2001 Dodge Caravan Sport from North America - Comments

My engine blew at 8,580 miles. The fan belt broke in half causing the engine to fail. The dealer is quoting over $5,000 to install a new engine. We feel the van has a defect at no time did any indication of a problem show up on the dashboard. The manufacturer is trying to say the car was not maintained properly. What would cause the fan belt to break on a car that only has 8500 miles on it? Do you really think an engine with such low mileage should go? According to their own mechanics the engine blew due to the fan belt breaking in half and the engine having to work harder. The manufacturer's adjuster is saying sludge in the engine. I don't know why, the mechanic advised me that the oil was clean. They checked the vehicle out overnight and couldn't understand why the fan belt broke in half. The mechanics even said there's probably a defect in the vehicle. Also the heating is not working well on the passenger side. It's freezing during the winter when you sit on that seat. In my opinion, I would never buy or recommend someone to buy a Dodge vehicle.

At first when I purchased my vehicle I was delighted, however, noting that with such low mileage an engine should cease, makes me very weary.

Unfortunately the transverse mounted engine does not use a fan belt. The fans are driven by electric motors.

I'd go back to the service department and ask more questions to determine what they are talking about is true.

He may have been talking about the timing belt. That would make much more sense. Even if it did have a belt driving the fan (all modern cars have a single belt called a serpentine belt.) and even if it did break, the most that would happen is

1. battery would stop charging since the alternator would stop spinning

2. power steering would fail since pump would stop

3. engine would overheat because a. fan would stop running. b. water pump would stop

4. a/c and other accessories would stop working.

So even if the belt did break, it would not necessitate a new engine (the head gasket "could" have blown due to the overheating. But even then that is only a 1000 dollar repair VS 5000 for a new engine.)

Something doesn't ring quite right here... You said that there were 8550 miles on the vehicle, and that you acquired the vehicle in 2001 with 0 miles on it. The current mileage is 8550 in 2003. That means that you drove the van only between 3 and 4 thousand miles a year which seems unlikely.

If, in fact, that is the case and unless there's something you're not telling us, more than anything else, you need an attorney. Your new vehicle warranty should certainly cover a failure such as you evidently experienced.