Gasket leaking, replaced gasket at the dealership
Have been recalled 4 times
Ripped off at the dealership.
Will never go to the dealership again
Ripped off, spent $30k and this car aint worth even half of that at the time I bought it.
Replaced steering pump.
Replaced Master Cylinder.
Brakes, Shoes replaced 3 times.
Calipers replaced 2.
Front rotors replaced 3 times.
Parking brake does'nt work.
Car has abnormal electrical problems (unexplainable at first) but I figured it out. The battery connectors were'nt conducting electricity, needed to be sanded and worked fine. Needed to A/C dash three times.
Muffler leakage, needed to replace muffler.
Added a K&N filter for better performance and fuel mileage (takes up more gas than my 5.7 L GMC truck)
Had to change front shocks, making weird ass noise.
Changed tie rod ends, balancing needed right after.
Changed 3 spark plugs, could'nt change the rear, manifold headers blocking access plus no room and engine is under firewall. (who thought up this fukin design)
Front left and right speakers apparently blown, but working.
Handling: feels like its going to flip over at times.
ABS almost killed me a couple times, stupid krap is tooooo sensitive.
Reccurent performance problems, one time feels normal other time feels abnormal.
Brake Pedal making clicking noises, not braking well enough even though whole new brake system was changed and after, problem still exists.
Most of the repairs I did myself. That saved me a lot of money. The dealership is a rip off and the price of the vehicle is insane.
Get a japanese vehicle people, don't buy any american vehicles ever. The only good american vehicle I've seen is Chevrolet pick-ups, only minor problems since 1988, almost 20 years old and still running like new (thank you god!)
My message to you is: dodge the Dodge and the rest of the american krap. Don't give me that american patriotic garbage, YOU WASTE MONEY PEOPLE, don't waste it because you want to support the economy. The economy is inevitable, JAPANESE is the answer.
Japanese is not necessarily the answer. Many "Japanese" cars are actually made in the U.S. And I'm getting really tired of people slamming all American cars because of one bad example. There are good and bad ones, you just have to do your research and pick the good ones. Which means staying the heck away from Chrysler products altogether-which by the way is German owned. I've owned GM and Ford products. I weeded out the bad ones from those manufacturers and bought only those with a good reputation and have had pretty good luck, with only one exception-and even that one wasn't as bad as what I've read here. Research is the biggest key to avoiding a lemon. And here's a question for you: Would you completely write off Japanese cars if you wound up with a bad one? Something to think about.
Um, okay first of all. I am not bashing ALL the American companies, like I said, GMC and Chevrolet seem to be of the highest quality in an American vehicle. My Brother-in law had a Cheverolet Sierra Pickup with 800,000 Km (1994) on it, my Truck (1988) has 400,000 and still running like new. I bought a Neon before the van, and I had to go to a recall the first week. Next that Dodge caravan which by the way, the dealership ripped us off trememdously over 6000 dollars, he actually had changed the paper work to completely differant numbers. We are in the process of suing Dodge Dealership and creating a website to advise the public about the whole situation and to watch out for that particular dealership in that particular location (not going to mention which one cause that would probably go against this forums rules). This is no joke by the way. On top of the repairs and ridiculous price (of $31,000 in total for a 4 year old vehicle, original deal was $23,500 ALL INCLUDED) the bumper when we got the vehicle was painted without primer, as half the paint came off in 8 months time. Luckily, someone hit the back of the bumper and after taking it to the body shop they claimed it had not been primed before the accident. Another thing, Chrysler at the time did not join with Daimler until later on, at that time Chrysler had no connection (I could be wrong)
Among the millions of people who buy japanese vehicles, time has proven that the cars are of high quality stature unlike American vehicles which many complain about, not just me. You have to look at the facts, the facts are there, statistically speaking American vehicles are probably some of the worse vehicles on the planet in comparison to European and Japanese vehicles.
Allowing European vehicles in NA such as Renault, Alfa Romeo, Citroen and others would pose negative results on the U. S economy and cause shutdown of most companies.
Sorry, but that's just how it is, and while the American companies rush to imitate the Japanese, its too late to catch up now, sales have gone down and are looking to be pointing in that direction until they go bankrupt. So in effect, its hurting the economy, American companies go with the cheapest parts as possible, trust me, a friend of mind works at Ford and he says that Ford uses the cheapest parts possible. While the Japanese continue to invest and deliver the quality and reliability one should expect. While Ford and others have looked at the Quantitative side of doing business, selling lots of vehicles is good, but without taking the Qualitative factors into account your looking at a short time frame of doing business due to unsatified customers. Consider that here, in Canada, the only reason that Ford has remained in the market is that the government invtervenes and spends its tax revenue budget on supposedly "stabilizing" the economy when the company has no future ahead either way.
In addtion, I know of a person who bought a Ford Truck and the engine blew on the Highway right in front of Ford Manufacturing Plant 1 WEEK AFTER HE BOUGHT IT from the dealership. You can weed out whatever American vehicles you want, I prefer to be safe than sorry. The odds are still against you my friend.
I suggest, the only way to fix an American vehicle is to break it with a baseball bat, because you know the old saying right, if it aint broke, don't fix it. But you see, the whole problem is the car is already broke once you buy it, so even fixing it won't help... just finish it off.
I'm the one who made the first comment on this review.
I don't think it's accurate to say that American vehicles are among the worst on the planet. There certainly are bad ones, there's no disputing that. And I agree that your experience with the Caravan is absolutely ridiculous. Now you know why a Chrysler product will never (dis)grace my driveway. But there's plenty of evidence that foreign automakers aren't always what they're made out to be, especially when it comes to European vehicles. Read about any VW's lately? Japanese automakers have slipped in recent years... not a lot, but slipped nonetheless. I find your comments about Alfa Romeo, Renault and Citroen rather interesting, to say the least. I'm assuming by your comment that you think they would pose a challenge to American automakers. (I'm also assuming by your comment that they're not sold in Canada). Selling them in North America wouldn't do anything to the American automakers, because those Italian and French cars are some of the most unreliable vehicles ever, or at least they were not so long ago. That's one of the main reasons they don't sell here anymore-they were constantly breaking down. They make some American cars look near perfect in comparison-except for that Caravan, of course. Bottom line, they still wouldn't sell well in North America.
You're right about the Daimler Chrysler connection-Chrysler was taken over in 1998 if I'm not mistaken. So yeah, that Caravan was engineered and built exclusively by Chrysler. So was the first generation Neon. I'm still not overly optimistic about Daimler Chrysler, at least not the Chrysler side of the outfit.
As for the Ford truck with the blown engine... that could be a fluke. Sometimes a horribly bad one slips out the door. Don't misunderstand, I'm not excusing that type of problem in a new vehicle. But based on what I've seen, that sort of failure on Ford trucks is not typical. But there are indeed some vehicles that are notorious for catastrophic engine failures and the like. And it's not confined to American vehicles.
I will continue to choose American cars (and not anything made by Chrysler). I personally wouldn't rule out a Japanese car, but I just prefer American full size cars and trucks. If I were to consider a small car, I'd probably go with a Japanese car; the American auto industry has always seemed to have trouble building a decent small car. My wife and I have owned nine different vehicles, all of them American and all of them mid-size to full size and the worst one of the bunch was nowhere near as bad as that nightmarish Caravan you describe (none of them were Chrysler products, either). I can certainly understand your frustration and you have my sympathy. I wish you the best of luck.
And you can be sure that I won't be taking a baseball bat to my reliable full size Chevy truck or my reliable beloved old Buick.
I too had a Dodge Caravan SE, 1989. I loved everything about it except for the drive train. I even overlooked the A/C troubles I had in year 3. 2 transmissions later, and with the motor starting to burn oil and the transmission showing signs of more trouble again it was time to trade it in after only 110,000 kms and 6 years. I too paid too much for it and expected it to last longer. Bought a foreign import while it was on the boat and waited for it, 200,000 kms and 10 years later it hasn't hiccuped once. Just tires, brakes and the usual. I think I might need a muffler this year though... but it was 100% foreign. I can now understand why some vehicles have a better manufacturer warranties than others.
We have a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan with 140,000 miles. It is sitting at the shop right now with a blown head gasket. We've had gone through 2 transmissions already and MANY electrical problems. We had a Chevy Lumina that had over 200,000 miles and still running strong when it was hit and totaled a year ago. It never needed a major repair. Why oh why couldn't we have been driving the Dodge when we were hit?
Well, I couldn't disagree more strongly with the original poster. We had a 2000 Dodge Caravan at work, and we put 80,000 miles on it in less than five years with no maintenance other than oil changes and tires, and never had a single problem. You won't turn me off Dodges with that experience.
Not to mention, I've had a Dodge truck for 11 years and it just passed 250,000 miles on the original engine and transmission. I've had my other Dodge for 20 years. My dad's '94 Cadillac has 170,000 miles on it and runs/drives beautifully. His '97 Mercury Sable has 160,000 miles and has never had a problem aside from a brief issue with the heater. My Ford Explorer, a relative newcomer to the family, is a 2002 with 80,000 miles and runs/drives beautifully with no repairs.
Does it sound like I'm a disgruntled American car buyer? Nope. Show me where the junk American vehicles are, because I sure haven't found them. There's certainly nothing in my experience to induce me to even consider japanese. What for?
Looking closely at your review, I have trouble really finding a problem. You obviously drive the hell out of this van, and need to replace brakes a lot. Probably the same reason you warped your head, trying to see how much power it had after putting in your high performance K & N air filter. Did you want a mini van or a sports car?? You seem to be most incensed about the dealer, which has nothing to do with the van. Give me that van, and I'll still be driving it in 10 years, while you'll be on your third car complaining about how it is also unreliable junk.
These cars are 10 years old, what do you expect. I'm in the UK and all 10 year-old cars are in the scrap yard (including your fabled Japanese Junkers). The only ones that aren't in the junk yard are the few american cars that end up here, their bodywork/chassis lasts a lot better in our winters than any japanese thing ever did, common to see 50s /60s/70s/80s American cars still running around in good shape.
This is from the "one bad apple" dept. I am currently driving a 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan that I bought for $7,500 when it had 95,000 miles from original owner who kept repair records. After 7 years of ownership it now has 210,000 miles and runs great with all systems operational. Sure, normal repairs and upkeep over the years, and it does eat up the front discs quickly, but still a great people and cargo hauler. The best part is that I am a very aggressive driver who likes to time lights and get the jump. Not many new vehicles can hang with me when I am running alone and empty, hold the brakes and gas it in second gear. Good rubber, into third, and let that V6 burn and the horses run. Hahahaha. Maybe I just got lucky. By the way, it corners pretty well, certainly rollable, but I can pull away from most SUVs and pickups on the on-ramps. Fun vehicle and has held up well and NO RUST.
NO SUCH THING AS INTAKE HEADERS... remove the intake manifold, replace rear 3 plugs. Any competent mechanic can do this easily.
Being a fleet mechanic I have seen the pros and cons of these vans whether they are Caravan, Astro or Windstar.
Basically in a fleet operation you get to know very quickly which ones will survive soon. The winner? The Astro.
Why did the Dodge fail - mainly the solenoid controlled trans is a weak link. It was weak even in 1978 when the Horizons had the non-computered version. They leak and they fail. Not good for fleet work. Now the Dodge - I think the early ones were not so bad, but the later one started to have electrical problems which caused for whole wire loom replacements. Too much elect load and small wires. As for tune ups the V6 is really not so bad. Just remove intake manifold AND remove removable cowling where the wiper arms are concealed. It's a piece of cake. But still the winner in my opinion is the Astro Van. It has the least amount of problems considering its competition.
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