1997 Dodge Grand Caravan SE review from North America
"Great family van until it (and the company) failed us."
What things have gone wrong with the car?
The transmission went bad at 31,900 miles. We were stationed in Belgium and it was repaired there. It was still under warranty.
Windshield wipers turn on sometimes after using turn signal.
A leak allowing wind in around one of the doors.
AC compressor gone bad.
Just found out the replaced transmission has ALSO gone bad.
General comments?
We had this van delivered to us in Europe. We had it there for three years, and in the US for two. We thought the van was great until the first transmission went bad. Since it was under warranty, we weren't too upset. We now find that the Belgians that replaced the transmission gerry-rigged the wiring, and most likely caused the second transmission to go bad. Daimler-Chrysler can't confirm the work was done in Belgium, so we were looking at around $4K worth of work. When we found this out, we picked up the van from the Dodge dealer, cleaned it out, drove to CARMAX, traded it in and bought another(used) one.
We will never buy another Dodge again.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Year of manufacture | 1997 |
| First year of ownership | 1997 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2003 |
| Engine and transmission | 3.0 Liter SMPI V6 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 7 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 4 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 7 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 3 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 100 miles |
| Most recent distance | 67005 miles |
| Date of Entry | 7th February, 2003 |