Comments: 1-15, 16-27
The clockspring in the steering column went bad, resulting in the loss of tail lights, turn signals, and cruise control. Chrysler told me that this problems was a recall item for vehicles built up until Feb. 1998, but that it ought not to be a problem for others in that year. Mine was built after February, therefore they would not pay to have it fixed, even though my minivan shared the same problems as the others.
Even more frustrating, whenever the van is driven in any amount of standing water (even at speeds under 10 mph) the serpentine belt comes off. This has happened about five times. I called Chrysler and asked them to pay for the repair and they said they will only pay for recalls. When I asked them why they do not recall this one they said that they usually only recall when a problem poses a hazard. Losing power steering on the highway is not a safety hazard?
I've had same issue driving through standing water: serpentine belt comes off. Replaced several belts finally had to replace belt tensioner when original stuck.
Brakes are a constant problem. I have to replace pads all the time. I've had three complete brake jobs and it still gives me issues at 90k miles.
Replaced the transmission, too, at 70k.
I have problems with flashing lights on dash controls, taillight goes out, airbag light and ABS light erratic.
I had problems with key not turning in ignition.
But...it's paid for.
This is apparently a common problem. We have had the belt come off twice in rain in the last two months. Chrysler said the problem was in snow not rain. Now, they say there is a bent mounting bracket for the power steering pump. Apparently, we are not the only ones with this problem because this part is on back order and our dealer had another van with the exact same problem in at the same time. It seems that the bracket for the power steering pump was poorly engineered so that whenever something goes wrong with the belt or tensioner (the tensioner also seems prone to failure, as we are on our third one at 80K), the force is too much for the bracket and it bends, taking the serpentine belt out of alignment and making it susceptible to jumping off. I definitely see this as a safety hazard - losing power steering in the rain is a life threatening situation. Sooner or later people will die from this problem.
We have also had recent problems with the serpentine belt. We have a 98 grand voyager that had the serpentine belt jump off about four months ago. Van had ~50k miles on it at the time. It came off while driving through a rain puddle. Replaced the belt at that time. It has jumped off twice since that time, both times while driving at very slow speeds through a small rain puddle. We have spoken to the dealer and a couple of local mechanics and they all say this is a very common problem with the voyagers and there is nothing to be done for it. How they have been able to avoid a recall on it so far, I have no idea.
To everyone with the belt slipping off: There is a kit the mechanic can install on the tensioner to prevent the belt from slipping off. originally they were made for the 3.0l engine, but can also be used on the 3.3/3.8. I had one installed and the belt has never come off since even when driving through lakes of water!
The instruments on the dash of my Plymouth Grand Voyager SE have been erratic for the past three months. Sometimes they worked for days and then they would start jumping all over. Now they do not work at all.
ME and my wife bought one of these "awesome" vans from Car-max. We've had the van for about a year and a half nd we've had a few problems, thankfully nothing too major to take out the van completely, but bothersome nonetheless.
To start with the brakes started going out like 2 months after we bought the van. We opted out of buying Car-max"extended warranty" deal. Ends up the brakes go out on these vans more often then others. When applying the brakes the van shudders and the steering wheel shakes as if though the van is losing traction. Suppose-ably this is a design flaw, but I guess there's nothing that can be done about it.
Next there's the issue with the fan relay. This went out about 5 months ago and since it's been cold we've not bothered to have it replaced. Other than that the van's not too problematic, at least not as much as these other folks.
I do know that if I had the choice to buy another vehicle other than this on I most definitely would. Not a bad van, but nothing to rave about either...
I also have a 1998 Plymouth Voyager se and I experience the same problems with the belt slipping off and electronics on the dashboard.. the speedometor, gas gauge, fuel gauge, etc. just stop working so I don't know how fast I am driving. It stops working then starts working just out of the blue, I can't figure out what sets it off. I have asked mechanics about it and they say it is a common problem with this vehicle. The Check Engine light goes on and I have it checked only to be told that it's nothing the computer is wacky??? I am so frustrated to learn how many people have this same problems because I just called Chrysler and they said they have never heard of these problem with other customers. How can they endanger families and be allowed to profit from it?
My serpentine belt came off, the 5th time, while I was driving on the highway with 3 very young children... they know how dangerous that can be. How do these people live with themselves.
I have 1997 Dodge Caravan with the 3.3 engine. My serpentine belt fell off a few months ago so I replaced it with a new one. Now everytime it rains the belt falls off and leaves my wife stranded somewhere with our 3 children. I bought a new belt tensioner from the dealership and it appears to not have solved the problem. I have been reading about the faulty, weakly designed power steering bracket that is a common problem in these mini vans, which can cause the belt to slip off. NO RECALL??? Losing power steering in one of these vans is extremely dangerous!!!
Attention everyone!! This belt jumping issue has finally been put to bed. Both Gates and Goodyear are making special fix kits that work amazing. Currently they are available for 96-2000 chrysler minivan with the 3.0L, however, I hear the 3.3L and the 3.8L kits will be out in the next few weeks. The 3.0L kit part numbers are Goodyear 49204K and Gates 38342K. I highly recommend these fix kits. You will never have to worry about the belt falling off again. I can finally have some peace of mind when my wife is driving the kids to school in a rain storm. If you shop online you can find this kit for under $100!
I have a 1998 Grand Voyager. 185,000 miles. Fortunately we seem to have gotten a decent one (miracle). However, the tranny is making weird noises on deceleration. Looks like a rebuild in the future. $$$
About the brake slipping issue, I don't think your brakes are slipping, I think that is your Anti-Lock Brake System working. If the front tire loses traction while braking the ABS will function and it vibrates, pulses etc. Kinda freaky when it works, but the brake is actually being applied and released much faster than you could pump the brakes, to regain traction so you won't lose control. Don't pump your brakes to overcome this as it disables the ABS feature.
Another problem we have had it the lights on the rear wiper controls blink and the AC and recycle air lights don't work. Happened after a battery change. Seems to correct itself when I add freon.???
These serpentine belt kits are often on eBay for considerable savings. I applied the kit to my 3.3 Grand Voyager and the problem is fixed. There is currently one on eBay for the 3.0. (Gates # 38342K)
Well I have a 1998 grand voyager it is a work horse as I cab it. the only problems are the brake pad don't last me to long about 5 weeks and I had to replace the tran at 168000 which is pretty good, but cost £1400 never had a problem with belt coming off had to replace fan control module, but this seems to be common.
I also own a 1998 Plymouth Grand Voyager SE and I have encountered several problems with mine.
1. Brakes wear out quickly I've been replacing my breaks every two to three months due to the pads wearing quickly.
2. ABS light comes on and the whole instrument Panel goes out. AT this point I am unable to see how fast I am driving, how much gas I have ext... I have yet to figure out how the ABS light is related to the instrument panel other than the fact they are in the same car.
The ABS light is what bothers me the most if anyone has any idea of what is causing this problem or how to repair it please inform me.
The ABS light/instrument panel issue you talk about can be fixed with the clockspring recall repair. We had the same problem and (thankfully) our mechanic checked for recalls and found it. See the very first message posted in this thread for more about the clockspring issue.
To the post about the belt coming off I encountered that problem. I replaced the tension assembly and it fixed the problem. I hope this helps.