general problems of the 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan

Refueled vehicle normally. Drove 1 mile, while turning corner the engine stalled completely, steering became sluggish. This has happening approximately 50% of the time after we refuel the caravan. It is extremely dangerous as we lose control of the vehicle.

Over the last several weeks my 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan with a 3. 8 liter engine will stall out several times after refueling. It will restart & stall several times before the problem seems to rectify itself. All power assisted steering is lost and the vehicle becomes difficult to steer safely. Power braking is also affected. There have been a couple of occasions where I have been turning into traffic and had the vehicle stall. One time I was unable to complete the turn and stay in my lane. On one occasion I breached the lane to my left. While traffic was traveling in the same direction I was, another motorist had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting me.

Van stalls after filling the Grand Caravan with fuel. Loses steering and speed.

When it rains or the street is wet the power steering randomly goes out. The happens when turning out of a driveway, turning a curve or getting out of a parking space. It has happened on the road a few times, but usually happens just after starting the car and beginning to move. It only happens when it has been raining or I go over a large puddle of water. The problem has been consistent for about a year. I have discussed the problem with the dealership where I purchased the van, carmax. They have not heard of this problem, but did replace an undercarrage shield. The problem continued after the shield replacement. Carmax then directed me to this website.

Vehicle quits while driving in the rain and loses abilitiy to steer.

This has occurred multiple times in the six months since I have owned this vehicle. Any time it rains, especially if my vehicle goes through a puddle, the power steering is greatly affected. The most recent time, the power steering was completely lost and I had to use all of my strength to maneuver the car into a safe location, out of traffic. The battery light came on and my car acted like it was going to stall. The belt squealed and then everything resumed. . . Until I hit another puddle. In the times this has happened before, it was not nearly as long of a loss of power steering, nor did the battery light come on; the belts squealing always signals that the steering has resumed. My mechanic is baffled and we are scared to drive our vehicle, specifically in the rain. From my research, this is a common occurrence.

The contact owns a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled intermittently on multiple occasions. Additionally, the vehicle jerked violently and was extremely difficult to steer. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the failure was unable to be replicated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was not available. Updated 8/14/cn updated 8/27/2014.

My son was driving my van on the interstate when suddenly everything on the van shut off. Luckily, there were no vehicles immediately behind us . He said that he bumped the ignition with his knee.

My 2006 Grand Caravan has had problems almost since I bought it in 2007 (it had 18,000 miles when I bought it). It now only has 68,000 miles on it. My drivers side electric door does not operate when it is warm outside (29,000 miles). The passenger side axle broke and had to be replaced (65,000 miles). When it rains my power steering goes out periodically (65,000 miles) . My engine light is on (haven't taken it in to check it yet) (66,000 miles) and now my airbag light is on (68,000 miles). Also I have replaced the battery and still have problems starting it. It clicks clicks clicks like a hundred times then eventually it starts.

While leaving a parking lot I felt a snap in the steering. Completed the trip while feeling heavy steering to the right. Steering seemed ok. Got home and tried the steering full left to full right and the steering locked in the left turn position. Thought the parking steering lock was the problem and while trying to move the shift lever it locked in the d2 position and after more jiggling the lever locked in the lo position. The motor was running all of this time.

Our air bag light comes on after repeated, exact turns of the steering wheel. Has to do with the steering wheel clock spring. It only illuminates in temps over 70 degrees or so. We live in the desert of arizona and have been excluded in previous recalls. We are afraid the air bags will not work properly in the event of a crash.

Wife noticed about 5~6 months ago a humming noise when the engine is first fired from sitting overnite. A few days ago I drove van to work a 3 mile commute, drove fine, when leaving work for lunch I noticed a puddle of power steering fluid under the right side of racknpinion(rnp). In checking the fluid level it was down a little. Called Dodge 800-992-1997 to report our '06 gc sxt with 21,200 miles, obtained case # and setup appointment with dealer to "diagnose problem" $48. Dealer stated rnp needed replacing for $1018. I checked with local o'reilly auto parts and could get rnp for under $300. Dodge called and said they would pay 40/60, them 40%, me 60%. I explained to rep that if vehicle had 60~85k miles I would understand this, but at less than 25k come on. They refused to take it up the chain and only offered the $400, since it was out of warranty. I explained in my research that I found numerous other folks that have had the same problem under the 50k mark. No luck what so ever. I explained to rep I could purchase part and replace it cheaper - why should I pay $600 (parts store warranty lifetime). Going to replace it myself and save $600. I feel Dodge should step up to the plate since this is a manufacturing quality issue. I am tired of having fluid all over my concrete drive way. Thanks Dodge, for nothing. I am surprised Dodge does not express any interest in my safety being my steering could go out on my wife and children thus causing an emergency situation and placing them in grave danger with respect to life, limb or property damage. Shame, shame, shame.

We bought almost three years ago 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan. Right now it only has 47000 miles. Recently we noticed a leak and we took the car for service & we found out the power steering rack is broken and leaking oil. We thought it was covered by the warranty. But the dealer told us it wasn't covered by the warranty. They estimated the cost around $1300. We called Chrysler and they failed to help us. After we did some search we found out so many Dodge Grand Caravans getting end up breaking the power steering rack at early age. We believe Chrysler need to recall this and fix the issue. It is not fair for us when our car has only 47,000 miles .

My 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan has developed a loud whining sound from under the hood at a cold start and continuing for several minutes. The noise is present when sitting still with the wheels straight but gets worse when the wheel is turned.

2006 Dodge Grand Caravan w/ 3/8 engine power steering leak. . . This is a common issue with the car. . . Read more...

The contact owns a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the power steering hose was leaking. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic where the transmission hose was replaced on the power steering. The vehicle also had an oil leak and two clamps for the power steering line was replace however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage and current mileage was 63000.

The contact owns a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the vehicle would make a whining sound, especially in colder temperatures, and distract the concentration of the driver. She stated that the noise was loud enough to cause a concern. The noise occurred every time the vehicle was driven and would intensify when making turns at various speeds. She has scheduled an appointment with the dealer, but has not notified the manufacturer. The current mileage was approximately 50,000 and failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

I submitted this complaint to a local dealership that serviced my vehicle. I worry that there could be a major safety issue. I own a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan sxt. In the past year, I have brought it into Dodge city of milwaukee for two service appointments, one in winter 2007 and another in spring 2008. During both visits, I complained of an persistent problem with the steering system. On sharp left turns, the van often makes a "pulsing" or "howling" sound. On both occasions, Dodge city of milwaukee fixed something in the steering system, but the sound never went away. Earlier today, as I was pulling into the alley behind my house, the car's steering suddenly froze and the oil light came on. I am not sure of the reason for this, but if there had been any traffic, or if I was traveling at a high speed, this would have been a major safety hazard. I checked the oil, which was a bit low but still in the normal range (I also complained on both visits that the car loses oil quickly and was assured by Dodge city of milwaukee that this is normal). I shut off the car, turned it on again, and it seemed to work normally. Since the steering was affected, I strongly suspect that this incident is somehow related to the problem that your technicians negligently failed to address. When I purchased a new Dodge van in 2006 for my family of six, I never imagined that it would cause me to fear for our safety within two years. This is an entirely unacceptable situation. I believe that it is largely due to the failure of Dodge city of milwaukee's service department to address problems that I repeatedly mentioned. I am copying my lawyer on this message, along with the wilde Dodge salesman who originally sold me the car, and I also plan to inform the national Chrysler customer service department. If the problem with this car is too obscure to identify, then I should be provided with a new vehicle that will not put my four small children at risk.

In 2008, the rak/pinnon/steering component had to be replaced on my 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan. In 2011, the same component again had to be replaced. This also created a need to replace tires. The manufacturer warranty had expired.

For no apparent reason, the engine shuts off while driving. The clock remains on, but accessories such as the heater also shut off, and I have no power assist with steering. So far, it's happened within 5 minutes of start-up; the outside temperatures were below freezing, but the engine has not always been cold. 1/17/07 approx. 5 min. After I'd been driving, at about 30mph, I realized the noisy fan for the heater turned off. I thought maybe the new van has a feature I didn't know about, where it reaches a set temperature then shuts off automatically? then I realized the radio had also gone quiet. I tried to accelerate but it wasn't responding, so I went to pull off on the shoulder and discovered I didn't have power steering, either. Fortunately, I was able to brake. I turned the key to the off position, restarted the van, and it seemed to work fine. At no time did I see a check engine light. 1/18/07 I had driven to a gas station, turned the van off to fill the tank, and restarted it a few minutes later, to drive away. I accelerated about 5 feet before the van turned itself off again. I stopped, moved the key to the off position, restarted it, and went on my way. 1/24/07 I backed out of the garage, but after I accelerated in reverse, about 10 ft. Down the driveway the van turned itself off again. Other days I had the heater/accessories running, but this time nothing else was turned on. The clock remained lit, so it doesn't seem like a battery issue. I turned the key to the off position and restarted the van, resumed my drive, and made an appointment with the Dodge dealership under warranty. They said there were no computer codes showing; they drove 17 mi. But couldn't duplicate the problem. Since then, the van has only shut off by itself once more when my spouse was driving, but now it seems like a probable ignition switch safety issue to investigate.