I have owned 3 Chrysler Caravans and every one of them had the Transmission go out at 60,000 miles or less. Beware they are going to cost you lots of money to own one of these babies. They are nice other than that you need deep pockets to keep them running. Chrysler needs to act now.
I will never purchase another Chrysler product again.
I own a 2000 Doge Caravan that has 58,000 miles on it. I have the paper work to show all required maintenance. There was no problem with my money being defective when the vehicle was purchased. So far I have had to replace the water heater and am looking at a $1100 air conditioning repair bill. After reading all the previous comments on transmission repairs, I guess I'm blessed not to have that happen - YET. I will alleviate that possibility by getting rid of this vehicle, and like the saying goes, I'm not 1 customer, I'm about a 1,000 customers because I intend on telling everyone to read this website before buying a Dodge Caravan - MINI-VAN OF THE YEAR.
I once owned a 1998 Dodge Caravan, and I personally wouldn't recommend anyone owning one, if reliability is of any importance to you. At 35,981 miles, the radiator fan would not shut off. I thought this was because it had been a particulary hot, humid day and the engine hadn't cooled off yet, but when I returned to the car three hours later, the fan was still on. My brother opened the fuse box and removed the appropriate fuse to shut off the fan, and I replaced the fuse before I started the engine. I had to repeat this task every time I stopped the car, and had to remember to replace the fuse every time I returned to the car prior to starting the engine. This had become extremely annoying and time consuming. The dealership told me that the repair would be covered under warranty, but since it had 35981 miles on it, driving it 22 more miles would exceed the warranty, and thus, would make it my responsibility for the repair. They also informed me that they couldn't do the work for 6 weeks. Needless to say, this was unacceptable, since my spouse was the primary driver of the car, and I would not expect her to replace this fuse over and over again the way I had been doing. I finally had another dealership honor the warranty and do the work, despite the fact that I exceeded 36000 miles! We had other issues with belts snapping and brake pads and rotors wearing out well before most other cars do, and reached a decision to trade this thing in before the transmission failed. Resale value, with 87000 miles and 4 years of age was a deplorable 3,000 U. S dollars. I wouldn't recommend another Chysler product due to the shoddy cars they build, poor resale value and poor customer service.
In July of 1997, we purchased a new Plymouth Voyager. In August of 2000 with only 22,834 miles on it, the transmission went with no warning. We had maintained the vehicle and were shocked since the mileage was so low! Since our warranty had been up the month prior, the dealer extended the warranty to cover the cost as long as we paid a deductible of 265.00. This past Saturday, I was leaving home to do errands and the van made an awful clunking noise and would not reverse. Thus - we have another transmission gone. Since the last replacement we have only put 33,000 miles on the vehicle. I feel that this is a defect in the transmission that should be taken care of by Chrysler - but they refused due to the age of the vehicle and the mileage. I can't seem to get them to understand that the mileage on the transmission is 33,000 miles not the registered 55,000. I have vowed never to own another Chrysler. Also in 2001, the air conditioning system went and is still not functioning properly. The radio speaker in the front on the passenger side has also gone. We have always maintained the vehicle and have all the receipts to prove it. I am so frustrated! It really stinks!!
All the same problems here. Complete A/C done under the warranty. Rear side electric windows under warranty.
Now the speakers are going. The fan relay just went. And I'm praying the tranny will hold up longer than I reading about.
All these things should be items that last longer than 100K.
Really too bad, as the car is very comfortable to ride in and my wife likes driving it. Only have 55K on it, bought it new in "98".
i bought my 98 grand caravan in march of that year at 10,000
miles tranny went at 36,000 head gasket went and at 56,000 tranny again i would never ever buy a dodge again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have owned and 1983 (V6) Plymouth Voyager the transmission went at 69,000 miles. Replaced under warranty. I had a gasket replaced at 102,000. Drove the car for 224,000 when it was totaled in an accident, but was running great. I was shooting for 500,000.
I then purchased a 1993 Dodge Caravan (V6 3.0) I drove it till it had 196,000 traded it in because the transmission was starting to go. Other than that it was a great car.
I now own a 1998 Grand Caravan (V6 3.0) it has 206,000 on it and is still running fine. I bought this one used with
17,000 on it in 1998.
Sensing I may be on borrowed time I just bought a 2002 Chrysler Town & Country (V6, 3.3). It has 56,000 on it.
I hope I have the same luck with this one as I have had
with the last three.
I don't work for Chrysler or any of its affiliates I am just a satisfied repeat customer.
I own a 1998 dodge grand caravan se and this is the second time the transmission has gone for the same reason.
It is well over 200 000 kms now and the cost is 1500 - 2500 dollars to repair it.
The pin for the differential starts to work its way loose and takes out the bell housing and front pump...thus; big leak.
Try to find a used one... almost impossible here in canada.
I bought my 1998 Dodge Caravan Nov/04. My transmission went in Jan/05. This was completely rebuilt and I have had a number of other problems. The transmission started acting up again May/05 and I had to have two new sensors, Input and Output Sensor in. About 5 days later I had to have a whole new exhaust system put in.
For the last week I have had a problem with idling and strong gas fumes. I replaces the fuel filter which did nothing for the problem. I had this checked and they were unable to find a problem. I am now totally frustrated because I can't find the problem and the fuel smell is so strong everyone ends up with a headache if we are in the van for any length of time. The rough idling is also causing an increase in fuel consumption which is a major cost with the high fuel bills.
I am going to watch this site and hope someone with the same problem will have found a solution.
My 95 Plymouth Grand Voyager has 267,400 miles on it with the original 3.0 liter engine and 4-speed transmission. I drive carefully and easy. The a/c developed a leak, but I put some $35 sealer in and it cools great. The engine valves are not always quiet. I changed the transmission fluid annually. This is the secret to older Chrysler transmissions. They burn the fluid in no time. Just change it.
I am ready to get a new Toyota or Honda. The old Plymouth makes too many groaning and cracking noises plus the transmission has a seal leak.
I have a 1998 dodge caravan it has 126,000 miles and last month we started having problems with the van dying all the time and a gas smell real bad and when you turned the air conditioner on it got worse. After 3 weeks and $400.00 we finally found the problem, it was the timing belt. Now one week later and the transmission is going out, and we are trying to figure out what our best solution is. It just seems like everything started happening all at once. I took my van back to the dealer because we had it for only a year in June and they would not even cut us a deal and our warranty had only been up for 2 weeks. It's just frustrating, I have three kids and this is my only transportation.
I have a '98 Grand Caravan with 95K miles that I bought new in April of 98. After reading the reviews, I better start saying my prayers that the transmission holds up. I'm going broke trying to keep the electrical system going.
Around 33K the headlights started buzzing intermittently and the power locks would only work properly with the remote, not the key. Ended up replacing a lock cylinder switch and the body control module (both under warranty).
At 65K the headlights started buzzing intermittently and the powerlocks became erratic. This time they replaced the left stereo speaker (no help) and the entire stereo. Total cost $600.
At 93K, the starter went out ($400).
At 95K the powerlocks are erratic (sound familiar?) and something keeps draining the battery (battery only 2 years old). Every time I park the van I have to unhook a battery cable to keep the battery from draining. It also is temperamental about starting, it would prefer clicking.
Including routine 90K maintenance, service bills for this vehicle will top $2000 this year alone.
I love all other aspects of this van - handling, cabin design, comfort - but the high cost of maintenance and repair make it unlikely that I will purchase another.
I have a '98 Dodge Grand Caravan SE with 120,000 miles and judging from this forum they seem to have an inherent flaw with quite an expensive item, the transmission. Mine went out last October and I had it completely rebuilt. Now its acting up again and I was told that it's because the fluid was low and there was a leak in the axle seals.
Fortunately it was under warranty this time because of the repair and I don't have to pay, but it did cost me $2000 the first time because the vehicle's warranty ran out. I specifically chose AAMCO to do the repair because I thought that if I was on a trip and break down I would have some coverage.
In general, once you have a repair, get it checked regularly for things like this as one fault and the whole thing would go bad and it will be time for a repeat performance of having another transmission.
In general, the vehicle was great and did an excellent job with my family, but I don't know if I would recommend it to anyone. I haven't heard much about more recent models so I want to assume that Chrysler has gotten their act together and are making better transmissions. More than likely I will get another Chrysler for its roominess and relative reliability. Betsy, my van's pet name, has given me a lot of miles of service. This year we will do more than 7,000 miles in road trips. I want this to continue and would trust what I know.
Hopefully someone can benefit from my experience.
Iain in Atlanta, GA.
Iain in Atlanta,
Your parents spelled your name wrong.
Should be Ian.
What are "road trips"?
Trips you make on the road?
What other kinds are there?
Off-road? On the water?
What's the big deal about doing over 7,000 miles in "Road Trips" this year?
Long trips are easy on cars, it's the short trips in stop and go traffic that destroy a car.
If you start up a car in the morning and drive it all day long on the freeway, it's had an easy time.
That's why high-mileage freeway motoring gets half a million miles or more out of the same engine without repair.
Makes me smile when I read Americans awed by a car that goes from New York to LA without problems as if it were some sort of miracle.
See www.donotbuydodge.ca for how one recently made Caravan behaves.
I am so glad that I found this site when I did. We have A 1998 Dodge Caravan too. We just had our transmission rebuild last year under warranty. Now our warranty has run out and our transmission has completely gone again. They have my husband talked into buying another one, but after reading about all the transmission problems that Dodge seems to be having I don’t think it’s a good idea to get mixed up with this company again. I think that we all have to start standing up to them and demand them to be accountable for a bad transmission. I agree that some action should be taken and soon. I would just hate to see anyone else go through this. It is just to hard for people to make it through the every day stuff without this happening.