2003 Dodge Caravan

Summary:

Curious to see what they have done to 2008 Dodge Carvan

Faults:

Lot's of problems with brakes rotors' pads and emergency brakes. Power steering pump. Lots weird noises when applying brakes and turning.3.8 Engine is starting to use oil. A litre every 1500 Km.

General Comments:

This Van on the Highway is very is quiet and fast. Has tremendous torque going up mountains of west Virgina which we do twice a year from Kitchener Ont. to Pinehurst N.C.Not too bad on Gas either. Cheap interior compared to my 1996 Grand Carvan. Seats lack back support.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 26th November, 2007

2003 Dodge Caravan SE 6cly

Summary:

Designed to fail after warranty

Faults:

The fan switch only works on high. The gas cap door will not shut properly. In the cold weather the rear window wiper does not touch the window. the left turn signal has to be turned off manually. Small hole in exhaust system.

General Comments:

I was happy with the van till these things started to go wrong right after the warranty expired.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 13th January, 2005

17th Jan 2005, 13:08

Good grief! Those are minor, picky problems. Try having to replace the stupid serpentine belt 6 times in 2 years because it keeps fraying, then breaking entirely... THEN complain.

7th Sep 2005, 21:19

I will not buy a Caravan again. This is my second Caravan, the first one leaked transmission fluid everyday for ten years. That one was a 1993. Now with a 2003 Grand Caravan I thought my troubles would be over, no of course not. This one intermittently will not allow you to put gas in it. Crazy, yes, but if you try to force the gas in it pours out and down the side of the vehicle. This happens about every 2500-3000 miles. Still no one can figure out the issue.

View 6 more comments

2003 Dodge Caravan SE 4 cylinder

Summary:

The car is good for the price

Faults:

The oil light comes on sporadically even though the oil is at the proper level.

The speedometer occasionally moves to 120 miles per hour and then back to zero after starting.

It occasionally stalls on the first stop. After restart, it runs fine.

The front brake pads have worn out with only 28,000 miles of mostly highway driving. The brakes also shudder once below about 20 miles per hour.

General Comments:

I am generally happy with the car except for what has gone wrong with it.

After trying to replace the front brake pads, I am finding it difficult to get the right pads. I am not sure if they used two different types of pads on the front.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 25th December, 2004

3rd Feb 2005, 12:46

We were surprised that with our new 2003 Dodge Caravan, the front brakes needed replacing with just normal small city driving. This never happened with my 1988 Mazada 626 car with the same kind of driving. Unfortunately the $245 brake job is not covered under warranty!

10th Mar 2005, 10:26

Our brakes (2003se) lasted 50k miles and cost a total of about $80 parts and labor to replace. Lack of knowledge (shopping around for parts and finding a mechanic to install them) can be expensive. There is no excuse for a woman not to read a car manual so she also be as knowledgeable about cars as a man.

20th Mar 2005, 18:40

Great mini van to drive. we had no problems at all! knock on wood.

16th Jun 2005, 21:30

The dealer had Firestone replace my pads the Sunday I purchased my 2003 with 40K miles. The replacement brakes were worse than the factory pads after 5K, so I replaced them with Wagner pads and haven't had a problem since.