Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60, 61-65
My family bought a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT in July 2004. Brand new.
My husband, a military dentist was getting relocated to a new duty station and we bought the van a few days before we moved. The dealership wound up not giving us the exact van we wanted and didn't even detail it - it still had the plastic in the floors.
The second day we had the van it was pulling to the right. We took it in and they said it needed aligned! It only had 11 miles on it! We moved two days later. It has been in the shop at least twenty times.
There was no seal on the front passenger door so we were getting water inside, we have had to get the bushings replaced 3 times, the sway bar 3 or four times.
The electronics for the sliding doors several times.
The tailgate doesn't close right.
I can't tell you how many times I have taken it in and gotten "cannot duplicate noise". The dealerships just do not want to have to take care of their mistakes.
I looked up the lemon laws, and found that if you take the vehicle in and they (the dealership) doesn't diagnose the SAME problem at least 3 times, then you cannot file a claim for a lemon. They cover themselves.
I have also been told by three different mechanics that they believe with some of the problems that my van has that it was dropped - probably when it was delivered at the dealership.
They won't even listen to me. The van will not stay in alignment for more than a few days. When you apply the brakes, the steering wheel almost jerks out of your hands.
I have had a Caravan before. When my husband was in dental school, I had a 1986 Grand Caravan with 160,000. It was wonderful. I cried when we traded that old thing in, I wish I still had it. I would trade my new in for it in a heartbeat!!!
We have a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT Special Edition. We are the first owners and bought it new with less than 10 miles on it. Basically we like the car and over the past 3 years concerned about the following:
1. AC after recall service does not cool as good as it did before the recall.
2. We think we are getting poor mileage about 14.7 miles a gallon. The car runs real smooth with premium gas but seems to gobble up regular gas.
3. The power locks are not working correctly - they won't open or close with the remote. We took it to the dealer a few months back for the same problem. They said that they had to reset the computer to get it working again. Now we are wondering if we could do it ourselves and save $120.
4. We decided to change the front rotors and pads and now experiencing brake squealing. What could this be?
5. We have about 45,000 on the car and still have the original tires from the dealer. Eventually we will change them, maybe we should get the same but wondering if anyone has a strong recommendation?
6, Our plan is to keep the car for 10 years. So far the dealer has not recommended to change the spark plugs - will changing the plugs improve the gas mileage?
Back to item 3 - this is what we are trying to fix right now - one comment recommends removing the 40 amp BCM Fuse for 5-60 seconds to reset the locks. Will try this... why is this happening?
Washington DC.
I bought a used 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT with 43k miles in March, 2008. I also purchased an extended warranty. So far the only repair I've done is have the A/C serviced, just freon added. Although I do have a problem with front brake squeal, probably just "cheap" front pads. I will replace when I get tired of the noise. The car rides smooth, love the stow-n-go seats and the room. I also have a 1997 Dodge Caravan that now has 184k miles on it. The original transmission was replaced at 169k. These cars seem to hold up, but you have to stay on top of maintenance.
I have a 2005 Dodge Caravan. I am having some kind of roar in the front end that has been ongoing for a couple of months. It is periodic.
I have had ongoing problems with it since I bought it in 2005.
The lights go out all the time. Took it to dealership and they could find nothing wrong.
Windshield wipers were too long for windows and got tangled all the time - so we fixed that.
Maintenance light came on and we took it in and they replaced a seal.
Now this sound that is driving me crazy. At first I thought it might be the brake rotors, but I just had the brakes replaced 6 months ago and the rotors were fine. So I don't think it would be that.
I am just frustrated. I have 1 1/2 more years to pay on this and 82,000 miles on it. So I want to make it last, but can't afford to have it fixed, so I hope it is something minor.
I bought my wife a new 2002 Grand Caravan EX for $25,000. It came with a 36,000 full warranty and a 100,000 power train.
I will never by a Dodge again, it is now worth about $3,000 even in great condition.
First at about 5,000 miles, the front end suspension was partially replaced, covered by warranty.
Then at about 37,500 miles it overheated and had a leak in the rear heating line. Warranty did not cover. Cost around $200.
Then soon after that the air conditioning went out, not covered, $1200.00 to replace.
Then soon after that, both driver side and passenger windows do not work any more. $180.00 to fix each window. It gets hot with non-working windows and no AC.
Then of course the Heater/AC blower only works on high.
None of the power doors work anymore.
Well, at 103,000 miles spun a good old bearing, $2000.00 for a used engine. (did my own oil changes so they just laughed at me when I called them about being so close to the warranty).
Just last week the trans cost me $500.
I fully maintained this vehicle, did all the fluid changes and services required.
I hate this vehicle, and I hope Chrysler goes belly-up.
There is not a person I know that likes Dodge anymore.
I never had problems like this with GM or Ford.
We bought our 2005 Grand Caravan SXT brand new. We have 25k miles on it now, and I'm looking for a way to get rid of it as we speak. We've had the following problems:
- Power side doors have both quit working several times, the dealership cannot diagnose the problem.
- With 12K miles on it we had to replace the front brakes and tires... dealership said it was "normal wear and tear" and not covered under warranty.
- Rear brake lights keep burning out
- Engine was burning oil... dealership replaced the PCB valve (of course it was out of warranty by this point).
- As soon as we got it back from that repair, the engine light came on... the dealership tells us it is the EGR valve and is unrelated to the previous repair (and once again not under warranty).
- Front sway bars need replacing
- Rear brakes/rotors need replacing.
The list goes on and on. Don't let anyone tell you that these are good vehicles as long as you do preventative maintenance... I've done all the scheduled maintenance and it didn't make a lick of difference. Stay away from Dodge.
What next? I've had my 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT since May of 2005. I will say, I love it for the looks, comfort and of course, the storage space. My van gets great gas mileage but only when it is not in the shop for repairs! So far, we've had the following problems:
(these are not in order)
- Computer reset for sliding doors.
- Again, computer reset for sliding doors.
- Front heater stopped working. They said it was the blower motor so we had that replaced.
- The front heater stopped working almost exactly one year later. Of course, it was a switch on the same blower motor that they had replaced the last time but this time, the blower motor warranty was invalid because I had put over 8,000 miles on my van since. OK, since when does mileage have any effect on a blower motor!
- The very next day after I brought it home from the blower motor problem, I heard this God awful sound when I turned the front wheels. I took the van back that day and they couldn't find anything wrong with it. The tech told me "It's because of the cold weather that you're hearing this." Oh really, did I mention that we live in FLORIDA and when we lived up north, I never had issues! Well, lo and behold, here I am not even two months later and I've got a power steering leak and a rack and pinion problem that I need to have fixed.
- Had to have the radiator replaced as it had a hairline crack in it.
- Had to have the thermostat and water pump replaced as it had a crack in it as well.
- This time around, I have to have the front wheel bearings and hubs replaced.
- Having the dealer reprogram the check engine light that came on for no reason.
- The sway bar links and bushings need to be replaced (even though I swear this was done on a prior visit to a different dealership which no one has a record of)
- My oil pan has a leak.
Hopefully that will be it for now... with all the replacement parts on it, it's almost a "new" van! Knock on wood!
Like others that have posted at this site, I will NEVER own another Dodge. This van has been my most disappointing purchase ever. I'd rather pay more for a van that is going to run than pay for repairs every few months.
I have a 2005 Grand Caravan, bought used with 23000 miles in Jan 06...
4 monthes after we bought it the front axel broke.
The sliding doors sometimes work sometimes they don't.
The blinkers work about 1/4 of the time.
2 weeks ago it quit on me on the interstate. We had to have the crank shaft sensor replaced. Went to pick it up at the dealer (no warranty) and it would not start. They said because we had tried to start it so many times, we had faulted the spark plugs. They wanted 200 dollars to put new ones in. ha ha ha We finally got new plugs in and drove it to the nearest Honda dealer to try and trade it in. They would not touch it with a 10 foot pole. I drove it back home and the next day it laid down on me again at the school.
This time the dodge dealership said it was the cam shaft. We got that fixed and now it acts like it is starving for gas when you push the gas pedal.
Also the sway bar bushings need replacing.
We will now always Dodge a Dodge...
Bought 2005 SXT Grand Caravan new.
- AC failed and they performed recall on tube, 2 months later it failed again. They can't figure out why so just had re-charged.
- Failed door slider motor.
- Bad wiring from steering column to engine compartment. Car wouldn't start. Had it towed where Dodge spliced wire.
- Bad fan relay, fan would turn on when car was off when it's cold.
- Today I have a 0404 EGR OBD code (check engine light) - will need to get this fixed. When checking on it I noticed that the engine cooling fans always run now even when started cold (yet another fan problem).
- I checked oil and power steering fluid and they are both way low - why I don't know. Oil was changed at dealer recently.
I like the way the van drives, features, etc but Dodge quality stinks. I don't have confidence in taking it on vacations with family. I just want to get rid of it.
Some folks have commented that the lights don't turn off when the vehicle is shut off; that they have to turn the lights back on and then off to get them to actually turn off. This is actually the way they are designed; it is a safety feature to provide light after you shut off the vehicle in a dark place. For example, if you pull into the garage at night and shut the vehicle off, then turn the light switch off, the lights stay on for a period of time in order to provide light for you after you exit the vehicle. They go off on their own after a short period of time. Or you can over-ride this by turning the switch to the 'on' and then 'off' position.
2005 Grand Caravan - purchased in 2005 with 19K miles.
A/C stopped blowing cold air within a year. Had it fixed under warranty.
Then, the coil pack went and then the steering rack had to be replaced, when the van had about 40K miles. When do these components ever fail so early?!
A thumping noise I traced to worn bushings on the sway bar. I replaced them myself for about $20.
50K miles now and the water pump is leaking! What next?
By the way, the dealership where I bought it closed this week.
This is my 3rd Chrysler mini-van. Like the way they look and drive. Bought the last one, 2005 Grand Caravan, new. Nothing but trouble, always something going wrong and no acknowledgment from Chrysler that there is a problem. Situation will not get better now that it is 'Obama Motors'. My next van will be an import (a first for me).
I have Dodge Carvan 2005 with headlight problems. The dealership can't find the cause. Only running lights work and when lights don't work the highbeams also don't work. When the headlights sometimes work then the highbeams do also.
grrrrrrr. Does anyone have an idea that I could take to the dealership?
Thanks.
Hi, I was just wondering - I'm thinking of buying a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT and just thinking.. and wondering what the price would be on average, and without the mileage, and even with certain amounts of mileage, what would it be?
-Thanks.
Those of you that have headlight issues. I had the same thing. The cause for me was a bad headlight switch. Easy to fix, you just pop off the switch next to the steering wheel and unplug the harness. Replug in a new one. Available from the dealer.