Engine Belts And Pulleys problems of the 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan - part 1

The contact owns a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. Without warning, the serpentine belt detached out of place. The contact replaced the serpentine belts and the pulleys, but the failure continued. The dealer indicated that there was no service campaign and recall to provide a solution. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver as the battery warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The mechanic stated that the serpentine belt had become detached from the vehicle. A splash guard was installed to prevent the failure but the failure three times as the contact was driving in rainy weather. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

The contact owns a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that while attempting to make a right turn, the steering wheel would refuse to turn. A local mechanic replaced the serpentine belt but after a month the belt failed. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but denied any assistance with repairs to the vehicle. The vehicle was not further repaired. The failure and the current mileage was approximately 118,000.

The contact owns a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. While driving approximately 35 mph the steering wheel became extremely difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was towed to the contacts home. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic who stated the serpentine belt detached from the vehicle. The serpentine belt was replaced. The failure occurred intermittently four times. The mechanic installed a tensioner to hold the serpentine belt in place. The failure continued to occur. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 90,500. The consumer stated the belt tensioner and idler pulley was replaced on 03/04/12 updated 03/30/12.

The contact owns a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. While driving approximately 45 mph in rainy weather, the steering became difficult to maneuver and the brakes would not respond when depressed. The vehicle began to overheat and was driven to an independent mechanic for inspection. The mechanic advised that the serpentine belt detached from the vehicle. The mechanic replaced the serpentine belt and the tensioner. The failure recurred one month later and the contact was able to place the belt back in place. The failure recurred five times and only when driving in rainy weather. The vehicle was not further repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 108,000.

The serpentine belt has come off of the pulleys on multiple occasions in wet weather, including rain and snow/slush, especially when a puddle is gone through by the right front side of the vehicle. On two of these occasions, I was turning a corner when the belt came off, lost control of my steering and almost hit the car which was stopped across from me. The belt coming off also causes the engine to overheat. This issue causes a loss of control and will lead to injury or death. Chrysler claims it is not a safety issue. . There is an updated belt/pulley kit which has a double-sided-grooved belt and pulley which is supposed to correct this issue but the cost to the consumer is approx $400-500 since Chrysler claims that this is not a safety issue. However, this is most certainly a safety issue considering the loss of steering control on wet roads especially if driving on the highway, as I do, where the speed limit is 55-65mph or turning a corner at an intersection where other cars are stopped.

Tl-the contact owns a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 mph over a puddle of water, there was a complete loss of power steering. The vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road. The serpentine belt detached without warning. The vehicle was towed to an independent auto shop where the serpentine belt was replaced. The failure occurred four different times and the serpentine belt was either re-attached or replaced with a new one. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The failure mileage was unavailable. Js.

Serpentine belt comes off when it gets wet such as driving through puddles or water from roadway when raining. Has happened several times over past few months. Replaced belt but still comes off. This results in loss of power steering making it very difficult to safely pull off road to safe location.

The contact owns a 1998 Dodge caravan. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph in the snow, the serpentine belt came off and caused a sudden loss of power. The serpentine belt had been replaced six times. The failure mileage was 97,000.

I own a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan the serpentine belt came off during my evacuation from hurricane gustav it happen in the middle of a bridge at night is the 6th time that this occur I just had this replace how come there has not been a recall to solve this before someone die.

Belt falling off 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan for the 5th time in 1 1/2 years. Resulting in mechanic charges and loss of vehicle. We have replaced tensioner on 2 occasions, belts on 5 occasions to no avail. The problem continues. Dodge/Chrysler should do something about this problem. Fortunately, no one was hurt (this time). The added expense is killing us!.

The contact owns a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the serpentine belt continuously detaches in wet weather conditions. The belt detaches while driving at various speeds and causes the vehicle to shut off. The vehicle has not been taken to a dealer for repair. The powertrain was unknown. The current mileage was 158,000 and failure mileage was 156,000.

Serpentine belt flies off with a minimal amount of moisture. Both wife and I have driven our 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan in wet weather and the serpentine belt has come off numerous times. The vehicle doesn't even need to hit a puddle, the slightest amount of water splashing from another car will cause it to come off. Belt falling off causes power steering, cooling, and charging to fail resulting in serious safety hazard as car is impossible to control.

While driving in heavy rain my serpentine belt came off the pulleys and resulted in a dangerous situation when I lost my steering while driving in traffic. I understand that this is a common and dangerous problem on the earlier (1997 through the early 2000s models) Dodge caravan 3. 0, 3. 3, and 3. 8 engines. There are many postings on the internet with people having the same thing happening during rain storms. I am the original owner of this 1998 Dodge caravan. The van only has 61,686 miles on it. At 43,000 miles I had to replace the belt, tensioner, and pulley idler. I also have heard that Dodge did a recall on this problem in at least one other country. Chrysler should be mandated to offer a fix for this here in the USA. I temporarily fixed my problem by putting the old serpentine belt back on the pulleys. This is not an easy task and trying to do it along the road is hazardous. But for most people this would be impossible to do.

Serpentine belt came off four times while driving in the rain. After the fourth time the garage ordered a conversion kit from the gates corporation that replaced the idler plus the tensioner. The kit also included a new double sided ribbed belt. Their part number is 38,342 k. It can also be ordered through car quest auto parts stores. Their part number is the same. I have not had a problem since.

- the contact owns a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the serpentine belt slipped off in wet weather, and it made steering extremely difficult. When this happened there was no longer power steering. This has happened at least 4 times. The failure mileage was 70,000, and the current mileage was 107,000. Consumer states dealer made additional installation of the belt 6 months prior to the incident. Update *4/23/07 *.

: the contact stated while driving 25 mph, the power steering failed, followed by loss of vehicle power, illumination of all warning lights, and the rising of the engine temperature. The vehicle was taken to a private repair shop, who determined that the serpentine belt became detached due to water splashing up into the undercarriage. The mechanic replaced the belt, however the problem persisted. The service dealer mentioned that a splash shield kit was no longer available for the vehicle. Updated 10/30/06.

Serpentine belt keeps coming off.

This is for a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan 3. 0 we had to replace the serpentine belt tensioner twice in two years. In doing some research, it seems that others have had problems with the serpentine belt tensioner so we wanted to add that it has happened twice to ours.

My 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan (3. 3 l engine VIN: 1b4gp44g6wb511831), the serpentine belt comes off when driving in rain, or when driving thriugh puddle. When this happen, the vehicle lose power brakes power steering, causing very hazardous condition. This has happened about 6 time during the last 18 months out of which 2 where on freeway at 60mph. Fortunately I was able to pull over safely. Replaced the belt, tensioner etc, still the probelm persists. Took it to Dodge dealer (dayton Dodge, dayton, NJ) on 01/10/2006, they were unable to fix, siting "Chrysler is aware of problem, but has no fix" a search on google shows numerous hits for this problem on Chrysler minivans. I believe Chrysler has a TSB for this, but has not a recall. See below links below. . Read more...

During a hard rain shower, the serpentine belt which drives the alternator, a/c, power steering and water pump jumped off of the pulleys resulting in the loss of the power steering and the engine overheating. Had vehicle towed to a repair shop for repairs. Repair shop could not find any reason for the belt to jump off. Belt was examined and found to be in good condition. This first occurrence occurred on 12/16/2005. The second occurrence occurred on 7/28/2006 under the same wet weather conditions. The vehicle was taken to the same repair shop and checked out by the owner of the business. The belt was examined again and found not to have any sign of damage. The owner of the business replaced the belt with a new one as he could find no reason for the belt to jump off. Steering of the vehicle was next to impossible due to the loss of the power steering. I checked with the service manager at the local Chrysler dealership and he said he had not had any service bulletins from Chrysler on this problem.

While driving through puddles the serpentine belt which controls the steering and other accessories slips off. I have owned this vehicle since new and never had this problem before. Went to dealer he installed TSB bulletin 07-02-99 that consists of a bracket to stop the belt from coming off, but after I drove 7 miles in the rain it came off again. While at the dealer there were several other caravans towed there with the same problem, even a 2005. The dealer rep says this is a common problem because the water is splashed onto the belt tensioner and idler pulleys which are not grooved and just slips off. I did a web search at allpar. Com, edmunds. Com, etc. And found numerous complaints. This is a serious condition, people can be seriously injured or killed when they lose power steering control unexpectedly. I can't believe Chrysler corp. Has allowed this condition to go unresolved for so long.

The drive belt has repeatedly come off resulting in the immediate loss of power steering while the vehicle is in motion. I took the car to the dealership each time, but they were unable to determine the problem. Finally a different dealership identified the problem as a flexing engine mounting bracket. This problem is so common there is a Chrysler service bulletin #07-02-99. This repair should be covered as a safety recall.

While driving serpentine belt disengaged, causing power steering to fail, and water pump to overheat. This happened five times. A technical service bulletin was issued on this problem.

While driving 10 mph pulley belt fell off. Steering wheel was hard to steer and turn. Consumer drove vehicle to dealer for inspection, and mechanic told consumer that problem could not be duplicated or resolved.

After driving through standing water, the serpentine belt slipped off, causing a loss of power steering control. The same thing had happened in June 2003, about three weeks after the dealer had replaced the belt and tensioner. The tendency for the belt to slip off after driving through water is a serious safety problem, which could easily lead to a loss of control of the car by a less experienced driver.

My 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan (which I purchased new) had "thrown" its' serpentine-belt 4 times (approximately every 10,000 miles- it now has approximately 50,000 miles on the odometer). The danger/hazard in this circumstance is that power-steering, water-pump, alternator, & possibly oil-pump are driven by this belt! Dodge has replaced the belt, tensioner, tensioner-mount bracket successively: I. E. - belt at 1st incident, tensioner at 2nd, bracket at 3rd. Now it has occurred again & they wish to charge for all the aforementioned. The vehicle had camshaft failure at 41,000 miles & now has a rebuilt engine- the belt/ tensioner/ bracket are said by Dodge not to be affected by the replaced engine. So, does this mean the vehicle needs a new tensioner/ belt/ bracket every 10,000 miles?.

The serpentine belt fell off intermittently. Dealer indicated the need to install bracket to retain the serpentine belt.

Serpentine belt of my 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan came off while driving down the highway. I lost abs, power steering, radio, and the engine overheated almost immediately. My daughters were in the car and I was in heavy traffic. I could barely steer the van. I was alarmed to find that many others have had this same problem. If my wife had been driving, I'm not sure if she could have steered the van. I could have easily caused an accident/injury/death to myself or others. The belt was not frayed, the tensioner is fine. The thing just slipped off. It was raining at the time as well, making a dangerous problem almost catastrophic.

I have had to replace the serpentine belt 5 times since I bought the 1998 Grand Caravan a year and a half ago. I have also replaced all idler pulleys, tensioners etc multiple times trying to get rid of the squaking noise and the belt falling off when you get it wet.

Serpetine belt has shredded two times in the last two months. A small section of the belt on the inner side next to the engine appeared to have been cut, both times this occurred the damage was the same. Vehicle had 99,000 miles and was well maintained. This event never occurred until the vehicle was over 95,000 miles.

While driving the drive belt came off and shredded into pieces which caused loss of power steering and the vehicle to overheat. .

The drive belt came partially off while driving. The belt shredded and then came off completely. The belt was replaced 6000 miles ago. It was a wet day outside (light rain).

Tension, idler pulley. Second time this has occurred. Wet pavement causes belt to slip and loss of power resulting to vehicle during operations. This has occurred during regular driving, as well as highway driving under what should be normal operating conditions.

Serpentine belt comes off often causing loss of steering and other functions. This is something that happens very often in the short time that I have owned this car. There must be some way this can be prevented or corrected!!.