1997 Plymouth Voyager Base model 2.4 from North America

Summary:

It just looks wimpy, but has been a good workhorse

Faults:

A recall of the head gasket. I had to change it as the recall had expired. This was done at 129,000 miles.

Rebuilt the tranny three times.

Now phantom wiper problem. BCM I think.

General Comments:

Aside from some nagging rough idle problems encountered recently, this van has given me great service. Belts yes, hoses yes, tires yes, but that's to be expected.

I never changed the starter, and changed the alternator once.

The motor does not leak or burn oil, and has proved to be reliable.

I guess the saving grace is that the windows are manual, and no ABS. There are not many frills to go wrong. I am now dealing with the BCM thing, and that kind of annoys me to have to change it to fix my wipers.

BTW, the last time the tranny was fixed, the tech replaced some worn hard parts instead of just reusing them. I think because of that it has lasted much longer than the previous rebuilds.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 27th January, 2010

1997 Plymouth Voyager SE 3.0 from North America

Summary:

Unless you are a good mechanic with lots of spare time... stay away from this piece of scrap metal

Faults:

Went to pick it up, it was quite cold and it wouldn't start (here's your sign.. LOL) after much playing around it was towed to dealership.. Timing belt had jumped off.

After being serviced for timing belt, the serpentine belt kept falling off. New tensioner pulley and belt.

A week after we put it on the road the oilpan rotted out of it... replaced oil pan and gasket.

Replaced tranny seal around front drive axle (used more tranny fluid than gas I think)

Waterpump seals went... replaced waterpump.

Re-occurring oil leak at cam seal.. 4-5 hours of work to change.. this thing has had 4 new seals put into it, so I'm guessing a new cam is in order, which I'm sure will not be cheap (1 litre of oil/50km of driving... not to mention the stink and burning oil on the exhaust and spatter up the back hatch)

Electrical problem with wipers.. found a short in fuse panel under hood (was very tempted to just dump some gas on it)

Strut tower bearing gone.. replaced.

Brake line rotted off near the rear of vehicle (regular maintenance I guess... they use a lot of salt on the roads here).

New air idle control motor and coolant temp sensor in a vain attempt to solve a cold starting problem... that I'm still not 100% sure I've fixed.

General Comments:

This is one of the best riding vans I have driven yet and I find it very roomy and comfortable. It could use a little more heat in the rear, but seems to be OK once you're on the road for a while (30 minutes).

Luckily though for me, I'm not too far away from being a mechanic and do all my own work to my vehicles, which has saved me thousands of dollars in labor on this vehicle.

It's almost like a hobby keeping this poorly engineered van on the road. The engine is crammed into the engine bay and almost impossible to do any type of work on the rear cylinder bank. (have fun with the spark plug on the rear passenger side if you decide to change it).

Maybe Plymouth.. Dodge.. Chrysler, whatever name they're hiding behind now should put a little more thought into making an engine that will hold fluids a little longer... seals and gaskets in particular.

I know the van has a lot of miles on it almost 300 000km, but my 97 Blazer has more kilometers yet and hasn't given me a fraction of the problem with all the same maintenance intervals.

So IMHO the 1997 Plymouth Voyager is a LEMON period.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 26th December, 2008

1997 Plymouth Voyager from North America

Faults:

We currently have a 1997 Plymouth Voyager that completely dies while driving. It will start out fine, and after a little bit will just die. It will start back up, just to die a bit later again.

Now when I go to park somewhere, I try to shut the vehicle off, and the key is stuck and will not turn for a few minutes, or when it dies it does the same thing.

It's definitely not worth the money to fix it, so we are basically just driving it into the ground.

I have heard so many problems with these vans, so it's safe for me to say I will never buy another vehicle from Chrysler again!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 23rd September, 2008

5th Sep 2009, 23:15

Hmmm... the Voyager with the mystery engine??? Yes, stay away from that particular model... whatever that model happens to be, we don't know... thanks for the detailed cautionary notice.

6th Apr 2010, 10:37

The issue with it shutting off randomly is a sensor. It properly happens more once its been raining or damp outside. There is a sensor that needs replacing and isn't that expensive. The sensor detects the temperature for the entire, it faults out thinking the temperature is -300 outside and shuts the engine off for its own protection. I had this problem and once solved, the car ran wonderfully afterward.

10th Oct 2011, 08:25

You may want to price the crankshaft sensor and camshaft sensor. The symptoms you listed could be remedied by either one or both. Good luck!