The vehicle's braking system is contaminated which causes the brakes to lock up and more wear and tear on brakes parts. replaced master cylinder and calipers. *ak all hoses and rubber parts to the abs were replaced. *slc

Intermittent stalling.

In the built-in carseats for children, the seat belt that latches across the chest area is able to be pulled apart with your hands. in fact, my daughter, who was 4 years at the time, just stretched and the seat belt popped open with her chest. we recently went car shopping and pulled on other built-in car seat seatbelts and they too were easily pulled apart with our hands.

I have a dodge grand caravan with gen-3 seatbelts in it and have heard that they open during an accident. especially when used with child car seats. i am concerned because i have a young child and have him in a car seat. i have to have these seatbelts replaced and feel they should be recalled. it is unsafe to be driving around with seatbelts that can release in an accident.

Driving 30-40mph, slid on ice straight into standing full size pick-up truck. neither driver or passanger air bags deployed. took vehicle to dealer for repair estimate and questioned body shop/service manager about my curiosity as to why they didn't deploy, and he stated that he wondered the same thing. vehicle was "totalled".*ak

Airbag circuit recall done but airbag fuse fails continually again. i had the airbag circuit recall work performed by weisner dodge in tomball, tx over a year ago. although the fuse had failed repeatedly, the dealership only installed a patch to protect a wire. on 1/14/02, the airbag warning light came on when i used the rear windshield washer. i replaced the blown 20a fuse, but every fuse blows as soon as i turn the ignition on. i am contacting the local dodge dealership in huntsville, tx to make the repair.

Strong gas odor when engine shut off. can smell inside driver area and garage has strong smell of gas. seems to originate from front area of vehicle.

I never been contacted by the dealer or the mfg about my complaints. they want these problems to get too old so they simply ignore you. they may be hundreds of these vans with cracked front cowlings where the door hinges mate. the doors willnot close safely and lock. my family is at risk and with three children i cannot dump this death trap because the mfg ignores their design defects. there may be hundreds of these vans out waiting for a small accident to throw someone out because the door mounting is not solid. please investigate this before someone gets killed in these death vans. respectfulluy yours john stringfellow

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

Plastic headlight covers (left and right) have glazed over (almost opaque), resulting in extremely reduced headlight visibility during night driving. plastic turn signal covers immediately adjacent to headlights did not suffer same glazing and are still very clear.*ak

Cost $2400. transmission shop keeps them on the shelf, since failure is so common!!! one technician thinks he's done 13 of them. after doing a little research, i feel like a schmuck for buying the vehicle. i had no idea chrysler sold such a piece of crap. i hope daimler fires all their butts. *ak

Air conditioning system shot, lines rotted inside out, leaking antifreeze from rear unit, harzardous to health... call chrysler to pay cost of repair since unit replaced for a second time, not even 30k miles from last failure... chrysler rep said nothing they will do and disconnected me when i asked to talk to hire level manager... according to nhtsa website and others the a/c appears to be a chronic problem.*ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

4-speed automatic transmission continues to display severe shuttering at highway speeds. additionally, power will suddenly decrease and the vehicle slow down, then rapidly accelerate. there have been repeated repair attempts. problem does not always present itself, so it is difficult for dealer to troubleshoot. most recently, because the dealer technician could not get the problem to present itself, the chrysler field office refused repair efforts - despite my claims and evidence.*ak

Transmission stopped shifting, and a grinding noise was heard from the l front side under the van. van had to be towed to dealership for evluation. dealer identified damaged differential and transmission and advised replacement. cost $2159.56. i contacted dodge on 3 occasions and they refused to acknowledge that transmission was defective. they claim that van was out of warranty and would not assist with repair. they provided no explanation as to why transmission failed. this van had been maintained per manufacturer's recommendation but not at the dealership. low use and impeccable condition of van could be confirmed by dealership staff.*ak

Defective transmission - when vehicle was in "d" it would slip operating in a netural position when driving esp when stopped. sometimes shifting back in to "d" position causing vechilce to sudden move forward with little warning. or if vehicle was stop on an incline (hill) the vechilce would roll back which sometimes came close to hitting the vechicle behind. feeling is that the tranmission is faulty. cost of repair was $1708.25 to repair.*ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

Auot transmission went out and replaced under warranty at 49,700 miles. transmission has again gone out at 67,300 miles. all scheduled maintenance and lubrications were performed on the vehicle. *ak

Failure of the door frame at the hinge point for both driver and passanger side front doors causing them to sag and scrape on the door lock post, passenger side door also rubs on the front fender. right side door repaired at local body shop 1 year ago by welding extra structural backing behind the door hinge mating area and then welding hing to frame and extra backing (door locks had to be replaced due to door sag interferance). left side not repaired to date.

No summary

Travel @35mph transmission refused to switch out of 2nd gear. *ak

Problem occurs after two or more hours of sustained freeway driving. car jerks, slows slightly with engine racing and little or no power at gas pedal. after 2-3 seconds, engine "shifts back in gear" stops racing, and power is restored to gas pedal. repeats this cycle seven to ten times in space of ten minutes. if gas pedal is pressed to floor and burst of fuel sent through system, the problem does not reccur for the remainder of trip (up to six hours). on the next long drive, it will happen again. i do not want to be driving when the transmission gives out entirely (see article consumer reports oct '99, pp20-23). please help. *ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

I noticed rough shifting then it became worse the transmission would hunt arround 40 mph i notified the dealer they found other problems but the trans checked out now four months later , my transmission is totally gone along with the housing unit pieces of metal were found underneath the van

Drivers side door hinge is faulty or defective (loose) which causes door to drop (not align correctly) which causes latching/locking features to not work properly, thus door will either not shut or will shut and will come open while driving, causing a safety problem

No summary

This problem has happened twice, both times at highway speeds on crowded roads. the second time almost caused a major traffic accident. the first time was on rt 29 just ouside charlottesville on 4 april 1999. after almost 2 hours of driving (speed 55 cruise control on), the car transmission jerked a bit and then went (seemingly) into neutral. took cruise control off and tried to accelerate, no response. without any acceleration the car slowed quickly. fortunately we were in the right hand lane, and were able to coast off the road into a parking lot. the transmission was not engaged (although in drive). the motor sputtered and died and would not restart. we had the car towed back to the dealerhip (lustine) in woodbridge. after the tow truck dropped off the vehicile, i was able to start it, put it in drive, and park it. the dealership could only finf\d it low on transmission fluid, and could not find anything else wrong. they said they could not fix something not broken. on 31 july 1999 returning from nags head, nc after several hours of driving at highway speed, the problem occurred again just north of richmond on i95. except this time we were in heavy traffic, moving at 65 (cruise control on)(with some people going faster) and in the center lane. when the car failed (took cruise control off, tried to accelerate, transmission engaged, but suddenly no power/acceleration/forward momentum, we were almost rear ended, and again almost in a major collision as we tried to coast off the a busy highway with a rapidly decelerating minivan. again, the engine sputtered and died on the side of the road and would not restart. again we had it towed about 100 miles to the dealer (lustine). again, after the tow, i could start and move the car to a parking space. again, lustine could find nothing wrong. left car at dealer for a week (allowed dealer to keep car & drive it a week) dodge tech rep has not responed to dealer calls. story is intermitant can't be fixed.

Dealer unable to diagnose persistent "shudder". problem is evident some days and fine on other days. despite efforts to correct it, nothing has worked.

Fuel pump failed due to blocked filter (secondary filter) had to be towed. nowhere in the owner's manual does it say to check and replace this filter, which is only a 20.00 part. my reapir cost 450.00 plus towing. i follow the maintenance diligently. the chilton repai manual recommends changing this at 52000. we would have done so if info provided. we bought the other manual when i returned home. there was no warning and fortunately i was in a parking lot at the time. chrysler says i cannot be reimbursed even though they admit i am right. letters should be sent to owners advising them of this more than likely failure. the mechanic who fixed it recommends changing this filter at 30,000. he has repaired many. i would hate to see someone hurt if this fails while they are on the highway. it was bad enough i was 200 miles from home and it was dark.

No summary listed for this vehicle. *ak

No summary listed for this vehicle. *ak

When our son was young enough to use the built in car seat we noticed that he could open the plastic chest clasp by leaning forward hard enough. does this seem normal functioning to you? although our children are too old for the car seats now we were wondering if this poses a safety problem for other families.

Seat belt clip failed.

Transmission failed.

The rocker arm was broken and the cylinder head was blown. *yh

The a/c reservoir had rusted out. *yh

Automatic transmission failed (a604). nlm

Serpentine belt tensioner bolt sheared off. (qcaw)

No failure identified.

Brakes pads installed on vehicle were 14" and the rotors were 15", this caused excessive wear on the brake pads and rotors.

As driver was backing out of driveway the bolt attached to power steering belt fractured, causing the tensioner to disintegrate/fly off into the wheel well. *ak

Roof leaks, soaking driver seat belt during a rainstrorm. in cold weather the water freezes and belt cannot be used.

Tensioner pulley failure causing loss of steering.

Brake warning light comes on/off intermittently. dealers advise to continue to since problem cannot be determined or corrected.

Brake warning light on/off intermittently. diagnosis indicated possible master cylinder internal leak - awaiting parts.

Rear seat belts are difficult to release from retractors.

The rod to which the serpentine belt tension wheel assembley was attached snapped in half, at the point where the rod meets the mounting frame.

Sudden acceleration when slowing to a stop.

Horn buttons are too small, difficult to access in emergency situations.

Front struts failed.

There is no summary currently available

Odi continues to receive complaints alleging latching/retractor mechanism problems.chrysler's assessment of the problem indicates that owners of the vehicles are not adhering to the cleaning requirements for the seat.the seat appears to malfunction if crumbs of food or beverage residue accumulates on the latching tongue in the"well" located between the child's legs.odi has 19 complaints of retract lockup.seven of these complaints report cutting the straps to remove the child.two of the seven consumers allege the child was choking.chrysler reports 60 owner/field reports which indicated 19 harnesses were cut to remove the children.additional information is needed to fully assess the safety consequence of the alleged defect and to evaluate the chrysler corporation's rational for not conducting a safety recall campaign.

This investigation is closed.chrysler corporation has submitted a defect information report identifying a safety defect and outlining the proposed remedy.recall number 98v-185 has been assigned to this safety recall.

Mr. larry a. sackey submitted a petition to the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) by letter dated april 18, 2003, requesting that nhtsafurther investigate the "defective collapsible steering shaft system" on 1987-1995 vehicles manufactured by the daimlerchrysler corporation.in part because of 49 cfr § 30120(g), nhtsa has decided to limit the scope of the petition vehicles to 1993-1995 models, excluding the 1993 jeep grand cherokee and 1994-1995 dodge ram series trucks that were recalled (93v210 & 96v230) for steering column failure.if the analysis of these vehicles had identified a potential problem, the scope could have been expanded in an investigation.a review of odi's data base shows no recent complaints and a lack of a complaint trend concerning the subject issue on the subject vehicles as a whole or by individual models.therefore, the petition is denied.for details, see federal register notice volume 68, no. 130, july 8, 2003.

There is no summary currently available