27th Oct 2007, 13:24

My wife drives our 2003 grand caravan; we have 5 chidren. She complained to me that while driving the kids to school in the rain, the power steering locked up while making a turn. The belt did not come off; however, she almost lost control of the van. This was not the first time this happened to her, but it just never happened to me. I figured it must have been a freak occurence; now, thanks to this site, I know my family is at risk. If I can't get it fixed, I will be in the market for a new or used car (that we really can't afford, but can't not afford). Goodbye Dodge.

9th Dec 2007, 17:15

I just recently installed the Gates kit on my daughter's 99 dodge Caravan. The tensioner was a booger to get on but with the help of my son-in-law we successfully installed the pulleys. We thought that was the hard part but when we tried to put the new belt on we could not get it on. After several tries we ended up putting the old belt back on. It runs OK but I really want to put the new belt on. The new belt just seems to be too small. Anyone have any suggestions to get that doggone belt on. Thanks

12th Dec 2007, 01:50

Like so many others, I'm very happy to have found this site. We own a '99 Dodge Caravan, and it throws a belt about every six months, on average. (I'd say we've had this happen about four times, now.)

Each time, there has either been water from puddles or snow involved.

While I certainly plan on finding the Gates or Goodyear replacement kit, to have one of them installed on our Caravan, there is one solution I have not yet seen suggested on this forum, which--given the nature of the common aspects of the problems--kind of surprises me.

As universally common as this problem is, it would seem to be a prime candidate for relief via a class action lawsuit.

If Gates and Goodyear have created kits that address the problem, you know they didn't do so until they saw a major market segment develop.

That means that, while we only see two hundred or so people complaining here... there are undoubtedly tens of thousands who have been affected.

So, if justice is the concern, finding a good class action law firm to take up the case would be the answer, as this case appears to meet all of the necessary criteria... including the one the attorneys need to make the effort worthwhile: A defendant with deep pockets...which, of course, would be Chrysler.

I'm not an attorney, and I'm not interested in spearheading the effort to bring Chrysler to justice...but, since the government does not appear to be interested in taking up the situation, a class action suit is likely to be the only way to get Chrysler to address the situation.

29th Dec 2007, 17:19

Well seems after reading all these posts I bought a lemon. 98 3 ltr caravan. the belt lasts about 3 months then one rib is chewed off. replaced the belt and idler pulley and now after driving in the rain the belt won't stop squealling. I too am going to try the gates fix and post back later.

Thanks.

8th Jan 2008, 18:44

OK, reporting back from 12/26/07 post - Everything was sweet with the Gates kit until 1/5/08 when the belt began to make a little noise, and now it's making so much noise it's an embarrassment to drive. Not even 2 weeks and it's back to the shop!

They don't want to see it anymore. They suspect something may be glazing the belt. They swear the pulleys are in line and everything else checks out. The Gates tensioner will keep the belt from coming off, but I'm not sure it's a good idea to drive it. It was quiet as mouse till Saturday. Just my luck, the only Gates kit failure. Man this is aggravating!

Called the dealer and naturally they questioned the install! Back to the drawing board. If I find the answer I'll post it.

10th Jan 2008, 20:33

I posted a long time ago regarding our common problem of the belt slipping off. Its been about a year now that I've had the Gates kit, and I've had ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEMS with the belt! Forget all the "home remedies" that some have tried, just get the Gates kit!

Chrysler has treated us all like chumps and blew off their responsibility to us all! I use my Grand Voyager now for work, but in the interim I purchased a Honda Odyssey for my wife so she could safely transport herself and my 5 children.

I am happy with the Honda, but so angry at American carmakers!! They hosed me and you, and DON'T GIVE A DAMN!!! Posting complaints on NTHSA site, calling congressmen didn't do squat. Do you really think our government officials are going to say goodbye to their donations from Chrysler???

This entire episode is the embodiment of a nation sliding towards third-worldism!! Look at the cars in any parking lot, on any highway... the majority are foreign cars. So sad. Goodbye to a once strong nation...

14th Jan 2008, 18:49

Do any of you know how many other problems one can have with a vehicle? Expensive problems.., transmission, engine, electrical, etc. I seriously doubt there was ever a car or truck manufactured that has a perfect track record. And the complaints here are about belts. If you could sue a company for everything that went wrong with their cars, nobody would make them!

By the way, one of my cars is a 1999 Dodge Caravan with 111,000 miles bought new. Had to replace all window motors, but other than that just normal things brakes, batteries, wiper blades. My advice to people ready to buy something else because of belt changes; the next car you buy may need a new fuel pump or intake gasket every 1 year, in other words you wish it was just belts.

16th Jan 2008, 10:16

We had a 97 Grand Caravan with the same belt problem that seems to be fairly common. It usually happened in the rain or after hitting a puddle. After the 7th time we quit driving it in the rain. We now have a 2002 Town and County and have not had a problem with the belt slipping off. Our mechanic said the T&C tensioner has a "lip" on it to prevent this problem, but we do have a squeak in the tensioner. Is this a common problem and is there a different tensioner we can use. The 97 also had the squeak even after replacing the tensioner 3 times. We love our van and we're looking at an 08, but not if it's going to squeak.

Dar in Alabama.