general problems of the 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan - part 1

The driver's side sliding door lock has seized up and will not let you open the door at all. It won't open with a remote or manually it is solid as a rock. The passenger side sliding door motor makes a horrible sound every time it locks or unlock. It did get stuck at one point , but then it unlocked. This is very dangerous when you have small children in car seats that you cannot get to. And because the door locks on the Dodge Grand Caravans keep malfunctioning , you have to crawl through the back end of the vehicle , put the seats down to get to children in car seats to get them out of the vehicle. The cost to fix this is outrageous. Dodge Grand Caravan sliding door locks have thousands and thousands of complaints about malfunctioning, and not working. And needing to be replaced. Why are you not recalling this? this is a safety issue. Also , if this would have locked up when I was sitting in the back seat , I wouldn't have been able to get out because I am disabled. I would've been stuck in this Dodge Grand Caravan. This is a safety issue that Dodge needs to address immediately. When the door lock smell function and you can't get disabled adults out of a vehicle or small children out of a car seat that is a serious issue.

Specifics unknown check engine light came on cpl seconds before it started overheating / leaking coolant and or transmission fluid and overheating. And I'm not sure what. Started last year but I don't drive very often so the issue just started last year.

The driver's side sliding door on this minivan became stuck shut. I had to remove my disabled son through the open window. Not being able to remove him quickly in an emergency because the door has become sealed shut is unacceptable. I cannot believe there is no manual override. I was able to solve this issue by forcing the unlock lever while pressing 'unlock' on the keyfob. However, the main reason I write this complaint, numerous people on various forums report an actuator shorting out in their doors causing this issue, meaning they cannot open the door, by any means, without this actuator being repaired. I cannot for the life of me believe that a system was engineered to not have a simple manual override on a car door. This is beyond me how this got cleared by any sort of regulatory body. If that actuator gets cooked in a fire, I guess the occupants of the car will too.

Seized sliding door latch. In an emergency we cannot exit threw the door. There was a recall on the door lock latch. Dealer will not repair do to the mileage.

My rear passenger sliding door lock is stuck in the unlock position. My concern is my van is at all times unlocked. Also since it won’t lock at all even when I’m driving is that anyone could approach my van while I’m at a light or a parking lot and get inside. My biggest fear is that since it won’t lock it will just pop open one day while I’m driving. My grandchildren or my dogs could be severely injured if this happened. I’ve read online about this being an issue with the Dodge gcv. People suggested writing to you and try to get a recall done for this issue. The dealer wants around $1100 to fix problem. I don’t have that kind of money to spend. My other issue is if I disconnect the cable so I can lock the door is what if my passengers or animals need to get out of back of van in a emergency their going to be trapped back there. Also unrelated to the lock issues. My van is having a hard time shifting and has cut out multiple times on me. And when I turn on my blinkers it turns on the wipers. So possible electrical issue there.

The lock actuators on my 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan sliding passenger doors are both frozen, so the doors are not able to be opened at all. The doors for the backseat are unusable, and passengers must climb in through the back hatch door of the van. My car began smoking from the engine (visible from the hood), and I had to pull my vehicle over. My children were unable to exit the vehicle in a swift manner, because they had to leave through the rear hatch of the vehicle instead of opening the doors next to their seats. This is extremely unsafe and seems to be a widespread safety risk with this vehicle. The company issued an extended warranty in 2025, but because my vehicle was purchased in 2018 and I commuted to my job, my vehicle is over the 100,000 mile qualifier now. It wasn't at 100,000 miles when the doors seized up. Dodge/Chrysler should recall this lock actuator part, because passenger safely should come first. An extended warranty that excludes drivers now over 100,000 miles is not acceptable. This defect could have caused my children to become trapped in a burning vehicle.

The rear sliding door lock actuator on the passenger stopped working. The door will not open or unlock.

I first had this happen months ago and now I found another place to post about it. The locking and unlocking motor on the passenger sliding door is making a horrible noise and buzzing sound. This happens every time you lock or unlock it. It also happens when it locks automatically when you drive. It is horribly loud that it wakes up the baby and toddler every time. My mechanic has looked at it and knew exactly what was wrong right away. The motor is just and needs replaced. He said it's very common for the Dodge motor in the sliding doors to need replacing. He's shocked it hasn't been recalled yet. He's also had many people have kids locked in the vans due to the motor basically burning out. He said it definitely needs replaced and should've been recalled by now. Also be prepared to climb over seats to get the baby and toddler out when they finally stop working all together. The fact that my small mechanics shop has seen many issues with the locking motor definitely tells me Dodge isn't putting safety first at all.

Driver side rear sliding door is stuck closed. Cannot be operated manually, will not lock or unlock with the other car door locks which work fine. My children’s safety is at risk. I bought a van because I have 3 children, and in the event of an accident could delay their rescue. One of my children is a type 1 diabetic and in event of an accident he’s in even more danger if rescue teams cannot get to him. The problem has not been confirmed by a mechanic, as both Dodge dealerships I have reached out to told me I would have to pay a diagnostic fee, but it’s a known problem with their vehicles. The vehicle has not been inspected by police, or insurance. There was no warning to the part malfunctioning, just stopped opening and noticed when my children tried to use the door to get out at school. My car currently has 109,000 miles on it but there are is a recall for up to 100,000 miles but Dodge states it cannot extend the warranty although I’ve see ln that mopar extended the warranty for this exact issue but Dodge says it’s misinformation and “good luck”.

The lock mechanism on the driver side sliding door is stuck in the lock position. From what I’m reading online this is a very common issue. It seems to me that being unable to open the door could be a huge safety concern.

Sliding door lock stuck. Door will not open in emergency.

As I was driving home on a city street, the entire car locked. I had no steering control. My brakes didn’t work the entire vehicle locked. In the middle of the street. I turned the ignition off, put it in park and restarted the car only then did it work properly. This is the second time this vehicle has locked. This is very dangerous as I had a child in the car with me and I was in traffic. My brakes didn’t work, I had to use two feet really hard then I was able to stop the vehicle. The steering wheel didn’t work. Nothing worked. I don’t know what’s the problem. The very first time this happened, while dropping the child off at school, I put the car in park, I was not able to get the shifter out of park. The car locked. I sat in my car, wondering what to do decided to go on the web and check out problems with this particular vehicle, then I noticed there is a little door leading to the shifter to change it manually. But when you are in traffic, there is no time to look for a screwdriver to open the door to do anything manually. This is a safety hazard and I really don’t know why there is not a recall on this vehicle.

Both sliding door actuators are malfunctioning. The door locks have to be manually locked and unlock. Searching the internet, I found that if the door is not lock, the door can disengage and fly open. This has not occurred and we keep the doors locked. I was told by the dealership that because my 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan was manufactured in canada that the rt warranty does not pertain to my vehicle. This is a very expensive repair. Since both of my doors are affected, it could cost around $1,300 to repair both. If this was an isolated incident, I could understand having to pay for the repair. However, it seems to be a common problem. The part is defective and the cost should not be bared by the consumer.

Unable to open rear left sliding door, lock actuator is failed. Burning smell from left sliding door 1 year ago. Right sliding door make buzzing noice from the lock actuator area, sometimes unable to open sliding door.

In March 13, 2024, when unlocking the doors from the driver's side control panel there was an audible buzzing sound from the passenger side sliding door. The door was still able to unlock and lock. After doing some research online I found that there was a problem with the locking door actuator that would cause a buzzing sound when engaged. This continued to happen anytime that sliding door was either locked or unlocked. In June of 2024, using the driver's side control panel, I attempted to unlock the passenger sliding door. The door didn't make the buzzing sound, but it also would not unlock. The door was seized shut. I use this vehicle to transport my three children to and from school. Their drop offs are on the right hand side. With the passenger sliding door being seized shut, because of the faulty actuator, my children have to get out on the driver's side door and into incoming traffic! this is a great risk to my children. I called to get it repaired from the dealer I purchased it from with the actuator recall that was issued only to be told thaty vehicle wasn't covered in that recall, yet I still have a door that is seized shut from the recalled actuator part.

Car randomly stalled out without warning or signs of issues. We just purchased this used from automax Hyundai. It has happened a total of 4 times this week.

The car stalls and shuts off when coming to a stop. When attempting to stop, sometimes it keeps moving forward as if the breaks weren’t working properly. It only happens when I’m slowing down. No codes comes up nor does the check engine light turn on. It had been checked by different mechanis and they cant figure out what is wrong with the car.

Door lock actuator failed - driver side sliding door - door stuck closed will not open.

Driver's side passenger door will not open due to a faulty actuator. Other vehicles with the same make/model and year have this exact issue covered under warranty, but for some reason this one is not. I believe the warranty should be expanded to cover more Dodge vehicles. This is a safety issue as it prevents a safe and timely evacuation from the vehicle.

The sliding doors in my van are not functional. One side does not open at all which is a safety hazard for my children/other passengers to be able to get out of the back seat if an accident occurred. The other side does not lock so it is a safety concern too because someone could enter my vehicle without my knowledge. I would like these fixed so that I can feel safe in my van.

When locking and unlocking the doors or using the automatic lock when the car is in drive, the driver side sliding door either will not unlock at all (even manually) or when it automatically locks and unlocks it makes an aggressive vibration sound and does not work. I have to go through the passenger side sliding door to take the car seat out of the van. If it were an emergency and I needed to open the rear door it would cause a serious safety issue.

The left (driver's side) passenger sliding door will not open. The lock actuator seems to be frozen. It is available for inspection as needed. Safety concern is the limited egress from the vehicle. The problem has been confirmed by a dealer and is persistent. No warnings of any kind were present prior to the failure. The failure appeared in August of 2023. An appeal to mopar for a repair has been denied, in spite of the fact that other vehicles have had similar problems.

Transmission went out last year I just found out I could report it this seems to be a common issue with these vans and would be nice to get some help with repair costs as I was told around 6k to repair. Also the flywheel has a crack in it I ordered a new oem replacement hoping the transmission shop can replace that while they do the repairs.

The passenger's side sliding door lock switch is stuck in the locked position, so I can't open that door. There is a huge safety issue because the passengers can't open that door to exit, in case of an emergency. The car manufacturer issued a recall (mopar x98) for this very same issue but it didn't include my car serial number, because my car is newer by about a month. So, they don't want to honor the recall on my car.

On 7/2/2023 at approximately 12:04pm my family and I were driving home from church. My husband was driving and the driver's side head rest exploded, punching him in the back of the head while driving. We were very fortunate and no vehicle accident occurred. We were on the on ramp of judge tanner blvd. In covington, la traveling to get onto hwy 190 going north. First thing Monday morning on 7/3/2023, I called Dodge corporation to report the incident and was given a case number (case #86604720) and was told there was no recall on the head rest but to go to the dealership immediately. I brought my van to rainbow Chrysler Dodge Jeep at 301 river highland blvd, covington, la 70433. At the dealership I was told this is a "common occurrence" and was covered under the extended warranty. I asked since it is a "common occurrence" why was it not recalled. I was told it is not deemed a safety hazard by Dodge. Seriously? being punched in the back of the head while driving is not a safety concern by Dodge? my husband did have a headache for the rest of the day but his situation could have been much worse plus we could have been in an accident endangering our entire family (myself and 3 kids). I asked if I could get the passenger seat head rest replaced too and was told it's not covered unless it explodes. A recall needs to be made on these headrest before a fatal accident occurs.

2017 Dodge Grand Caravan. Check engine light reading code p0302 (cylinder 2 misfire). Mechanic replaced spark plugs and coils, but car is still throwing same code. This is appears to also be an issue with a recall on other year models of Dodge Grand Caravans. Mechanics unsure what to do as components have already been replaced and engine light comes back on after clearing code repeatedly.

Sliding door lock actuator failed to open door. I noticed a buzzing sound when opening recently and now it is shut down, it cannot open. I provided these two reports for your reference, and I need you to help me for Dodge to repair my vehicle. I filed complaint with the texas office of the attorney general.

The rear driver side sliding door locks seized and the door can not be unlocked via the power locks nor can it be unlocked manually. The door is stuck shut. This issue occured under 60k miles and the door is no longer functional at all. The same issue occured 3 years prior on the passenger side and it was repaired under warranty. The vehicle is no longer under warranty for the second failure. I owned a 2012 Dodge caravan previously and the exact same issue occured on both sliding door locks about a year apart from each other. The repair bill for each was 1,000 dollars to replace a defective actuator. The door locks actuators on the Dodge Grand Caravan are defective and present a risk of siezing at any time, trapping rear passengers in the vehicle. There is no known way to unlock the doors either manually or electronically outside of a 1,000 dollar repair once the issue occurs. There was no audible or visual warning prior to the occurance in all four cases. The locks just suddenly seized. Google search reveals the issue happens at a high frequency with the Dodge Grand Caravan. Age of vehicle does not seem to be a determing factor.

The rear drivers sliding door would not unlock or open, both manually, or with the electronics. If I were carrying passengers, they would have not been able to exit the vehicle through that door (except the window). The actuator was bad, and I ended up having to take it to the dealer to have it repaired. This is a known issue with the 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan rt . I have a 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan XLT (better trim package/enhancements) and yet, this was not covered under the NHTSA "extended warranty" for this van. My van has less than 70 miles on it, and is in great condition with no accidents. The door on the van had the "chattering" noise described, and occassionally not close. This is similar to other Dodge owner experiences. I find it hard to believe that my van isn't covered under this warranty, and so it cost me over $1100. 00 for the repair. I would like to be reimbursed for this issue and am attaching my invoice from the dealer as proof.

My rear sliding back van door stopped working on 4/18/2023. It switched to the locked position and cannot be opened manual or by any of the buttons on the van. There was a recall for this but for some reason my van was not included. The dealer said to have the recall attached to my VIN so the issue can be fixed. It is a safety problem because I have 4 young kids in car seats that ride in the back and if there’s an emergency it is not easy to get to them or get them out.

The door lock actuators on both sliding doors do not work properly. About 3 years ago the drivers side door lock actuator stopped unlocking and could not be used. About 7 or 8 months later, it suddenly unlocked but now makes a loud buzzing sound every time it locks. Then about a year later, the passenger side door stopped unlocking and has remained locked for many months now leaving that door unusable. If there were an emergency or accident where the drivers side could not be accessed, passengers in the back of the vehicle would not be able to exit the car safely without climbing over seats. We also are concerned that the drivers side door will fail again and the rear of the vehicle would no longer be accessible. This is a known issue through the manufacturer that they refuse to recall or repair. There is even a current class action lawsuit for this make and model. Several similar makes and models through the manufacturer have been affected by this issue for many years. We have not had this inspected by anyone, we bought new door actuator mechanisms but have not replaced them ourselves yet. Every indication is this is a difficult and lengthy repair at home and costly if done through an auto repair shop or dealership. With such a well known issue, this should have been investigated, resolved and corrected by the manufacturer and notices for recalls released to the public. This is completely unacceptable that the safety of passengers in these cars are not important to the manufacturer!.

About 7 months ago the drivers side rear door would not open , after about 2 months I took my van to bryden's dealer in beloit WI. The people in the repair area, said it would cost $800 or more to repair. I could not afford that. So the door still won't open, family came to town and wanted me to drive them around, which I refused saying with the sliding door not working , that could be dangerous. Well today the passengers rear sliding door quit opening , so now anybody in the back would be in real danger if the van got in an accident. I guess I will take the van back to the dealer and ask them to please fix it free of charge because of the danger it causes, I could use some help from you , to see that this van doors get repaired, thank you. Mike.

Driver's side door is stuck and locked shut. This puts my precious cargo, my children, at risk of having to exit the vehicle on a potentially more dangerous side with traffic. In the event of an accident this door locked shut can't be used to escape the vehicle if need be. No warning lights. Online this appears to be a very common issue in Chrysler/Dodge vans.

Buzzing sound when passenger side sliding door should unlock after removing key from dash (actuator failed/failing), door stays locked. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be inspected. The manufacturer was not informed of this common failure.

Sliding door power lock actuator failure. A buzzing sound is heard when locking and unlocking the doors of the vehicle. The locking mechanism of the vehicle is failing to properly lock and unlock the rear sliding doors. A NHTSA bulletin (attached) has already been issued for this issue covering certian 2015 to 2017 Dodge Grand Caravans. My vehicle is a 2017 model with the affected door lock actuators. Upon contacting fca I was informed my vehicle does not show this extended warranty covering this defect.