12th Sep 2005, 12:55

The instruments on the dash of my Plymouth Grand Voyager SE have been erratic for the past three months. Sometimes they worked for days and then they would start jumping all over. Now they do not work at all.

8th Mar 2006, 17:54

ME and my wife bought one of these "awesome" vans from Car-max. We've had the van for about a year and a half nd we've had a few problems, thankfully nothing too major to take out the van completely, but bothersome nonetheless.

To start with the brakes started going out like 2 months after we bought the van. We opted out of buying Car-max"extended warranty" deal. Ends up the brakes go out on these vans more often then others. When applying the brakes the van shudders and the steering wheel shakes as if though the van is losing traction. Supposedly this is a design flaw, but I guess there's nothing that can be done about it.

Next there's the issue with the fan relay. This went out about 5 months ago and since it's been cold we've not bothered to have it replaced. Other than that the van's not too problematic, at least not as much as these other folks.

I do know that if I had the choice to buy another vehicle other than this on I most definitely would. Not a bad van, but nothing to rave about either...

5th Sep 2006, 12:36

I also have a 1998 Plymouth Voyager se and I experience the same problems with the belt slipping off and electronics on the dashboard.. the speedometor, gas gauge, fuel gauge, etc. just stop working so I don't know how fast I am driving. It stops working then starts working just out of the blue, I can't figure out what sets it off. I have asked mechanics about it and they say it is a common problem with this vehicle. The Check Engine light goes on and I have it checked only to be told that it's nothing the computer is wacky??? I am so frustrated to learn how many people have this same problems because I just called Chrysler and they said they have never heard of these problem with other customers. How can they endanger families and be allowed to profit from it?

My serpentine belt came off, the 5th time, while I was driving on the highway with 3 very young children... they know how dangerous that can be. How do these people live with themselves.

29th Oct 2006, 06:32

I have 1997 Dodge Caravan with the 3.3 engine. My serpentine belt fell off a few months ago so I replaced it with a new one. Now everytime it rains the belt falls off and leaves my wife stranded somewhere with our 3 children. I bought a new belt tensioner from the dealership and it appears to not have solved the problem. I have been reading about the faulty, weakly designed power steering bracket that is a common problem in these mini vans, which can cause the belt to slip off. NO RECALL??? Losing power steering in one of these vans is extremely dangerous!!!

24th Nov 2006, 11:34

Attention everyone!! This belt jumping issue has finally been put to bed. Both Gates and Goodyear are making special fix kits that work amazing. Currently they are available for 96-2000 chrysler minivan with the 3.0L, however, I hear the 3.3L and the 3.8L kits will be out in the next few weeks. The 3.0L kit part numbers are Goodyear 49204K and Gates 38342K. I highly recommend these fix kits. You will never have to worry about the belt falling off again. I can finally have some peace of mind when my wife is driving the kids to school in a rain storm. If you shop online you can find this kit for under $100!

21st May 2007, 16:01

I have a 1998 Grand Voyager. 185,000 miles. Fortunately we seem to have gotten a decent one (miracle). However, the tranny is making weird noises on deceleration. Looks like a rebuild in the future. $$$

About the brake slipping issue, I don't think your brakes are slipping, I think that is your Anti-Lock Brake System working. If the front tire loses traction while braking the ABS will function and it vibrates, pulses etc. Kinda freaky when it works, but the brake is actually being applied and released much faster than you could pump the brakes, to regain traction so you won't lose control. Don't pump your brakes to overcome this as it disables the ABS feature.

Another problem we have had it the lights on the rear wiper controls blink and the AC and recycle air lights don't work. Happened after a battery change. Seems to correct itself when I add freon.???

5th Jun 2007, 08:00

These serpentine belt kits are often on eBay for considerable savings. I applied the kit to my 3.3 Grand Voyager and the problem is fixed. There is currently one on eBay for the 3.0. (Gates # 38342K)

18th Jul 2007, 13:15

Well I have a 1998 grand voyager it is a work horse as I cab it. the only problems are the brake pad don't last me to long about 5 weeks and I had to replace the tran at 168000 which is pretty good, but cost £1400 never had a problem with belt coming off had to replace fan control module, but this seems to be common.

26th Jul 2007, 15:52

I also own a 1998 Plymouth Grand Voyager SE and I have encountered several problems with mine.

1. Brakes wear out quickly I've been replacing my breaks every two to three months due to the pads wearing quickly.

2. ABS light comes on and the whole instrument Panel goes out. AT this point I am unable to see how fast I am driving, how much gas I have ext... I have yet to figure out how the ABS light is related to the instrument panel other than the fact they are in the same car.

The ABS light is what bothers me the most if anyone has any idea of what is causing this problem or how to repair it please inform me.

28th Jul 2007, 21:47

The ABS light/instrument panel issue you talk about can be fixed with the clockspring recall repair. We had the same problem and (thankfully) our mechanic checked for recalls and found it. See the very first message posted in this thread for more about the clockspring issue.

23rd Aug 2007, 06:20

To the post about the belt coming off I encountered that problem. I replaced the tension assembly and it fixed the problem. I hope this helps.

1st Sep 2007, 10:37

I have a 1997 Plymouth Grand Voyager, and have been reading all of your notes.

My van's ABS light comes on, all dash displays stop working (gas, speed, temp, mileage, gear that I am in), the engine light comes on, my brakes sound like they drag when stopping at times, and we have gone to two different shops that can't tell me what to do.

If someone has an idea that they can share - please do.

This problem is getting worse, and I have two kids, and I hate not knowing what to do.