While turning into a parking space I touched break and the van accelerated to full throttle. The van jumped the curb and was heading toward 3 people, I turned the steering wheel enough to hit a light pole instead of them. The van quit racing for a few seconds and then revved up again. The light pole fell and I was again headed toward the people. I put both feet on the break and was able to stop the van, but not before hitting the people. Luckily they were just bruised because I just bumped them and didn't run over them. This all happened in a matter of seconds. I almost killed some people and no longer have transportation because the van was totaled.
1996 Dodge Caravan body problems
56 complaints (4% of all complaints for this car). 2 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 56
- of this car's complaints
- 4%
- crashes
- 2
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Body: door42
- Body: hatchback/liftgate4
- Body3
- Body: bumpers2
- Body: hatchback/liftgate: hinge and attachments1
- Body: door: hinge and attachments1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Dodge Caravan body problems in other years
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Sliding door latch failure
Analysis of known incidents indicates a declining trend over the last five calendar quarters.extensive testing of incident vehicles has failed to reproduce occurrences of full latch disengagement.no failure mode which could cause a properly latched door to lose full latch engagement while driving has been verified as a causal factor in any of the known incident vehicles during this investigation.a safety-related defect trend has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.however, odi will continue to monitor complaint input for the nexy year and will request updated reports from chrysler during that process.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that no safety-related defect exists.the agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.
EA96025
Sliding door latch failure
Chrysler maintains that the common factor contributing to known sliding door opening incidents is prior incorrect dealer latch adjustment.chrysler attributes this problem to an inaccurate service manual procedure - sliding door latch/lock control, removal and installation.chrysler furnished information showing that six of its complaints, and two of odi's, involved vehicles that had undergone prior repairs to the affected sliding door.chrysler has addressed the problem by issuing two technical service bulletins.tsb 26-06-96, service manual revisions, was issued in june 1996 and includes a service revision (#81-370-6105a) correcting service manual sliding door repair procedures.tsb 23-39-96, sliding door(s) difficult to open from the outside and/or inside, was issued june 28, 1996.chrysler identified three design changes involving the subject components: (1)sliding door latch pawl spring force increased from 5.4 newtons to 8.0 newtons in september 1995 to enhance pawl rotation return to neutral position; (2)adjustable sliding door hinge implemented in november 1995 to reduce variation in sliding door fit; and(3)sliding door striker attachment holes revised in january 1996 to eliminate up/down adjustment of striker to improve installation process and reduce variability of alignment between latch and striker.at present, odi is not aware of any incidents involving vehicles built in or after january 1996.odi has continued to receive complaints of sliding doors opening while the vehicles are in motion, including vehicles with no prior service history to the affected sliding door assembly.owners allege that the doors open anywhere from a few inches to fully open, at speeds ranging from 15 to 60 MPH.odi has also received numberous complaints alleging difficulty in latching the subject sliding doors and/or difficulty in opening one or both sliding doors.
PE96038
What 1996 Dodge Caravan owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Dt*: the contact stated the hatchback handle assembly jammed in august 2002. The hatchback handle assembly was replaced in august 2002. The same problem has returned and the handle is currently jammed. Sometimes the hatch will not open at all without difficulty. The dealers have been made aware of the reoccurring problem. Updated 06/16/06.
Dt: in april while driving down I-70 at about 70 MPH the owner was driving and heard a ripping noise . Looked back and saw side panel in the air and it flew into the median. It was a piece of gray panel that was along the van at the bottom. There were cars around, but the plastic piece didn't hit anything or anyone. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer will be contacted. Owner has no idea why the panel fell off. There hasn't been any other problems with vehicle, and it was regularly serviced. The only dealer information the consumer had was the name and city and state.
Left front strut mtg tower rusted through by the time the rust was seen the metal in the strut tower had failed chrysler refused to do anything stating it was over 3 year 36,000 mile for manifacturers deffect repair yet this is known as a common problem and can cause loss of control if it fails on the highway.
The consumer states that while driving at highway speeds, he stopped at a rest area and the vehicle started smoking. Transmission fluid started to come out of the fill tube. The transmission and the torque converter was replaced.
While driving headlights will flash on and off/ windshield wipers will not work or sometimes come on by themselves, and power door locks will come unlocked by thenselves. Has changed control module at least 4 times. Dealer contacted. Please add VIN.
Consumer stated that could close the sliding door but it will not lock where while driving could feel the opening of the door dealer was contacted. Please provide more information.
Air bag light on the dashboard has come on and will not go off. Dealership has not examined vehicle, but informed consumer he would be responsible for any repairs to vehicle. *ak consumer states horn also is inoperable. Air conditioner evaporator coil failed. Door locks do not go down automatically.
While using automatic door locks sliding door and both driver and passenger doors failed to lock. Consumer contacted dealer, and dealer replaced parts. Problem still occurs. Please provide further information.
While driving, the vehicle suddenly went from 70 MPH to neutral without warning, upon inspection the mechanic found metal shavings in the pan, consumer also stated there had been a thumping noise when taking off. Nlm
Questions about the 1996 Dodge Caravan body
Does the 1996 Dodge Caravan have body problems?
Owners have filed 56 complaints about the body of the 1996 Dodge Caravan, 4% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 1996 Dodge Caravan body problems start?
Not enough complaints include the mileage to tell.
Was there a recall on the 1996 Dodge Caravan body?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Dodge Caravan have the most body problems?
The Dodge Caravan model years with the most body complaints are 1992 (81 complaints), 1993 (81 complaints) and 1991 (80 complaints).
Other 1996 Dodge Caravan problems
Airbags 251Fuel system 219Electrical 213Engine 211Transmission 184Brakes 151Visibility 120Acceleration 114Steering 63Locks 60Suspension 51Lights 45Seat belts 42Tires 22Seats 21Wheels 2
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