Problems with 2005 Dodge Caravan ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Remote randomly will not lock/ unlock doors. pull the battery cable and remote works. chrysler sent out tsb 08-040-04 on subject. they have a glitch in original software and seems unfair that consumer must pay to have it fixed. sliding doors do not have keys to lock so one must crawl through the driver / passenger seat to lock manually. as an older adult this is a safety hazard. it should be recalled.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 dodge caravan. the contact stated that the key failed to turn over in the ignition and the vehicle was unable to start. the vehicle was not diagnosed by a dealer or independent mechanic. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the vin was not available. the approximate failure mileage was 101,000.

2005 dodge caravan mini van. consumer writes in regards to multiple issues with vehicle. *ld *js

Turn signal switch problem of the 2005 dodge grand caravan turn signals are not working correctly - vin # [xxx] when you signal to turn right, the left turn signals comes on. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *jb *tr

Airbag warning light lit. looked up on nhtsa website, chrysler issued a"safety improvement campaign" copy enclosed. i took my van to the dealer to have it fixed plus a new key and a recall notice for a fuel/stalling problem. i was informed that the airbag problem was not covered because of the vin number. the van was purchased in mass. and i purchased it in rhode island. i donot think i should have to pay 216.61 dollars to have this fixed. thank you *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 dodge caravan. the contact stated that all of the doors failed to lock. the failure recurred several times. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the computer needed to be reset. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 136,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 dodge caravan. while driving approximately 35 mph, the instrument panel lights and the headlights began to flicker after the abs and brake light warning indicators illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the failure was unable to be determined. the contact was informed that the alternator needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired, however, the failure persisted. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer but the failure was still unable to be determined. the contact was advised that the failure might have been due to the battery needing to be replaced. the battery was replaced and the abs and brake light warning indicators were no longer illuminated but the instrument panel lights and headlights continued to flicker. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 146,000.

My husband and i purchased a dodge caravan from a dealer and since purchasing it, we have had nothing but problems. our door lock system has stopped working in which my mother who is disabled and can only be put on one side of the van related to her stroke, was unable to exit the vehicle. the locking mechanism wouldn't let us open the door and we live in texas. we had to keep the car running until we were able to transfer her to the other door. we now can only put her in on her "bad" side which puts her at risk for injury (and us). after that we had problems that started with the gages bobbing up and down and the interior lighting system is not working right half the time. it also has the anti-lock brake system light come on and then the front end shakes. we have replaced the alternator, grounding wires, checked fuses and battery and cables. nothing has worked, but there is no check engine light to get codes from until the car was at an intersection and died!!!!! now it is frequently dying when we are at a stop for red lights, stop signs and ...recently it died while i was yielding for a left turn. i have had several car accidents and i nearly got t-boned at this intersection. even when the car dies, it would usually start right up until a month ago. now it may start up right away or it may not start for 15-30 minutes after it dies. in texas we need the air conditioning. i am now refusing to put her in something i consider a "death trap". i am now putting this down in writing because i have now a code that says it is the body control module. from reports, there are hundreds of these same vans with this same problem. it needs to be recalled as it isn't an isolated problem. and now if this van dies at a critical traffic maneuver and i or my husband or mother or children become injured, we will look into legal action.

As i was driving, the electrical system on my 2005 dodge caravan wheelchair-accessible minivan failed completely, shutting down my power brakes, power steering, all dashboard indicators, and all vehicle lights (including the four-way flashers). fortunately, the engine continued to run, so i was able to pull it to the side of the road. this has happened to me twice. the first time we took it to our regular mechanic, who could not find anything wrong. after it happened the second time, a dodge dealer mechanic told me that the automatic braking system locking mechanism had failed and shorted out the entire electrical system and would cost $900 to repair. it also cost an extra $500 to replace the mechanism that the part is attached to because it had rusted so severely. these incidents were frightening because it was difficult to pull the car over to the side of the road without power steering and power brakes. it would have been worse if it had happened at a higher speed or at night since all my lights would have shut off. i would consider buying a newer wheelchair van if they were not so incredibly expensive.

I was driving my dodge caravan 2005 on the freeway and the exterior lights kept turning off and the instrument panel where the speedometer is would too. i was scary and dangerous had my three children and pregnant wife with me at the time. we could have been seriously injured. *js

I have been having issue with my head lights not wanting to cut off when parking. sometime they would also just come on while parked. the head lights have now, on three different occasions cut off while driving at night. i have to reach down and turn the head light switch off and back on for them to work again. i thought chrysler ha a recall for this on my model van, but they are telling me no. please help as i believe they are dodging this issue, which is a true safety hazard that they should repair. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 dodge caravan. the contact received a recall notification for nhtsa campaign number: 14v234000 (electrical system) and stated that the part was unavailable to perform the recall repair. the manufacturer was notified of the issue. the contact had not experienced a failure.

I was driving back from a friends and suddenly my dash board started to flash. i could still drive and the radio was unaffected however then the dash board lights turned off completely which really scared me. i had no idea how fast i was driving either. the dash board was black but then after a bit turned back on! *tr

As i was driving from the airport, before i just was about to get on the expressway, my speedometer was indicating that i was driving 90 miles per hour when i know for a fact that i was maintaining a speed of 35 miles per hour (keeping with the flow of other vehicles). my dashboard was a mass array of flashing lights. speedometer was erratic going from 20 to 90. i then suddenly realized that my electrical windows failed to work as well as my doorlocks. i did not know what was happening nor what to expect. i was just praying that i would get home safely. this has happened since then with the speedometer (pretty scary). however, my electric door locks and windows fail to operate since that time. they're dead! nada, zilch! .i purchase this vehicle in illinois and am so sorry that i did. my brakes locked up and my left rear tire was ruined from the tow onto the flatbed, where it was towed to my mechanic. this vehicle has some severe electrical problems. *tr

2005 dodge caravan. consumer writes in regards to corporation and dealership violation of ada civil rights. *smd the consumer stated the power locks were inoperable. the consumer was informed by a mechanic, it was a common problem with the software, with his year and model. the consumer stated, the locks, when disabled made it nearly impossible to support his quadriplegic mother. the dealer stated it would cost $100 to analyze the problem. the failure tripped the circuit breaker in the engine compartment and required access to the compartment, distracting and delaying support to the disabled user of the vehicle. *jb

Locks no longer work with the fob or the automatic lock/unlock button in the car. the locks no longer lock when the car reaches 10 or 15 mph. if it stops working while your car is unlocked, you can not secure your vehicle because you can not manually lock the trunk. *tr

The key fob works only on the two front doors. it does not lock or unlock the sliding doors or rear hatch. very frustrating. *tr

Headlight go off and on going down the highway at the speed on 65 with no street light my family on four was in the van someone is going to get killed just like gm with the ignition switch. *tr

Driving down the road, the dash lights will flicker, abs and brake light will flash on and off, the door chime will go off and the radio will shut off and turn back on. in the evening time while the dash lights flicker, it causes the headlights to flicker also. once in a while when it flickers, it will cause the van to die. *tr

Headlights do not turn on and/or go off while driving. *tr

Electric door locks quit working. there is only 2 doors that can be unlocked by the key from the outside. getting children out from the passenger side slider requires climbing through the vehicle to reach the door lock. also there is no way to lock the doors from the drivers seat to prevent children from accidentally opening the passenger doors without climbing through the vehicle. pulling the iod fuse and replacing will temporarily reset the door locks. *tr

My power locks stopped working. dose not work with wireless remote or with the power locks in the vehicle. went to dodge dealer in queens stated i needed a body controle module for $900.00 plus. dealer whrer i brought vehicle 1 week before said this is not covered by lemon law warranty or after market warrenty i brought from them. hunningting chevelot is very bad dealership please don't use. *tr

My power locks stopped working. the key fob beeped, but did nothing, and using the buttons within the car did nothing. i took it to a mechanic who fixed loose wires, and they worked again... for just a couple months. now they told me i need to have dodge "flash" the computer system, (for over $100!) but everything i've read online says that is only a temporary fix, and changing the fuse may fix it, again, temporarily. it seems to be a major defect and with children in the car, is a very major safety hazard. it's not okay to have to fix this repeatedly. *tr

Power door locks failed to work out of the blue, the only way to lock the vehicle now is to manually lock each door. the battery on the key fob was just replaced, non of the switches work. the only way to get the doors to lock or unlock is by manually pulling up pr pushing down on the lock piece, or by opening with a key. took to an independent auto shop. they could find no cause to the problem. *tr

For the last three years or so, in the winter time, my head lights would just randomly come on when it started to get cold outside. they would go out later but they would do this all night and day. this year, they now do this all year long and now they are doing while i am driving. my lights will flicker and just go black. i lose all my lights, headlights and interior lights. i have no clue what is causing this. i love my van and there is nothing else wrong with it. this is very dangerous i understand but this has to be something in the van that is faulty. in the past, i would just grab the light switch and turn it back and forth quickly and it would turn the lights off. this no longer works. i have seen similar issues like this reported. i am so afraid to take it to a shop and find out it is going to cost more than my van is worth. again, this happens when i am driving or when the van is stationary, not running at all. this started about 3-4 years ago and it keeps getting worse. i put a new battery in it thinking that would help. nope!

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 dodge caravan. the contact stated that the door power locking system failed. the contact mentioned that the vehicle doors only locked manually. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. the technician diagnosed that the electronic body control system needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 55,000 and the current mileage was 62,000. updated 08/14/14*lj the dealer informed the consumer, the computer needed to be re-flashed at a cost of $85.00. updated 08/19/14

The power doors locks do not work anymore. we use this van as an ada wheelchair access. we cannot lock the rear hatch with a key. we are vulnerable to leaving the rear hatch unlocked. the drivers door is the only door with a key access. the other doors do not have key access to unlock the door. try looking on the internet and see how many people have this problem. it is a common problem on the 2005 vans. this is a real safety issue. please help thank you *tr

Power door locks failed on 2005 dodge caravan sxt purchase new on december 21, 2004. doors will work manually, but will not operate with the remote or power lock buttons. the back door gate will not lock without the power locks working. the power door locks are designed to automatically lock when reaching speed of approximately 20 mph. it does not. this is a safety issue. why doesn't dodge admit to this problem and provide a free software upgrade? if you google it there are many complaints of this. this should be a recall for safety issues. *tr

Power door locks not working properly,you lock the doors with remote lights flash but doors don't lock ,causing a safety concern with small children inside the vehicle as their suppose to lock when speed reaches 18 mph ,i have noticed lots of complaints online regarding my issue. thanks. *tr

Door locks do not respond to the door lock switch. door locks do not respond to the electronic signal from the key fob. this is dangerous since the is only one external key lock. car cannot be unlocked in an emergency. *tr

Power door locks stopped working. *tr

Power door locks cease to function from internal switch or key fob. key fob still activates anti-theft alarm and will lock and unlock the rear liftgate but not the front doors or sliding doors. removing and resetting the iod fuse/relay will resolve the issue for a short time but it fails again within a matter of hours or at best a couple days. dealer attempted to replace the door lock modules but this did not resolve the issue. research shows that this is a known issue and there is a software update to resolve it but dodge/chrysler has not yet issued a recall or provided extended warranty coverage for this in spite of the widespread nature of the failures and apparently numerous complaints to safercar.gov. *tr

Power door locks stopped operating. they cannot be unlocked with the keyless entry, nor can the be unlocked by the driver's or passenger's power buttons. as time has gone by, we have been manually locking and unlocking the doors, but now those are even getting harder to unlock manually....it is as if they are becoming stuck shut. *tr

Locking system failed to work, doors need to be locked and locked manually. fuse removed and replaced but only solves the problem temporarily. this should be a recall by dodge. so many reported failures. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 dodge caravan. the contact stated that the sliding doors and the front driver side and passenger side doors would not lock. the contact mentioned that the only door that would lock was the rear liftgate. the contact stated that if the fuse was removed it corrected the problem for a few day, but the failure returns. the contact stated the dealer told them the vehicle needed a software upgrade. the failure mileage was unknown, but the current mileage was 101,000. updated 12/19/12 *cn

The door locks, horn, headlights, a/c, windows and mirrors stop working. we have to remove the fuse or disconnect the battery and then it works again for a while. this is very unsafe when we get in the car at night and cant go because the lights wont go on. we live in arizona and that is unsafe when the ac and windows wont work at the same time. after a five minute drive my kids were about dying. its unsafe when the door locks go out and we cant lock the vehicle. i understand that the vehicle needs a software upgrade, but that the dealership charges $200. i shouldn't be forced to pay for a defect that dodge knows is defective. *tr

Power door locks do not lock and unlock. *tr

My 2005 dodge caravan smelled strong gasoline odor in and out. when i took it to the mechanic he knew exactly what was wrong because he serviced 3 vans like mine with similar issue. when he lifted my van and started the gas started to pour. the fortunate part was that i am lucky that it didn't explode on me while driving. here is the worst part, i called rancho jeep chryler in san diego to order a new fuel pump, i was told that the parts is nationally back ordered and it will take 3 to a month waiting period and nowhere available as per parts technician. if it is back ordered nationally, will it constitute recall? this situation is a major safety violation just waiting a major explosion to occur. my van only have 50k miles in it and i bought it brand new and always service timely. i am hoping that the company will take some action immediately to prevent costly lawsuits. i am receiving all my receipts as a proof when something happen. i will be the first one to come forward. my second complain is the lock, it is very uncomfortable if you manually lock and unlock all doors. i have to pull out the iod fuse everytime to reset, this is also a national issue because i found this from the blogs of other dodge caravan owners. my 3rd complain is why are my front brakes always shakes no matter what i do to it. i replaced both rotors and pads. *tr

My 2005 dodge caravan smelled strong gasoline odor in and out. when i took it to the mechanic he knew exactly what was wrong because he serviced 3 vans like mine with similar issue. when he lifted my van and started the gas started to pour. the fortunate part was that i am lucky that it didn't explode on me while driving. here is the worst part, i called rancho jeep chrysler in san diego to order a new fuel pump, i was told that the parts is nationally back ordered and it will take 3 to a month waiting period and nowhere available as per parts technician. if it is back ordered nationally, will it constitute recall? this situation is a major safety violation just waiting a major explosion to occur. my van only has 50k miles in it and i bought it brand new and always service timely. i am hoping that the company will take some action immediately to prevent costly lawsuits. i am receiving all my receipts as a proof when something happen. i will be the first one to come forward. my second complain is the lock, it is very uncomfortable if you manually lock and unlock all doors. i have to pull out the iod fuse every time to reset, this is also a national issue because i found this from the blogs of other dodge caravan owners. my 3rd complain is why is my front brakes always shake no matter what i do to it. i replaced both rotors and pads 3x and still warping. *tr

While driving home last night going down a country road doing 50 mph, my low beams went complete out and i almost wrecked my van. once i got stopped and my heart returned to beating normal i found that only the high beams worked. i have since changed the relays around in the pms/fuse box under the hood, and the low beams still don't work. i had changed out both headlamps less then a year ago, so i am sure that the problem is not that both low beams went out on the lamps at the same time. i have read online that this problem has happened to many others owning this vehicle. this vehicle was purchased new from the dealer in july of 2005. *tr

Car door locks will not work on key chain or buttons on door will not lock doors have to manually lock and unlock doors pull iod fuse and they will start back working for two days up to a week then they quit working again called main dodge corp they said they have had several complaint on it but they would not have a recall on it. *tr

Headlights turn off on their own causing a very dangerous situation when driving in the dark. i googled this problem and found that several people have had this happen. this make, model and year obviously have a flaw and needs to be recalled before some one gets killed. *tr

Reference nhtsa action number ea11010. this is the exact problem i am having with my 05 caravan. headlights turn off while driving on occasion, don't come on at all on other occasions. highbeams work when the lever is pulled but do not stay on. dealer wants $88 just to diagnose the problem, but based on nhtsa info, that won't help: "confirmed that the headlights fully extinguish, and remain extinguished, on an intermittent basis. in most cases this occurred while the vehicle was in motion" bought the van used and after this problem occurred a few times i searched the web and found many forums discussing this known issue. *kb

The doors will not lock/unlock with the key automatically nor will the doors lock when driving as they normally do. the car "beeps" so you think the doors are locked but they are not. the first few times it occurred, we removed the fuse and reinserted. eventually this "fix" worked only briefly. this failure is unsafe for personal safety and also for property in the car. this is a common problem with 2005 dodge caravans. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 dodge caravan. the contact stated that the automatic power door locks were inoperable and the contact would have to manually lock and unlock the vehicle. in addition, the vehicle would not respond to the keyless remote when attempting to lock or unlock the vehicle. neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the defect. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 153,122 and the current mileage is 153,600. updated 11/16/11*lj updated 11/30/11

2005 dodge caravan. consumer states ongoing problem with power door locks *tgw the dealer was unable to correct the problem. *jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 dodge caravan. the contact stated that the doors could not be locked automatically. the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who performed a diagnostic and located the failure at the door body control module. the mechanic replaced the door body control module twice but the failure was not corrected and the doors still could not be locked automatically. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 42,900 and the current mileage was 43,000. updated 01/24/12*lj the consumer stated the bcm has been replaced three times. update 01/27/12

My power locks stopped working about a month ago. they will work manually but will not operate with the remote or the power lock button. tried disconnecting battery and then re-connecting, tried remedy in handbook (turning key in ignition 4 times on and off , without actually starting it, and then depressing the power lock switch) which worked for two days. this is a safety issue!!! the locks are designed to automatically lock when reaching speed of approximately 20 mph. it does not. this is a safety issue!! why doesn't dodge admit to this problem and provide a free software upgrade! many people are experiencing the same problem. google it, it's there plain as day! is dodge hoping the problem will just go away by itself? this is a safety issue! fix it! *tr

I was driving home and all of a sudden the headlights went out, i was able to get them on by manually using the high beams, but if i let go of the high beam shift, the lights went out. this happened about 10 times in 20 miles. it did it again yesterday on september 28, driving home and i am too scared to drive at night any more which is a problem as it is getting dark earlier. i was driving along and the headlights just went out. i could pull the high beams on which is an issue as i live in a small city but as soon as i let go of the high beam switch -- no lights. also the high beams would go to low and back to high intermittently. i am so scared to drive my car.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 dodge caravan. while driving approximately 18 mph the contact noticed the automatic door lock failed and would not lock the doors automatically. the door fob also would not lock the doors when the lock button was engaged; however, the horn would blow. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the contact stated after disconnecting the iod fuse and later reconnecting it the automatic door lock function would activate. after two days, the automatic door lock would failed again. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 85,000. updated 09/27/11 *bf the consumer contacted the dealer and was informed there was no recall and therefore, he would have to pay for the repairs himself. updated 10/31/11 *bf updated 3/30/12 *cn