2001 Dodge Caravan SE from North America - Comments

2 water pumps.

Thermostat.

Spark plug wires.

Valve cover gasket.

2 cracked strut mounts bearings.

Radiator.

Power steering pump.

Crank seal.

Main computer.

Fuse box wiring harness.

2 wheel cylinder blown, destroying my shoes and drums.

First let me say I bought the van at 60k, in 2.5 years I am now at 158000k. In the time I have owned this van, here is a list of the issues I have had:

2 water pumps, thermostat, spark plug wires, valve cover gasket, 2 cracked strut mounts bearings, rad, power steering pump, crank seal, main computer, fuse box wiring harness, 2 wheel cylinder blown, destroying my shoes and drums.

I am sure I am missing some stuff; I can't remember it all.

On top of all, the engine makes a ticking sound under acceleration, and the dealer cannot find it.

I am very thankful that when I bought this van, I spent the cash on the extended warranty up to 160,000km. I only have to pay 100$ for each trip to the shop. The service at the dealer I go to is top notch; they really do good work, but I will never ever buy a Chrysler again. I have had 4 previous Chryslers, all with issues, except for my Dakota.

I don’t know why the American manufacturers cannot build a good car. My next purchase will be an import.

Good review. Unfortunately, the Caravan has NEVER been a reliable vehicle. My parents had a '93 that was just chock full of problems.

Ditto, junk. I bought one with 43,000 - because I thought I was getting a very good deal via a private party sale. NOT.

Transmission went out at 47K. AC quit working shortly after that.

Within the space of a couple of years... wheel bearings, some computer module without which nothing worked (that was really expensive), starter went out, ate front brake pads like crazy and tires kept wearing too fast, sliding door latch broke, rear wiper quit, plastic parts kept falling off inside and it was noisy and rattly, water pump needed replaced, airbag light came on (I never bothered having it checked out)...

All this in the space of just under 20,000 miles. I sold it with 61,000 miles and good riddance too bad rubbish.

For the last time - I am DONE with domestic vehicles, I keep buying ones that are lemons yet my Nissan truck at 230K and my old Subarus and now my Toyota Sienna van just keep reliably going and going, and I feel safe driving them.

Sorry, Big Three. I tried several times but I'm done.

After putting 240,000+ miles on my last Dodge with virtually no problems, 325,000+ miles on a Ford with less than $500 in repairs and 277,000+ miles on a Buick LeSabre with NO repairs I'm not ABOUT to stab my fellow Americans in the back by giving my hard-earned money to Japan. 91% of U.S. auto related jobs are held by people who work for the Big Three. Only 9% of U.S. citizens work for Japanese companies. Running to a Japanese import due to minor annoyances in a domestic is cutting off your nose to spite your face. In the past we fell for Japanese ad hype too. Our Honda didn't even MAKE 100,000 miles. It was sold to a junk dealer at 99,000 miles. We were told it wasn't worth fixing. Our Mazda (one made in Japan before Ford took over and upped the quality) was a nightmare. It was one of the worst built cars we ever owned. I traded it at 86,000 miles for a Ford with 139,000 miles. The Ford was by far the better car.

Our best friends put over 240,000 miles each on two Dodge Caravans before buying their current Chrysler Town and Country (same thing). They NEVER had to replace an engine or transmission and routinely drove them on 800+ mile trips after they had well over 200,000 miles on them. They also own a 16-year-old Dodge car that has well over 150,000 miles on it. Before they bought it they had a Dodge Daytona Turbo with well over 200,000 miles on it.

People who know little about cars and do not properly maintain them will have trouble with ANY car. To brush off the entire U.S. auto industry and hurt our country's already devastated economy is NOT the answer. Also, if you'll bother to do a bit of research you'll find that the most reliable cars in the world are Buick (J.D. Powers and Associates) and the Ford Fusion (Consumer Reports). The Ford Fusion ranks 2 full levels ABOVE Camry in reliability and one full level ABOVE Accord in reliability. DON'T BE MISLED BY JAPANESE AD HYPE!!

NO CAR MADE BY THE BIG 3 USA MANUFACTURERS WILL LAST PAST 100-130K WITHOUT BIG BIG MAINTENANCE $$ & REPAIR $$ SPENT JUST TO GET IT THERE.

The economy speaks LOUDLY for the American automakers every single day, showing people are tired of buying crap that isn't worth the $ they put in it every single month just to keep it driveable.. That guy is just one of those people who are a die hard fan of something terrible and will be til the end, regardless of what actual fact or research is..

This Dodge Caravan, as well as the Ford Windstar (Check the Review) and the Chevy Venture (Check The Review) are junk and if you want to drive them past the first 90 days you get them, expect to spend big bucks to keep them running and on the street. Don't believe me? Check the other reliability reviews by ACTUAL consumers who own them like this one.

Or Go check out the Honda's Odyssey Review or the Toyota Sienna Review... and see what people who own them are saying. The reviews are STRAIGHT from the people who buy them.. Not ALL American cars are bad. Older Ford Trucks will run forever and take a tremendous beating, (not new ones, read the reviews) and well GM & Chrysler.. even if the engine or trans makes it to 100k miles, your knobs will have fallen off, all plastic parts breaking and warped, A/C always inoperable/unfixable without big $$, door panels removing themselves, door handles broken and ALL window motors going out every time you fix one, exhaust leaks from poor design, and now that you're at 100k miles, count the days you're lucky enough to have a working transmission or engine.. Cherish them because it won't be long.

BUY FOREIGN if you want reliability, buy American if you like supporting your local mechanic shops, and also your automakers putting you there more often than on the road.

"NO CAR MADE BY THE BIG 3 USA MANUFACTURERS WILL LAST PAST 100-130K WITHOUT BIG BIG MAINTENANCE $$ & REPAIR $$ SPENT JUST TO GET IT THERE.

The economy speaks LOUDLY for the American automakers every single day, showing people are tired of buying crap that isn't worth the $ they put in it every single month just to keep it driveable.. That guy is just one of those people who are a die hard fan of something terrible and will be til the end, regardless of what actual fact or research is..

This Dodge Caravan, as well as the Ford Windstar (Check the Review) and the Chevy Venture (Check The Review) are junk and if you want to drive them past the first 90 days you get them, expect to spend big bucks to keep them running and on the street. Don't believe me? Check the other reliability reviews by ACTUAL consumers who own them like this one.

Or Go check out the Honda's Odyssey Review or the Toyota Sienna Review... and see what people who own them are saying. The reviews are STRAIGHT from the people who buy them.. Not ALL American cars are bad. Older Ford Trucks will run forever and take a tremendous beating, (not new ones, read the reviews) and well GM & Chrysler.. even if the engine or trans makes it to 100k miles, your knobs will have fallen off, all plastic parts breaking and warped, A/C always inoperable/unfixable without big $$, door panels removing themselves, door handles broken and ALL window motors going out every time you fix one, exhaust leaks from poor design, and now that you're at 100k miles, count the days you're lucky enough to have a working transmission or engine.. Cherish them because it won't be long.

BUY FOREIGN if you want reliability, buy American if you like supporting your local mechanic shops, and also your automakers putting you there more often than on the road."

I do agree with this, however, I did once have a Ford Focus that made it to 140,000 without any repairs. But I didn't like that it went through its brake pads every 25,000 miles. I tried basically every pad available, and changed my rotors everytime I changed my pads. But I owned a '92 Accord before my Focus that made 450,000 miles on the original engine and drivetrain, only thing put into it was gas, oil, and basic maintenance items. I prefer "foreign" (I use the term lightly since most Honda's and Toyota's are made in the U.S. unlike there "domestic" counterparts that are usually made in either Mexico or Canada.) Honda's and Toyota's especially are the best vehicles out there for reliability. But if your somebody who doesn't mind spending money on a vehicle that's disposable by 100,000 miles, then be my guest.

Our 4 Caravans have been a great family vehicle since our first in 1998. Regular maintenance never hurts... In my opinion, IF I ever got the known tranny problems, I would rather spend 1,200 on a used Caravan worth 12,000 than own an overpriced Toyota van without issues... in my mind I would probably still be 5,000 ahead of the game comparing same year vehicles.

I note that the original poster put 100,000 miles on the van in 2 1/2 years. For such hard usage, I'm really not sure what he's complaining about. We had a 2001 Caravan for our pool vehicle at work, and it was a really good car. Decent gas mileage, good ride, plenty of power, and we drove it to 80,000 miles with no trouble at all and no maintenance except oil changes, at which time the company arbitrarily traded it on a 2005 Chevy Venture. Based on that experience, I disagree with the other people who are disparaging Dodge vans.