1998 Dodge Caravan SE from North America - Comments

The A/C Compressor was replaced twice in less than a year (the bearing has an engineering design problem - DO NOT RUN THE ENGINE OVER 4500 RPM. It will happen to you as well). I have spent already $1800 to fix that.

The belt tensioner was replaced at 67K.

The wipper motor went wrong after 60k.

Right now I suspect a front strut will die on me.

The steering became hard (might be a joint).

The car is comfortable and quiet, but has a lot of diseases and it's unreliable.

The service at the Chrysler Toronto dealer is expensive and horrible. When I had the problem with the windshield wiper motor, they spent one hour to diagnose the problem and had to conclude that the universal switch was broken while in fact the electric motor went wrong. By the end they had replaced both parts at their expense.

I have had a lot of frustation with this car and am thinking of selling it.

1998 Dodge Caravan 3.0 engine.

I love the room and style of the van, but that is about as far as it goes. The engine is constantly ticking when it is idling, it leaks oil from every where, the front struts are going bad, it creaks terribly, the a/c unit is going, the wipers just won't turn on once in a while. I have to stop, shut the engine off then restart it and everything works again. I know that it is one brand of vehicle I will never buy again.

My air compressor has been replace twice, I've had a bad head gasket, have the belt changed three times, my air bag light stays on and my horn don't work. my brakes have always made noise. that 98 dodge caraven is a piece of junk. chrysler corp. isn't very helpful.

The air bag light coming on and the horn not working is a common problem with the Dodge Caravan. The problem was intermittent with my 2001 Dodge caravan. The dealership couldn't find anything wrong. Finally, I checked complaints on the Internet and found out it was the clock spring mechanism. I had it replaced and it works now. My main problem is the transmission. Within days of purchasing it new in December, 2001, it was running rough. They reset it and it's smoother. It has a whine to it and now at 15,000 miles it suddenly shifts into neutral. Within days of purchase, I noticed the bench seat ripping out around the seatbelt and the window seal popping out. After I have warranty repairs on the transmission, I'll be checking into purchasing a non-Dodge vehicle.

I have replaced the transmission 4 times in my 1990 Dodge Caravan and an unlimited amounts of sensors.

We do a lot of desert traveling and just put a trans cooler, please does anyone know if this will help and save the trans or is this just another scam? We know to know soon or buy another car, perhaps tomorrow.

Thanks,

Weary in Hollywood.

You can contact me off list at tealbany@earthlink.net

My 1996 Caravan SE has developed a whine in the transmission. Very noticeable. I checked the transmission fluid and it is OK. Anybody know what this is and what it might take to fix it?

Your transmission problem is most likely a clogged transmission filter, an improper filter application or bad transmission. These transmissions fail often.

The "Service engine soon" light came on about 2 days ago in my 1998 Dodge Caravan. It has 99238 miles on it and it's been running great except for one transmission repair and a fan replacement one year ago (which I suspect was negligence from the previous owner). I was wondering, does this light turn on automatically when it's close to 100,000 miles, as a reminder to have the car serviced when it reaches that high mileage, or is it something more serious? Since then I've been feeling a low start and a slow acceleration. But it could be my imagination. I have the oild changed every 3000 miles, as well as the filters, and all the other fluids checked. Help! C. Casanova, at CamiloCasanova@hotmail.com.

I too have a 98 Dodge Caravan; bought it used with appxly 50K miles. Just replaced the right front strut and have been generally happy. My "service engine soon" light also appeared last week at approximately 100K miles, and soon afterward (same day about 1 hour after I noticed the light), in freeway traffic, the car suddenly lost speed and the rpm's shot up to 4000. It was stuck in 2nd gear. I pulled over and ran thru the gears (auto transmission) turned the car off and back on (that helps my computer sometimes!), but it stayed in 2nd gear as I drove it to my friendly neighborhood mechanic. He farmed the car out to his friendly neighborhood transmission repair shop, who started his quote at around $300 "it doesn't sound like a transmission overhaul" to their most recent "reading some real strange codes in the electronic transmission control box, at least a full overhaul will be needed at around $1500, then we need to figure out these malfunctioning electrical codes which will be additional $." So, right now I'm not too happy with the van.

I have a 1996 Dodge Caravan and it is horrible. It is the most stolen vehicle, my auto insurance is threatening to cancel my coverage. I am on my 3rd Transmission, I have 130,000Km (75k miles) on the car! The AC compressor is toast it seized without warning and the belt caught fire. It leaks from about EVERY GASKET. Apparently Chrysler has done a lot of cosmetic changes, but the cars are the same! The car makes a constant ticking noise and the front end is loose. I only keep it as I would get NOTHING if I sold it! It looks like new that's it. This car and every other Chrysler product is a lemon! Take my advice and stay clear away from them!

Just purchased a 1998 Caravan Sport with the 3.3L V6. The transmission has been done, but what else should I be looking for on this van? Any service tips to keep it running better, like synthetic fluids or a transmission cooler? The van has over 221K Miles.