1997 Dodge Grand Caravan fuel system problems

Filed Nov 26, 2019 · Engine, Fuel system · 104,233 miles · CA

Car suddenly lost power while driving on the freeway at 60mph; engine remained on. I pulled over, turned off the car, and it started back up again and drove fine for about 2 miles. 'service engine soon' light came on. When it lost power again, I slowed and then tried to reaccelerate, and it drove fine for about 5 miles, enough to get me off the freeway and to a safe location. I checked the oil and transmission levels, which were ok, and there was nothing leaking under the car. Went to an appointment, and came back to the car, which started up and drove ok for about a half mile, then it shut down completely at a traffic light. This time it wouldn't start back up again, so I pushed it onto a side street, where it started up fine and drove to the nearest gas/repair station. Now, the van won't start again. Van was proceeding straight in all situations.

Filed Jul 21, 2015 · Brakes, Fuel system · NC

Part 1.... I used to be a mechanic and tow truck operator. My mini van "like most others" is usually driven by a female & with a load of children. If driving in rain or through a water puddle the belt jumps off causing loss of power steering overheating battery drain etc, is a dangerous even deadly problem, if a turn is needed at the time this belt jumps off, even a strong healthy man can leave the line of intended travel and hit what ever is in the way, a curb, a pedestrian or even cause a head on collision. This mostly happens during rainy/nasty days & because of the complexity of replacing the belt, and the damage that is caused when it comes off, the vehicle usually requires a tow 4 repair. It is stated that, when a consumer makes a complaint & if the same complaint is repeated an investigation will be started. This is an old problem with many, many, many complaints yet, I see "no action, not even an investigation into this problem", why?? Consumers are depending on you "safecar.gov, the federal safety agency" etc. What will it take, "a death" to start an investigation? Or, should I say, how many??? I know there has been accidents because of this, and a lot of damage just from the belt as it jumps off and goes flopping around, not to mention the people that burned up their motor even started a fire trying to get home, to a shop etc. This problem has been a plague since day one and should have been at least fixed on the next years model but chrysler just ignored it. Their have been many vehicles with these serpentine belts,, chrysler vans is the only ones that I know of with this particular problem. This is a deadly problem that should be repaired by the chrysler corporation since they knew about the problem from the start and just flat out ignored it. The gas line decaying and suspension strut mounts rusting away on these same models will be my next post

Filed Jul 21, 2015 · Brakes, Fuel system · NC

Part 1 1/2 the gas line decaying and the suspension strut mounts rusting away, both of these are deadly, a rusty/corroded break line will just leak a drop at the time, most people just refill the fluid reservoir and never think about again, eventually the break line fails all at once, this is because you actually put more pressure on the lines than usual and the weak spot ruptures like a weak spot in a balloon would. That means that you were in a bad situation already and now you don't have any breaking power at all. What do you think happens next??? All break lines are stainless steal so as to resist rust and corrosion, the only reason a break line fails in this little amount of time is because the manufacture is producing an inferior product and should have already been made to correct the problem. Now,, the strut mounts, as soon as the company found out that they had a problem with the mounts rusting they should have recalled the vehicles and sprayed $10 worth of undercoating over the parts after removing the rust to stop any more rust from forming. If the strut mount is rusted enough, it can fail at any time "usually when at higher speeds and you hit a bump in the road,, that sends an extra amount of force to the suspension. The strut comes up through the hood and the wheel may go any way and hit any part of the wheel well and suspension the axle may come out of the wheel or transmission , all of that means you may have total lose of breaks and or steering. All 3 of these problems could have easily and should have been corrected when first realized many years ago, instead they kept right on manufacturing vehicles the same way with the same imperfections and if you go to a dealer today with either of these problems they will say it is the first time they have herd of it, it out of warranty, etc. And will not even think about fixing it unless we pay

Filed Jul 21, 2015 · Brakes, Fuel system · NC

Part 1 1/2 the gas line decaying and the suspension strut mounts rusting away, both of these are deadly, a rusty/corroded break line will just leak a drop at the time, most people just refill the fluid reservoir and never think about again, eventually the break line fails all at once, this is because you actually put more pressure on the lines than usual and the weak spot ruptures like a weak spot in a balloon would. That means that you were in a bad situation already and now you don't have any breaking power at all. What do you think happens next??? All break lines are stainless steal so as to resist rust and corrosion, the only reason a break line fails in this little amount of time is because the manufacture is producing an inferior product and should have already been made to correct the problem. Now,, the strut mounts, as soon as the company found out that they had a problem with the mounts rusting they should have recalled the vehicles and sprayed $10 worth of undercoating over the parts after removing the rust to stop any more rust from forming. If the strut mount is rusted enough, it can fail at any time "usually when at higher speeds and you hit a bump in the road,, that sends an extra amount of force to the suspension. The strut comes up through the hood and the wheel may go any way and hit any part of the wheel well and suspension the axle may come out of the wheel or transmission , all of that means you may have total lose of breaks and or steering. All 3 of these problems could have easily and should have been corrected when first realized many years ago, instead they kept right on manufacturing vehicles the same way with the same imperfections and if you go to a dealer today with either of these problems they will say it is the first time they have herd of it, it out of warranty, etc. And will not even think about fixing it unless we pay

Filed Jun 29, 2014 · Electrical, Fuel system · 150,000 miles · OR

Car has faulty gas gauge and despite how much gas I put in, will toggle between having gas to empty and sits on empty, has run out of gas as a result, hard to start and now will not start. Also has many electrical quirks, turn headlights on inboard dash light goes off and vice versa. Had someone fix fan to go on when plugged into battery since cannot get into computer dashboard and internal heat fan stopped working, also indicators work sporadically (so evidently an electrical communications issue). I've read that this year has had recalls due to faulty fuel hoses/lines and when using after market fuel filters even from napa which will cause fuel lines to become faulty. My van falls within this year, but I was told my specific VIN # didn't apply. Van is 3.3 liter engine, v6.

Filed Jun 20, 2012 · Fuel system · 145,000 miles · MN

Tl* the contact owns a 1997 dodge grand caravan. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 MPH, the contact noticed a fuel smell. The contact parked the vehicle and after inspecting it, he noticed fuel leaking from the fuel rail. The vehicle was included in the recall under the federal safety agency campaign id number: 00v268000 (fuel system, gasoline:fuel injection system) and was previously repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired a second time. The approximate failure mileage was 145,000. Updated 7/11/12 *cn updated 07/17/12

Filed Aug 4, 2010 · Fuel system · 108,000 miles · IL

Tl* the contact owns a 1997 dodge grand caravan. While driving approximately 20 MPH, the contact smelled a strong odor of fumes. The vehicle was driven to the side of the roadway. The contact inspected the vehicle and observed a fuel leakage coming from the fuel rail assembly. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where a temporary repair was performed on the fuel rail. There was a prior recall repair performed on the vehicle approximately five years ago under the federal safety agency campaign id number 00v268000 (fuel system, gasoline: fuel injection system). The contact stated the remedy did not correct the problem and the repair part was defective. Also, the high fuel pressure line separated from the engine due to massive corrosion and the fuel pump line exhibited a crack. The repairs were performed at an independent mechanic with replacement of the fuel pump. The failure mileage was 108,000. Updated 10/21/10. *lj the consumer stated the replacement fuel sending unit that was replaced under recall in 2004 cracked. Updatd 10/25/10

Filed Oct 10, 2006 · Fuel system · 139,000 miles · MI

Dt*: the contact stated while driving 45 MPH, there was a strong smell of gas inside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a service dealer, where it was determined that there was fuel leaking from the injection rail and the o rings. There was a the federal safety agency recall # 98v184000, which pertains to the fuel injection system. The vehicle was not included in the recall due to the VIN.

Filed Mar 1, 2006 · Fuel system · 81,500 miles · IL

In driving my 1997 dodge grand caravan, I have had several episodes where it stalls with no warning. The first time it stalled was after stopping at a toll booth and in pulling out from the booth it just died. Luckily there was not a lot of traffic as my husband and three small children were in the van with me at the time. Had it been during rush hour or there was someone who was just in a hurry, this incident had the potential to be quite tragic. My van has also stalled sitting at a traffic lights and several times driving down residential streets. We can not seem to figure out what is going on. I have been told that everything looks o.k. After seeing a newscast tonight that spoke of the same stalling without warning issues in other vans I am having my fuel pump replaced. This newscast said the issue was with only 1991 - 1995 chrysler/dodge model vans. I wanted to make you aware that it could be related to newer models as well.

Filed Jul 28, 2005 · Airbags, Fuel system · 93,000 miles · MS · crash · fire · 2 injuries

Dt: dt: the consumer purchased the vehicle from an individual. The vehicle caught on fire and was deemed totaled. After the accident the consumer learned of two recalls on the vehicle, one for the fuel rail and one for the air bags. The air bag did not deploy during the accident. The manufacturer sent an investigator to inspect the vehicle. There was conflicting information on the letter sent to consumer. This happened on january 17, 2005 . *ak