2008 Dodge Grand Caravan: rotors or pads wearing out early

Filed May 31, 2019 · Airbags, Brakes · 128,000 miles · AL

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 dodge grand caravan. While driving, the brakes would erroneously activate and caused the vehicle to abruptly slow down. The vehicle was taken to dothan dodge(4074 ross clark cir, dothan, al) where it was diagnosed that the clockspring was faulty and needed to be repaired. The brake failure was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 128,000. *bf consumer stated brakes will lock down 80% daily and will accerlate after releasing the brakes which causes excessive pad wear. This also causes A/C to shutdown.

Filed Oct 25, 2018 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 15,000 miles · LA

The brake system on this van is a constant problem and is costing us thousands of dollars in repairs. The brake system on this van is running very hot even on cold days. The brake pads and rotors fail prematurely and the wheel hubs fail from constantly overheating. The ABS starts feeding too much pressure to the wheel calipers and causes the brake pads to constantly touch the rotors which creates excessive brake pad and rotor wear as well a overheating of the grease in the wheel hubs which causes them to fail. Nobody should have to replace brakes every 7,000 to 10,000 miles. This is a factory defect in the design and chrysler is not going to do anything about it because it will cost them too much money.

Filed Aug 14, 2015 · Brakes · 85,000 miles · MI

Jan 2015 was driving 40 miles per hour slowing down for red light ABS light came on and rear left side brakes locked up and released shortly after replaced brake pads. April 2015 van felt like it was dragging found brake pads worn again. August 2015 same problem replaced pads rotor caliper caliper bracket and guide pins van ran great. Two days later smoke began pouring out of the rear left side wheel well, stopped to check it was so hot could feel the heat 6 inches away. Caliper needs to be replaced again after 2 days (28miles). Wife loves the van but this problem is getting old fast. Being disabled cannot afford to keep paying to have the same problem fixed every 3 or 4 months.

Filed Apr 20, 2015 · Brakes · 120,000 miles · SC

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 dodge grand caravan. The contact stated that the brakes were prematurely wearing and malfunctioned without warning. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle was taken into the dealer for the federal safety agency campaign numbers: 14v373000 (air bags, electrical system), 11v394000 (air bags , equipment) and 10v611000 (equipment); however, the parts needed were not available for repair. The manufacturer was made aware of failure. The vehicle was repaired; however, the brake failure persisted. The failure mileage was 120,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Apr 15, 2015 · Brakes, Transmission · 27,174 miles · TN

Premature wear and failure of front wheel bearings, all rotors, brakes and pads. Possible failures are due to inferior parts being used during vehicle assembly.

Filed Oct 13, 2014 · Airbags, Brakes · 102,000 miles · ME · crash

My 18yr son was driving the van at highway speeds (65 MPH) when he described a sudden inability to control the vehicle. The steering became hard to control and the brakes here hard to push. He thought the brakes had failed. Due to the inability to control the van he drifted into the passing lane where a car to the rear of him struck his rear quarter panel, causing his van to spin out of control. The vehicle spun and came to rest in the meridian. The police report stated" no evidence of brakes locking up" as there was no skid marks in the road way until the vehicle was leaving the road sideways. The air bags did not deploy. The damage to the vehicle includes substantial front, side and rear panel damage the front and rear tires are out of alignment, exhaust pushed up into rear quarter panel and the force caused the battery to slide out of place. The engine warning lights were all on to include the air bag light. We called chrysler because we saw the recall on line. Meanwhile 5 days after the accident we received the recall notice in the mail stating it was fine to drive the can until the recall was performed.they sent an investigation team to examine the van and determined the brakes were at fault. However the brakes were new including rotors 2 weeks prior and upon having my own inspection done the brakes were found in working order, no warped rotors or burnt pads that would suggest a brake lock up at 65mph,tires(snow tires as my son was heading to college in northern maine ) are in good condition with no evidence of flat areas (as one might expect with brakes locking up) we had engine diagnostics checked and found an yaw warning at the time of the accident with no other engine codes noted. All engine lights were lit up at the time of the accident much like what happens when you shut the ignition off while the vehicle is in motion only to reset upon normal restart.

Filed Jun 6, 2011 · Brakes · 45,000 miles · MI

2008 dodge caravan se... Brake caliper seized up. Caused premature wear and tear on both the brake pad and rotor. Vehicle begins to shake violently at 30 MPH+. The calipers cause brakes to wear out between 8000 miles to 14000 miles, far sooner than normal wear and tear would cause. Dealerships are repairing faulty calipers under "good will" tickets, which are treated like a warranty repairs in respects to charges to the vehicles owner. Technicians at the dealership alluded that the 2008 and 2009 model year for dodge caravans and chrysler town and country vans are known for severe brake problems. Seized calipers can also cause severe shifts in the steering while braking, which could cause collisions or accidents. This problem is widely known to owners who have reported it to many websites and dealerships.

Filed Aug 18, 2010 · Brakes · 54,002 miles · GA

Brakes pads wear out fast and rotor keep warping. Have had brakes replaced 5 times already. I am only up to 54,000 and I need brakes again. The last brake and rotor job was at 39k.

Filed Jun 4, 2010 · Brakes · 20,000 miles · VA

We own a 1998 dodge grand caravan. We had to replace the front brake pads at 20,000 miles. To which the mechanic said that was abnormally soon to need new pads. Now at 35,000 miles the pads need to be replaced again and it appears the rotors are warped. A recent discussion with a friend who owns the same year, make and model has the same situation of premature brake pad erosion and needs a second replacement with even less miles than we have on our vehicle. Originally we believed we were just harder on our brakes than normal but with two replacements and warped rotors within 35,000 miles we believe there's a bigger issue. Additionally there are strange noises from the front brake area and there's a concern that there could be other issues. Due to the importance of the braking system and how quickly the 2008 grand caravan's are failing we believe it's only a matter of time until someone is hurt due to this abnormal condition. Thank you.

Filed May 26, 2010 · Brakes · 27,288 miles · VA

2008 dodge grand caravan rear brakes. Upon visually inspecting brake system on the rear driver side uneven wear was detected mostly on the inside pad. Semi-metallic compound located towards the back side of the pad was almost worn down to the metal while the front side of the pad still had enough compound on it that the wear indicator is not making contact with the rotor. Brake failure is imminent and the wear indicator will is not providing any sound warning that the compound is worn down to the metal. Dealership was not able to explain the reason for uneven brake pad wear on the rear brakes. They were not able to explain why the wear indicator was not making contact with the pad even though the technician stated the pads are 95% worn. Chrysler offer to fix the problem is to replace pads and rotors with similar materials. Front brake pads are also worn down 95% and dealership acknowledged a tsb# 05-006-08 did apply to my make and model of vehicle however they refused to apply the service based on the mileage on the vehicle (27,288 mi). While the issuance of the tsb indicates a concern for the front brakes on the van, having my driving habits extend the brake life up to the 27,288 mile point disqualified me from having such tsb applied to the van. My concern is there is no prior warning of brake failure since the wear indicators do not make contact with the rotor when there is potential for having metal to metal contact between the rotors and pads.

Filed Apr 5, 2010 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 17,000 miles · OH

Vehicle: 2008 dodge grand caravan, in use for 20 months, 17000 miles. Uneven brake pad wear. I believe this is a significant safety problem rather than a routine maintenance issue is based on what could have happened and what did happen. Here are my observations and experiences (1) if the malfunctioning rear wheel brake calipers are unexpectedly locking up the wheel the operation of the antilock brake system (ABS) and electronic stability program (esp) safety systems will be compromised since the control computers cannot fully unlock the rear wheels on slippery roads; (2) the rotational drag from locking rear wheels caused the vehicle to exhibit very poor starting traction and control on snow and a strong propensity to get stuck especially if the rear wheels were on a less slippery surface than the front wheels, it was not possible to 'rock' or push the vehicle free, turning off the esp as recommended in the operators manual for stuck situations did not help to free the vehicle; (3) the dragging rotor could overheat, reduce braking performance and cause unanticipated damage to brake system components, my rear brake components show signs of what looks to me to be excessive heating; (4) the failure occurred about 5 months and 5000 miles after factory service inspected the brake system and did not find any problems or excessive wear, this is well under chrysler's 12 month or 12,000 mile inspection interval recommendation for brakes, this is also under my more stringent 6 month tire rotation and brake inspection interval; (5) none of the onboard diagnostics for the ABS or esp indicated a problem with the systems, no audible warning chirping devices sounded, the grinding noise of the irreparably damaged rotor and caliper on the left rear wheel was the first indication of brake system failure. I am trying to get chrysler to inspect and repair this safety defect under warranty outside of the standard 12 month 12000 mile brake warranty.

Filed Mar 2, 2010 · Brakes · 16,000 miles · PA

I noticed a loud grinding from the passenger side front wheel when applying the brakes. Car was inspected at dealer and found to have completely worn out brakes and damaged rotors as a result of metal to metal contact. Repair costs are $230. Dealer states this is not covered by warranty even though it is premature brake and rotor wear. Vehicle is only 14 months old with 16,000 miles.