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1997 Dodge Grand Caravan engine complaints
Page 4 of 4: complaints 71 to 100 of 100, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Catastrophic failure of drivebelt tensioner caused instant loss of control of vehicle by failure to drive either power steering or the alternator. This caused instant and total loss of hydraulic power to the steering and loss of electrical power to the lights. The electrical power did come back up but only sufficient to give less than half the normal illumination to the headlights as both airconditioners were operatiing as were the lights and wipers. The incident happened on a twisting wet road in the everglades with a canal on the outside of an approaching bend in the road. Sudden loss of power steering required a superhuman effort to keep the vehicle on the road and prevent what would have been a tragic finale had the minivan gone into the canal with its 3 adults & 4 children. Discussion with two chrysler dealers as well as several tow truck drivers indicates that this is a very frequent cause of accidents. One dealer said they have to replace one of these tensioners every day but it seems to take 36 or more months for the defect to show up hence it does not appear on chryslers' warranty list of frequent failures although chrysler must be aware of the problem due to the inordinate number of replacement tensioners they have to ship to their dealers. Mechanical inspection of the part shows not only poor design but also, in my case, defective manufacturing of the high tensile bolt used to attache the tensioner to the engine. When the tensioner breaks of off it allows the drive belt to detach from the pulleys it is driving which include the power steering, airconditioning compressor, water pump and alternator the first and last of which are critical to vehicle control. Further research indicates that this problem in chrysler minivans appears to be confined to 3.8 and 3.3 liter engines. Defective part was made in canada.tow truck drivers told us that if they have to pick up a chrysler minivan, 4 times out of 5 it is for a broken drivebelt tensioner.
Major problems followed months after engine replaced. While travelling on major highways, suddenly engine sputters, loses power, stalls. This has happened too frequently - on dangerous highways - rt. 1 in florida keys, rts. 20 and 26 in nc and sc. Also occurred in very dangerous intersections in asheville, nc and myrtle beach, sc.
Serpentine belt tensioner bolt sheered off at mount. Metal was stressed causing bolt to break off. Assume defective bolt (have assembly for further exanination if needed).power steering, air conditioning, engine water pump etc etc ceased to function because belt came off all power accessories. Engine overheated and may have caused damage to engine. Very dangerous situation as far as vehicle control etc. Was told by mechanic that this item has been causing problems for some time. He has replaced many of these items on dodge caravans. Request that a recall be considered in this situation. Thanks
Failure has occurred twice within two months. Vehicle is undriveable due to overheating. This stranded family with small children both times.
The vehicle stalls while driving, vehicle has been to the dealer but they are unable to duplicate the problem. Nlm
About two weeks ago our 97 grand caravan se, 3.3l v6, 45,000 miles died at an intersection and would not restart. We had it towed to a dealer that sunday evening. On tuesday I was told that the problem was a blown head gasket ($700) as two adjacent clyinders were low on pressure. Later that week I was told that the head gasket was ok but the camshaft was broken ($1400). On thursday I was told that the camshaft bearings were damaged and that I would need to either purchase a rebuilt shortblock or longblock ($3,300/$3,800). I went to the dealer to view my engine (now disassembled on a bench) and the camshaft was in two pieces. A clean break with no blue color on either the camshaft nor the camshaft bearings. I was told by the dealer that camshaft bearings were only serviced by using the shortbock (I.e., they wanted to sell me the whole works. From a hayes manual I purchased I discovered that you could indeed replace the camshaft bearings (seems logical as chrysler does rebuild engines for resale). However I was told that the dealer did not do this. I asked them to find an automotive machine shop that would do this. After a couple of days with no call backs I found a couple of machine shops that would do the job for $35-$150. When I told the service manager this information he said they could get the camshaft but not the bearings. The service manager asked me if the machine shop could get the bearings. Their book showed camshaft bearings for mini vans up to 92 only. They probed further and discovered the bearings listed for the 3.3l cars were indeed the same part needed for the 3.3l caravan. Next week I hope to be back on the road for a lot less $$$ than the options that were presented to me.... Still not satisfied as to the reason for the breakage. It wasn't oil starvation as the oil ports on the camshaft bearings were still in alignment. The oil pump is also still working. It looks like the camshaft had an undetected flaw at the time of manufacture. My first attempt.
Engine cooling fan failed to operate while traveling, causing vehicle to overheat. Dealer notified, and replacements/repairs done at consumer's cost. Recall for the 96 model for the same problem. *ak
Serpertine belt broke as I was rounding a curve at 35 MPH. I got the vehicle to a complete and safe stop.
Had shifted to reverse prior to backing and heard a clunk. Shut off engine. Looked under vehicle and saw the serpentine belt hang down. Looked under hood and saw the belt tensioner had snapped off and had dropped down to the right axle. Was informed by mechanic that this is a common problem with the 3.3l engine. Was thankful that it did not happen at highway speeds.
Vehicle will stall out at any rate of speed , either approaching a stop or while vehicle is motion. Dealer cannot determine cause.
The tensioner for the serpentine belt broke off while the car was waiting to enter an intersection--the car was disabled. I have talked w/3 people since who reported the same problem. Including repetitive broken belts. I see a trend but dodge won't cover in their extended warranty.
Transmission will not shift out of second gear under load conditions going uphill. When weather is hot, the drivetrain and engine overheat, can not maintain speed while attempting to maintin speed of greater than 45 going uphill. When pulling out onto a highway going uphill with the speed limit 45 or more, you can not accelerate to the speed without the engine racing at over 6,000 RPM and the transmission will not shift out of second gear while it is in a load situation. Daimlerchrysler has stating in writing that it is a design fualt issue and they have no intentions of resolving the bad design. This condition has cause numerous close calls concerning accidents.
Engine slippage jan. 1999. To dealer who diagnosed and concluded needed transmission fluid. Transmission rebuilt aug. 1999. Oct. 1999, car overheated, towed. Headgasket replacement with engine rebuilt. Total cost - $4,000.00
The vehicle will shut off while driving which causes it to lose all power steering and brakes. Most of the time the engine has to be restarted but there have been occasions where the power steering and brakes initially lost power, which made it very difficult to control the vehicle. The power steering and brakes will then just kick back on however, again causing loss of control of the vehicle since we are trying to oversteer it due to the original loss of power. This is an extreme safety hazard since the failures occur without warning and while the vehicle is moving. The vehicle has been to two different dodge dealers on four separate occasions for repair but the problem has not been fixed because the dealers have not been able to have the power loss happen while they were driving it. These failures have occurred approximately 8 times since we bought the vehicle new.
Warm start, engine may stall or stumble when accelerating from a full stop. Attempting to pull out, across an intersection may result in being stalled in the middle of an intersection. Transmission shifts erratically/randomly with harsh engagement (apparently related to engine control trying to process erratic speedometer output). Speedometer erratic/random output from 0 to 120 MPH and as a result engagement of the cruise control results in engine attempting to match random speedometer reading. Cruise control problem results in random & uncontrolled acceleration.
The engine is requiring an excessive amount of collant to keep from over heating . Dlr cant find problem.
Lost control of vehicle, due to tension pulley snapping off at engine block and causing brake + steering on the one belt system. Serviceman stated that this is a common problem?doesn't sound safe to me!
Fuel pump broke while in motion. Had no control of vehicle. Also, belt tensioner broke while driving approximately 40mph/computer chip had failed & this caused the vehicle to stop functioning at 65mph, and battery went dead & can not be recharged.
While driving along at various speeds and with air conditioning on, the engine shuts down lossing all power to brakes and steering as well as all electrical systems.
The fan belt is knocked off of it's track when the vehicle goes over even small puddles, making it very difficult to drive when it is raining. And even more frustrating is just the threat of rain, makes the vehicle not even worth taking out that day.
While driving in rain the fan belt comes off continually, causing complete loss of power. Mjs
While driving about 20 MPH driver heard a noise coming from under the van, and almost lost control van. Van became very hard to steer. When driver checked under the van, it was noticed that the rod that holds the tensioner pulley snapped off. The problem has not been reported to the dealer.
While driving with the radio playing and the air conditioner on, and without any warning, the engine just dies out. But everything else is still working. Took vehicle into dealer twice, but they can't duplicate the problem.
Vehicle stalls without notice at various speeds, leaving the vehicle completely disabled
Intermittently while driving the vehicle stalls and loses all power which almost caused serious accident. Happened 7 times. The dealer cannot determine problem.
Vehicle stalls when making turns.
Engine burns too much oil.
Engine camshaft failure.
Engine block failed.
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