While driving turned on heater, but there was no heat. Then, opened front hood, and coolant was all over engine. Took vehicle to dealer, and they said that head gasket was blown out.
1998 Dodge Caravan engine complaints
Page 5 of 6: complaints 101 to 130 of 137, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I am having alot of problems with my van over the past year I have put over 1500 worth of work into this van they made the engine too small for this size of a van. I continue to have problem with the engine and now the transmission is acting up. I have already replaced head gasket all the motor mounts timing belt it has been one thing after another and now my engine is making a rattling sound everytime I push the gas petal I don't know where else to complain.
Consumer heard a growling noise when taking foot of gas pedal. Transmission blew a quarter size hole in it. Also, losing oil
On october 6, 2000 I was taking my son to school when I lost all ability to accelerate. I was going fast enough I was able to coast into the parking lot. My vehicle was towed to the dealership where we purchased it. They were not cooperative or friendly and were unable to diagnose my vehicle within the 3 day time frame they had promised. So on 10-09-2000 we had to have it towed to an independent garage to be diagnosed and fixed. The diagnosis was total transmission failure. We had to have them fix it b/c our dealer was going to be 3-5 weeks to fix it, and we had a rental car during this time. The cost was $1455.00, that we paid out of our pocket. During their investigation of our problems they also found an oil leak. My husband is very good with cars and has made several attempts to fix the problem, to no avail. On 3-9-2001 I had the car oil leak diagnosed by an independent garage. They said the head gasket was leaking oil and would have to be replaced. A cost of approximately $600.00 and down time of the vehicle being 2-3 days. As this is our main vehicle this presents a problem. We have been told by many people and garages that these 4 cylinder engines are widely known to have transmission and head gasket problems. One garage went so far as to tell us that chrysler knew they had these problems but just would not put out a recall. We have had the van for 23 months. Nothing went wrong during the valid warranty time. When the transmission went out the vehicle was only over warranty by approximately 5000 miles. Our dealer was not willing to work with us within the time frame they had originally given us, so we were forced to go somewhere else and pay out of our pocket for the repairs, as we could not afford a rental car for the 3-5 weeks the dealer was going to take to diagnose and repair the problem. We would like to see chrysler be forced to take responsibility for these problems.
Exhaust manifold has developed a hole in it on the right side. This causes exhaust gas to be ported out right in front of the passenger compartment.
Was told I needed head gasket replaced due to oil dripping. No prior problems have had regular service check up and oil changes I have called the manufacturer and was told there were no recalls as a result. I did find another complaint of similar situation on allpar.com . This seems too early for such a large repair.
Consumer had seen oil on ground coming from vehicle. Had taken vehicle for repairs, and technician said that oil was coming around engine. Head gasket was replaced once.
While driving could step on the brakes pedal and vehicle will start shaking without a notice of brakes working. *ak in low idle with brakes on, vehicle start shaking as if it would die (engine shut off).
Defective engine head gasket caused engine leak.
While driving defective timing belt and idler arm broke which cause vehicle to stall unexpectedly, almost causing a crash. Please provide further information.
Vehicle lost power and made a funny noise, then stalled completely, consumer looked under the hood and vehicle experienced fire in engine compartment, claim 08-5050-945.
When driving serpentine belt would keep coming off. This happened whether it was wet or dry. Went to dealership 3 times & was informed a flaw in design of belt. Had belt replaced 5 times & had been shredded 5 times.
Engine coolant leak noted from front of vehicle. Dealer performed cooling sytem pressure test. Diagnosed rear head gasket as faulty.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
Serpentine belt came off while driving during a rain storm, causing loss of power steering/brakes and lights. Apparently, manufacturer sent out tsb which stated serpentine belt will slip off when it gets wet.please provide furtehr information.
Serpentine belt failed for the 4th time while driving. Had heard a funny noise prior to no steering. This caused a loss of steering control. First 2 times was at 35mph. 2nd 2 times was while starting vehicle. Been to dealer each time to have belt replaced.*ak power steering, water pum, alternator and air conditioner failed.
Serpentine belt fell off 3 times due to snow and rain splashing upon the engine resulting in power steering to fail and engine over heated.
Serpentine belt came off during a 25 MPH turn. Belt then wrapped itself up in A/C pulley. Loss of power steering and alternator ensued. I've had this vehicle in the shop now 3 times for alternator or belt problems - they were not aware of tsb affecting the serpentine belt.
While driving vehicle stalls unexpectedly which may result in a crash. Please provide further information.
While driving vehicle came to a complete stop/died due to coolant and transmission fluid mixing together in radiator, and causing transmission failure. Consumer has contacted dealer, transmission specialist has replaced transmission and radiator. *ak
This is the fourth time the serpentine belt has shreaded apart. The first time was at approximately 20,000 miles. When the belt goes there is, of course, no power steering (which seriously affects the handling, no power brakes (which affects the stopping) and the water pump dos not work (causing the van to overheat rather quickly). The dealership is not able to determine why this keeps happening. I am from canada so I was unable to enter my province (british columbia) and my postal code (v3g 1l5).
While driving and without any warning a fire started underneath the engine compartment. Will be taking vehicle to the dealer. Please provide further information.
While driving vehicle stalled without prior warning. The second time when vehicle was parked, it did not start.
Consumer had to replace surpentine belt. When she was driving serpentine belt came off, and vehicle lost power. Dealership was aware of her problem. *ak the belt have to be replaced periodically.
While driving vehicle caught on fire on passenger's side in the engine compartment, cause unknown. Please give any further details.
Engine head gasket failed, causing major oil leak.
Tensioner failed causing the belt to be thrown off engine pulleys. Nlm
Speed sensor failed.
Cylinder head gasket failed. Yh
Engine oil seals failed. Yh
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