My Spring DIY project
I’m not happy

Hopefully ending the curse of the Dodge Caravan

I took my van in for it’s motor vehicle inspection today and as expected, it failed miserably. It fails every year. I’ve had many a blog post about my van. My previous caravan if you remember was always breaking down, from the alternator to the transmission, power steering pump and even the sliding door came off one time. The final thing was when the hood wouldn’t close anymore and I had to tie it closed with rope. Oh and the time the hood came undone (this was what caused it to require tying after), it flew up and cracked the windshield. Ah yes, the memories of my Dodge Caravans over the years. Good grief, looking back at these old posts makes me realize it’s more than time to end the curse of the Dodge Caravan and yes it’s time to say good bye. I’m very seriously leaning towards an import mini-van if I can find one in the right price range.

Posted by By: lisa | 2007/04/23 | Life | Trackback | Comments [RSS 2.0]

5 Responses to Hopefully ending the curse of the Dodge Caravan »»


Comments

  1. Brikwall
    Comment by Brikwall | 2007/04/25 at 05:20:13

    We had a 1995 Plymouth Voyager that we bought used (3yrs old & 72,000 km). When it was working good, it was great. But when the problems started…Hoo Boy! They never ended. Best thing we ever did was get rid of it.

    I knew at the time that it was a mistake buying a Chrysler. It was the last Chrysler I’ll ever buy.

  2. Terry aka Funky
    Comment by Terry aka Funky | 2007/04/25 at 10:35:02

    I can feel your pain on this having been a Dodge caravan owner, then a Ford Windstar owner and both of those failing me miserably even more then your Dodge woes but now that I purchsed a sweet Nissan Quest back in 2005 those other one’s do not even come close……. hope your search turns up something good so one can bury the Dodge

  3. carsblues
    Comment by carsblues | 2007/05/10 at 13:47:34

    I am contemplating on buying a Dodge Caravan(a ‘96 model with 155K miles on it) for transporting my day care children to and from little field trips and also my local commute for groceries,etc.As a prvious Dodge owner do u think its advisable?I’m desperate for an answer, any feedback would be a huge help.Also I have a choice of buying a ‘94 Chevy suburban(166K miles).Which one would be better?Thank you.

  4. bob
    Comment by bob | 2007/07/16 at 15:16:35

    Buy a new or used Odessey. I priced a new Caravan a few years ago and the Odessey had the same equipment for less money and they last longer with fewer problems. I had a 97 Caravan where the transmission went and the engine was going (at 136,000 miles). We bought my sister-in-laws 98 Caravan (at 61,000 miles) for a good price and it worked well until recently (186,000 miles). Now there is a myterious electrical problem where it will start for 4 days, then won’t start. Then it will start for 2 days, then won’t start. I’ve read enough on the internet to know you should not buy a used 1996 through 1999 Dodge Caravan. Many have electrical and ignition problems. And yes, I did take the van to 2 Dodge dealerships and nether one could find anything using their diagnostic machines. Also, their hypothetical solutions were different between the 2 dealerships, so they were just guessing at what the problem is. So far, I’ve figured out that it has started whenever I don’t lock the van, so I took away the remote from my keychain and I leave it unlocked with nothing in the van to steal. I can only hope someone steals the van, but they might not get too far.

  5. Rob Flatbed Trailer
    Comment by Rob Flatbed Trailer | 2008/09/29 at 13:41:46

    I have to admit i have experienced the day of a Dodge caravan breaking down, i had saved up to buy it all summer and planned to drive from DC to California… Got about as far as Roanake Virginia before the transmission blew out… Had to get it towed home even though it was not repairable. well so much for that trip.

    While im sure that not all dodge caravans are bad, this experience will make me think twice about another one for sure. Note : i had a ford aerostar that went the same way… I dont have much luck with used vehicles.


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