Problems with 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Rear lh sliding door on 2005 dodge grand caravan no longer operating normally. door stops 8" and must be manually moved thereafter. *tr

Power door locks fail to operate. remote keyless entry fails to operate. power lift doors fail to operate. simple disconnect of battery fixes issue temporarily. keyless entry honks horn as if it's locking, but no doors lock. *tr

The locks on my 2005 dodge caravan stop working. after searching on the internet for a fix or other people with this problem, they suggested pulling the iod fuse for 20 seconds and replacing the fuse. i did so and it fixed the problem for today. i do not know if this will continune to fix the problem or not but it looks like a lot of people are having the same problem. i would like to file this complaint so a recal will be issued to fix the problem. just pulling the fuse will not fix the problem permanently. thank you

Our used 2005 dodge grand caravan worked perfectly for about a year until strange things started to happen to the electrical system. the van will loss all power, just like removing the battery, a few times a week and it remains dead for about 60 seconds. also periodically, the instrument cluster gauges will act crazy, the odometer will pulsate as well as the headlights, the side electronic doors will cease to function and about twice all electronics in the vehicle died except the odometer yet the car was running normally. i have replaced the battery, alternator, ignition switch and body control module ' all to no avail. the van is unsafe to drive due to the 60 second blackouts that can happen without any notice. there are a lot of internet complaints about this year and model ' dodge needs to solve this crippling problem. *tr

Normal driving, vehicle has been involved in no accidents. at about 34,000 miles on vehicle, and 3 and a half years old, airbag light on dash started illuminating. would turn off sometimes, but usually stayed on. dealer diagnosed failure of "clockspring" in steering column, which had to be replaced at cost of about $250.00. *tr

The power door locks repeatedly fail - i understand this to be a common issue with this vehicle - making it difficult to get access to vehicle from the outside, especially problematic with children in the backseats who have difficulty unlocking the doors manually. also, the passenger side power sliding door has not been operational for some time. we have also recently experienced a, as yet still undiagnosed, complete power failure in the whole electrical system - this occurred suddenly while the vehicle was traveling 65 mph with the cruise control engaged (it had been engaged for several miles). these issues range from very inconvenient to potentially hazardous. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 dodge grand caravan. the contact stated that all of the electrical door locks failed to function and he had to manually open and close them. the vehicle was inspected by a dealer who advised him that the body control module needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

2005 dodge grand caravan power sliding door failure due to faulty wiring harnesses. this has occurred for the past two years. the wiring harness has broken wire internally and then the door will not function or will partially function. when it partially functions, the driver may begin to operate the vehicle when the rear doors are not completely shut. *tr

Our body control module or bcm has failed at 50,000 miles. this module control the power doors and locks. this failure is very common and several hundred $ to fix. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 dodge grand caravan. both the driver's and passenger side sliding doors open and close automatically. the vehicle has been to a mechanic and the dealer. the dealer replaced the program module in the vehicle twice. currently, the computer is being replaced. the current mileage was 68,500 and failure mileage was 68,000. updated 10/14/08. *lj the consumer traded the vehicle. updated 10/15/08. *jb

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 dodge grand caravan. the contact noticed that all the doors could not be locked with the power locks. the only door he is able to lock with the power lock feature is the rear middle door. the dealer stated that the computer lock module was the cause of the failure. the dealer will replace the computer module at the cost of $450. the manufacturer stated that they would not assist with the repairs since there is no recall. the vin was unknown. the failure mileage was 51,000 and current mileage was 53,000.

Power door locks stopped working. i found articles online to disconnect battery and reconnect at which time the issue went away. after a week or so the locks stopped working again. i went to the dealer and they informed me that i needed to microcode update to correct the issue. since my mileage was above 36k there was a $175 fee. i refused to pay it since the car was under 3 years old and it was a computer issue. i contacted dodge and they refused to waive the fee. the car is now 8 years old and dodge has not released the updated microcode to any service companies and only allows dealerships to update the microcode where most will upgrade for free. i believe this is done intentionally to charge current dodge owners for poor engineering. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 dodge grand caravan. the contact stated that all of the power door locks were inoperative. he took the vehicle to the dealer and they stated that it was a common failure with his year, make, and model vehicle. the bcm software would have to be repaired at the cost of $130. the vehicle has not been repaired. the manufacturer would not provide any assistance because there was no recall for this component. the failure and current mileages were 34,417.

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 dodge grand caravan. on june 5, 2008, the door lock failed. when the contact pressed the lock button, the alarm sounded; however, the doors did not lock. the hatchback door is the only door that locks. the vehicle was taken to the dealer on june 25, 2008 and the dealer reprogrammed the remote system; however, the failure was not corrected. the vehicle will be taken back to the dealer. the failure and current mileages were 32,327. updated 09/29/08. *lj the dealer replaced the computer board. there have been no other problems. updated 09/29/08. *jb

The power door locks have been failing intermittently for 3 yrs. i unhook the iod fuse or the battery cable momentarily and this seems to work for a while. the door locks would work for a short time - then fail again until i repeated the fuse or battery cable removal procedure. as time went on the fix would last less & less time. currently, the locks may only work for a day or so. this is unacceptable. my wife was really scared the other day when someone was approaching the car and she could not lock the doors. she was in an unfamiliar location with the 4 year old in the back seat. while it actually turned out to be a false alarm, it did open my eyes. while i have been just "fixing" it all the time, i realized that i cannot control when and where it will happen and you cannot always get out and reset the fuse. this is a program (firmware) that is failing on a large number of vehicles, see links below. this poses a safety hazard as the van cannot be secured without manually locking all doors, which leaves the tailgate. why should consumers have to pay for a manufacturer defect? someone needs to protect the consumer..... i am taking the van in to request it be reprogrammed. i am not going to wait until something bad actually happens first. just a couple of links: http://www.carcomplaints.com/dodge/grand_caravan/2005/electrical/electric_door_lock_failure.shtml http://autoforum.classifieds1000.com/dodge-grand_caravan/power_locks_will_not_lock_or_unlock. *tr

Head lights, dash lights and radio lights keep flickering. i have took my dodge grand caravan back to a chrysler/dodge dealership 7 or 8 times so far in less than 1 year for this same problem. body control module, alternator and several other electrical circuits have been replaced and i am still having problems. sometimes it is so severe that the headlights and dash lights completely go out and come back on. i drive a lot of highway miles 1/3 of it in the dark. it is very unsafe for me to drive without lights, but i have no other option if i want to remain employed. please let me know what i can do about this. *tr

2005 dodge caravan air bag sensor and wiring corrosion, a know issue internal customer satisfaction notice to dealer june of 2007 to repair no charge.. my vehicle did not meet the "date," it has the same issue/defect they are ignoring, covered part but not labor. should recall and inspect all vehicles. *tr

Every once in a while, my headlights won't turn on when i start my van. if i turn them off and on a few times, they will eventually turn on. a couple of times, my lights have shut off while i was driving in the van. turning the lights off and on brought them back on, so i was not in an accident. also, a couple of times all of my dashboard lights and gauges have gone crazy all at once. after about 10 seconds, they would be fine again. *tr

Electric door locks stop working. have to manually push down locks on all 4 doors. remote keyfob also does nothing to lock/unlock. have had to disconnect battery terminals to force a reset each time, then locks start working. *cn

For the past 2 years i have had a problem wit the door locks not working. no warning they just quit. i have to disconnect the battery and reconnect to get them to start working. last week my windows started working intermittently. there is a definite electronics problem with this model of van. *tr

We have a 2005 dodge caravan that has electrical problems. we cannot get the power door locks to work and the turn signals behave poorly. we have tried replacing the fuse, to have it work for a few hours or days. we have also replaced the battery. *tr

(1) loss of battery power. (2) resulted in failure of power door locks to operate. (3) manufacture technical service bulletin 08-040-04 calls for re-programming of body control module due to updated software to correct the know failure. known software related issue. *tr

Front windshield wipers and all instrument gauges were inoperable accompanied by a rapid "clicking" noise from center dash console upon start-up in heavy snowstorm. dash lights remained lit and flashing with the engine running. remote keyless entry, driver's side power door lock, power sliding doors, power liftgate and radio were all inoperable. servicing dodge dealer found fault codes for loss of communication but bus wires and comm wires checked out ok. inoperable driver's side power door lock switch determined to be caused by faulty body control module (bcm). dealerships "on star online" system contained a report for similar intermittent problem with lights, wipers, etc. resulting from bcm faults. bcm was replaced. all parts retained by servicing dealer. *tr

My 2005 dodge grand caravan i believe has a defect in the clock spring. i received a letter stating there has been an extended warranty for the front air-bag sensor control module. two weeks after i received this letter the air-bag light came on. after approximately 3 weeks after the light came on the horn stopped working along with all the other steering wheel components (cruise control, radio control). i took my van to the dealership to get it fixed under the extended warranty , they told me there was nothing they could do because the clock spring in the steering wheel had corroded and broke and that is what is causing this defect. my van's mileage just turned 70,000. i use my van to transport my 3 kids in and feel this is a safety hazard that needs to be fixed right away. not only do the steering wheel components not work but the driver airbag is disabled as well due to this malfunction. due to this defect there needs to be a recall issued as soon as possible before an accident occurs and the airbag does not deploy. there has been a recall on the clock spring for the make and model of my van for years 96-98 and feel this is the same thing that is happening to my 05 van. please help before anyone gets hurt. *tr

I have a 2005 dodge caravan im having trouble with the door locks not working if you pull the fuse and reinsert it will fix the problem for a day or two also when driving at night the headlights will flicker unless you have the heater/air conditioner blower on high. *tr

2005 dodge grand caravan automatic door locks & windows stopped working. problem occurred at about 68000 miles vehicle currently 133000 miles. would take out iod fuse for 15 minutes would work for a couple of cycles then would have to repeat the process. now i'm having to take out the 40 amp bcm fuse. it starts working only for a day are so. i haven't found a solution to the problem or why it only works for a couple of cycles then goes dead. *tr

Vehicle--dodge grand caravan (2005)- was traveling about 30 miles an hour and right front fender/light area struck concrete barrier. immediately upon impact, sparks came shooting out, tire caught on fire and car burst into uncontrollable flames. the entire car was torched and declared a total loss. pictures are available. after talking to body shop, from estimation of structure damage from impact was approximately $2000-3000, however now because of fire, the van is a total loss. i literally have 3 tires and a license plate remaining. *tr

I have 2005 dodge grand caravan. the automatic door locks have quit working and i understand that it is a software issue in the cpu. my main concern is that when you put it in drive and begin to move, the doors are supposed to lock when you get to 18mph or so. i have 4 year old twins that ride in car seats, and am not comfortable not having this feature working properly. it is also my understanding that the problem is very widespread among this model of vehicle. my hopes are that the problem can be addressed by dodge as i feel it is a safety hazard. thank you. *tr

The first indication of a problem was the airbag light on the dash remaining on occasionally after the vehicle was started. the problem then progressed to the airbag light remaining on continuously and the cruise control function and horn (both of which are mounted on the steering wheel) not working. these symptoms were identical to those experienced by earlier years of this vehicle model that resulted in a safety recall for replacement of the clock spring in the steering wheel. i had the clock spring replaced, which corrected the problems. *tr

The body computer. something is wrong with it, wont let a dealership into it, the traction control doesn't work along with the abs, the left door wont open with the bottoms automatic.. as far as the dears know and we have had it top 3 of them that all these things are tied in 1 thing this vehicle isn't very old to have this go out!! *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 dodge grand caravan. the power lock controls worked intermittently. the failure occurred with the key pad and the controls in the passenger compartment. the dealer stated that they could perform an electrical upgrade. the cause of the failure was unknown. the failure mileage was 29,000 and current mileage was 33,034. updated 01-15-08. *kb updated 12/12/07. *jb

Electronic door locks failed to engage locks. lock verification signaled lights and horn indicating the locks were engaged. as a result of the failure the van was entered illegally and property was stolen. this was also a safety issue when the electronic locking system did not disengage from the controls in the van. this resulted in the inability to remove 3 children from the van quickly in an emergency situation. the body control module (bcm) has been reset several times to correct the problem. the reset only lasts for a few days before the problem repeats itself. *tr

Cathedral city dodge refused to work on the recall because the vehicle was modified. the recall problem had nothing to do with the modifications but cathedral city dodge refused to work on it.. after several heated conversations with management cathedral city dodge returned my vehicle with a dead battery, and a leak in my engine and did not fix the recalled item. after i received my vehicle i noticed that the new problems with my vehicle had nothing to do with the modifications but were independent from any modifications previously made to my vehicle. after complaining to the dodge corporation i was referred to the dodge service center in laquinta. there my car was equipped with a new battery and the recall item was not fixed because the manager refused to work on the vehicle because of the modifications. i called laquinta dodge to complain and my vehicle was returned to me with the engine leak, the unserviced recall item and now in doesn't shift into gear. the cathedral city service center and the laquinta service center didn't even check to see if the problems were in anyway way connected to the modifications. they just refused to even look at it. now there is another recall on my dodge grand caravan that has to do with the airbags and laquinta is refusing to work on it. in summary my vehicle arrived in palm springs fully operational in june 2006 and ever since the first contact with cathedral city service center my vehicle has been inoperable. between the cathedral city and laquinta dodge service centers my car now has an engine leak, a bad heating coil, defected airbags problems shifting into gear and does not start. my vehicle was fully operational and had 80 miles on it when it arrived at cathedral city dodge in 2006 and now has 87 miles on it and is in operable. that?s 87 miles not 8,700 or 87,000 miles. it has only 87 miles because it hasn't been running since cathedral city and laquinta dodge have damaged my vehicle. *jb

I recently had my 2005 dodge grand caravan, 28000 miles, serviced only to find out that my front brakes are 100% gone, my throttle body is plugged up, and i had no power steering fluid. of course, as the dealership tells me, the warranty does not cover any of these repairs that need to be done.

2005 dodge grand caravan se. headlights turn off with no warning. flipping the switch back and forth has no effect on restoring function. you just have to wait for the lights to decide to turn back on by themselves. this problem seems to occur in clusters: about 2 to 3 times in a week, and about 1 week out of every 6 to 8 months. for obvious reasons, this could be extremely dangerous. *tr

Have had numerous problems with van starting 3 months after purchase. dash lights flash but only for seconds so no code can be read. electric windows failing, batteries replaced numerous times. have gotten to point i purchase window tracks and replace myself to save on cost. most recently dash lights and headlights flashing rapidly radio and air go out and vehicle wanting to stall. this is a conversion van by braun. had handicapped person in wheelchair in passenger side front. van stalled in intersection but was able to get off to side of road. where i was, i could not get wheelchair out of van. we could have been killed not to mention i live in florida and heat was at a feel like temp of 108. after 10 or 15 minutes van restarted and was able to limp home. auto electric repair shop replaced ignition wiring harness but after 30 days it is now doing same again only worse. i now have no transport for handicapped person because why fix something that cannot be resolved without changing every part to figure out real problem. i know even if the bcm is replaced that is only temporary according to other reports of same problem i have. *tr

Intermittent failure of electric lock system, including remote. system can be restored by disconnecting starting battery for 3+ minutes. gauges failed while car was in motion, loss of speedometer, tachometer, odometer, failure lights and electric locks. gauges were restored by aforementioned battery disconnect method. however, electric locks failed to restore to remote operation. battery remote operated normally. *ak

We may be having two separate problems with the 2005 grand caravan. the issue of primary concern was that the vehicle occasionally, and for no apparent reason , died while being driven. since we owned the vehicle this happened on four different occasions. when the vehicle died we lost the ability to steer or stop. on all occasions we have been going at speeds of less than 35 mph. on the last occasion while making a right turn on a red light the vehicle died 1/4 of the way into the turn. had the steering wheel not been turned prior to the vehicle stalling we would have been going straight into the crossing traffic with no way of stopping or turning away. i am a mother of 4 children and was in the vehicle alone at the time. luckily none of my children were with me, and the vehicles around me were paying attention. i started the vehicle, and was able to drive home without having the problem again. on the other occasions the problem persisted until my husband was able to get up to speeds greater than 35 mph. we took the vehicle to our local dodge dealer twice for this problem, and they could not reproduce the problem either time. no repairs were been made to the vehicle in this regard. the above sounded very similar to the nhtsa action # pe05027. our second issue may or may not be related to the above and we considered it a nuisance. we included this information with the thought that it could be a symptom of above that others were experiencing. the same failure. the vehicle will not start sporadically. when we tried to start it all of the needle gauges on the dashboard will shoot to the right, and then drop back down to the left, and bounce around on the left quarter of the gauge. we attempt to jump start the vehicle and after several tries it will start up. there did not seem to be a correlation between the two problems , beyond they both appeared to be electrical. *ak

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 dodge caravan. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. the battery was replaced at 19,000 miles but to no avail. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and they checked the battery but found no failure. they then removed the iod fuse and then placed it back into the vehicle seconds later and the vehicle was able to be started. the current mileage was 53,000 and the failure mileages was 19,000.

The automatic locks stopped working, i was able to reset them by disconnecting the battery but the fix is only temporary. now only 1 door is affected but on occasion the problem starts over again until i reset the locks by disconnecting the battery. *tr

I am concerned with overall quality control on this vehicle. i purchased this vehicle new to provide safety and comfort for my growing family. i was disappointed in the vehicles performance and gas mileage during the first several weeks of ownership. i returned the vehicle to the dealership and they replaced the oxygen sensor units that they said where defective. several months later the heater/air conditioning blower went out. next with less than 20,000 miles on the vehicle i had to replace the brakes. now with less than 28.000 miles on the vehicle i noticed that the passenger side floor was soaked, the vehicle was making unusual sounds when turning and the passenger side door would not close automatically. at the dealership i found out that the rack and pinion steering unit had failed along with the the cable on the passenger side door. on investigation of the water leak the dealership found that the passenger side pillar had not been sealed properly to the roof causing water to run into the van and rot the carpet. while the vehicle is in for repairs the dealership is also replacing the heater/air conditioner blower which is making grinding sounds again. *nm

Occasionally when i try to turn on headlights they will not come on - or they will turn off while driving and continue to flicker. *tr

dash board lights intermittently flicker. the vehicle will be taken to the local dealership tomorrow for a recall and will be inspected for the first time for the lights flickering. additionally, the rear passenger door has made a strange noise when the chain engages to open ever since the van was purchased. it was inspected once with the dealer not finding anything wrong. a year later, the door only opens 1/2 way when remote or button is used and will not close with the use of either. this will be inspected tomorrow as well. *jb

The first problem was the automatic door locks failed to function when reaching the required speed. even would not lock with the key took it to mechanic was advised that would have to replace the computer, but by disconnecting the battery that it would reset the computer, it is only a temporary solution.second problem was the door motor stop working had that replaced. third problem was the front axle broke with no apparent wear, had that replaced. now it's the gas tank, car wants to stall was advised by mechanic that the gas tank would have to be replaced, that it is a defective valve that has since been corrected in the newer models. *tr

Dear sirs: 2005 dodge grand caravan se . it has had numerous problems, few of which were fixed properly when brought back to the dealership. finally, on october 04, 2006, with 29000+ miles on the vehicle, an axle broke as my son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren under two years old pulled out of a parking lot onto the road. had this happened on an interstate, with the vehicle moving at a high rate of speed, there is every likelihood that a fatal accident would have occurred. axles do not break except under extreme circumstances or when there is some fatal fault with the manufacture itself. this is not a vehicle which has been abused. it has been used to transport housewives and small children back and forth to school, to grocery, etcetera. it has been serviced at all proper intervals at the mechanicsville, va dealership where it was purchased. except to move the vehicle so as to avoid storage charges, i will not have any member of my family transported in this vehicle. the service department at mechanicsville dodge claims to have repaired the vehicle and that it is safe. they have all ''' driven it and it drives fine!'' that is illogical for a number of reasons. first, it ''drove fine'' right up until the moment the axle broke, even though numerous electrical and other problems existed which were not fully repaired at that time. second, i have absolutely no reason, based on my past experiences with shoddy work and outright falsehoods at this store, to believe that this shop is capable of properly repairing the vehicle. third, there is no reason to believe that other life threatening problems do not exist, lurking in this vehicle to strike my family if we were to trust it or mechanicsville dodge once again with our lives. *jb

Vehicle stops. motor shuts off, no power available. at highway speeds. very dangerous loss of control in traffic! happened at least 4 times from date of purchase may 2005 to august 2006, but only at start up in parking lot. then it happened at highway speed on the highway with 4 children in van ages 1, 2, 8 and 10 years old! have no faith in safety of vehicle! dealer still wants me to drive around with the kids in this condition and i cannot put my children in danger. *jb

This is the latest in a series of headlight failures on a dodge g.v. van. today, the headlights would not come on when the switch was pulled until i cut it on and off 4-5 times. the driving lights would blink on-off while driving and the switch was off for those lights. then the headlights went out totally when i was driving about 45 mph after 7 :00 pm....in the dark!! as i said, this is about the 3rd-4th time that this has happened and it is not something i want to continue. i have had it to two(2) dealers and they cannot find the problem. thanks for listening.*jb

2005 grand caravan electrical system has been serviced on five different occasions. door lock and air bag indicator malfunctions. *ts ***nar*** *jb

On jan 22,05 i had my 05' dodge grand caravan in the dealership because my air bag light had come on, they supposedly replaced my sensor along w/ my wiring harness, well on feb 26 06 my air bag light came on again, the dealership deal maker said i could bring my car in but i'll have to pay for it to be checked along w/ any repair, and this is because my warranty had expired. i don't feel i am responsible to pay for any repair on this. none the less for them to supposedly replace my sensor last year, along w/ my wiring harness and spark plugs beause of misfiring etc. to have bought this car used in nov of 04 and then to have it in on jan 05 is a little ridiculous. i have 40 some thousand miles on my car. and this issue should of been done correct the first time. *nm

Dt*: the contact stated the headlights, dash board lights and dome lights intermittently flicker. the vehicle was taken to the local dealership numerous times for repair. the dealership mechanic replaced the headlight switch, body control module, alternator, inspected and cleaned the ground circuits. these modifications and repairs to the vehicle were unsuccessful. *nm