2005 Dodge Grand Caravan: hesitation when accelerating

Filed May 10, 2015 · Engine, Fuel system · 92,000 miles · VA

The vehicle stall immediately after 1st startup fill up of the gas tank. The steering locks and car engine hesitates and dies. After waiting couple of minutes, the car will start up and not have the problem until next refill of the gas tank. I never overfill the gas tank. The problem is similar to an existing recall on 19 gallon gas tanks on dodge chargers.

Filed Nov 11, 2013 · Engine, Fuel system · 70,000 miles · CT

For at least a year now (dates and mileage above are some sort of approximation) our car has been having trouble upon refueling. As I drive away from the fueling station, within about the first mile the car hesitates, chokes and either threatens to stall or actually stalls. After a few moments, or upon restarting, the car does fine. I have asked the dealer about this and they expressed no knowledge of chrysler notices about it or what might be causing it. They said it would be expensive to pull the gas tank, so I have left it for now. But having the car do this is dangerous. I googled the problem and found that there are numerous people with this 4th generation caravan that have the exact same problem. Dodge's mediator suggested that it's a problem with topping off the tank, but I have found that not topping it makes no difference, and as you can see from the online strings I am attaching, there are others who never top off their tank and have the same problem as we do. This is apparently a design flaw that creates a danger. It is expensive for the consumer to fix, and my impression is that it will steadily get worse. We were part of the headlight problem with these cars too. The headlights on the car were unstable from the time we bought the car. After years of complaining, our dealer finally seemed to have fixed the problem, but we had to pay part of it. Since then we have received a notice that chrysler is taking responsibility for the problem. I hope this gas tank problem will not take so many years to correct as the headlight problem.

Filed Jun 17, 2011 · Electrical · 130,000 miles · IL

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 dodge grand caravan. The contact stated that the vehicle would hesitate when attempting to start, which also prevented the doors from locking. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was inspected and confirmed that the body control module needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileages were 130,000.

Filed Mar 6, 2009 · Fuel system · 60,000 miles · OH

My 2005 dodge grand caravan has been stalling after filling up the gas tank. It has been going on since mid dec. 2008. I took it in to the dealer and they couldn't find anything wrong (no codes in the car computer). They increased the idle. It only hesitated after I filled it up after they increased the idle, but it has stalled the last 2 fill ups since then. It has stalled while trying to pull out into traffic and while stopping or slowing down.

Filed Jun 21, 2008 · Locks · 70,000 miles · NC

I have a 2005 dodge grand caravan and the power doors/power locks have failed. The tailgate still works, however, without the power locks there is no way to lock it. Due to the number of complaints in this system as well as the number or complaints on the internet, this is obviously a manufacture/engineering defect that must be addressed. I called dodge about the problem and the told me that I'd have to pay a $69 diagnostic fee before they could tell me what was wrong and how much it would cost. I really do not want to give dodge of my hard earned money for something that I, and countless others, believe that dodge should correct without hesitation and without charge. Please take this matter seriously and do the right thing by recommending a recall to fix this problem.

Filed Feb 20, 2008 · Tires · 39,500 miles · MA

I had a flat tire on my 2006 dodge grand caravan and was unable to get access to the spare tire, stored under the front of the car. The system to lower the spare tire only lowered it a few inches and then the piece that you turn with the handle assembly only would jerk around if you turned the handles extremely hard. I tried doing about 30 turns though to no effect. The mechanism in the floor was turning with alot of effort but the tire was not being lowered. This was on a cold snowy day and I was on a side road with little room to lay down on the pavement and reach under trying to see what was wrong. I spent 3 hours waiting for aaa and then gave up and took the damaged tire to a walmart leaving my wife in the car on the jack - my only choice. While I was getting the tire patched, which was lucky, aaa arrived and refused to work on the situation as they said it might end up with equipment dragging underneath the car. So if there had not been a tire center nearby we would have been really stuck with no way to remedy the situation. My mechanic tells me this should never happen - there was ice all over the release mechanism and it was broken. He said he sees this alot on fairly new cars like mine. This is a huge safety hazard. I don't think I should pay for the expensive repair, which I will have to do to sell the car. I travel in remote northern parts of new england and not being able to access my spare could cost me my life. I am now storing the spare dangerously in the passenger compartment. I think this should be fixed for free, but if its going to wear out again, I hesitate to have the spare down there. This is a horrible, dangerous design and I think these cars should be recalled and a different system developed. It is also ridiculous to have to have several feet on the side of the car to kneel and pull the spare out. That can be very dangerous on many road situations. I would like to know what the manufacturer suggest I do.