Problems with 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

I bought the vehicle in august 2002 with 15250 miles. had the vehicle in for warranty repairs on 12/2002, 1/2003, 3/2003, 4/2003, 5/2003 - 6/2003, again 6/2003, 12/2003, 3/2004 motor blew. vehicle has 45,000 miles and a blown motor. dodge refuses to repair the vehicle. they tell me its due to lack of maintenance and then failed to ask me for maintenance records. the service dealership is gathering my service records to present to the district manager to try to change his mind. vehicle is a lemon but because of the mileage, fails to fall under the lemon law. dodge wants me to pay $5500 for a new motor. don't think i should based on the vehicle history. please help!!! *jb

On february 8, 2004, herman lino, co owner of car, called me to report some trouble with the dodge caravan. the red light came on and the cruise control light also came on. he pulled over to the side and felt that the engine was warm. he opened the hood and saw some smoke which he thought may have been from an overheated engine. i told him, by phone, to add some coolant to the radiator. he purchased a container but the radiator only took 1/2 of the container. after a while, the red light and cruise light went off so he started the car to drive home which was about 2 miles away. as he ascended a slight incline, he saw smoke coming out of both sides of the hood, more from the driver's side. he immediately stopped the car, turned off the engine and stepped out to the front of the car. he opened the hood and something immediately burst into flame. the flame was about 5-10 ft high. herman said it looked like a house on fire. he stepped back when another explosion erupted. police and firemen converged on t he scene and after things cooled down, an inspection was made. a report from the fire dept was issued. the fire erupted about 8pm. the car was towed to ace towing about 5 miles away from the scene the car had less than 15,000 miles, is in good shape and had regular service at the dodge dealer. the entire engine was burned and needs replacement. there's a large hole in the windshield when the fire entered the vehicle. top of the dashboard sustained melting and damage. front seats, upholstery incurred little damage. the ceiling of the van shows soot marks. this vehicle had it's original battery. there was only one driver . owners had no otc coverage. please tell me what i need to do to get some assistance to replace or repair the car. it is an ims vehicle. it appears that it is a company defect. i have the car here on my premises. mrs. p. caindec. *ak

Serpentine belt keeps slipping off the main drive.. have had into the shop 4times for same problem. dealer said it is a moisture/snow hitting the belt off.*ak

While driving at 45 mph serpentine broke. this is the fourth time such an occurance has happened with components related to this system. each repair averages 250-300 dollars. this poses a risk to us as as a family as the vehicle fails without warning, in a highway this could prove disastrous. *ak

While driving 35 mph in the rain consumer noticed that check engine light came on. a few seconds later vehicle lost control, and consumer nearly had an accident. vehicle was towed to a dealer, who found that the serpentine belt had slipped out of the pulleys. *ak

Serpintine belt tensioner broke on 2000 dodge grand caravan requiring vehicle to be towed to dealer for repairs.

Ac failed cooling. unit has lost its freon charge. unit was rechardeg and dye installed to locate leak. leak was foung in front evaporator. was advised core leak, not a copper to alum joint, but through aluminum part of core. appeared to be deteriorated by acid. other involves three failures on battery on this vehicle. the original, a replacement installed in oct 2001 and that failed this july 2003.

I just found this web site. and never realized how many people have had the same problems. my first problem was when my 3 year old daughter drove my car on the neighbors lawn because you do not need to step on the brake to pull it out of gear. i then looked in the owner manual which stated it was equipped with that feature. i have contacted everyone i could and no one is willing to help or solve this problem. my next incident was when my serpentine belt broke which caused my power steering pump and pulley to break and had parts dangling. thank goodness i was in my driveway. i have had my brakes done 3 times, and my latest problem was my heater core and there was water leaking inside my car. i wish someone could help i paid a lot of money for this car! *nlm

Consumer states that while driving at any speed and without warning, the vehicle will off, which caused the consumer to pull over. dealer notified. *ak before the consumer received the letter, the vehicle shut down again. *scc *jb

Serpentine belt slipped off of idler pulley. belt wrapped around crankshaft pulley, which made the timing belt slip. power steering failed, causing my 18 year old son to find a place to pull over. engine failed due to timing out of sequence.*ak cost to repair: $460 for timing belt replacement. belt failed a second time. idler pulley was replaced for $260.

Serpentine belt came off every time consumer hit a puddle. the belt came off four times, and was being serviced again.*ak

Freezer plugs in engine are rusting out which resulted in engine overheating. dealer has been contacted. please provide any furhter information.*ak

While driving 25 mph, the power steering went out, dealer determined the belt tensioner bolt had sheared off causing engine to loosen up. *jb *yd

Speedometer erratic whilde driving freeway speeds. the speedometer will jump to 120 causing the engine to stall if the need is not released. this happen on the freeway and had to coast over to the emergancy lane "imediatly" . the cause was the rss speed sensor (203 c 4800879 and the outpu rss speed sensor 204 c) this is a major safty issue when it stall on the freeway with my family in the minivan. this should not have been a repair payed for by the consumer for faulty design! *ak

Consumer states that the serpentine belt have broken and replace for the third time while driving, the problem is reoccurring for the fourth time. dealer notified. nlm

While driving, vehicle lost power and then caught on fire in the engine compartment, claim 46-0518-766. *slc

It is difficult to maintain steering control of the vehicle, the vehicle could not be directed when power steering failed, this occurred more frequently while traveling at low speeds and making a turn, an independent mechanic replaced power steering pump and rack and pinion which corrected the problem. *ak *slc

Engine dies in right hand turns of 2 degrees or more with or without cruise engaged. *ak

The 3/8 inch fastener that connects the serpentine belt tensioner failed. it appears to be a clean shear near the base of the bolt. this happened as the vehicle was being backed into a garage and nearly stopped. as a result of this failure, the power steering was rendered non-functional. it is my firm belief that if this failure had occured while moving, a serious accident would have resulted. the failed component has been replaced ans saved for any future evaluation of the failure mechanism. when this problem was reported to the dealer, indications were that this has happened several times in the recent past.*ak

While driving vehicle had a strong odor which smellled like coolant coming from vehicle. when consumer lifted hood odor got stronger. also, odor was making occupants of vehicle feel sick to point of nausea. contacted dealer, and dealer couldn't find cause of problem. *ak

Crankshaft was leaking oil. seals had to be replaced due to amount of oil that was leaking. technician did not know wath caused leakage.*ak

Transmission oil was leaking from where the solenoid pack had to be replaced, also, engine oil gasket pan had to be replaced. *ak *slc

Year 2000 dodge grand caravan rejected in emissions testing with on-board computer. van computer cannot communicate with emissions testing computer. emissions center noted chrysler service bulletin 18-10-00 and suggested dealer service for "re-flashing" at owner expense. i had attempted to be proactive before testing upon hearing of other complaints on same issue by contacting chrysler and alexander dodge (dealer). chrysler initially denied knowledge of any emissions problems. after the dealer confirmed a problem and stated there is only a 50/50 chance the van will pass emissions and after i obtained the service bulletin #, only then did chrysler say there was an issue but they refused to tell me about it unless i provided them with a visa or mastercard number. i am amazed that chrysler is not standing by their product or customers. they want me to pay them so they can tell me about their problem with their vehicle and then they want me to pay them to fix their problem. if chrysler knows there is a problem, the dealer knows there is a problem, and customers cannot get emissions testing or renew vehicle tags, then what can be done about chrysler not assisting the consumer?*ak

Year 2000 dodge grand caravan - serpentine belt tensioner failed resulting in shredded belt and towing. van had only approximately 47,500 miles. repaired at goodyear for approx. $200 (including new belt) who indicated this is a common problem such that the dodge dealer had more than 15 in stock. fortunately this occurred near a police station where my wife got assistance (since steering, etc. had no power and not on the highway or rush hour traffic which would have been hazardous. i have also read other complaints from owners with this same issue. *ak

Dt: the contact stated there have been numerous electrical problems which resulted in the dashboard panel lights flashing on and off while driving. she took the vehicle to a dealer for multiple attempts to correct this problem. also, there was a leak within the roof, resulting in damage to the carpeting. there is a slashing sound within the roof compartment after a heavy rain. the carpet has been replaced five times, and the television was replaced once as a result of the leak. *ak. updated 11/30/2005 - glazed serpentine belt caused grinding noise when turning. the left middle seat head rest came loose from the guide rod. the door sticks and the siding door makes noise when opening. the rear window rattles when opened. the fog lihjt are ionpertive. the horn spunded weak because the keyless entry remote needed to be reprogrammed. the tail light had moisture in it. the locking gas cap was hard to open. the rear tire had a slow leak. *nm