5th Oct 2008, 10:43

My family bought a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT in July 2004. Brand new.

My husband, a military dentist was getting relocated to a new duty station and we bought the van a few days before we moved. The dealership wound up not giving us the exact van we wanted and didn't even detail it - it still had the plastic in the floors.

The second day we had the van it was pulling to the right. We took it in and they said it needed aligned! It only had 11 miles on it! We moved two days later. It has been in the shop at least twenty times.

There was no seal on the front passenger door so we were getting water inside, we have had to get the bushings replaced 3 times, the sway bar 3 or four times.

The electronics for the sliding doors several times.

The tailgate doesn't close right.

I can't tell you how many times I have taken it in and gotten "cannot duplicate noise". The dealerships just do not want to have to take care of their mistakes.

I looked up the lemon laws, and found that if you take the vehicle in and they (the dealership) doesn't diagnose the SAME problem at least 3 times, then you cannot file a claim for a lemon. They cover themselves.

I have also been told by three different mechanics that they believe with some of the problems that my van has that it was dropped - probably when it was delivered at the dealership.

They won't even listen to me. The van will not stay in alignment for more than a few days. When you apply the brakes, the steering wheel almost jerks out of your hands.

I have had a Caravan before. When my husband was in dental school, I had a 1986 Grand Caravan with 160,000. It was wonderful. I cried when we traded that old thing in, I wish I still had it. I would trade my new in for it in a heartbeat!!!

15th Oct 2008, 21:38

We have a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT Special Edition. We are the first owners and bought it new with less than 10 miles on it. Basically we like the car and over the past 3 years concerned about the following:

1. AC after recall service does not cool as good as it did before the recall.

2. We think we are getting poor mileage about 14.7 miles a gallon. The car runs real smooth with premium gas but seems to gobble up regular gas.

3. The power locks are not working correctly - they won't open or close with the remote. We took it to the dealer a few months back for the same problem. They said that they had to reset the computer to get it working again. Now we are wondering if we could do it ourselves and save $120.

4. We decided to change the front rotors and pads and now experiencing brake squealing. What could this be?

5. We have about 45,000 on the car and still have the original tires from the dealer. Eventually we will change them, maybe we should get the same but wondering if anyone has a strong recommendation?

6, Our plan is to keep the car for 10 years. So far the dealer has not recommended to change the spark plugs - will changing the plugs improve the gas mileage?

Back to item 3 - this is what we are trying to fix right now - one comment recommends removing the 40 amp BCM Fuse for 5-60 seconds to reset the locks. Will try this... why is this happening?

Washington DC.

25th Oct 2008, 21:56

I bought a used 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT with 43k miles in March, 2008. I also purchased an extended warranty. So far the only repair I've done is have the A/C serviced, just freon added. Although I do have a problem with front brake squeal, probably just "cheap" front pads. I will replace when I get tired of the noise. The car rides smooth, love the stow-n-go seats and the room. I also have a 1997 Dodge Caravan that now has 184k miles on it. The original transmission was replaced at 169k. These cars seem to hold up, but you have to stay on top of maintenance.

14th Nov 2008, 08:31

I have a 2005 Dodge Caravan. I am having some kind of roar in the front end that has been ongoing for a couple of months. It is periodic.

I have had ongoing problems with it since I bought it in 2005.

The lights go out all the time. Took it to dealership and they could find nothing wrong.

Windshield wipers were too long for windows and got tangled all the time - so we fixed that.

Maintenance light came on and we took it in and they replaced a seal.

Now this sound that is driving me crazy. At first I thought it might be the brake rotors, but I just had the brakes replaced 6 months ago and the rotors were fine. So I don't think it would be that.

I am just frustrated. I have 1 1/2 more years to pay on this and 82,000 miles on it. So I want to make it last, but can't afford to have it fixed, so I hope it is something minor.

21st Nov 2008, 01:47

I bought my wife a new 2002 Grand Caravan EX for $25,000. It came with a 36,000 full warranty and a 100,000 power train.

I will never by a Dodge again, it is now worth about $3,000 even in great condition.

First at about 5,000 miles, the front end suspension was partially replaced, covered by warranty.

Then at about 37,500 miles it overheated and had a leak in the rear heating line. Warranty did not cover. Cost around $200.

Then soon after that the air conditioning went out, not covered, $1200.00 to replace.

Then soon after that, both driver side and passenger windows do not work any more. $180.00 to fix each window. It gets hot with non-working windows and no AC.

Then of course the Heater/AC blower only works on high.

None of the power doors work anymore.

Well, at 103,000 miles spun a good old bearing, $2000.00 for a used engine. (did my own oil changes so they just laughed at me when I called them about being so close to the warranty).

Just last week the trans cost me $500.

I fully maintained this vehicle, did all the fluid changes and services required.

I hate this vehicle, and I hope Chrysler goes belly-up.

There is not a person I know that likes Dodge anymore.

I never had problems like this with GM or Ford.