1996 Plymouth Grand Voyager Reviews - Page 2 of 5

I have had my Grand Voyage about 3 years now. Never once have I had a problem with it. I take it in for tune ups all the time and the dealer does it very cheap. It is one of the best cars I have ever owned. I have two children in witch is seat every one very nice. The problems that every one has is that they don't take care of there cars. If you keep up on it they will last.

The 3.3 liter has enough power to pull my 28 foot camper up hill no problem. When pulling my camper it handles very nice around the sharp turns. I take it on long trips and it never over heats every thing works great. I would have to say to any one who is looking for a van buy a Grand Voyager they are great runners and will last forever!!!

We owned this used van for about a month when the transmission went. I knew it was going when I test drove the van so I bargained the price down.

We've also had the signal/horn/cruise problems that everyone else has had, but that was a 'clock spring' problem which was repaired gratis under factory recall.

The paint had peeled off the bumper cover before we purchased the van. It's only cosmetic damage and it looks like the previous owner used the bumper to load luggage in/out of the rear compartment.

Annoying Squeal coming from the engine compartment when the engine is cold. The dealer cleaned the serpentine belts and the problem disappeared for 2 months then came back. Serpentine belts were replaced at a regular servicing for an oil change and the problem has gone away.

With over 180 000km on the vehicle, it's still going strong. This is our first minivan and, based on our own experience, we love it. Although the tranny went early in the ownership I take some responsibility for that as this is my first V6 vehicle and I drove it fairly hard. I don't drive it like that anymore.

My van has not been afflicted with any of the other problems many people have mentioned with this year model (ie: door locks, engine stalls, etc) and I'm wondering if the country version has something to do with that (Canadian vs American). Ours is CAN.

My single complaint about the vehicle is the tilt steering. When adopting the proper driving technique/position, the top half of the steering wheel blocks off the speedometer from the 20km/hr mark to the 150km/hr mark. I can't see anything in between unless I look over the top or under the steering wheel, which causes a distraction for me. Needless to say, I use the cruise control quite a bit.

We've owned this van for 8 years and only had 4 problems with it.

1. After about 4 years, the wiring insulation in the steering wheel wore through and shorted out. This caused the "air bag" warning light to stay on. This could have been a warning of a serious problem, that the air bag could go off at any time. We had it towed to the dealer (where we bought it) for service; the wiring was repaired and an additional wear sleeve was placed over the wire's wear point to prevent a recurrence. Cost was covered by dealer. (Apparently they had a company service bulletin that raised this as a common problem and the dealer elected to use his discretion to keep us happy. Shows the value of building and keeping a relationship with these folks if they are doing a good job.) In the end it was not a serious problem, the short just made the warning light come on and did not affect the air bag firing circuit.

2. At year 5, we got a recall notice that the rear hatch locking mechanism should be replaced. Apparently it had failed during some accidents and allowed the rear hatch to open. This was also repaired at no cost to us.

3. At year 7 the front windshield developed a water leak on the driver's side. I repaired that my self with a bit of clear silicone caulking compound.

4. Also at year 7 a broken retainer spring on the left rear wheel's drum brakes caused a grinding noise. I pulled the wheel and brake drum, found the broken spring, bought a $10 brake fittings kit from my local auto parts store and make the necessary repairs. (This problem may have been caused by a recent state safety inspection when the wheel was pulled to inspect the brake linings. Can't prove it, but the noise started soon after that inspection.)

Though others have reported transmission problems, we have had none. I did elect to have the transmission serviced at the 12,000 mile mark as cheap insurance against this possible problem in the future. I also bargained the original purchase price down enough to allow me to replace the transmission if needed. While changing the oil, I did notice a bit of transmission fluid leaking from a loose hose connecting to the radiator. A quick turn of a screwdriver solved that issue. Perhaps if this were ignored and the transmission fluid level not checked, a transmission failure could have occurred. After 8 years, the transmission seals appear to be developing a very slow leak; I have added about 2 quarts of fluid during the last year. The $4 per year for transmission fluid is not a big deal; but if the fluid level was ignored, could be the cause of a transmission failure.

We are on our 2nd set of tires which is normal for 61,000 miles.

The van's ride is smooth and comfortable, especially on long trips.

With its relatively high stance, it provide a good view of the road.

The added vehicle length gives more cargo space for luggage which is nice on family trips.

Despite being out in the weather for 8 years, the van's finish is still in very good shape and the car shows no rust.