I have a 1999 dodge grand caravan, at 48,000 miles I had to have the rack & pinion replaced in the vehicle at the cost of $1300.00 dollars. Chrysler would not stand behind the product. I have heard of another case in point with the same problem. It is hard to believe I should have been responsible for replacing this in such a short amount of miles since the vehicle is driven by my wife to and from work only on street surface. I think this should be checked to see how many others have had the same problem and require chrysler to address the issue.
1999 Dodge Grand Caravan steering complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 29 of 29, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I have a 1999 dodge grand caravan. A bolt that is in the rack and pinion steering bar came out while driving on the highway. We stopped at a gas station driving south on 95. When we started driving on the highway again, I noticed that the steering wheel was not in its normal position when driving straight down the road. I was driving straight, but the steering wheel, which normally has the remote controls directly in front of the driver (controls are to be at 3:00 on the right and 9:00 on the left), had shifted to about almost 6:00 for the right and 12:00 for the left. I could still control the van, so I pulled off on the next exit. The garage mechanic checked and realized the bolt underneath had come off. He found another bolt the same size and put it back in. I arrived at my destination in florida the next day and took the van to a ntb store. They checked out the new bolt and the alignment of the van and said everything looked okay.
While consumer was driving approximately 30 MPH vehicle had trouble shifting gears. Vehicle was then pulled over alongside the road. When attempting to resart the engine steering wheel locked. It was determined to be the steering sensor.
While driving at 45 MPH and without any warning automatic transmission failed. Towed vehicle to the dealer, technician indicated the need for a new transmission, also tie rod and steering wheel problems.
I own a 1999 dodge grand caravan, sport edition. Yesterday while my wife was making a right turn on the street, the steering froze and the brakes failed. She went straight on the other side of the cross street and the van went dead. Upon starting the van again, the "service engine soon" light came up. The speedometer was unresponsive and somehow we brought the van home. This is probably the speed sensor that has gone bad again. Three months ago when I was driving the van on the freeway, the van went unresponsive and I had to pullover. Upon starting the van, it showed the service engine soon light and would not catch up highway speed. I had to drive at 35 MPH speed on freeway at very high engine revolutions and come home. The dealer replaced the speed sensor to fix the problem. The serious thing of the problem in this van is that the problem occurs suddenly while the van is in motion. Yesterday and three months ago it could have resulted in a fatal accident.
Electrical fire under the steering column, wiring harness replaced, and problems with the steering wheel.*mr the vehicle is equipped with emc ds2000 adaptive steering and emc egb. While driving the vehicle's failure alarms constantly sounded. On one occasion the system malfunction and caused an accident. On another occasion the vehicle caught on fire under the steering column. On both occasions the dealer replaced the wiring harness. The driver continued to have problems with the steering wheel. The dealer determined that the gear train of the encoders were damaged. Both encoder gears as well as the encoder assembly were replaced.
The federal safety agency #02-v-293-000. On certain mini vans, the clockspring assembly may have been wound incorrectly during the vehicle assembly process. Consumer has the same problem. A recall has been issues on similar makes and models. However this vehicle is not include due the VIN#. *mm
Power steering failed, consumer loss control of vehicle which resulted in a collision and injuries. *ak
Consumer states that her child was able to take car out of gear without pressing the brake. Ts
While traveling on highway and without prior warning power steering went out. Also, vehicle started to overheat. Dealership was aware of problem.
While turning into the driveway, the consumer heard a clunk and the steering went completely around. Consumer feels this is very unsafe. *ak the consumer states that the steering wheel had no control over the tires. Injuries or fatalities could have occured. The dealer had replaced the lower steering shaft. It had been stripped out from the lack of full/appropriate connection. The material engineer stated that the part appeared to have been engaged only 1/3 of the way, instead of the whole way.
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.
There is a popping or clunking noise that comes from within steering column while vehicle is in operation or stopping. Noise occurs on a random basis and dealership cannot not determine cause of noise. There is a tsb, bulletin number: 190999 for this problem.
Ea01007-consumer took vehicle to dealer for a sound in steering column. Dealer has replaced steering column twice, and clock spring twice but defect still occurs.
A worn bushing/bearing in the tensioner pulley allowed the drive belt to slip off while cornering. The loss of power steering assist nearly caused the vehicle to drive off the road. The vehicle then quickly overheated leaving my wife and children stranded on a county road in a potentially life threatening situation. The actual temp was +5 f with a wind chill of -30 f. They were thankfully rescued within about 20 minutes thanks to her cellphone. I understand chrysler has issued a tsb for belts that slip off when driving through snow or water due to pulley failure. This is an extremely dangerous situation and should be subject to a recall. Thank you. Roger stites.
Consumer was traveling about 45mph on highway when power steering/coolant system malfunctioned and battery light came on. Vehicle had to be towed to dealership, serpentine belt came off.*ak serpentine has fallen off twice.
I am very concerned about the safety of my 1999 dodge grand caravan in rain storms. Twice now the serpentine belt came off when water in the road sprayed onto the belt. When this happens, the power steering, alternator, water pump, and all other components powered by the belt stop functioning. The loss of power steering is very dangerous because it can happen at high speeds. Service bulletin 07-02-99, "serpentine belt slips off idler pulley" installs a bracket to prevent this. My concern is that no one knows about this service bulletin until the belt comes off. There is undue risk to owners of these vans. This needs to be a vehicle recall not a service bulletin. I have contacted chrysler via the internet (reference number: 7904321) and written to james holden's office, chrysler president . I was informed to contact the federal safety agency as the information was proprietary. I have friends with the same van that have had the same problem in rain storms. It is very dangerous to allow this to continue. Do people have to be killed before chrysler takes a proactive approach to solving this on all vehicles effected? A vehicle recall is needed immediately to prevent injuries. I am very dissappointed in chrysler for allowing me and my family to be exposed to this design flaw for the past couple of years. Just today a friend has had the same problem with her chrysler mini van.
While pulling into a parking lot the steering broke, steering wheel then was able to spin freely with no control over the vehicle. Dealer has been contacted.
Parking brake failed. Yh
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