This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
During a March 2016 road trip to atlanta, ga, from Michigan, while traveling about 65 mph on I-75, temperature gauge needle began to climb toward the red zone on the instrument dial. Within minutes I pulled off onto a highway construction site where I stopped the vehicle and turned off the ignition switch. Opening the hood, I began to investigate the problem(s). Cool upper radiator hose. Cool radiator cap. Turned cap off and discovered no coolant in radiator. No apparent source of leaking. Added ice water from ice chest to radiator hoping to locate source of leak. Turned engine on and located leak beneath passenger side of vehicle: Two small holes in corroded exposed steel tubing routing coolant to rear heater assembly in rear of van. The next day discovered that Chrysler had changed the part from steel to aluminum in late 2000's to help prevent the corrosive action of road salt in the northern climates that had affected many similar vehicles during the mid-2000's. however, daimler Chrysler chose not to institute a recall of the faulty designed part fully exposed beneath the vehicle. The cost of replacing the part at the dealership in stone mountain, ga, was around $650 usd, not a huge sum, but obviously not cost-efficient for the automaker and its shareholders. This problem could be life-threatening if the driver and passengers were stranded during the winter months in northern U.S. or Canada, when loss of all coolant occurred. Operating vehicle with no coolant could result in the engine seizing up while traveling at highway speeds, causing injury to driver and passengers and possibly other motorists. A dangerous situation that Chrysler has corrected on its later model vehicles since 2010 or 2011.
Incident #1: 1. we were returning home from a weekend visit to Iowa. We had been traveling about 5 hours. We were slowing down to exit off highway 212 near glencoe, mn. 2. the passenger side window exploded at about 4:00 pm as we were slowing down to make our turn. Glass was spread throughout the inside of the vehicle (2003 Dodge Grand Caravan) and chipped the paint along the side of the van. 3. the window was replace by our insurance company (progressive) and the van was repainted and detailed (vacuumed) to remove the glass inside the van. Incident #2: 1. on the same vehicle (2003 Grand Caravan) a second window exploded on October 7, 2004. This time it was the passenger side sliding door window. I was accelerating into a passing lane East of cokato, mn. 2. the window exploded at 6:45 am. Glass chipped the paint on the side of the van and was spread throughout the inside of the van - again. 3. the side window on the sliding door was replace by our insurance company (progressive) and the van will be painted again soon.
Grand Caravan sports are extremely easy to break into and even easier to steal. A 13-year-old with a standard sized screwdriver is all it takes to gain access and drive off with your vehicle <1 minute. Any accomplices are well-hidden by the privacy glass. There are no "cars of choices" for auto thieves, it's whatever is quick and easy. This accessibility issue is common to all daimler-Chrysler vehicles, not just the Caravan fleet. D.C. vehicles are quickly gaining status as "easy to steal, quick to stash, not to mention an abundant pool of possibilities"...expect to pay nearly $3000 (low end) for someone else's joy ride and wait approximately three to four weeks while repairs are made.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lansing, MI, USA