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.
June 2012, while driving the vehicle from a restaurant from dinner, the vehicle suffered a power failure which immediately caused the vehicle to power down while driving on the highway. I was forced to make a best attempt to pull over to the side of the road, which was made difficult by the fact that the brakes were powered by the electrical systems as was the steering. I subsequently called a mechanic who came and checked out the minivan but, no work was performed because when the mechanic arrived, the car started and drove perfectly and all of the voltages for the electrical systems tested okay. A month later, after arriving home and parking my car, I noticed that the cooling fan was still operating although the vehicle has been shut off. I then immediately started the car and did every check possible to make sure that I had not left anything on. After checking under the hood and closing the hood itself, the fan shut off on its on.within a matter of weeks, this same problem began repeating itself and would only stop once the battery ran down. I eventually had the fan relay/starter replaced after a mechanic suggested that this was the issue. I have subsequently found that the fan no longer stays on. However, the vehicle continues to either shut down while driving with no apparent cause and I am still experiencing problems with the vehicle's battery draining, although nothing appears to have been left on. The electrical problems have continued to get worse and increasingly dangerous and I have called several Dodge dealerships to speak with mechanics. To generalize, a majority of the mechanics have dealt with other consumers who have experience some or all of the same issues and suggest that the tipm is faulty and that this is a common issue on Chrysler and Dodge minivans of the same year and being that this is the case that they expect to see a recall issued.
Upon entering vehicle pressing keyfob to unlock any door or hatch the horn would start to sound, the windshield wipers (front and rear) would start to go on its on including windshield wiper fluid as well, lights would start to flash as well. I would have to open up the hood and hit the fuse box located next to the battery on the drivers side firewall just to get it to stop. I have taken the vehicle to the dealership on several ocassions to no avail because they cannot duplicate the problem and now I am out a diagnostic fee of $94 X2 and the cost of a rental car both times for my wife and three children because my 100% full warranty does not cover the cost of the rental because the problem could not be duplicated. After searching and reading about this problem that my wife and I are having with this cara van I think something should be done before someone is seriously hurt or killed by the Caravan doing something that it was not asked to do!!!!
Van would intermittently not start. Would turn key and van would click once like solenoid was activating but starter would not turn on. Turn key a second time and van might start. On one occasion, van would not start on several attempts. Jump starting would not work. Battery tested ok. Replaced starter, after couple days van again would not start. Took to dealer, dealer replaced starter. After a couple of months, van is again intermittently not starting. We have discovered if shift lever is moved into neutral, van will start. This evening (9/25/12), my wife went to turn on the high-beams and the windshield wipers came on and would not cut off. The low-beams remained on, but high-beams and the turn signals would not turn on. I disconnected the battery for ten minutes and everything seemed to work fine when I reconnected it.
My 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan has intermittent trouble starting. The starter has been replaced twice, and the win module (and key) have been replaced. The same issue has been occurring, but never duplicates for the dealership. Their computer scan brings up no issues. The battery has been tested and is in good condition. It doesn't matter the time of day, or driving circumstances, the van will not always start. It will have one click (and I can close the windows, turn on radio) but the van will not start.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that she attempted to unlock the vehicle with a new key fob however, the vehicle would not unlock. After the contact was able to enter the vehicle, the vehicle could not be started. The contact had to tap the fuse box to turn on the vehicle. The windshield wipers then engaged independently with wiper fluid gushing out. The failure recurred frequently as the horn sounded independently as well. The contact stopped and turned off vehicle but the failures persisted. The contact had to tap on the fuse box to have the windshield wipers and horn stop. The fuse box was located under the hood on the driver's side near the battery. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection or repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure however, no assistance was provided. The current and failure mileage was 93,496.
- Johnson City, NY, USA
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Went to turn my lights on and they turned on then off then on again and then off. And now they will not turn on. Everything else works, parking lights, dimmer etc. I had a diagnostic run and it showed the following trouble codes: B162F, B, C ; B1633, B1634, B1637. Which all points to the tipm control module. So I called the shop, they called to find the part and there is none available. There are on backorder, about 800 of them to be exact. So that means that I have no headlights until 800 other people get theres. Next thing to go is the wipers, horn and then the car to shut off as I'm driving. Obviously if 800 of these are on back order there is an issue with them.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph the vehicle was experiencing electrical failures. The contact mentioned that no warning lamps were illuminated on the instrument panel. The horn and windshield wipers activated, and wiper fluid started spraying before the vehicle stalled. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was maneuver to the shoulder where he removed the battery cable and fuses that governed the horn and wipers in order for the failure to stop. Also, the transmission failed to shift and there were multiple electrical popping noises throughout the engine. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the wireless module was defective and as a result, the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the remedy failed to correct the problem. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 75,000 and the current mileage was 76,000.
One day after initial incident..... start car in parking lot, start backing up. The car stops, everyone is jerked forward, and the horn starts blaring/wipers go crazy, fluid spewing everywhere. At first we thought I had hit someone... but nope. Put the car into drive- no power steering- and pulled back into parking space. Tried to turn car off. It continued to run with key out of ignition. After 15 minutes of it going crazy some people came over and helped us disconnect the battery. After about a minute it finally died. I met a couple in the parking lot that asked if it was a 2008. It was, and they told me about their horror story with their van. And how they had a lawyer that filed lemon law on it. I was thrilled. After about 10 minutes we connected the battery and the van continued to go crazy. Finally we decided to just drive home. It was 9:30 at night. Drove home with horn blaring, wipers going crazy, no transmission shifting and fluid spewing. Just waiting for the power steering to go out and have very little control of vehicle. Got home and van continued going crazy until hubby disconnected battery again. Looked online and find out this is an ongoing problem with 2008 Dodge/Chrysler vans. The tipm goes bad and the car goes crazy. This is going to cause someone to get into a serious wreck and kill someone. Very unsafe!! there needs to be a recall, but Dodge is having problems getting the part.... ridiculous! the dealership I took it to told me they had 2 2008 vans in the "back" waiting for this part. They have been sitting there for over 2 weeks and noone knows when they will get the part. So what happens" the people trade them in. Convenient. Maybe that's why these are the most "popular" van on the road" making sure they get repeat business. Well I'll never buy another Dodge/Chrysler again and im definitely not going to get bullied into being a repeat buyer!!
2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. Consumer writes in regards to recall LO1, K25, J29 concerning the occupant restraint controller the consumer had to return to the dealer because steam started coming from under the hood, after the recall was performed. The consumer referenced recall # 14V373000. The dealer informed the consumer, the parts were not available. Updated 11/13/14 updated 01/22/15.
The tipm module (totally integrated power module) is defective, and intermittently draws the battery down. After keeping the van for several days, our local dealership (bluebonnet motors) in new braunfels, tx, determined that the battery is fine, but the problem is with the tipm. The manufacturer has no units available for replacement at this time (several hundred are on backorder, and none scheduled for production). Chrysler has not offered to cover this under recall, and we are told it is not covered under our extended warranty. After researching on the internet we read many other people have tipm problems, including: Wipers starting by themselves; windshield sprayers spraying without warning; horn will start honking out of control: Lights flashing uncontrollably (all of these while driving); and even one unit that caught fire. Our dealership has indicated that the system indicates that at least six vehicles have been flagged as completely unusable. We feel that we are driving a rolling time bomb, with the potential to either leave us stranded, or cause hazardous driving distractions at any time, or both.
While stopped at a red light, the van suddenly entered into an electrical chaos. The horn started blaring, the wipers started going full blast, and wiper fluid started spraying. This kind of electrical problem has happened before but this time was the worst. The vehicle continued to drive while everything electrical flickered and continued to malfunction. Finally had to stop and remove fuses for horn and wiper fluid in order to get the malfunctions to stop. Van transmission also stopped shifting during this episode. Even after vehicle was stopped, there were multiple electrical popping noises throughout the engine as if it was trying to power up things that were no longer operational. I took vehicle into dealership and they identified problem as a failure of the tipm (total integrated power module). Looking online there are multiple complaints of similar problems and failures. The tipm is actually backordered because of the demand. This is obviously a repeated problem in the Dodge and potentially hazardous.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled while parked. The horn, headlights, mirrors and the windshield wiper then began to function erratically after the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostics. The technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 44,000.
Upon start of vehicle, wipers turned on(switch pos off), washer fluid sprayed(button not pressed), horn sounded (not pressed), could not get it to stop. Started vehicle, continued to do all three, vehicle placed in drive, would not shift out of 1st gear. Shut vehicle off, started again, same things. In days prior to this incident, the vehicle would stall unexpectedly, fortunately while approaching stop sign, or stop light and not on highway, resulted in loss of power steering, and all engine/speed indication. Dodge dealership in valdosta duplicated problems, replaced $500 electrical box. Been two days since repair, no repeats yet.
Initial symptoms of vehicle involved the horn chirping whenever the car was shifted into park as well as the front windshield wipers going off randomly along with washer fluid spraying. When rear wiper was turned on the front wipers would also come on as well but moved very slow. Symptoms became worse, the passenger sliding door randomly would open on its own and the horn would chirp constantly when car in reverse. The parking lights and tail lights also would stay on and flicker after key removed and light switch off on dash. While taking van to Dodge dealership in beloit, wi the check engine light came on, dash lights began to flash randomly and transmission went into limp mode only allowing me to travel at speeds less than 20 mph. I was advised that I had a faulty tipm (total integrated power module). I was also told that part is on back order and both bryden dealership/Dodge corporation are unable to provide a date when the part would be available. I have contacted Dodge directly and was able to get a rental car at Dodge's expense even though vehicle is not under warranty anymore. They obviously are aware that this is a problem since I was advised by a third party parts supplier that over 600 of these are on back order with no eta on part availability. The worst part of this is not knowing when the part will be available and that so many people are being affected I don't understand how this part can be so scarce when this is one of the most popular vans on the road today.
Wipers/dash cluster/warning bells operate on their own randomly. I found that I could turn off the A/C blower and wipers/dash lights/ and warning bells would go off. Started out once or twice, then every went up to 13 times back to back. Has happened multiple times was waiting on recall part for A/C and was told it should fix it.(went one week without anything and then went to my van on 5/11/12 and had no gags). Sometimes occurs when vehicle is at a stop sign, making a right turn, or driving down the road. Lasts from two minutes to ten minutes. Research shows many other owners with same issues requiring total integrated power module (tipm) (currently on factory back order with no release date available according to local dealer) I was told 5/11/2012 that 390 customers are waiting on the tipm, and be prepared to wait several months as it is on back order. So I called Chrysler, I was then told the machine that makes this is broken, they assigned me to a case manager who would help with rental car assistance. Later told by case manager "because I do not have service history with Dodge dealer, locally that I was not eligible for rental car assistance." I am sorry we are military and have recently moved across country. So now it is the waiting game for the tipm to come back in stock so that I can have my van back, so that I can Transport my two children with special needs to doctor appointments.
Wipers/washer/horns operate on their own. Transmission shifts erratically. Lights blink. Front A/C blower inoperable. Has happened multiple times (most recently 4-10, 4-13, 4-17-12). Sometimes occurs when vehicle is parked with no key in it. Lasts from two minutes to ten minutes. Research shows many other owners with same issues requiring total integrated power module (currently on factory back order with no release date available according to local dealer) to be replaced.
Just after parking van the electrical system went crazy. The front wipers started wiping, the wiper fluid deployed, the horn sounded. I turned off car and removed the key. Everything continued to run. At a loss I got back in, turned it on and drove it out of the garage where the noise wouldn't be so loud. Again I removed the key. I popped the hood, thinking if all else fails, I could pull the battery. I saw the fuse box by the battery (I have since looked up that it is the tipm) and I smacked it hard with my palm. The car shut up. Several months later it did a similar behavior, again while not moving. Still several months after that it did it again, this time while I was driving. Wipers, horn, washer fluid whole deal. I managed to pull over and safely stop the car. Before I could get out the car stopped its behavior. Since then I have also had other electrical problems, horn attempting to sound on its own, but no wipers, transmission in "limp mode" where it won't get out of second gear, and front blower motor intermittently running/not running. Often stopping car and opening door, and restarting car fixes it, but more recently not so much. I reported first incident to dealer, but they found nothing. I have reported further incidents and now that I am out of warranty they are advising me it is the tipm (fuse box) and replacement cost is $800 and it may not fix my problem. Because it is intermittent they claim not to be able to diagnose themselves. I would hate to have the wiper horn fluid combo happen on the highway. Can be dangerous.
The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under the recall associated with NHTSA campaign id number 10V235000 (electrical system:wiring). After the repairs were completed, the contact noticed that the wires were left exposed and deteriorated. As a result, the windows would no longer open and the doors would not unlock. The vehicle was not taken back to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 129,060.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- San Antonio, TX, USA