1997 Dodge Grand Caravan SE review from North America
"Decent van, but it can nickel and dime you to death"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Transmission leaked when purchased. After numerous attempts to get it sealed up by various shops and dealerships, I gave up and sealed it myself. My sealing job has held for the last 20,000 miles. I consider myself fortunate to have this minor of a problem out of a Dodge transmission.
I have gone through roughly 10 serpentine belts in the last 2 years. I have replaced the tensioner 3 times. Seems to be a critical defect here, so I keep a spare belt and tensioner in the back of the van at all times now.
Oil oozes out from everywhere. Valve covers, cam seals, crank seal, etc. It would take 2 days of labor to fix, so I just let it be, adding a quart every 2 weeks.
Clock spring recall... Seems that if you have over 75,000 miles, the dealer won't replace it, unless you are already having problems. Sure wish I could get that done without having to experience a problem first!
Passenger side door lock quit working, due to corrosion on contacts between door and door sill. I have to clean these every month or so to keep it working.
Headlight lenses cloudy... I can sand them clear and wax them, but I still can't see at night after about 3 months.
Windshield... Seems to be a very "soft" glass compound. Lots of wiper streaks embedded into glass, causes a lot of glare at night.
Wheel cover fell off the day I bought the van. Look around, you will see a lot of this.
Seems like no alignment shop in the world can get the steering wheel straight.
Most complain about the brakes, but I guess it has to do with their driving style... I had to replace a caliper and rotor when a slide bolt seized at around 100,000 miles, and I need to replace the rear shoes now (136,000), but I have had no warping of the rotors, along with good pad material left when I replaced the caliper. I put on a new pair of pads anyway at that point. It's a VAN, not a sportscar... Drive accordingly and you will have less issues.
General comments?
Decent vehicle, good power, very comfortable.
Lots of minor quirks in the model line. If you can't fix a vehicle yourself, it will nickel and dime you to death.
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| The 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan ES will cost some money, but meet your needs |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Don't Know |
| Model year | 1997 |
| Year of manufacture | 1997 |
| First year of ownership | 2002 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2004 |
| Engine and transmission | 3.0 V6 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 3 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 5 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 8 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 3 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 90000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 136000 miles |
| Previous car | Toyota 4Runner |
| Date of Entry | 21st November, 2004 |