2013 Dodge Grand Caravan Base 3.6 V6 from North America
Summary:
A nice low cost minivan!
Faults:
Left rear speaker just stopped working one day.
General Comments:
Well we use this van as a work vehicle; our other van was still running when we sold it with 328K miles (Chevy Astro).
So far the van has been great. The 3.6 V6 is a gem and usually returns about 22 MPG (70-80 mph).
The transmission on the other hand seems to gear hunt, and after kicking down to pass people, it wants to hold the gear too long. Dodge said it is normal, so we will see.
The stow and go seats are awesome and very easy to use.
The dash looks nice at night, but it's a giant hunk of plastic.
The radio is OK as long as you don't turn it up past half way.
The seats are OK, just not for long trips (maybe the higher up trims are better).
Dual sliding doors are great, and when everything is folded down, you can really jam some stuff in the back.
Storage wise you have an upper and a lower console, and a little cubby in the middle.
The A/C is good but not great. My Infiniti I30 has a better A/C system and it's 18 years old.
Overall the van is nice, but I think at the end of the day I should have gotten a Honda or a Toyota, because I can't see this van making it to 200K miles.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 30th April, 2014
17th May 2014, 21:53
Our old Astro was a 2003.
30th May 2015, 02:00
Unfortunately, your transmission problem is most likely caused by torque converter shudder. Dodge is aware of this problem, but will not fix it. You can try an additive to address this issue, but this is a problem since 2007. The 6 speed automatic also seems to have this problem. Why oh why could they not leave a good thing alone? 2006 model year transmissions were fine. How can they produce a vehicle year after year and not correct a known problem? Again, this transmission shudder is not a new thing.
2nd Apr 2016, 04:08
Buying a Honda or Toyota would cost you twice as much and probably yield similar reliability. We had an Odyssey and it was the worst thing in the world; the transmission blew several times. As for value, you can buy 2 of the Caravans for the price of the Odyssey, and the Odyssey is not going to be any more reliable. It's already earned 'beware of the clunker' on the Car Complaints website.
15th May 2014, 09:02
What year was your Astro van?