97 Dodge Grand Caravan
Piece of Junk! Have sunk more money into this van than any car I've ever owned. It's now at 130,000 miles and in need of a new transmission (which was already replaced at 40,000 miles). Have replaced air conditioning - brakes 3x per year - rotors - starter - alternator - wipers still go off and on at odd times after being supposedly "repaired" over 4 times now. Have continuous electrical problems - service engine light remains on, dealer and a few other shops can't seem to figure it out. My list could go on and on. This is the first and definitely LAST Dodge we'll ever own! Tomorrow we're off to buy a Tahoe.
1998 Dodge Carvan was purchased at 103,000 miles by my daughter. I advised her to buy a warranty with the vehicle. Within two months the 3.3 liter engine was replaced in the after-market warranty and one month later the transmission failed and was replaced.
The vehicle has phantom electrical problems where all of the dash lights flash and warning lights flash.
The power steering pump rusted out completely and would not hold fluid. It took eight hours to replace because the entire mounting plate for the alternator and belt tensioner had to be removed in order to get the steering pump removed.
I have worked on cars for more than forty years and I have never been so exasperated with the lack of consideration for the repair person by the engineers that designed this vehicle.
There is no doubt that the Dodge Caravan is a very convenient and useful vehicle, but I too would recommend another brand.
I purchased a 1997 Caravan new and have had nothing, but problems with it. Everything was covered for the first 3 years, then it was all out of pocket and even then not all problems could be fixed. You name it... sway bar, swaybar bushings, clock spring, serpentine belts galore, no gauges (I have actual use of the gauges maybe 10 minutes a week). I count light poles to gauge my speed to avoid speeding tickets! I top off my tank every 4 days. I avoid stop and go traffic because my electric fans don't work when there are no gauges, the spare tire does not lower, so I keep a full size in the hatch. I bought a Dodge after staying loyal to GM since since I got my license. The biggest mistake of my life! This is my first and last Chrysler. Chrysler is junk!
I have a 1997 dodge grand caravan se.
I owned this since it was new and now it has 324,000 miles on it and still running just fine.
Only replaced the normal things "belts, oil, battery" etc.
Take care of your car and it will take care of you.
Oct 27, 2006.
I love my 97 Caravan and I have had to do normal maintenance, but I do have a ghost that attacks the dash randomly. My check engine light and ABS light come on as the dash just quits working. There are no gauges, no automatic locks, no lights at all in the panel. At first we thought it was to do with the gas gauge because it happened every time I topped off the tank and would come back on by 3/4 of a tank. Nothing to worry about as long as I stayed close to home. It happened on vacation and was off for three days. That is not how I want to spend my vacation, stressing over a possible speeding ticket when the speed limit is 75.
I have owned my 97 Caravan from when it was new. I have only experienced some of the mentioned problems such as the wipers coming on and off and a clock spring issue that just came up. Other than that, I can not complain. The van has over one hundred and twenty thousand miles on it. I drive the van every day and have to admit, I drive the Caravan pretty hard, but there is one thing, I take care of it as well. I change my oil every three thousand mile and check the fluids regularly and it is still running strong. I concur with some of the past comments made about maintenance. If you take care of your vehicle and don’t abuse it, it should last until the fenders fall of.
Caravan/Voyager Starting Problems - I have a 1997 Plymouth Voyager that I bought new, currently has 116,500 miles. Four years ago it had an intermitent starting problem. 50% of the time that I turned the key it wouldn't crank. Replaced the starter motor and the car has worked fine for 4 more years. Now, back in the same situation again. I find if I turn the key 10 times it may start every time today, but on other days it will only crank 50% of the time. With all the starter motor problems listed on the internet for the Chrylser Mini Vans - will replace the starter again with no questions asked.
Chryco is junk. Nothing but bad news with my 1997 Caravan (Bought it new). Too many problems to list, but invested $2000 plus into the instrumentation alone over the last 4 years and still no gauges... and no satisfaction. This was a very costly mistake on my part for trusting in Dodge. They should lock the doors and go home... for good.
I bought a used '97 Dodge Grand Caravan at 57,000+ miles. I am now selling it 6 years later at 151,000 miles. In that time, this van performed as expected and gave us years of comfort on the road. All the whining here sounds like people who do nothing, but put gas in and ignore any recalls (clockspring). Maintenance is a must.
As for us, we have had only minor issues. We replaced brakes regularly--you know--as they wore out (perhaps 3 or 4 times total) We DO have a slight tranny leak and a slight oil leak, but I check the fluid levels regularly and she just keeps going. We are going to retire this one finally, and YES--we are buying another MOPAR product-- an '05 Town & Country Limited. These vans are great! :-)
My mother has a 1997 Dodge Caravan and has taken it to be repaired, for air conditioner problems. She has put $1000 into trying to get the air conditioning working. The last repair man... at a Dodge Dealership... told her it would be a waste of time and money to replace the belt that keeps slipping off (on the air conditioner... if we got it correct) and that he has replaced his four times and it will not stay on. My nephew took the car in for her and he said they tightened the belt again and still she has no air conditioning. Pretty frustrating and we are at a loss of where to turn at this point. She does live in a small town with little choice of where to take the car. Do you feel you have had this problem and found a solution? She otherwise does like this vehicle...
We love our 96 caravan. Has issues, but it has over 212,000 miles on it and still doesn't burn oil. Unfortunately, it's beginning to rust or we'd drive it another 10 years. Still looks new inside. The wipers turn on and off at will, but we just pretend it's haunted. Tranny was rebuilt at 127,000 for $600 bucks.
I bought this car in 2003 have spent about $3000 so far in 2008 to keep it running. My mechanic tells me that I have to spend about $1600 more.
The brakes have been a continuing nightmare. They are an annual nuisance. All parts, including rotors, drums, calipers, wheel and master cylinders, fittings, hoses have been replaced on more than once. This is in addition to pads and shoes, which I expect to replace every 10,000 to 12,000
miles on a vehicle of this weight. The disk calipers have a nasty habit of locking shut and devouring both pads and rotors. This has happened THREE times in four years.
The electrical system is a nightmare. I never know what will work on any given day. I have had expensive searches of the electrical system done, and they have turned up results about half the time. The factory battery cable system apparently allows water to run down the inside of the plastic sheath, the wires that run over the top of the driver's side wheel well are subject to corrosion because something cuts through the insulation (through rubbing or through debris kicked up from the road or because of some other erosive agent).
Some electrical problems have been fixed by replacing the most-damaged wires in the wheel well (interior lights, seat adjustment levers), but the turn signals still work only when they feel like it, only one back vent operates occasionally, and the side mirrors just don't work at all. The wipers turn themselves on occasionally. The vehicle does not respond when the key is turned sporadically, but if I come back an hour later it starts right away and will run for weeks or months before the problem occurs again.
The octopus of piping that keeps water flowing to the rear climate control system has corroded through twice in the five years that I have had this van. It is over $1,000 to fix this each time. I am told that it will happen again because the design of the vehicle channels all moisture kicked up off of the road onto the metal part of this assembly.
I thought that the price of the vehicle was too good to be true when I bought the car, but now I know why it was priced for a quick sale. If I continue to pour money into it for the rest of this year, I believe that I will reach the point where it would have been cheaper to buy a new Toyota van in 2003.
I have a 97 Dodge Grand Caravan with 126000 miles so far. It's the biggest piece of s... t I have ever bought - many, many problems.
AC repaired 3 times, serpentine belt, water and fuel pumps changed - hoses leaks - now the transmission went out on me and will cost $1200 to rebuild.
Never again will I buy a Dodge.
My 1997 Caravan has been good to me, other than regular maintenance and a trans rebuild at 134000 miles, the only other problem I have had is the radio clicking on and off to the point of not working at all; does anybody know how to correct the problem? The speakers are OK, as also is the radio, seems to be a module or wiring situation, anybody have any suggestions?
I am looking at a 1997 Dodge Caravan - not so sure now.
There are a lot of people on this site who have brake problems. I had a Chrysler Cirrus and had to get brakes like three times in a year or so. It turned out it was the ABS system burning out the regular brakes.
I pulled the fuse on the ABS system, and the problem was solved, just like that. When you pull the fuse on the ABS, your car just uses your regular brake system only.