2000 Dodge Grand Caravan Reviews - Page 6 of 6

The metal strands on the serpentine belt broke on June 17, 2002. We had to duct tape the belt to drive the vehicle to the nearest garage. Tensioner and serpentine belt were replaced. The serpentine belt was replaced at the Dodge dealer on April 14, 2002 or eight days after my 36,000 km tune-up at the same Dodge dealer.

Rear brake pads was replaced on June 14, 2001 after 23,500 km. Front brake pads were squeaking replaced at 42,000 km and were later replaced in early July 2002.

Cigarette lighter fuse blew 3 to 4 times in 2001 so I stopped using the cell phone charger in the vehicle.

Overall, the vehicle uses a bit more gas than my old vehicle, but it has lots of rooms for cargo and passengers.

Unknown problem with door closed sensor, causes sporadic cabin lights to come on upon hard braking. Dealer unable to reproduce problem (in the shop, they didn't feel the need to do a road test)

Factory brake pads on drivers side failed at 5000 miles!

Transmission sensor failure caused over-acceleratingof engine. Had to be towed for warranty repair.

Factory battery failed at under two years.

And finally, most recently, only 41,000 miles, the serpentine belt simply slipped off. luckily I was inspecting the squealing at the time and was pulled off the interstate. Had to be towed a second time.

The failure of the serpentine, at only 41,000 miles is ridiculous. To simply "slip off" is a serious design flaw in the system. I read another comment from a 1999 Grand Caravan owner, stating his failed the same way. I think the odds of two of these events, with only a few comments on this site, should have Dodge re-examine their product. I will be writing their customer support, since the local dealer blew off my complaint!!

Right brake signal bulb burned out five times already, probably because of some minor electrical problems. No other bulbs have never done so.

Once, when I washed the car, some water got inside through the left rear window, because of an isolation problem.

This car is not really mine, but my father's. I drive it sometimes. Not a bad car, but Lada Samara remains my favorite.

This car is too large for me. I always drive it in the middle of the road - I can't see the edge, since the car is so wide! Sometimes, other drivers signal me to go fully in one lane.

Power brakes, power steering, and ABS make driving much easier, especially for such a heavy car. Automatic transmission also makes it easier, but I'd rather a manual. Unfortunately, you can't have it with this model.

Acceleration is very good, but fuel consumption is high comparing too many other minivans of about the same size.

Tires that came on it from the factory were not very good.

After changing the tires to a six ply performance tire and changing the Struts and shocks, the handling is about what it should be from the factory.

I haven't had any problem with this vehicle.

The rear dome light won't go on. No fuse info in the owners manual. No clues on how to get at the bulb.

Lights, Oh, Yes, Lights. Nice having that ding, ding, ding when I forget and leave my lights on when I turn off the engine, remove the keys and open the door. But, did you know that if you have your lights on and pull into a parking spot, shut off the engine — that after about two hours the windshield wipers start up veeerrrry sloooowly without being switched on? Yes, it happens! In fact you can't shut them off! It is then that you attempt to start the engine and find that the battery is dead!

How about a CD with the factory service manual included in what I paid ($37,000 with all the extras).

Owners manual should include lamp replacement info like how to get the front map lamps out to replace or how to get the rear dome lamp out.

These are thing I will have to trust to my Dodge dealer under warranty. What a waste of money doing that!

Nothing so far. Transmission shifts from Reverse to Drive slower than I think it should, going to have the dealer look at it before the warranty runs out.

Haven't had any trouble. The ride is softer than I prefer. I wish I had bought the Sport model with the firm suspension.