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.
Had front brakes done at 7,000 miles found out they were going to be covered because there was a satisfaction notice that just came out...now I have 10,386 miles and the rear brakes had to be done. Never had to had to do rear brakes until I needed my third set of fronts done....this is my third Dodge Grand Caravan. Dealer said they don't know of any problem.
I received a letter from Chrysler/Dodge llc, informing me about a defect in the brake components of my 2008 Dodge Caravan. In the letter it states that I am responsible for getting my own brakes replace because my warranty have expired. The brakes pads have been replaced twice within the last six months and I have been told by a local Dodge dealer the rotors need to be replace and I've only had the car 1 year and 7 months. I have called Chrysler/Dodge llc repeatedly only to receive extremely bad customer service. I don't feel like I should have to pay for their mistake.
Brake problems, brake calibers freezing to rotors, replaced brakes at 31,000 miles on 2008 Dodge Caravan have to pump brake pedal to get calibers to release, at 36,000 miles needed new pads, brakes still sticking to rotors at 47,000 miles.
Noise started at 13,188 miles with 2008 Caravan. Told to fix front brakes, I did. Still a noise. At 30K miles they finally found that 1 rear brake caliper was sticking the other was frozen. I believe this led to excessive wear. The rear brakes are also a problem on this car.
2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. 3 incident of premature brake failure. Rotors and pads metal to metal at 27250 miles. Rear brakes 90 gone after 11,000 miles.
Driving at highway speeds noticed the vehicle felt with less power than usual. I came up to a traffic jam and had to reduce speed to 0 mph. At this point I notice a large amount of smoke coming out of the rear right wheel well and began noticing a burnt brake smell. I pulled over to the side and saw the brake pads were smoking profusely. Visual inspection showed the rotor had acquired a light blue color all around. Rotors and pads have less than 300 miles since being installed, I had installed aftermarket ceramic pads instead of dealer's semi-metallic compound, new rotors are also aftermarket since I refused to give Dodge any more money for what I considered sub par components since I had to do a total brake replacement well under 30,000 miles and my previous request for servicing brakes under warranty went unanswered.. van was inspected by two different dealers before brake replacement and both dealers said there was nothing wrong with the brake system, that it was normal wear and tear and they could not find anything wrong with the calipers and or other brake system components. Once brake pads stopped smoking I resumed minimum highway speed until reaching an exit two miles ahead. Van did not feel sluggish at this point and brakes did not smoke again. This could happen at any time again because dealer was not able to find anything wrong with the brake system previously and they have no known root cause for this failure. In my opinion this has to be related to what I consider a premature brake replacement done earlier this month.
Premature and immediate brake pad failure. No indicator warning and severe safety issue. All brake pads failed within the first year of owning the van and still no recognition from Dodge of major safety problem. Safety of my children is of no concern to Dodge.
We own a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. We had to replace the front brake pads at 20,000 miles. To which the mechanic said that was abnormally soon to need new pads. Now at 35,000 miles the pads need to be replaced again and it appears the rotors are warped. A recent discussion with a friend who owns the same year, make and model has the same situation of premature brake pad erosion and needs a second replacement with even less miles than we have on our vehicle. Originally we believed we were just harder on our brakes than normal but with two replacements and warped rotors within 35,000 miles we believe there's a bigger issue. Additionally there are strange noises from the front brake area and there's a concern that there could be other issues. Due to the importance of the braking system and how quickly the 2008 Grand Caravan's are failing we believe it's only a matter of time until someone is hurt due to this abnormal condition. Thank you.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the brakes felt very spongy when the pedal was applied and would fall further onto the floor board than usual. The dealer replaced the front brake pads and rotors under the factory warranty. The rear brakes began to exhibit the same failure and the dealer stated that a diagnostic test had to be performed before repairing the vehicle at the owners expense. The manufacturer advised the contact to have the dealer perform a diagnostic test and repair the vehicle. The contact assumed that the manufacturer would assume liability for the repairs; however, he was advised that the repairs would be made at his expense. The contact declined to have the vehicle repaired. He stated that the rear brake pads and rotors should have been replaced when the front brakes were repaired. There were no related recalls. The failure mileage was 8,000 and the current mileage was 24,200.
2008 Dodge Grand Caravan rear brakes. Upon visually inspecting brake system on the rear driver side uneven wear was detected mostly on the inside pad. Semi-metallic compound located towards the back side of the pad was almost worn down to the metal while the front side of the pad still had enough compound on it that the wear indicator is not making contact with the rotor. Brake failure is imminent and the wear indicator will is not providing any sound warning that the compound is worn down to the metal. Dealership was not able to explain the reason for uneven brake pad wear on the rear brakes. They were not able to explain why the wear indicator was not making contact with the pad even though the technician stated the pads are 95% worn. Chrysler offer to fix the problem is to replace pads and rotors with similar materials. Front brake pads are also worn down 95% and dealership acknowledged a tsb# 05-006-08 did apply to my make and model of vehicle however they refused to apply the service based on the mileage on the vehicle (27,288 mi). While the issuance of the tsb indicates a concern for the front brakes on the van, having my driving habits extend the brake life up to the 27,288 mile point disqualified me from having such tsb applied to the van. My concern is there is no prior warning of brake failure since the wear indicators do not make contact with the rotor when there is potential for having metal to metal contact between the rotors and pads.
Air conditioner failed prematurely, at this time the car has 45,000 the failure must have happened before 40,000. Cooling A/C is not working, blowing warm air. Looking online found many 08 Grand Caravan owners with same complaints. Car after warranty will cost $135 to inspect and refill. I asked the dealer to pressure check the hoses for leaks, they said they will do a color dye check on the A/C system hoses. Brakes were done at 12,000 miles failed again at 35,000, this time I am not going to have the dealer fix it, I am ordering reybestos hybrid rotors and advanced performance brake pads. Warning - Dodge oem brakes and rotors are pos, do not let Dodge install them. I am also considering replacing the calipers with reworked caliper from another source. Horrible noise from rear brakes, when driving and the brake is not engaged. Slight right turns also cause squeaks/grind noise that sound like its coming from rear. When brake is engaged the noise stops.
My wife and I purchased a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan brand new from royal Chrysler in owego New York. Since that time our front brake pads and rotors have had to be replaced 4 times, each. It has been an on going issue which has resulted in compromised safety in our vehicle. Our dealer has stated it is a design flaw in the braking system, yet Chrysler/Dodge has issued no recall or bulletin. I have all records pertaining to this complaint with dates and details. Upon searching the web I have discovered thousands upon thousands of individuals with this same issues. This is an unsafe vehicle braking system.
Calipers hanging up causing brakes to heat up. Has been occurring for several months. When taken to the Dodge dealer they initially stated nothing wrong. Then 1 week later state I need new calipers, rotors turned and brake pads. They state the only thing covered under warranty is calipers.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. While driving at speeds of 45 mph, the contact heard an unusual noise coming from the brakes. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed the brakes were severely worn and would require immediate replacement. The dealer replaced the brakes and within one year, the exact failure recurred. The failure mileage was 14,140 and the current mileage was 34,269.
I have a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan and the front brakes are wearing out in 14000 - 18000 miles. There must be a problem with the calipers. I have been in contact with Chrysler but they are not willing to find a solution or investigate the problem. Most brakes last atleast 30,000 - 40,000 miles and when you hear a noise you think something got caught in your brakes but that's not the case. Waldorf Dodge service has had numerous complaints but said Chrysler won't allow them to do anything.
At approx 45K miles, I have now replaced brakes and rotors 4 times!!! this is absurd...you buy a Caravan because you have kids, therefore you don't have the excess money for this constant repair...each time it's $350 or more!! just had rotors cut again....brakes are squealing soooooooo bad. This is insane. I've spent so much money on this van. I was told Dodge makes the best Caravan...honestly, it's a piece of crap if I'm going to keep getting new brakes every 10K - 15K miles. Chrysler really needs to do something about this before someone gets killed. I drive in a mountainous area and applying the brakes and having my steering wheel shake doesn't make me feel safe or my family! I always have my kids in the car. Does someone need to get killed before a recall is made"???" no wonder why american cars have the worst reputation....you people do nothing for the consumers!
Vehicle: 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan, in use for 20 months, 17000 miles. Uneven brake pad wear. I believe this is a significant safety problem rather than a routine maintenance issue is based on what could have happened and what did happen. Here are my observations and experiences (1) if the malfunctioning rear wheel brake calipers are unexpectedly locking up the wheel the operation of the antilock brake system (ABS) and electronic stability program (esp) safety systems will be compromised since the control computers cannot fully unlock the rear wheels on slippery roads; (2) the rotational drag from locking rear wheels caused the vehicle to exhibit very poor starting traction and control on snow and a strong propensity to get stuck especially if the rear wheels were on a less slippery surface than the front wheels, it was not possible to 'rock' or push the vehicle free, turning off the esp as recommended in the operators manual for stuck situations did not help to free the vehicle; (3) the dragging rotor could overheat, reduce braking performance and cause unanticipated damage to brake system components, my rear brake components show signs of what looks to me to be excessive heating; (4) the failure occurred about 5 months and 5000 miles after factory service inspected the brake system and did not find any problems or excessive wear, this is well under Chrysler's 12 month or 12,000 mile inspection interval recommendation for brakes, this is also under my more stringent 6 month tire rotation and brake inspection interval; (5) none of the onboard diagnostics for the ABS or esp indicated a problem with the systems, no audible warning chirping devices sounded, the grinding noise of the irreparably damaged rotor and caliper on the left rear wheel was the first indication of brake system failure. I am trying to get Chrysler to inspect and repair this safety defect under warranty outside of the standard 12 month 12000 mile brake warranty.
Front brakes requied replacement in July 09 (16,613 M) and again in Mar 10 (25,097M); rear brakes were also replaced in Mar 10. This is definately premature. If not taking the van for dealer service & inspection at least twice a year, this condition would be an accident waiting to happen. My driving hasn't changed for over 40 years and I never previously had to replace brakes befor approximately 24-30K miles. Verry satisfied with dealer - bettenhausen Dodge, tinley park, il.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Oceanside, NY, USA