Six problems related to engine have been reported for the 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The engine "blew up". Apparently there was an oil problem" on the inside of one side of the engine and a chunck of it actually "blew off". The entire engine had to be replaced including hoses, etc. The original engine had only 77,326 miles!!! I have spoken with many people who have had to replace their engines in this same Mini-van at or around 70,000-80,000 miles! not only that, but I spoken with and was warned that this would probably happen by the owner of an auto body shop, prior to this happening. He said "we see these engines on these Mini-vans go bad right around 70,000 miles, lynn". This seems to be a chronic problem for the Dodge/Chrysler Mini-van.
On January 24, 2003 at about 10 p. M. My 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan just stopped dead while I was driving on route 7 in ridgefield CT. The engine with 67,000 miles just seized up. I was able to use the cars momentum to pull to the side of the road, but if this had happened on a highway, we might have had a serious problem.
Chrysler refused to help with the over $600 repair bill for head gasket. Did not call them on the valve cover gaskets in October. Now with the failure of the head gasket it makes me wonder why the failure of their gaskets. This is premature failure on both cases. Chrysler refuses to stand behind their vehicles. No wonder they will soon drop out of the big three.
The head gasket for the vehicle developed a hair line crack which leaks antifreeze down the backside of the engine block. This occurred after standard warranty expired with a milage of only 57000 miles. The leaking creates an oder from the evaporation of antifreeze which is clearly detectable from within the vehicle cab. This problem equates to an estimated repair cost of $1000. 00+. It is my understanding after talking to several mechanics that this is an epedemic typical of this engine. The auto manufacturer is aware of this problem but has done nothing, that I'm aware of, to rectify this problem for current owners apart from making the owner repair the defect at their expense (without having purchased an extended warranty). I'm deeply disgusted with the manufacturers attempt to ignore this design flaw.
We were driving down the interstate and the van came to a sudden stop. With the thought of engine trouble furthest from our minds with only 48000 miles on the vehicle. We were told that the camshaft was broke and no explanation given, we were told by the dealer it was rare but that one of their technicians had seen this in about 2-3 other vans like ours. The dealer refused to pay anything and daimler Chrysler was notified and although they would not admit to factory defect they did reluctantly pay half of the more than 3000. 00 in damages. The vehicle was inspected by a none Dodge dealer first who could not believe how bad the engine looked for 48000 miles. We purchased the vehicle in March of 2001 from the dealer and the engines appearance was good we owned it less than 4 months when malfunction occured. Chrysler was contacted directly by us and told us this was rare, however for one technician to see 2-3 vans besides ours in one state does not seem that rare to us.
D. I. S and crankshaft sensor failed. Yh.