30th Oct 2003, 13:01

I have a 97 Plymouth Voyager that recently had to have the heads replaced. It had less than 70,000 miles. This will be the last Chrysler I'll buy. I'm going back to Honda's!!!

3rd Jan 2004, 11:48

Our 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan SE was purchased with 57,000 miles in 2001 and in May 2003, I had the transmission fluid and filter changed. Within one month, the transmission started slipping. The filter and fluid was changed and no slippage... for about 2 months... now it will not go into any gear.

Any idea what changing the filter and fluid had to do with the slippage? Could wrong fluid type be causing this?

25th Jan 2004, 20:09

I have owned 3 Chrysler Caravans and every one of them had the Transmission go out at 60,000 miles or less. Beware they are going to cost you lots of money to own one of these babies. They are nice other than that you need deep pockets to keep them running. Chrysler needs to act now.

I will never purchase another Chrysler product again.

17th Mar 2004, 05:33

I own a 2000 Doge Caravan that has 58,000 miles on it. I have the paper work to show all required maintenance. There was no problem with my money being defective when the vehicle was purchased. So far I have had to replace the water heater and am looking at a $1100 air conditioning repair bill. After reading all the previous comments on transmission repairs, I guess I'm blessed not to have that happen - YET. I will alleviate that possibility by getting rid of this vehicle, and like the saying goes, I'm not 1 customer, I'm about a 1,000 customers because I intend on telling everyone to read this website before buying a Dodge Caravan - MINI-VAN OF THE YEAR.

27th May 2004, 20:14

In July of 1997, we purchased a new Plymouth Voyager. In August of 2000 with only 22,834 miles on it, the transmission went with no warning. We had maintained the vehicle and were shocked since the mileage was so low! Since our warranty had been up the month prior, the dealer extended the warranty to cover the cost as long as we paid a deductible of 265.00. This past Saturday, I was leaving home to do errands and the van made an awful clunking noise and would not reverse. Thus - we have another transmission gone. Since the last replacement we have only put 33,000 miles on the vehicle. I feel that this is a defect in the transmission that should be taken care of by Chrysler - but they refused due to the age of the vehicle and the mileage. I can't seem to get them to understand that the mileage on the transmission is 33,000 miles not the registered 55,000. I have vowed never to own another Chrysler. Also in 2001, the air conditioning system went and is still not functioning properly. The radio speaker in the front on the passenger side has also gone. We have always maintained the vehicle and have all the receipts to prove it. I am so frustrated! It really stinks!!

25th Jul 2004, 12:20

All the same problems here. Complete A/C done under the warranty. Rear side electric windows under warranty.

Now the speakers are going. The fan relay just went. And I'm praying the tranny will hold up longer than I reading about.

All these things should be items that last longer than 100K.

Really too bad, as the car is very comfortable to ride in and my wife likes driving it. Only have 55K on it, bought it new in "98".

21st Mar 2005, 15:27

I own a 1998 dodge grand caravan se and this is the second time the transmission has gone for the same reason.

It is well over 200 000 kms now and the cost is 1500 - 2500 dollars to repair it.

The pin for the differential starts to work its way loose and takes out the bell housing and front pump...thus; big leak.

Try to find a used one... almost impossible here in canada.

6th Sep 2005, 23:40

I have a '98 Grand Caravan with 95K miles that I bought new in April of 98. After reading the reviews, I better start saying my prayers that the transmission holds up. I'm going broke trying to keep the electrical system going.

Around 33K the headlights started buzzing intermittently and the power locks would only work properly with the remote, not the key. Ended up replacing a lock cylinder switch and the body control module (both under warranty).

At 65K the headlights started buzzing intermittently and the powerlocks became erratic. This time they replaced the left stereo speaker (no help) and the entire stereo. Total cost $600.

At 93K, the starter went out ($400).

At 95K the powerlocks are erratic (sound familiar?) and something keeps draining the battery (battery only 2 years old). Every time I park the van I have to unhook a battery cable to keep the battery from draining. It also is temperamental about starting, it would prefer clicking.

Including routine 90K maintenance, service bills for this vehicle will top $2000 this year alone.

I love all other aspects of this van - handling, cabin design, comfort - but the high cost of maintenance and repair make it unlikely that I will purchase another.

9th Sep 2005, 16:27

I have a '98 Dodge Grand Caravan SE with 120,000 miles and judging from this forum they seem to have an inherent flaw with quite an expensive item, the transmission. Mine went out last October and I had it completely rebuilt. Now its acting up again and I was told that it's because the fluid was low and there was a leak in the axle seals.

Fortunately it was under warranty this time because of the repair and I don't have to pay, but it did cost me $2000 the first time because the vehicle's warranty ran out. I specifically chose AAMCO to do the repair because I thought that if I was on a trip and break down I would have some coverage.

In general, once you have a repair, get it checked regularly for things like this as one fault and the whole thing would go bad and it will be time for a repeat performance of having another transmission.

In general, the vehicle was great and did an excellent job with my family, but I don't know if I would recommend it to anyone. I haven't heard much about more recent models so I want to assume that Chrysler has gotten their act together and are making better transmissions. More than likely I will get another Chrysler for its roominess and relative reliability. Betsy, my van's pet name, has given me a lot of miles of service. This year we will do more than 7,000 miles in road trips. I want this to continue and would trust what I know.

Hopefully someone can benefit from my experience.

Iain in Atlanta, GA.

24th Aug 2006, 23:49

I am so glad that I found this site when I did. We have A 1998 Dodge Caravan too. We just had our transmission rebuild last year under warranty. Now our warranty has run out and our transmission has completely gone again. They have my husband talked into buying another one, but after reading about all the transmission problems that Dodge seems to be having I don’t think it’s a good idea to get mixed up with this company again. I think that we all have to start standing up to them and demand them to be accountable for a bad transmission. I agree that some action should be taken and soon. I would just hate to see anyone else go through this. It is just to hard for people to make it through the every day stuff without this happening.

14th Mar 2008, 12:23

I own a 1998 Dodge Caravan. It has 328 000 on it, and is on its third transmission, second motor and everything on it has been replaced because it keeps braking down on me. It is the worst vechicle I ever owned, and I would not recommend anyone to buy a Caravan ever, if you don't have money to spend on it.