2000 Dodge Caravan: engine failure

Filed Nov 26, 2018 · Engine, Steering · 115,000 miles · WA

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 dodge caravan. While driving approximately 15 MPH, the power steering seized for the third time. After the previous failures, the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that the serpentine belt slipped off and needed to be replaced. After the recent failure, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and dealer were not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 115,000.

Filed Sep 19, 2008 · Brakes, Electrical · 55,000 miles · CA · crash

I purchased a 2008 dodge caravan about 2 years ago from elite motors in victorville. The car was not smoked at the time of purchase and had to be done so about 1 month later. They said they had a hard time getting it to pass and then it passed but when I got it back I smogged it and it failed. Elite motos said they would work with me on resolving things but they never did. Since I've had the vehicle there has been a loud slapping noise coming from the air conditioner, the fuel pump has been replaced, two tires have blown, several sets of front break pads have been replaced, 2 battery's have been replaced, and within the last month both front and rear brakes/master brake cylinder/calipers/water pump/radiator has been replaced. My car is again in the shop because my engine light and air bag lights have come on, there are no brake lights, and my car was hesitating and loosing power intermittently with a clunking coming from the engine. My mechanic tells me that I will need a new engine. Also, the vehicle was involved in an accident a few months ago. I had asked geiko if when they did the body work - would they also look for things mechanically wrong just to make sure everything was o.k. They said they would, the shop (performance in victorville said they would and gave me a business card of the guy they refer things out to but they never did? Point of impact is listed at 6. Rear.

Filed Feb 11, 2006 · Engine, Transmission · 114,043 miles · OR

Bought new in 2000 (failure)serpentine belt replaced @ 39199 4-12-02 (failure)serpentine belt & tensioner replaced @ 64389 8-20-03 (failure)serpentine belt replacedlate summer 2004 (failure)serpentine belt & tensioner replaced @112,000 jan 2006 timing belt replaced @ 64389 8-20-03 timing belt & tensioner replaced @110,646 11-25-05 multiple sensor failures past 4 years, as well as valve cover gaskets, cam seals,cam packings, crank seal, oil pan leaking. Nov 2005 engine light kept coming on,& a slight knocking, dealer couldn't find any real reason, but lugging was present during drives. Had to replace leaky transmission solenoid pack & sensor 11-25-05 only to turn around and replace the whole transmission 9 weeks later due to multiple engine failures,@114,043 1-30-06 (with another serpentine belt failure 2 weeks prior to tranny replacement. 3 tows in 2 months!( and over $6,000 out of pocket) virtually all repair work done at dealer tow truck driver noted that he hauls caravans in the most of any vehicle , and mostly for the serpentine belts, many times a "repeat customer in need of another belt" I was one of his many! How many problems have to be reported before any action is taken?

Filed Feb 24, 2005 · Electrical · 63,765 miles · AR

Sept. 7, 2001, the battery in my one year old dodge caravan died. I asked that the cause of the failure be investigated. I was blown off. April 29, 2003, the second battery died. I was out of warranty at this time and again I asked that this issue be investigated. Nothing was done. Each time before the battery died, the alarm system on my car would act flakey. When this started happening again, I asked landers chrysler to look at it. They found nothing. A few weeks later, I was driving down a hill with a curve when the engine died without warning. I lost my power steering and brakes and nearly hit a mail box. I was able to start my car and continued but nearly hit a car in the middle of the turn when it happened again because I was not able to turn sharp enough. I was lucky in both cases that I did not hit anything or any one. Landers eventually located the problem, a faulty evs module. I contacted chrysler but they have refused to repair the faulty equipment because I now have 63,800 miles on my car even though evidence indicates the problem existed when I bought the vehicle. Landers told me I could disable the device by pushing a button on the dash that deactivates the anti-theft device. I was lucky that I did not have an accident, certainly the potential was there. I did a search on some auto forums and found several people who describe very similar problems to mine and others who complain about suddenly stalling. I have no idea how widespread this problem is. I do know that it took some time to determine the problem with my car. I think this matter should be investigated because anytime a driver loses control because they can not steer or stop, other drivers, property and pedestrians are in damages.

Filed Oct 28, 2002 · Engine · CA

While driving the vehicle engine stall, pull out of the road took to the dealer and will replace engine. Please provide further information. Ts

Filed Oct 1, 2002 · Engine · WI

While the consumer was traveling the main tensioner belt seized while driving on a city street, the main belt fell off and the tensioner did also.

Filed Dec 7, 2001 · Steering · OH

Steering seized. Service department indicated that the "rack and pinion was binding". There were no incidents or accidents prior to this occurrence the vehicle has always been garaged and well maintained. The inability to steer at speeds, other than parking speeds, could have caused an accident. As this steering failure is spontaneous, and the etiology unknown, it should be investigated. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, dr. [xxx] parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).