2000 Dodge Caravan SE 4 cylinder from North America

Summary:

Great deal, comfortable, reliable van

Faults:

I personally have had very little problems with this car.

I recently went back and for to Ohio twice within a month. The pan on my transmission had become loose sometime before this without my knowledge and as a result my transmission was loosing fluid. The hardship of the mountain travels so often in a month caused the transmission to slip. I parked the van for 2 months until I could afford to fix it. We drained the fluid and changed the filter and that is when we discovered the pan was so loose that if I had continued to drive it, it would have fallen off. Now that we have done this the transmission is wonderful again.

Because the van sat so long I am having hesitation and not enough gas flow problems. But as soon as I run the old gas out I am confident that this will no longer be a problem.

General Comments:

This van has been a wonderful addition to my family. We can all sit comfortably and still have room for the luggage.

The seats aren't hard to remove, although it does require two people (just so you don't injure yourself, I have done it my self, but my back paid for it later).

This van rides very smooth. It is like riding in a big car. It is very easy to drive.

My van has only a four cylinder engine so it does take a hardship going up the mountains. I will buy another Caravan, but I will make sure that it has a bigger engine.

Fuel mileage even with it being almost 6 years old is still very good.

I love this van and I would recommend it to anyone.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 8th June, 2005

9th Jun 2005, 08:21

Change the fuel filter, too, after draining this tank. Also, add a can of fuel injector cleaner in your next tank of gas. This should take care of any hesitation due to your van sitting for a while.

2000 Dodge Caravan 3 litre from North America

Summary:

It has been a joy to own.

Faults:

Replaced the rear bearings at 200,000 km.

Replaced the belt tensioner at 300,000 km.

General Comments:

This has been a very reliable vehicle with very few mechanical issues to report.

I drive a lot of miles and considering the high mileage, it has been a very cost effective vehicle to own and operate.

Many problems that I have heard from other Caravan owners tend to be issues related to poor preventative maintenance or overall vehicle abuse.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th April, 2005

19th Dec 2006, 18:07

I would tend to agree with you. My 2000 Caravan is going nicely at 145K. The only serious thing that happened was the timing belt went out at 90K. Some minor things like dashboard buckling (I live in a hot climate), and my horn recently went out along with the airbag light staying on. However the drive train and transmission are humming along just fine. I, of course, changed all the fluids regularly. My only regret is that I did not pressure wash the engine on a regular basis. It looks rather rough on the exterior.

2000 Dodge Caravan from North America

Summary:

Overall - very good - but 1big thing

Faults:

The serpentine belt has broken (actually shredded) 5 times in the last 50000 miles. The first change was at 90000 miles (and it was fine then) and now I cannot keep one on it for more than 10000 miles, if that long.

General Comments:

The serpentine belt and tensioner problem on this van cannot be solved by at least 2 different garages or by Chrysler. No one can explain why the van will be running fine, then the belt basically self-destructs. No advance wear or anything else warns you that is getting ready to go.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th November, 2004

2000 Dodge Caravan Grand from North America

Faults:

The serpentine belt has slipped off 2 times in the last 60 days. Both times it was raining and the most recent time was on a major highway. This results in the inability to control the vehicle as the power steering no longer engages, the engine begins to overheat and vehicle must be shut down immediately to prevent damage...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 29th September, 2004

10th Jun 2005, 09:30

Just in case you want to know, I think there were 4 engines available in that time era: the 2.4 I-4, 3.0 V6, 3.3 V6, 3.8 V6. Avoid getting the 2.4 and 3.0 if you don't want to replace the belt a lot. The 3.3 and 3.8 are more reliable, not to mention come with a better transmission.

I think that Dodge has made a mistake making so many different engines; they should just stick with one or two, the 3.3 and the 3.8 for easier serviceability and better value on the vehicles and thus happier customers who will likely buy another Dodge.

16th Aug 2005, 17:27

I have a 2000 Dodge Caravan 3.0L at the dealer right now for yet another serpentine belt and/or tensioner. The van has 59,000 miles and has had the serpentine belt replaced 8 times and the tensioner 4 times.