1998 Dodge Caravan steering problems

Filed Jan 12, 2016 · Brakes, Steering · 150,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 1998 dodge caravan. The contact stated that when driving on wet roads, the power brakes and steering failed. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the pulley needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.

Filed Jan 8, 2015 · Steering · 150,677 miles · CA

I am the second owner of a 1998 dodge caravan and bought a carfax report when purchasing which was clean showing no accidents, no problems. The one recall alert on this year and model was taken care of previously. The car has generally been dependable, other than ongoing problems with the instrument cluster which fails intermittently and all the panel lights go off. On january 6th, 2015 I was shopping not far from home and upon exiting the store parking lot to leave (2-3 MPH) turning the wheel normally while backing up from my space, the entire steering wheel just fell into my hands leaving it attached by only a few wires. There was no prior warning of the upcoming failure, no shaking, no wobble, nothing.I am a senior and was in the car alone. Luckily, some strangers helped push me back into parking space by holding and turning the steering wheel in place, as it would not snap back in. The tow truck driver stated that in his career he had never seen this, my experienced mechanic said the same. The car is currently in the shop. The entire column has to be replaced, the clock spring, etc. And even with used parts it will be costly. I live in the la area with a lot of traffic on every street. What frightens me is that I would likely have been killed had this happened while driving, and especially since I had first planned on going to a mall via freeway. This was a tragic accident waiting to happen. How many more of these steering wheels have fallen off unreported? How many more are ready to occur to some unlucky driver?

Filed Mar 2, 2014 · Steering · CA

The belt keeps slipping off on my dodge caravan. This has been continual. The forums are full of these complaints. It is the serpentine belt. I have been back and forth to the mechanic. They try everything, but when it is wet, it comes off. I even try not to drive in rain, but after the rains, I drive a short distance and its off again., I called the dealership that seems to take no responsibility for this. This is really dangerous, as it is very hard to turn the wheel. Fortunately so far, I have not been going at speed during these incidents. I had the tensioners tightened again last month, and its off again.

Filed Apr 28, 2010 · Engine, Steering · 100,000 miles · PA

The serpentine belt on my 98 dodge caravan keeps breaking. When it does, I lose control of the car. I bought the car december 17, 2009 and have had the belt break 4 times since then, causing me near miss accidents and has left me stranded along the highway with my young children.

Filed Apr 28, 2010 · Engine, Steering · 100,000 miles · PA

The serpentine belt on my 98 dodge caravan keeps breaking. When it does, I lose control of the car. I bought the car december 17, 2009 and have had the belt break 4 times since then, causing me near miss accidents and has left me stranded along the highway with my young children.

Filed Feb 10, 2010 · Engine, Steering · 250,000 miles · VA

The serpentine belt popped off my 1998 dodge caravan, it is 02/10/10 -- the day of the blizzard. This happened before on the day of the blizzard in december. This leads to an immediate loss of power steering during the worst possible driving conditions. When I tried to find out what had happened in december, two mechanics at the dodge dealership both immediately knew what had happened. They said it happens all the time when ice or snow gets up under the car. I believe this is a very dangerous manufacturer's defect. Loss of critical steering capability during the worst possible driving conditions.

Filed Jul 11, 2008 · Steering · 214,000 miles · TN

No accident.

Filed Jan 29, 2007 · Engine, Steering · 880,007 miles · OR

Subject: defective serpentine belt design I have a concern about a recent malfunctioning serpentine belt in my 1998 caravan. The belt has slipped off twice last month while driving in the rain. The first incident left me stranded off the side of the freeway waiting for a tow truck. The second incident occurred when backing out of a parking spot on damp payment (no standing water) while at a rest stop many miles from home. Both incidents occurred on normal pavement and driving during rainy days, and without any warning. The van has the standard 3.0 liter v6 engine with 88k miles, but the serpentine belt installed was less than 1 year old. Two sets of professional mechanics found the belt, the belt tensioner, and all related parts of the system in good working order (including the engine mounts). In summary, the system was well maintained and working as designed. The concern we have is the design of this system. The vehicle has been very reliable during the last eight years. But this particular problem is greatly distressing. Not only is the range of the vehicle limited to a couple of miles with a strong battery, the loss of power assisted steering makes this both a safety and reliability issue.

Filed Dec 2, 2004 · Body, Steering · 54,223 miles · IL

I own a 1998 dodge caravan 3.3l and less than 55,000 miles, the tensioner pulley went out of alignment, the bolt holding the tensioner in place was sheared in half, the belt fell off, and the steering locked up immediately. Thank god this happen in the shopping mall parking lot and not on freeway, the van be impossible to control! Have the van towed to c&m auto service, have the serpentine belt, the serpentine belt tensioner replaced and re-align the tensioner. The belt/pulley design on this van is flawed and a major safety hazard! In brazil, chrysler did a recall back in 2000 - due to several issues related to belt/pulley system on the caravan and grand caravan models.

Filed Nov 12, 2004 · Airbags, Electrical · CA

This vehicle has multiply problems. Consumer noticed that the air bag light appeared on the dashboard and remained on. When pressing the horn it failed to come on its own. Also, smoke was coming from the steering column. The smoke extinguished itself out. No injuries reported. Hazard lights failed to come on. Drove vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the horn assembly and air bags were separated problems, and the steering column was okay. No determination on the hazard lights was made. Consumer informed the mechanic that this problem occurred on numerous occasions, and had not been resolved.