What's Wrong with the Dodge Caravan?

The Worst Caravan Problems

AHR Deploys

The active head restraints in some Jeep vehicles are handing out free concussions. A mechanical breakdown inside the restraint means they could deploy randomly at any time.

What Caravan Owners Complain About

Sometimes it helps just to tally up the complaints and see where the biggest stacks are. Use this information to learn about troublespots or to run for the hills.

Worst Issues

2005 Caravan power door locks not working 112 (100%)
2005 Caravan brake pads wear out prematurely 22 (20%)
2003 Caravan engine stalls/shuts down while driving 19 (17%)
1996 Caravan transmission failure 16 (14%)
2000 Caravan transmission failure 15 (13%)

Worst Topics

Interior 175 (100%)
Engine 169 (97%)
Transmission 137 (78%)
Electrical 91 (52%)
Brakes 71 (41%)

Worst Years

2005 274 (100%)
2006 109 (40%)
2000 86 (31%)
2003 82 (30%)
2001 81 (30%)

Full Lists on CarComplaints.com

Comparing 4 Generations

Generations are groups of model years where few, if any, changes were made to the vehicle which means their model years tend to break in similar ways. The Caravan has 4 generations with the latest starting in the 2001 model year.

4th Generation Caravan (2001–2007)

PainRank^™: 18.05
Complaints: 713
Reliability: 35th out of 59

3rd Generation Caravan (1996–2000)

PainRank^™: 13.91
Complaints: 270
Reliability: 31st out of 59

2nd Generation Caravan (1992–1995)

PainRank^™: 3.13
Complaints: 38
Reliability: 19th out of 59

1st Generation Caravan (1986–1990)

PainRank^™: 0.6
Complaints: 14
Reliability: 11th out of 59

By the Numbers

1,024 complaints
Running tally of owner grievances filed to CarComplaints.com.
446 service bulletins
Documenting the process of troubleshooting common problems.
70 recall campaigns
Time-sensitive, free repairs for widespread safety problems.