1999 Dodge Grand Caravan: engine knocking or ticking

Filed Sep 7, 2011 · Brakes · 131,000 miles · NJ

1999 awd ABS grand caravan, personal use only , no towing, mild nj winter conditions. Car parked for three days after extended trip (2,880 miles over 3weeks)at highway speeds with no problems.on second leg of k-turn while attempting to reposition car in driveway (speed less than 5miles/ hr) brake pedal suddenly deprressed all the way to the floor. Inspecting below the van showed brake fluid leak from a ruptured rear brake line close to braided flex line close to ABS module. All steel lines found to be extensively corroded /rusted up to and involving fixtures at attachment to inner brake hoses at the rear, up to the master cylinder and the front wheel lines at the attachment to front hoses. Dodge dealership (autoland) totally hands-off in trying to address this glaring safety issue - "no recalls, no mechanisms to report this issue to chrysler", more infuriating is that no replacement parts are available for these defective parts, they have all been discontinued....right at the time that most of these cars will be needing the braking plumbing changed!!! Meanwhile there all these ticking time bombs of caravans out there with tenuous braking ability once these defective lines rupture. Please recall these before someone dies, before somebody's family cries!!! I shudder to think this could have occurred during my long road trip.

Filed Jan 31, 2009 · Transmission · 182,507 miles · NC

Vehicle engine was running and transmission was in park, when it suddenly changed to reverse, knocking down and running over the driver.

Filed Apr 21, 2006 · Brakes · 36,000 miles · NY

1) travel to local oil change garage. 2) in parking lot the brake pedal went to floor of the vehicle with drastic loss of braking. 3) vehicle had to be towed home (cost $85.00). I replaced both rusted (one ruptured) brake lines (which ran from the ABS controller to the rear brakes) with auto parts store hardware ($41.00 lines & fittings, & $5.00 fluid) after being informed that rusting lines are not the manufacturer's responsibility and that manufacturer replacement lines are not stocked after 2 or 3 years. (this makes no sense to me as I would expect that brake line failures would not occur in the first few years of service.) I have also discovered that the lines running to the master cylinder show similar deterioration which will soon require their replacement as well. The lines are corroding in the immediate vicinity of the stainless steel braided hose sections which appear to be of metal differing from what the brake line itself is made from. Given that the failure is occurring in an area which appears to have dissimilar metals (an obvious failure point in areas using salt on the roads during winter - see articles covering "galvanic corrosion") the manufacturer should have made effort to keep this from happening and should offer some sort of repair / recall arrangement. Fortunately for me, this happened in a parking lot, not at seventy miles per hour on an interstate or in rush our traffic, but I'm sure that I'm not the only one riding around with this ticking time bomb on board. Could you do something about this?

Filed Feb 4, 2004 · Acceleration, Brakes · IL

I have a 1999 grand caravan, I have not received any recall notices at all. I have had numerous problems with this vehicle. Why haven't I been notified of any of these concerns. I have problems with windshield wipers just quitting. Dome lights fading in an out. Now that my warrenty is up, they say I'll need a new transmission. The back gate won't unlock with a key, the windows leak, the sliding doors don't seal, they rattle going down the road. My RPM dial shoots up and down, not only that, my paint has started peeling over the back left wheel. They say it's not their problem. Just started bubbling and rusting. I've had to have a gas line underneath fixed due to knocking it wasn't fixed properly. I have a lemon is what I have and now that I have no warrenty they just keep putting their hands out. I have put three sets of brakes in less than 4 years and now they say I need rotors. I live 3 miles from work. What's up with that. Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!now my blower is going out of my heater, I've had to replace two hub caps, $150 each for the fragile plastic.

Filed Aug 6, 2001 · Steering · MN

This vehicle has had problems with a rubbing and knocking noise in the steering components. The dealership has replaced steering hoses, the steering column, the intermediate coupler shaft, and 3 rack and pinions in trying to repair the problem. They've contacted the manufacturer and had their star technician supervise the last repair, but the problem still exists. On 12/3/1999 the technician test drove with the customer to diagnose noise in steering column. On 12/17/99, the steering column was replaced. On 12/23/99 a noise in the steering was fixed with the replacement of the power steering lines. On 2/3/00, vehicle was checked for rubbing noise in steering. The technician could not duplicate the problem. On 1/18/01, rack and pinion was ordered to fix rubbing noise in steering column. On 3/29/01 customer returned to complain about noisy steering. On 4/23/01, dealer replaced intermediate steering coupler shaft. On 5/3/01 the rack and pinion was replaced to repair a noisy steering rack. On 7/27/01, vehicle was returned to dealer for noisy steering and repairs supervised by star technician. Rack and pinion was replace and vehicle was returned to customer on 8/3/01. Some noise appears intermittently still and repair does not seem complete.

Filed Jun 4, 2001 · Transmission · NY

A drift pin in front axle will come loose and slide out, knocking a hole in transmission case, which can cause fluid to leak, and possibly front wheels to lock up. Dealer replaced transmission with same manufacturer's defective design.