2005 Dodge Caravan acceleration complaints

Filed Aug 13, 2005 · Acceleration · 36,300 miles · CO

My wife was on the highway passing another car when the accelerator pedal of her 2005 dodge caravan se suddenly dropped to the floor. She barely got off the road without causing an accident and was sure if it would have happened on a busier highway she would have caused an accident. She was stranded along the highway for two hours waiting for help. She was towed to a dodge dealer who told her the little plastic retainer which secures the throttle cable going from the accelerator to the engine had broke and they consequently fixed it. It is part#4287736 retainer. After looking at this little plastic retainer I feel it is a safety hazard and should be redesigned and made out of steel or something that won't break as easily. I think it should be investigated as a safety hazard.

Filed Jul 26, 2005 · Acceleration · 8,800 miles · NC

Dt: consumer stated that 2005 dodge caravan accelerator stuck and she could not stop. Owner put both feet on the brakes, and the vehicle could not stop. The brakes were not working well enough to get the van to stop with the accelerator stuck. The van will still not come to a complete stop. Consumer came to a red light; and the vehicle did not stop or slow down. Consumer had to run the red light to keep vehicle from hitting another vehicle/pedestrian. Consumer pulled the van into a parking lot, trying to get out of the way, and keep it from hitting another vehicle. The van went up on both left wheels when the consumer turned into the parking lot after the vehicle came back on all 4 wheels. Consumer quickly turned off the ignition and vehicle stopped. Completely. Left front side tire suffered a blow out prior to this incident, several months ago. The tire was replaced at no charge. Consumer did not ran over anything for the tire to blow out. The van was taken to a local dealership on gastonia, approximately 40 miles from the original dealer where the van was purchased. The original wanted consumer to bring the van to them so they could inspect it themselves. The dealer offered consumer a rental for three days while the diagnostic test was performed. Consumer had a rental car for 5 days, but she refused to pay for the rental.