1996 Dodge Caravan SE review from North America

Built-in child seat safety belts locked and could not be pulled out anymore.

Resistor set for cool/heat ventilation burned out. This resitor set is cooled by the incoming air stream. If it burns out you get burned rubber smelling smoke from the vents. If you switch to inside air only, the resistors don't get cooled anymore. This seems a strange design-flaw.

The inside A/C evaporator leaked and needed a $1000 replacement right after we bought the van at 40k miles. The mechanic said this is common for this van.

The A/C compressor failed shortly after, another $1000.

At 80k miles the serpentine belt made a loud screeching noise. Replacement incl. the belt tensioner was $300.

A week later the water pump leaked, a $700 repair.

Windshield wiper comes on with blinker sometimes or for no reason.

Paint peels off the steering wheel.

Sky fabric fell off, cost $100 to replace in a cheapo shop, which does only sky fabrics.

Driver side powerwindow motor fell apart, a $400 repair.

Suspension seems very hard. I feel every little bump. Seems to come from the rear steel spring suspension, something usually only seen in trucks.

Rear seats are much too heavy to take out and put back in. Need 2 very strong people, my wife can't help me with that.