Wiper problems of the 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan - part 2

The first incident occurred while care was sitting in the driveway, no key in it. Horn started going wipers and wiper fluid started going full speed, and lights started flashing, door locks engaged and could not be stopped by key fob. This continued for about 10 minutes. I had to pull the fuses and disconnect the battery to get it to stop. Took the car to dealership twice who stated there is nothing wrong with the van. The van continues to do this intermittently. Most recent incident driving down the highway 60 mph with children in the car when all the previous symptoms started to occur and gauges would drop to zero and then back up over and over again. All lights went out at this time and transmission began malfunctioning. I was barely able to pull the car off to the side of the road where it continued to do this for 15 minutes. The third time I took it in they reported it was my tipm and want over $1100 to replace it. I called doge customer service and explained the issue hoping they would fix it without cost to me or offer some solution. Their rep was very rude and told me to try what the dealership suggested. I expressed how it is a design/manufacturing flaw and got the reply, "well MA'am, there is no recall on this so there is nothing we can do". I informed him I would never buy another Dodge/Chrysler vehicle and received the reply "ok, have a good day". He then hung up on me. This is a serious safety issue and after reading many forums have realized I am not the only one experiencing this issue. . . Dodge needs to be held accountable!.

I was driving home at 10:30 at night on Thursday the 15th of November 2012 driving 65 mph on state highway 64 in pawnee county oklahoma and the windshield wipers went on by themselves and then the head lights went off by themselves. I took the vehicle to the Dodge dealer and they recommended that I replace a clock spring but weren't even sure if that would fix the headlight issue. Not to mention charging me $300 for the part when I have the extended electronics warranty on the vehicle. I feel that this is a very major safety issue and Dodge needs to look into it further and correct the issue at no charge to the owners, this is obviously a manufacturer defect. There is no reason this vehicle should have this issue. It is a liability to Dodge if not corrected. Please look into this issue as it could end up costing someone their life. I would like to make sure that this gets looked into. Please send me a supervisors number or email so I make sure this gets attention. If I do not hear something back within 48 hours, I will contact the secretary of transportation myself, a mr. Ray lahood through senator coburn. I am really pissed off about the situation. You drive down a road with your family in the dark of night and unexpectedly your headlights go out and you risk your families life. Dodge didn't act like it was a big deal, but it could end up being a major liability for them if they do not remedy the situation.

Upon entering vehicle pressing keyfob to unlock any door or hatch the horn would start to sound, the windshield wipers (front and rear) would start to go on its on including windshield wiper fluid as well, lights would start to flash as well. I would have to open up the hood and hit the fuse box located next to the battery on the drivers side firewall just to get it to stop. I have taken the vehicle to the dealership on several ocassions to no avail because they cannot duplicate the problem and now I am out a diagnostic fee of $94. 00 x2 and the cost of a rental car both times for my wife and three children because my 100% full warranty does not cover the cost of the rental because the problem could not be duplicated. After searching and reading about this problem that my wife and I are having with this cara van I think something should be done before someone is seriously hurt or killed by the caravan doing something that it was not asked to do!!!!.

The contact owns a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that she attempted to unlock the vehicle with a new key fob however, the vehicle would not unlock. After the contact was able to enter the vehicle, the vehicle could not be started. The contact had to tap the fuse box to turn on the vehicle. The windshield wipers then engaged independently with wiper fluid gushing out. The failure recurred frequently as the horn sounded independently as well. The contact stopped and turned off vehicle but the failures persisted. The contact had to tap on the fuse box to have the windshield wipers and horn stop. The fuse box was located under the hood on the driver's side near the battery. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection or repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure however, no assistance was provided. The current and failure mileage was 93,496.

Purchased this vehicle 6/30/2012 1st incident 8/2012 driving down highway at 65 mph at night in wooded area so it was pitch black and headlights shut off, wipers running and spraying fluid, horn started blaring, outside lights went crazy, gauges went nuts, and power steering went out. Pulled over when we were able (two lane road w/no shoulders) and after a few minutes went back to normal and ran just fine. The second time it happened was in 10/2012 basically same thing was returning from son's football game on a Friday night at midnight and headlights went out, wipers going crazy, and horn blaring, lights going off. Didn't do it again for awhile then since 3/2013 about every 2 to 3 weeks we have this same issue, van can be sitting in drive and still does it. I have had my children in the car on numerous occasions when this has happened and it scares us all to death. We have almost been hit from behind on more than one of these occasions when power steering went out while making a turn, (it slowed the vehicle down to manually turn it) which I could barely do, and almost received a ticket for faulty equipment due to the brake and reverse lights going off on their own (cop gave me a warning this time) after looking up the issue and talking to a mechanic it is a faulty tipm (totally integrated power module), which by the way has been on "backorder" for more than 18 months cause I've been calling on it since 10/2012. I have researched and apparently this is an ongoing issue with this vehicle, there are over 200 of the 420 complaints on this site about this very issue and thousands more online, yet there has not even been an investigation? I guess the NHTSA is not as concerned about safety as they claim to be! there needs to be a recall done for this model and the years affected for the faulty part that's going to end up with someone seriously injured or dead!.

Upon start of vehicle, wipers turned on(switch pos off), washer fluid sprayed(button not pressed), horn sounded (not pressed), could not get it to stop. Started vehicle, continued to do all three, vehicle placed in drive, would not shift out of 1st gear. Shut vehicle off, started again, same things. In days prior to this incident, the vehicle would stall unexpectedly, fortunately while approaching stop sign, or stop light and not on highway, resulted in loss of power steering, and all engine/speed indication. Dodge dealership in valdosta duplicated problems, replaced $500 electrical box. Been two days since repair, no repeats yet.

On 4 occasions our 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan has gone into a mode where the lights flash, the horn honks, the windshield wipers come on, washer fluid squirts out, and the doors lock. When moving, it also appears to downshift to lower gear. Once it starts, it appears the only way to stop it is to let it run its course which can take up to 10 minutes (disconnecting the battery did not make it stop). During the time it is happening the key fob does not work. Of the 4 times it has happened, it has happened twice while driving and twice while sitting still (once with key in ignition and once without). I have it at the dealer and so far in 2 days they have not found anything wrong. There are literally hundreds of other people with 2008 Dodge Grand Caravans who have this exact same or similar issue. This is a potentially dangerous issue if you happen to be moving when it happens.

My van was one year old (2009) when it first activated the horn (off and on making a wierd warbling half honk sound) and wipers/spray while driving down the highway on a highway switch ramp at 65 mph. It lasted about a minute and then stopped. We were on a trip so we asked when we got back to the arkansas dealership. They told us it was likely corrosion (on a brand new car that was driven in normal circumstances). They said it wasn't covered under warranty and we didn't have proof. It repeated about once every 6 months or more. Now (about once a month)the battery dies randomly and the horn/wipers/etc go off randomly while it's just sitting there and driving down the road. I've had to jump it 5 times without any warning. I've double verified that the alternator/battery are in great shape. Really Dodge ! a brand new car and you couldn't help us!.

Just after parking van the electrical system went crazy. The front wipers started wiping, the wiper fluid deployed, the horn sounded. I turned off car and removed the key. Everything continued to run. At a loss I got back in, turned it on and drove it out of the garage where the noise wouldn't be so loud. Again I removed the key. I popped the hood, thinking if all else fails, I could pull the battery. I saw the fuse box by the battery (I have since looked up that it is the tipm) and I smacked it hard with my palm. The car shut up. Several months later it did a similar behavior, again while not moving. Still several months after that it did it again, this time while I was driving. Wipers, horn, washer fluid whole deal. I managed to pull over and safely stop the car. Before I could get out the car stopped its behavior. Since then I have also had other electrical problems, horn attempting to sound on its own, but no wipers, transmission in "limp mode" where it won't get out of second gear, and front blower motor intermittently running/not running. Often stopping car and opening door, and restarting car fixes it, but more recently not so much. I reported first incident to dealer, but they found nothing. I have reported further incidents and now that I am out of warranty they are advising me it is the tipm (fuse box) and replacement cost is $800 and it may not fix my problem. Because it is intermittent they claim not to be able to diagnose themselves. I would hate to have the wiper horn fluid combo happen on the highway. Can be dangerous.