Problems with 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

I was driving eastbound on the 10 fwy , about 40mph and in the first lane because i had just got on freeway about 1 1/2 ago and while i was driving i felt the peddle lose power so i tried to accelerate by pushing a little harder and i felt the car gaining no speed only slowing down then i look at gauges and all gauges were non functional as if the car was off, it was then that i noticed i had no control in steering either the car was just completely died. as i coasted to a stop just a little between the first lane and emergency lane i was able to put the car into park, quickly, and turn the key back to the on position as then i also noticed the key was not in on position. very scary and that's the whole reason i started to look into this matter and found out about this recall. i will provide vin number upon request if needed. feel free to contact me at the number provided below. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 dodge caravan. the contact stated while driving approximately 25 mph, the engine stalled without warning. the contact restarted the vehicle but the failure recurred multiple times. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnosis of the failure. the technician diagnosed that the crank shaft sensor had malfunctioned. the vehicle was repaired. however, the failure recurred. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 56,000. the vin was unavailable.

2008 dodge grand caravan. consumer requests reimbursement for wireless ignition node module detents recall repairs. *smd the consumer stated the vehicle shut off, while in the midst of driving. the crankshaft position sensor was replaced. *jb

We are a used car dealership that recently bought a 2008 dodge grand caravan with 118,000 miles on it. a customer was driving the vehicle when the incident occurred. after the vehicle was driven approximately 5 miles and placed in their garage, the customer noticed some smoke/steam coming from the vents. the customer assumed it was associated with the air conditioning and went into the house only to return a moment later to check on the van and at that time noticed a massive amount of smoke coming from the vehicle. the customer quickly backed the van out of the garage, turned it off and called the fire department. by the time the fire department made the brief trip to the customers' house, the van was completely burnt. there is some damage to the siding on the house as well. luckily no one was injured and the customer was able to get the van out of the garage. everything is completely burnt in the van-even the glass curled and melted because of the heat. chrysler has been made aware of the issue. *tr

There was a smell of hot coolant anytime we were driving. i took it to the dealer and they said there was bad connection on the heater hose assembly and it would be $525 to fix. upon investigation in the dodge forums, this is an issue that is happening on a regular basis due to the heater hoses being directly above the exhaust collector and is causing the rubber to fail and thus causing coolant leaks. best case is it smells when the coolant is leaking on the exhaust, worst case is people are getting stranded due to overheating. dodge claims this is not covered under warranty. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 dodge grand caravan. while parked, the contact noticed that the check engine light was illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the technician advised that the egr valve would have to be replaced but informed the contact that the part was on a galactic backorder. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 79,650.

In december of 2011, we decided to check the oil in our 2008 dodge grand caravan because the sound of the motor seemed to have changed. the van seemed to be running a little louder. we checked the oil, and sure enough there was no oil on the stick. we didn't know what happened to the oil. we wasn't sure if it leaked or burned. we brought the vehicle into the dealership. they asked if we noticed the oil leaking, we said no. they said in situations like these we document the mileage and top the oil off and have you come back up to 1000 miles later. so we did. we did this several times. the dealership admitted this shouldn't be occurring and the vehicle is definitely burning too much oil. they kept the van made a claim with nac our van warranty company to pay for expenses of repair, and nac sent back a report saying chrysler vehicles are expected to burn up to a quart to a quart and a half of oil for every 750 miles driven. so they sent us away without repairs. literally less than a week and about 550 miles later we were back at the dealership with more than 2 quarts of oil documented being burned. the dealership kept our van for repairs again...the warranty refused to pay for repairs and we are driving the van as is...im not sure of the safety issues but im sure there are many that can be assessed. i've searched the web and we are not the only consumers who are having this problem. we carry our family of seven to and from school etc and the purpose of newer vehicles are to ensure safety and eliminate worries of problems. please help. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 dodge grand caravan. the contact was driving 70 mph when the vehicle stalled. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and the current mileages were 58,000.

The problem with the vehicle is stalling. this has occurred 5 times in the past 6 weeks. 2 of the times the minivan stalled while traveling at 65 mph. 2 times the vehicle stalled while driving locally. the dealer has been unable to fix the defect. this is a very dangerous condition. when the minivan stalls on the highway all you can do is coast to the shoulder. thankfully, no one has gotten hurt yet. *tr

When unlocking the van, the horn starting blowing and the windshield wipers started going. after driving a few blocks, the van went into 2nd gear at 4000 rpm. a mile later, the engine cut off while driving down the road and i barely got off the road in traffic. a few weeks before this the heater did not work one evening. following that incident there was an episode of the horn blowing, windshield wipers going, and the washer fluid emptied. there have been about 10 incidents similar to these. the first incident was in a parking lot. when i returned to the car from shopping, it was obvious that the windshield wipers had turned themself on. it took 15 minutes for the incident of horn blowing and windshield wipers and washer fluid going to clear itself. disconnecting the battery did not make the horn and windshield wipers stop concerned about van stopping while driving. this is a serious safety issue. *tt

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 dodge grand caravan. the contact stated that after taking her vehicle for inspection she was advised that there was a leak in the coolant system. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and offered no assistance. the failure mileage was approximately 50,400.

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 dodge grand caravan. the contact stated the temperature gauge displayed that the vehicle had overheated. the contact checked the vehicle and observed fluid leaking. the vehicle had to cool down before it could be taken to the dealer. the dealer replaced the heating and air conditioner hose. the contact stated the failure was a manufacturers defect because the hose was in a metal casing. the current mileage was 76,320.

This is an on going problem with our mini van. the vehicle shuts itself off for no apparent reason while in gear. we have the win module replaced as has been recalled in new models, but this did not fix the problem. as a family we are concerned for our safety while driving this vehicle. internet research has turned up clues that chrysler knows there is a problem and is refusing to act on a solution.

While driving our 2008 dodge grand caravan sxt with a 4.0 engine the engine just stalls while driving and the vehicle loses all power, brakes and steering! this has happened 2 times in the past 2 weeks. the speed of the vehicle does not matter. the dealer said they had not heard of this before and i should check the battery. no codes come on and the battery is fine, along with all other electronics. *tr

The van has shut off while driving approximately 7 times in the last year. the engine shuts off and there is no power to the brakes or steering. there are no error lights that display on the dash. once the car is stopped and placed in park the engine is able to be restarted. there is a big safety concern when this happens. it appears that there is a recall on a similiar issue on the 2010 caravan with the vehicle shutting off while driving. i have also researched the problem and found that there have been alot of the same complaints from consumers owning a 2008 dodge grand caravan. is there going to be a recall on my van for this problem? thank you *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2008 dodge grand caravan. the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic for a yearly inspection, and the contact was advised that the engine power pressure hose was leaking fluid. the manufacturer filed a report and stated that her vehicle was not included in the recall for the power pressure hose replacement. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 65,037 and the current mileage was 68.545.

When key is inserted into the ignition and turned, the vehicle does not start. the starter makes a click sound but does not turn over. several attempts turning the key are needed to start the vehicle. sometimes after trying 5-10 tries with no start, pulling the key out and reinserting or opening the driver door with the key removed will start the vehicle. eventually, the car will start normally. first it seemed to happen on after the engine was hot or hot outside 85 or hotter, but it got worse. i took it to the dealer, i told them i checked the starter solenoid and it wasn't reading 12 volts when van wouldn't start only reading under 5 volts, when the van would start it would read about 10 volts. the first trip to the dealer they replaced a starter motor, with in two days it happened again, they replaced the starter motor again with moper brand starter motor. this still did not fix the problem. i switch the battery with my other car to confirm not battery. still van has starting problems. i was able to leave van with dealer for a week, they couldn't reproduce the problem, but when i got in the van all the electronics were turned off, radio, ac.. that was not an accurate test. the van still has intermittent starting problems. when winter came the starting problems stopped. but this spring and summer is almost here the starting problem has occurred again. we don't if the van will start or leave us stranded.

Tl*the contact owned a dodge grand caravan xlt. while the vehicle was parked the contact noticed white smoke coming out of the hood of the vehicle near the windshield. a passenger attempted to move the vehicle and black smoke was on the outside and inside of the vehicle. fire was on the ground and the flames were 5 feet tall. she was able to extinguish the flames with cans of soda. the consumers husband jumped in the vehicle to back it up and as he did, the vehicle lost all power. the passenger stated that four trees and the grass caught fire. the fire department was called and the vehicle exploded. a neighbor extinguished the fire in the trees and grass; however, the vehicle continued to burn. a sheriff and fire department report were filed. the contact stated that no one was injured. since she had a heart condition, a paramedic came and gave her oxygen. the vehicle was destroyed. the approximate failure and current mileages were 25,000. updated evoq 09/20/10 prior to the fire, the air conditioner cruise control and read passenger door stopped working. updated evoq 11/09/10*jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 dodge grand caravan. the contact stated that the vehicle would intermittently stall while driving various speeds. in addition, the vehicle would not always immediately restart. the vehicle was taken to various authorized dealers and numerous different repairs were performed. the failure continued. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. the failure mileage was 70,000.

Air conditioner failed prematurely, at this time the car has 45,000 the failure must have happened before 40,000. cooling a/c is not working, blowing warm air. looking online found many 08 grand caravan owners with same complaints. car after warranty will cost $135 to inspect and refill. i asked the dealer to pressure check the hoses for leaks, they said they will do a color dye check on the a/c system hoses. brakes were done at 12,000 miles failed again at 35,000, this time i am not going to have the dealer fix it, i am ordering reybestos hybrid rotors and advanced performance brake pads. warning - dodge oem brakes and rotors are pos, do not let dodge install them. i am also considering replacing the calipers with reworked caliper from another source. horrible noise from rear brakes, when driving and the brake is not engaged. slight right turns also cause squeaks/grind noise that sound like its coming from rear. when brake is engaged the noise stops. *tr

Making a left turn out of the parking lot of my child's parking lot, the vehicle engine stalled with no power. i had to stop where i was since it was hard to steer. put it in park and started the vehicle. it drove normally after with no error codes but was a dangerous situation in full morning traffic. took it to the dealer but they were not able to reproduce it.

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 dodge grand caravan. the contact stated that while driving, the vehicle was leaking water from the cooling system and overheating. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who stated that hoses for the cooling system needed to be replaced. there were no recalls addressing the failure. the manufacturer was notified and advised the contact to inform nhtsa. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 58,000. the vin was unavailable.

Air conditioning blowing hot air. since 09/10/09, i have had the air conditioner repaired five times.the last repair on o5/21/13 i'm tired of the expense that i can't afford anymore being a retired 73 yr. old widow. i put minimum miles on the van . the mileage to date(06/18/13) is only 29247. *tr

2008 dodge grand caravan. consumer states there have been five recalls for her vehicle and had problems before the recalls were announced. she would like to terminate her lease early. *kb in june 2009, the vehicle needed new front brake pads and rotors at only 15,000 and again in august 2010. in the spring, the vehicle had no air condition. the dealer informed the consumer the part was manufactured too short and froze during the winter, which caused fluid to leak out. the problem was resolved after 3 weeks. in june 2010, the same hose ruptured and again the consumer was left with no a/c. the radiator cap had to be repaired which was why the consumer had to keep adding coolant. the washer fluid sensor was not working and needed to be replaced. in august 2010, the power sliding door stopped functioning for days. when the consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, they were unable to find a problem. however, two months later a recall was issued. the consumer stated she also experienced power failures with the vehicle. each time the problem occurred the engine would run, but nothing else in the vehicle worked, such as the windows, locks, windshield wipers and interior lights etc. the problem was sporadic and each time the consumer went to the dealer, they were unable to find any problems. *jb

I bought the car on nov. 2008 , new from mccune dodge, and for the last year the car has stall on 4 different times, haven't been able to duplicate the problem at the dealer , no sensor light comes on, also have been having different issues with emergency brake pad, the shift gear , interiors light on center-map lights flicker constantly and rear dome. *tr

Brand new 2008 grand caravan sxt engine fire. vehicle was purchased brand new and is three weeks old. total miles on vehicle 834. engine fire engulfed whole vehicle for a total loss. *tr

I have a 2008 dodge grand caravan. i purchased the vehicle in june 2008 with 16,xxx miles on it. i have put less than 4,000 miles on the vehicle. 1) the vehicle first failed to start in the first part of july, called chrysler to come for a boost as it appear battery had gone out, when service arrived in parking lot at work, the vehicle started. i drove the vehicle to gator chrysler in melbourne, they could not find anything wrong with the vehicle. 2) vehicle would not start (believe the date was july 30th). vehicle was taken to gator chrysler again but had error codes they could follow. the vehicle would not start again until they put in a watch spring which they were certain that the vehicle was fixed. 3) vehicle was being driven down a dark road at approximately 9pm when vehicle completely lost all power and shut the engine off and all electrical without any warning and would not restart. manager of service at gator would not contact the chrysler representative as he believes all rights were lost as i had purchased a used vehicle. the fact that i purchased a used vehicle does not constitute it being ok for the entire vehicle to shut-down without warning and risk the loss of lives. i cannot believe this to be an isolated case with just this van and if so, shouldn't it then fall under the lemon law. *tr

2008 dodge grand caravan shuts down. the consumer stated at random times, the dashboard lights would illuminate, indicating an engine malfunction. soon after, the vehicle would cut off. *nj