Alternator/generator/regulator Problems of Dodge Caravan - part 1

The driver side window fell into the door when the button was pushed to raise the window. Motor and regulator stopped working for no reason. The vehicle was stationary at the time.

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The contact owns a 2011 Dodge Caravan. While driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle shook and a grinding noise was heard. The contact smelled a burning rubber odor when attempting to apply the brakes. The vehicle suddenly stalled. The failure occurred several times. The contact took the vehicle to the carmax dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission, tipm, alternator, and battery failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failures recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failures. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 59,000.

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While driving this car about three minutes all the dash warning lights came on and the car's lights dimmed. The motor and transmission seemed to labor and the engine quit. I pulled over onto a grass area off of the roadway. Called for a tow and had the alternator replaced. The cost to repair was $584. 57.

2014 grand Caravan. Consumer writes in regards to engine compartment annoying sounds, bracket installation to eliminate the noise, alternator replaced, water and oil pump replaced. Dealership still unable to repair engine noise issue.

When the alternator is bad the car will go off in the midst of driving in motion on a city street. I was unable to use the hazard light or tell the cars behind me that I was in trouble, the key gets stuck in the ignition. You are just stopped wherever you are. My family could have died it cut off in the middle of the street.

Tl-the contact owns a 2005 Dodge Caravan. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, the dash board lights and the exterior head lamps 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, however, the alternator was deemed to be faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, however the failure was still unable to be determined. The contact was told that the battery may be faulty and needed to be replaced. The battery was replaced, the abs and brake light warning indicators were no longer illuminated but the dash panel lights and exterior head lamps still flickered. The vehicle was not taken back to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 146,000. Sw.

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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.

I began having trouble with my right front window not rolling down. Then head lights began to flash on and off. I disconnected the battery first negative then positive removed ecm and cleaned all pins on ecm and the socket it plugs into using electronic parts cleaner. I waited for the socket and pins to dry before replacing the ecm and reconnecting the power. Problem resolved itself for a while. Now all problems came back and the battery light came on. Replaced the battery and alternator. The problem went away for a week now all problems came back and vehicle is unable to be driven. I believe there is a problem with the ecm's made for this vehicle. There are many reports of people having the same issues and no recalls. I believe that the ecm is causing many problems since all 3 issues are controlled by the ecm unit.

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This vehicle has a chronic design problem with throwing its sepentine belt whenever the tension pulley gets wet. Soon as the belt is thrown there is no power steering, and it steers 10 times worse than a mack truck. The lack of steering is a definite safety hazard to every other vehicle on the road. As it happens suddenly by driving through a water puddle, etc. There is virtually no time to react. In addition to lack of steering there is no alternator output, resulting in rapid battery drain. Also there is no coolant system fan resulting in rapid engine overheating. This design fault has been known for well over a decade, no make that 2 decades, but Chrysler has never acknowledged a problem. The problem dates back to all Chrysler Mini-van designs from the early 1990s to at least 2000. If the lack of steering is not a safety related defect I don't know what is. We have a used wheelchair conversion Caravan van to transport my wife. This latest incident was the past Saturday night as we left a restaurant to return home. It had been raining profusely and suddenly I had no steering. I knew immediately what the problem was since this is the 3rd occurence in the past 6 months. Do you expect your vehicle to become inoperable just because you drive in the rain? why has not Chrysler been made to acknowledge this problem and issue a repair recall? I don't care if the van is over a decade old. This defect is one which endangers everyone else on the road and which Chrysler should have been required to address well over a decade ago.

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Serpentine belt slips off in the rain causing a loss in power steering, ac (for window defogging), power (no alternator when headlights are on during rain). When it slipped off, the ability to correct for loss of traction due to water was reduced due to lack of power steering and the windshield fogged up quickly due to the loss of the ac compressor. Slid of the interstate and slid down the median. Multiple other instances of belt slipping off (4 times in past 3 days), though at lower rates of speed. Dodge denies there is an issue even though there are many reports on the internet relating to this problem. It is also interesting that they now sell a upgrade kit that changes out the two non-grooved pulleys for grooved ones and add a belt with grooves on both sides. They said that they would only fix this problem when enough people reported the problem.

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Most times, when I try to turn on my headlamps at night they do not turn on when I turn the switch. It usually takes me anywhere from 10 to 20 turns to get the headlamps to turn on and sometimes they will come on only for a few seconds and then turn back off. Often, while I am in motion at night, the headlights will simply turn off for no apparent reason but I have noticed that it seems to happen more when the alternator or fans start or when I am at a low rpm and then I have to pull over and try to get the lights back on. I have also noticed that when the vehicle is parked and all switches are off, the lights will turn on and off randomly. I have tried to locate a fuse and/or relay several times but do not know where to find those. . . They are not in the fuse relay center under the hood. This problem only effects the headlamps, the tail lights, front marker lights, brake lights, and turn signals all work fine I have also found numerous posts on different websites complaining about the same exact problem.

Our belts sips off during wet weather"five times we replaced the "s" belt and the tensioners,waterpump,overheating our 2nd yr of owership. Now the 3rd yr of transmissions leaking,the abs light came on while driving at 35mph w/children in car ,starting to brake causing to slow way down in traffic and made a chime sound,the horn went off and it got hot fast causing the car to shut down. Thank god there was room to get over. All the lights were flickering all over the dashboard. The car just leaks everywhere,water,oil,trans. Something needs to be done about these cars. I cant even get mine smog because I have to keep unplugging my battery because now we have a short in the electrical system somewhere. I brought a lemon. . . . . Oh yeah! I called the dealer, they cant replace the cruise control unless the abs light stays on. I hope I don't die cause the airbags wont work because I have a electrical shortage. 2 batteries were replaced,alternator too. The clockspring wont work for my car only the cruise control so said the dealer. I would feel bad selling this car to a family ,cause what if they were killed. I couldn't deal with that. The day that happened was on my daughter 16th birthday. I had to stop everywhere all day to put water in the radiator just to keep it cool enough not to ruin her day. I hate hot days,I fear the rainy days, I cant see at night cause my headlights on the left side burned out and the covers has a glass over them.

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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.

Alternator belt came off, all power to vehicle was lost.

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The contact owns a 1996 Dodge Caravan. While driving in inclement weather conditions, water, or with the air conditioner activated, the vehicle temporarily loses control. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and they stated that the serpentine belt slipped off. No warning lights illuminated at the time of the failure. The vehicle was repaired approximately five times, however, the failures recurred two months later. The manufacturer was unable to provide assistance. The speed was unknown. The failure mileage was 119,000 and current mileage was 135,000. Updated 01-23-08. The dealer stated upper radiator loose, loose clamps, front brake pads, belt tensioner, oxygen sensor, and alternator bracket. Updated 01/23/08.

: the contact stated while driving 55mph the check battery light illuminated. The light illuminated for ten minutes, and then the engine stalled. The vehicle was pulled off the side of the road without incident. A new battery was installed; it stayed charged for two days then failed. The vehicle has not been inspected by the dealership, but the contact stated the alternator caused the batteries to fail.

Took my 2003 Dodge Caravan in for an oil changes and was informed by the dealership (after hearing a knocking noise) that the followings things need to be replaced on the van that on has 51,000 miles on steering rack and front sway bar bushings along with the alternator and belt.

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: the contact stated there was a knocking sound coming from the driver's side of the vehicle. This happened every time the vehicle was driven over a bump in the road. It was taken to the dealership for maintenance and the noise was inspected. They recommended replacement of the alternator, rack and pinion steering, and sway bar bushings. Due to the low mileage on the vehicle the contact was seeking a second opinion before making any repairs.

While driving on the interstate under normal conditions, the alternator bracket broke and the adjustment bolt, broke. This is the 2nd time, was replaced with oem parts just over a year ago. Was replaced at the dealer, while under extended warranty coverage.

Puncture in gasoline tank and defective bearing in alternator. The brakes were in need of replacement as well.

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Serpentine belt slipping. I have owned several year models of Caravan and have found this problem to be constant with all. During rain or other water on the road condition, the serpentine belt slips enough to interfere with vehicle operations until the water is displaced from the belt. If a driver is not paying close attention or is using the cruise control at the time, the driver could lose control of the power steering, electrical problems with the alternator, or lose of engine power to the drive axles. This item should be studied and remedied to prevent future occurrences. If the fix can be retrofitted to previous years, the manufacturer should provide the repairs at no cost to the owner. This condition began with the purchase date through today. This problem is not contained to one engine size.

On my wife's 1998 Dodge Caravan, the idler serpentine belt tensioner arm completely broke off causing alot of noise under the hood, loss of power steering, and loss of alternator battery recharge. It also caused some damage to the other pulleys. I've owned many cars and this has never happened on other makes. This is a safety hazard that can leave anybody in the middle of no where.

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I only have 35,000 miles on this car and of course the warranty is expired. And all of a sudden, the car acts like it has 135,000 miles on it. This has already cost me over $200 to repair brakes because of rotors, not bad brakes. Now I need $1000 head gasket work. Starter only seems to start when it wants to. Very temporamental. What is going on here that a 35,000 mile car would have so much wrong so soon. Dt.

While driving alternator bracket cracked, causing loss of steering and brake power. This was as a result of a design flaw. Bracket is very brittle, a bolt also had fallen out, as reported by dealer.

While driving on the road under normal conditions, the alternator bracket broke along with the adjustment bolt, causing the belt to come off. The mechanic explained that he type of material that the bracket was made of was a weak material, very brittle.

This vehicle has gone through 5 alternator/power steering belts (serpentine) and 3 belt tensioners over a period from 1/30/98 (12,858 miles) to 9/29/00 (39,761 miles). This seems to be far too many problems from this component and could be a safety hazard if it fails while driving (no power steering).

Vehicle experienced fire in the alternator/ignition system, claim 18-0315-533.

Starter failed causing the vehicle to not start on first try during cold weather. Nlm.

Consumer states that engine makes loud noise and it idles erratically, vehicle has stalled while travelling 60 mph, on one occasion, dealer found that a piston had failed, however problem still exist. Brakes squealed, dealer cleaned and sanded pads and rotors. Vehicle shook at speeds above 70 mph, dealer balanced and rotated tires. Consumer smelled strong odors through the ventilation system. Passenger side sliding door inoperable. Alternator belt came apart. Accelerator rattles. Vehicle experiences deceleration. Carpet buckles.

Starter wire shorted out and started a fire inside under the hood, fire department came and has a report. Dealer contacted and repair work done, vehicle under warranty.

Alternator belt failed.

Fuel filler neck of tank assmbly needs to be replaced due to leakage, cause unknown. Alternator failed. Parking brake pedal keeps falling off.

While driving the vehicle engine shuts down at low and high speeds. The dealer is attempting to fix the vehicle, but has not been successful yet. Alternator was replaced in September of 1997. Consumer is in process of purchasing a 1998 from dealer, colonial fitzgerald Dodge has been helping consumer negotiate a buyback.

Transmission/alternator/belts/power windows/shock absorbers/battery/coil/spark plugs and radio failed.

Serpentine belt failed for the 4th time while driving. Had heard a funny noise prior to no steering. This caused a loss of steering control. First 2 times was at 35mph. 2nd 2 times was while starting vehicle. Been to dealer each time to have belt replaced. Power steering, water pum, alternator and air conditioner failed.