Dodge Grand Caravan / 1998
1998 Dodge Grand Caravan problems
Owners have filed 761 complaints about the 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan with NHTSA. Engine and engine cooling accounts for 18.9% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of air bags at 13.8%.
Complaints761
Crashes49
Fires34
Injuries47
Deaths1
What owners report breaking
Engine and engine cooling 18.9% · 144
Air bags 13.8% · 105
Power train 11.2% · 85
Electrical system 10.9% · 83
Suspension 7.0% · 53
Service brakes, hydraulic 6.4% · 49
Structure 3.9% · 30
Vehicle speed control 3.5% · 27
Severity
Of those complaints, 49 describe a crash, 34 describe a fire, 47 report an injury and 1 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 29 model years of the Dodge Grand Caravan in this data, 1998 sits 10th by complaint volume. 2008 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 5 in the last three years against 19 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 90,000 miles.
In owners' own words
After driving through standing water, the serpentine belt slipped off, causing a loss of power steering control. The same thing had happened in june 2003, about three weeks after the dealer had replaced the belt and tensioner. The tendency for the belt to slip off after driving through water is a serious safety problem, which could easily lead to a loss of control of the car by a less experienced driver. Engine and engine cooling · reported at 59,900 miles
The contact owns a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. Without warning, the serpentine belt detached out of place. The contact replaced the serpentine belts and the pulleys, but the failure continued. The dealer indicated that there was no service campaign and recall to provide a solution. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. Updated 05/30/17*lj updated 09/25/2017 Engine and engine cooling · reported at 225,000 miles
Serpentine belt came off four times while driving in the rain. After the fourth time the garage ordered a conversion kit from the gates corporation that replaced the idler plus the tensioner. The kit also included a new double sided ribbed belt. Their part number is 38,342 k. It can also be ordered through car quest auto parts stores. Their part number is the same. I have not had a problem since. Engine and engine cooling
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…