1996 Dodge Grand Caravan review from North America
"Not a good car at all - will never buy another Dodge"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
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.
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| 1996 - Grand Caravan LE 3.3 V6 Bad year for an OK mini van |
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| A high maintanance headache |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Year of manufacture | 1996 |
| First year of ownership | 2001 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2003 |
| Engine and transmission | Automatic |
| Performance marks | 5 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 5 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 7 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 5 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 63000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 89000 miles |
| Previous car | Chevrolet Lumina |
| Date of Entry | 4th April, 2003 |