Problems with 2005 Dodge Caravan ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Air bag light came on at 49,000 miles. there was also a recall for the airbag sensors. the dealer replaced the sensors but the airbag light stayed on. they said the clock spring needed to be replaced. this sounds like the same clock spring problems that dodge has had in previous years. *tr

My power door locks have stopped working multiple times. after reading other complaints it is obviously a defect. i'll share a quick fix with other complainants: open your hood. if you stand at your driver side front fender, remove the cover from your fuse box. remove the 20 amp fuse at the far bottom left corner for 10 seconds and then put it back in, it's an easier fix than disconnecting the battery cable. *tr

No specific event, it just started happening. instrument panel lights, headlights and gauge needles flicker erratically, warning bell rings periodically, radio cuts out temporarily. usually worse when warm engine and weather. dealer fixed the problem temporarily for period of two months by reprogramming the bcm. took vehicle to another dealer and they had no clue how to fix the problem. *tr

I have a 2005 dodge grand caravan. the power door lock stop working when the wireless remote is press it will not lock the doors. if i disconnect the negative terminal of the battery and leave it disconnected for 5 minutes it will work again. i have to do this every other day. i hear same people having this problem have taking the car back to the dealer and the dealer have charge $130 to reprogram the bcm. if so many people in the internet are having the same problem the dealer should not be charging this crazy amount since is problem with the software in the bcm. *tr

I drove 2 hours on the highway and parked the car when i arrived at my destination. after 10 minutes i went to leave and i put the car in drive; it started cranking and started to roll backwards. parts of my car started falling out of the transmission. my car only had 32,000 miles on it. the axel got caught in the transmission and broke all the pieces in the transmission. it took 3 weeks for my car to be repaid and i was not able to get a loaner car from dodge even though i complained.i could have been killed if this had happened an hour earlier on the highway. the second incident occurred in october. i was driving on my way home with my sister and my 6 year old daughter in the car. it was raining and all of a sudden my electrical system went haywire. my windshield wipers stopped working and my windows wouldn't open. a few minutes later when i arrived home, i noticed that my car was smoking. about 15 minutes later, i went out to check on my car and found that it was running without the key in the ignition. i put the key in and the car shut down. the next morning, i went to call the dealership and when i went to look at my car, it was running once again. by the time the tow truck arrived, my battery was dead. once again we could have been killed in an accident. these are two major safety issues. i am afraid to drive my car now. i think that i should receive a new car that doesn't have all of these major safety issues. *tr

The following item needs to be revisited and include the year 2005 for the dodge caravan. this morning i had this problem diagnosed on 2005 dodge caravan. the dealer wanted $212.00 for the part and $100.00 labor to correct this problem. nhtsa action number : ea04013, nhtsa recall campaign number : 04v480000; date investigation opened : june 4, 2004, and date investigation closed was may 25, 2005 . summary: the driver's air bag clock spring can develop an open-circuit condition, resulting in nonfunctional driver-side frontal air bag, horn, cruise control , if equipped, and/or steering wheel radio control , if equipped. in its october 5, 2004 letter to nhtsa, daimler/chrysler stated that it will conduct a safety recall and replace the clocks prying assembly on all the 1998--2000 daimler/chrysler minivans, built between march 1998 and august 2000 with 70,000 miles or less. ialso, t will provide a lifetime warranty for the 1998.5-2000 minivans, regardless of mileage. the details of the corrective action ere described in daimlerchrysler's letter . see recall 04v480000. the agency believed that further expenditure of agency resources did not appear to be warranted. the closing of this investigation did not constitute a finding by nhtsa that no safety-related defect existed with respect to those vehicles covered only by the lifetime warranty. the agency will take further action if warranted by the circumstances. see page 2 for additional information. *ak

incident #3 this is the third time my car instrument panel did this under 25,000 miles. i was driving down the road and i can see that i am actually moving but none of my instruments are. none of them move all the while the car door ajar lights are on so after checking the doors 3-4 times i just drove on as they were clearly closed . fueled up the car and restarted. instruments all a go .sometimes it takes overnight before the panel works again. airbag light has been on for 6 months and check engine light is always popping on and off . how will i know if the van is really is danger of breaking down , or perhaps running out of gas as this van has cried wolf too many times .i will never know if a problem really exist . i consider this a major safety issue . i have received an airbag recall, so that's one down but when will they recall the whole instrument panel it is either shutting completely down or popping up check engine light . i have taken this car in for this check engine light several times. they just say " maybe you didn't put the lid on the gas tank right" . so at one time that lid was replaced. i am not under warranty any longer but i don't like the idea of driving down the interstate with 4 kids and not knowing how fast iam going or if i am running out of gas. like i said before the instrument panel just not working at all is a major defect . iam not sure but i think the system is corrupt. planning to trade if action is not taken in the near future. i pay for a reliable car and that's not what iam getting . i hope there are others who have had this experience so that the instrument panel will be recalled. *tr

Almost 1 year after buying the car the dash and lights began to flicker, then flicker to the point it would loose power. while driving, lights would function like strobe lights, visually outside and inside. the radio would cut on and off. i took the vehicle back to carmax and they replaced the battery. the car would work a couple of weeks and then started with same problem. we returned vehicle back to carmax and they forward vehicle to dodge. they replace both the alternator and valve assembly @ a cost of $236.49. this time it lasted several weeks longer but return back to same problem. we took vehicle back to carmax, they only experienced minor flickering that they said was normal. our vehicle has now gotten far worst than before and has almost caused accidents by shutting off or loosing power while driving then suddenly accelerating. vehicle now cuts off unexpectedly while driving and/or looses power then suddenly accelerates while driving making it very dangerous to drive. we have no idea what to do, please help. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 dodge caravan. while driving 55 mph in dry conditions the front strut failed and the contact lost control of the vehicle. the driver side front tire was punctured and began to smoke without warning. the vehicle was towed to a dealer. the current and failure mileages were 26,000. *ak the consumer experienced an electrical problems with headlights. updated 05/04/07. 8jb

Tl*- the contact owns a 2005 dodge caravan. the contact's vehicle has been in the repair shop 5 times for electrical failures. while driving at 65 mph the warning indicator lights began to flash. the contact's exterior lights also began to flash while driving. the vehicle has been at the repair shop since december 15, 2006. the mechanic and a dodge technician made several unsuccessful attempts to diagnose the vehicle. the contact was the second owner, and was advised by the attorney general that per the lemon law it only applied to the original owner, and the mileage must not exceed 20,000. the vehicle was purchased on july 31, 2006. the service manager also observed the failure. *ak updated 03/07/07. *jb

The power locks do not work, and the air bag light is on. when taken to a service center they could not find the problem but my locks still do not work. *jb

I have had to replace the airbag sensors or my airbags could have deployed! i have a 2005 dodge caravan sxt. the brakes and rotors for this vehicle are bad to they have had to been replaced and this was costly! *nm

Defective sway bar at 28,000 miles-dealership stated it is normal with this year of caravans & that i don't have to have replaced lights would not shut off or turn on with manual operation - when the vehicle is off for a long time the lights turn on for no reason at all. we have replaced the lightbulbs on 3 different occasions fuse keeps on blowing in engine at 32,000 miles, 34,000 miles and 39,050 miles. electronic windows, door locks, automatic side door no longer operate at 41,000 miles. excessive corrosion around battery every 4,000 miles paid to have cleaned 5 times and they say my battery is fine other than the corrosion build up. *tr

On this date it was the second occurrence when my 2005 dodge caravan lost power while i was driving down the street at about 30 miles an hour. i was able to pull over safely and immediately restarted the car. but i had no power steering or brakes. i took it to the car dealer since it happened a second time and i no longer considered it a fluke. they ran a diagnostic test and no sensor or computer recorded anything. so they told me it could be one of a thousand reasons the computer turned off the car and wait until it happened more frequently so the sensor will register it. then if it happens more frequently they will be able to trace it. however, i am driving a car with only 10,000 miles on it that at any moment could simply stop running. i am very concerned about being rear ended by cars that don't expect a car to simply stop on the road. also, i travel up and down a hill every day to home and back. how am i supposed to stop it without brakes? i consider this to be an accident waiting to happen. fortunately, i was in a turn lane and no one was following right behind me the first two times. *nm

I own a 2005 dodge caravan and the power locks quit working, the horn blows and the lights blink when you push the keyless button but the locks don't lock or unlock. this is very dangerous as the kids in the back can open the doors and we think they are locked. i have asked the dodge garage about a fix and am told it needs a computer flash fix or something for $130.00. this is a safety issue and should be recalled and fixed by the manufacturer. also the doors no longer lock when the speed reaches 20 mph. *tr

Dt: contact owns a 2005 dodge caravan. on 10-11-05 was driving home from a trip when the airbag warning light came on. took it to the dealer the next day, the vehicle was put on a machine where they found that the sensors and the wiring harness were defective. this was located on the passenger's side. the one on the left side which was the driver's side was not fixed. the contact felt that the manufacturer should pay to have the driver's side sensors and the wiring fixed at no charge to the contact because they also were defective. *ak

Dt: the consumer drove the vehicle 600 miles before noticing that there was no horn. this was on 8-9-05. the vehicle was a rental. it was rented on august 7, 2005. the consumer took the vehicle to a dealership in the area where she was on a trip. he told her that the wire to the horn was clipped. on the return trip she noticed that the air bag warning light flickered on and off. this was on 8-15-05. she returned the vehicle to the rental company. *ak *nm

I have had a miss fire from the engine since i bought it. taken it back to the dealer for service and had the pcm reprogramed, trans serviced and still the problem persists. now the check engine light is on again and the trouble code are saying bad plug-wire or coil pack. last time it went in they said it was a bad plug and wire on cyl. 4.

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 dodge caravan. she was unable to open or close the sliding door using the remote control. the dealer was unable to diagnose the failure. the dealer inspected the vehicle on three occasions. however, they were still unable to diagnose the failure. six months later all of the lights on the instrument panel were not operating normally. the dealer stated that the body modular control needed to be replaced. a year and a half later she experienced the same failure. the dealer was unable to diagnose the failure. the failure mileage was 800, and the current mileage was 17,000. *ak

Lights go out by themselves , parking lights & dash lights wont turn off. suspect it to be a defective light switch. *js

Tl* -the contact stated that the transmission in the 2005 dodge caravan has been replaced at 17,000 miles and 34,000 miles. the vehicle currently has an odometer reading of 48,000 miles. also, the contact stated vehicle experienced electrical problems. he was traveling on a highway at approximately 25 mph. the road conditions were snowy. the contact stated he lost all power to the vehicle. the interior and exterior lights went out on the vehicle, there were no warning indicators. the contact stated he was able to safely pull over and after a few minutes the vehicle restarted. this happened after 34,000 miles. *ak