Faults:

Very little has gone wrong with this vehicle during the 40000 miles and 4 years that I have owned it. The usual wear items have been replaced, water pump, timing chain, brakes, front rotors. The front interior lights are flaky, but in my experience these problems are typical of American made automobiles. With regular maintenance, serious problems are minimized and overall cost of ownership is low for this vehicle. Fuel economy is satisfactory. 16-18 city / 21-23 highway.

General Comments:

An extremely reliable, utilitarian, family vehicle with adequate power and performance as well as pleasing aesthetics and creature comforts.

Dodge has had some of the nicest looking vehicles of the American brands. The Grand Caravan is no exception. The exterior and interior are both nice to look at. The plastic components are nicer and sturdier than other manufacturers.

Overall the vehicle is an excellent family hauler as well as commuter. I'm looking forward to buying my next Grand Caravan over the Japanese brands because long term cost of ownership is lower due to purchase price and comparable MPG performance.

With regular maintenance I've found this vehicle extremely reliable and affordable.

Faults:

The service engine soon light came on not long after we bought it (64,00 miles or so) and no one could tell us what was wrong. The said it was the alternator, but a year later we still had the same one with no problems.

The fuel pump went out around 75,000 miles and we were told it is common in Dodge Caravans. It was $500 to fix.

The a/c had a slow leak and had to be recharged every year.

The windshield wipers would come on for no reason and the delay system in them didn't always work. They were suppose to come on once every few seconds and would go three or four times instead.

The a/c would also come on for no reason while we were driving.

The lock on the sliding door stopped working and wouldn't unlock with the power locks.

Transmission went out at 89,000 miles with no warning. One day the van just wouldn't go in reverse when it worked fine the previous day. We were told it would be $1400-$1600 to fix.

We were finally told the service engine soon light was coming on because a cylinder was misfiring. We weren't given a price for that.

Faults:

The fan relay failed.

Tires, normal wear.

Battery, to be expected.

Brakes, normal wear.

Shocks, normal wear.

Drivers door window mechanism failed.

I have a door lock for a sliding door that is intermittant, have to sometimes flip the lock button a couple of times.

General Comments:

I love my van. My wife and I are rabid garage sale people every weekend and load it down. We have taken long trips up north with it loaded down with 4 people and all their junk and come home from one trip full of antiques we bought at an auction in PA. Packed to the ceiling. My Caravan has never let me down. I feel like I'm driving a regular car. We take it on fishing trips, trips to the beach, everywhere. My only complaint is that I didn't have a nice van like this before. People with all the gripes about the Dodge Caravan probably don't ever see the service department unless there's a failure. I use only Amzoil - 100%. No regular petroleum oil ever since I bought it and I hope it will last me well over ten years.