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.
Sometime when I was driving, my headlights turned off mysteriously. Now I cannot get my lowbeams to turn on. High beams, parking lights, fog lights all work. May be an issue with the switch. I believe there is currently an open investigation regarding this issue.
Electric locks: After 36000 miles and no more warranty on the vehicle the power locks quit working. I found that pulling the battery would resolve the issue for a short while but it would come back again and that doing this could cause issues with how the engine ran for a while and of course the radio and clock would have to be reset. After researching the issue I found that this is known issue and that it would require a firmware upgrade on the vehicle on board computer. The manufacterer nor dealer would do this at no cost. It cost me $85 to get the update. I do not feel this is right and only hope that others will file complaints to get Dodge to correct this and re-imburse their customers who have had to do this. As for me, this is my third Dodge and will no longer buy another.
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked when she noticed that she could not lock or unlock the doors using the key fob. The contact had to use the key to manually enter the vehicle. The contact also stated that the lighting on the instrument panel and the brake lights stopped illuminating. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was 128,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Power door locks stopped working 2 days ago. The key fob and switch on the front doors do not control the locks anymore; they have to be locked and unlocked manually.
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the door locks on each door malfunctioned. The contact removed the iod fuse to remedy the problem but the repair only worked temporarily. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer where the dealer advised that the computer needed to be re-flashed. The contact did not have the computer re-flashed.the failure mileage was 80,000.
- Palm City, FL, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
Power door locks fail to work intermittently and ultimately fail permanently. This is a particular danger when children are seated in the rear seat and doors do not lock despite being activated. This problem differs from another common problem reported for scores of this class of vehicle (see internet); the simultaneous failure of all locks requiring a computer reset to return them to operation. I attempted to report this a few days ago but the form only accepted a 10-digit VIN. The automated response was not clear as to whether the report was accepted despite the partial VIN constraint of the form.
The power door locks have been failing intermittently for 3 yrs. I unhook the iod fuse or the battery cable momentarily and this seems to work for a while. The door locks would work for a short time - then fail again until I repeated the fuse or battery cable removal procedure. As time went on the fix would last less & less time. Currently, the locks may only work for a day or so. This is unacceptable. My wife was really scared the other day when someone was approaching the car and she could not lock the doors. She was in an unfamiliar location with the 4 year old in the back seat. While it actually turned out to be a false alarm, it did open my eyes. While I have been just "fixing" it all the time, I realized that I cannot control when and where it will happen and you cannot always get out and reset the fuse. This is a program (firmware) that is failing on a large number of vehicles, see links below. This poses a safety hazard as the van cannot be secured without manually locking all doors, which leaves the tailgate. Why should consumers have to pay for a manufacturer defect? someone needs to protect the consumer..... I am taking the van in to request it be reprogrammed. I am not going to wait until something bad actually happens first. Just a couple of links: www.carcomplaints.com/Dodge/grand_caravan/2005/electrical/electric_door_lock_failure.shtmlautoforum.classifieds1000.com/Dodge-grand_caravan/power_locks_will_not_lock_or_unlock.
Headlights turn off intermittently during operation. This is very disconcerting and dangerous. Driver must flip the light switch multiple times to bring the lights back on. The frequency of this problem has increased recently. I feel that the vehicle is unsafe and unreliable. Recently, the headlights would not come back on and we had to drive home using the fog lamps.
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the headlights, instrument panel lights and the push button side doors did not function. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The contact was informed that the body control module would most likely need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 70,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Power door locks failure! this problem started a month ago when the power-locks just quit working. So I followed the instructions in the car manual where you can reprogram the locks by switching the ignition key 4 times ending in the off position and then after 10 seconds turn the door lock on, a chime will sound, it did but locks still do not work. I thought it might be a fuse so I removed the iod fuse and put it back in 5 sec. The locks started to work again. This lasted about 2 or 3 times and then the problem seems to return eventually. This is a safety concern and the vehicle should be a recall. Dodge should be accountable for this and made to correct the problem.
System will beep, dash lights and gauges will flash and go dead. Door looks also stop working. One incident of battery being drained to nothing, no emergency standby power for starting. Many reports of the BCM module being the cause. Can be temporarily fixed by pulling the iod fuse to reset the BCM. Dodge tsb 08-040-04 reported to outline the problem. Replacing the BCM not always reported to fix. Flashing the BCM(updating code) more commonly reported to fix, also mention of corroded contacts being related. Repair is hard to determine as any work done on the BCM will result in a reset where it will temporarily start working again.
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the automatic door locks failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who reprogrammed the door locks. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 77,117. Updated 10/14/11 updated 10/21/11
Power door locks inoperable, safety issue if need to open locks in an emergency. Can be corrected by pulling iod fuse but solution only lasts several days. Have seen on internet some success if dealer reprograms BCM.
We locked the vehicle with the remote, saw the door closing, and when we returned, the passenger sliding door was wide open! since the original failure date, this happens continuously. The door closes almost all the way, and then reverses, and opens up. We have to manually shut the sliding door (difficult) in order to close and lock it. Did not notify manufacturer or dealer.
2005 Dodge Grand Caravan. Rear sliding power door lock failure. Driver's side manual lock/un-lock will not unlock sliding door nor will remote. It happens frequently and to fix the problem, you have to remove the iod fuse for a few seconds and put it back in.
The BCM which controls the automatic electric door locks and inside door lock controls, and auto door openers with the exception of the rear door so far has failed.
The contact owns a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that all of the electrical door locks failed to function and he had to manually open and close them. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who advised him that the body control module needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Portland, OR, USA