Ask the Car People.SM


Dodge/Plymouth/Chrysler Minivan Problems & Solutions - READ ONLY

4276 messages,  Last post on Oct 23, 2006 at 2:11 AM

You are in the Chrysler/Plymouth Voyager, Dodge Caravan Forum.

What is this discussion about? Dodge Caravan, Dodge Grand Caravan, Chrysler Voyager, Plymouth Voyager, Chrysler Town and Country, Van

Messages Page 197 of 428

#1956 of 4276 Plymouth GV died at five years old by ellieirish

Aug 18, 2003 (5:44 am)

I bought my 1998 Plymouth Grand Voyager in 1999 as a year old car. Loved it! At a year and a half into my ownership, the head gaskets were blown and my mechanic suggested I repair it with the dealer as it was just past the warranty. Big bill which I was partiall reimbursed for after writing a letter to Chrysler. At five years of age the drive belt came off and the pistons were found to be cracked. Diagnosis: needs a whole new engine, not worth fixing. I have three friends with similar stories but none lost their car at 86,000. miles. I got 1,200. as a trade in since the van smoked, rattled and barely made it to the Mazda dealership where I bought my 2003 MPV. I'll never buy Chrysler again.

#1957 of 4276 This is a great van by strokeoluck

Aug 18, 2003 (7:30 pm)

Since this board only seems to attract the people that had bad experiences, I will once again post mine. I own a '96 Plymouth Grand Voyager that I purchased in '98 with 30,000 miles on it. This van has been fantastic and extremely reliable. Unless you're towing regularly I doubt if anyone out there puts it through any more stress than we do. We've driven it 15 hours straight in 100 degree heat. We've driven it 15 hours straight in -10 degree snowstorms. We drive it all over our city and county roads making many stops/starts/turns.
 
Yes we replaced a head gasket for about $900 and a few other minor electrical issues that maybe totaled $200. Factor that $1100 into our purchase price of ~$15,000 and then divide it out over the four years and a half years we've owned this van and you find...one VERY inexpensive van to drive. And did I mention it has 109,000 miles and it still rides great? And did I mention that it still looks good? As I always say: this is the best selling van in the country - there are not that many fools out there folks. For those of you reading this board wondering what to buy just keep in mind that HAPPY customers RARELY share their stories (particularly happy family customers because they're so darn busy w/family stuff to post here) but unhappy customers ALWAYS share their stories. Take the negative stories with a grain of salt. I don't doubt they're true, just like I don't doubt you'll find all sorts of negative posts on the foreign boards, but keep it all in perspective.
 
- Rob

#1958 of 4276 Another thought by backy

Aug 18, 2003 (8:05 pm)

How many DC vans have been sold in the past 20 years? Or just in the past four years? How many posts are on this board? How many Mazda MPVs have been sold in the past four years? (The MPV is the 2nd-best van for reliability according to Consumer Reports, just behind the Sienna.) How many posts are on the MPV Problems board? (Hint: a lot more than on this board.) Doesn't prove anything, and not all posts and problems are created equal, but it's an interesting bit of trivia, no?

#1959 of 4276 Backy by hayneldan

Aug 18, 2003 (9:11 pm)

Answer to first question, 10 million DC vans sold

#1960 of 4276 Read the Honda by just4fun2

Aug 19, 2003 (6:14 am)

Ody van site. They crow about how reliable and that is why they bought it. Then, the next sentence is, but we bought the extended warranty just in case. I think they need a site like Edmunds to get reassurance about their purchase.

#1961 of 4276 How Bad Can It Be? by quandao

Aug 20, 2003 (2:06 am)

I bought the 96 DC Sport. First year, 4 sides molding broke one at the time, 4 trips to dealer.Second years, windshield gasket popped out, outside rearview gasket popped out, driver side sliding door power door lock stuck at unlock position(22K miles) caused by bad power module. Third year,second row bench replaced(poor workmanship),the driver side sliding door power module bad again at 28K and again at 37K. After 37K they did not fixed it under waranty any more. I called Dodge headquarter to complain about this why 3 power modules on the same door bad. They did not fix the problem, all they did were replaced the bad module and let it died a year later. And the answear i got was "Sorry you are out of warranty". I gave up and leave that door unlock for good. At 50K I had a bad Oxygen sensor, at 65K sometimes the van would not start, replaced starter, fixed. At 70K brake fluid leaked at rear wheels, replaced brake wheel cylinder. Inside rear view mirror fell off. At 90K replaced transmision, airbag light somtimes turned on and off. At 100K, when the weather is hot and the AC is on, the car sometimes stalls at slow traffic. I take good care of this van. I like this van very much. This is my first Dodge and probably the last one.

#1962 of 4276 '95 Caravan by royallen

Aug 20, 2003 (4:24 pm)

I'm updating my "happy owner" report. My wife's '95 Caravan is at 98000 miles and minimal problems. I needed AC service this spring and have a faint compressor whine. Mechanic says drive it 'til it fails. I replaced front brake pads at no cost on lifetime warranty. All other service the past year are preventive maintenance. $72 repair (+$300 compressor soon) over 12000 mi= well below normal.

#1963 of 4276 2000 Voyager Brakes by krissianne

Aug 21, 2003 (3:55 am)

I have been a very satisfied owner of the 2000 Chrysler Voyager. Bought it brand new, and had no problems...until I hit exactly the 40,000 mark. It was as if a time bomb happened. After coming home from a short trip, I noticed a grinding, metal-to-metal sound in the front when I applied the brakes, which over the course of less than a mile became unbearably loud. Took it to the garage the next day...the front brakes were wore down to the metal. The weird thing is that I had no warning. No sqealing sound, no loss of brakes or pressure. Nothing. Just, poof. I don't know if anyone else had this happen to them. But it was pretty scary for me, as my 5 year old son was with me. When I had the van inspected in the beginning of the year, the garage said the brakes were 70/50, and it passed inspection. Go figure.

#1964 of 4276 It could be that.. by vcheng

Aug 21, 2003 (4:50 am)

...the garage measured the outside pads, and found them okay, but the inside pads wore out quicker due to sticking caliper sliding pins.
 
Just another point to do as much of the inspection stuff yourself if one has the inclination and the resources.

#1965 of 4276 2001 GC w/3.8L by mfahey1

Aug 21, 2003 (10:22 am)

We have had our 2001 GC since new and in general, it has been a decent vehicle. However, when it was about 6 months old, it developed what to me was a significant driveability issue. On the highway with the torque converter locked up, there was no relationship between how far you pressed the accelerator and the acceleration of the vehicle until finally, the transmission downshifted and away you went. Every other fuel injected car I have driven(and with rentals it has been in the hundreds), you press the gas and you go. You press the gas more and you go more. Not so with this engine.
It has been in 7-8 times for the problem and the dealer claims not even Chrysler can figure it what the matter is. I told the dealer I'd drop the matter if they would let me drive a similar vehicle with the same engine and I could see that it also drives that way.
The point of this is that our warranty is soon to run out and if I'm going to take a stand with Chrysler, I have to do it soon. For anyone with this vehicle/engine combination, does it drive as you would expect or does it have a hesitation until you press the accelerator fairly far down? Your responses would be appreciated.

Messages Page 197 of 428

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement