general problems of the 2018 Dodge Grand Caravan - part 1

The drivers side sliding door will not open. The local dealership checked it and says it is the door lock actuator that needs to be replaced. There was a recall on this part, but we never got a recall notice. The vehicle messaging system never indicated a problem. The passenger side sliding door has also had problems, but it still opens. It just makes a lot of noise when opening sometimes, and will close unexpectedly before it fully opens. Both of these problems pose a safety hazard.

I am reporting an issue involving a Dodge recall repair and an improper charge related to that recall. My Dodge vehicle was serviced for a sliding door actuator recall. During the repair, the dealer informed me that the “sliding door applique” must be removed to access the actuator and that it cannot be reused once removed. They then charged me over $531. 99 for the applique, even though the repair itself was covered under my extended warranty (xv1). The applique was not damaged or defective; it was removed only as part of the recall procedure. I believe this constitutes an unfair and deceptive repair practice — the part should have been replaced at no cost, since it was necessary to complete a recall repair. Dodge customer care (case no. 94484317) denied reimbursement without offering any technical explanation or documentation. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate whether Dodge and its authorized service centers are charging customers for parts that are required to perform warranty or recall repairs, which could indicate a broader pattern of abuse.

The lock mechanism on the passenger side sliding door has failed. It is stuck in the locked position. This is a known defect that has recurred in this vehicle for years. The door is not able to be unlocked which is a safety concern if the vehicle needs to be exited or accessed in an emergency. The sliding door lock had been making a loud buzzing noise upon locking and unlocking for weeks but only became stuck yesterday. The front drivers side door lock also does not respond to the unlocking mechanisms (button inside or remote) but can be unlocked with the key being inserted into the lock and manually turned. This has been happening on and off for a year.

Went to open up driver side sliding door and it would not slide back. It is stuck due to the locking actuator. This can be dangerous. I have kids in my van and the door not sliding back can present different dangerous issues for different scenarios. The 2016-2017 Dodge Grand Caravan I believe has a recall on this issue but not the 20q8, and I dont know why.

Driver side sliding door stuck in lock position. Cannot open it with fob or manually.

Both sliding side doors buzz when locking and unlocking. A couple of times the left door has not locked while driving.

The driver's side sliding door would not open. It was like the door was stuck in the lock position. Unable to get my child out of the vehicle from that side. There were no warnings or symptoms indicating there was any issue at all prior to this occurring. Randomly a few days later it started to work like normal again, however now the door will not lock. When the other doors auto lock a loud noise comes from that door, but it does not lock. It does open when prompted. I have not had anyone inspect the problem as of yet.

When I pump gas in the tank. It keeps stopping and it will not allow me to put more gas in the tank. Also the gas hand on the dashboard stays at half full. I don’t know how much gas is really in the tank. And electrical the passenger window will not let down on the driver side. I can’t let the window down from the driver side.

I was driving in town when the active head restraint deployed. There was no accident. Just driving and I heard it pop.

I have a 2018 Dodge Grand Caravan whose door lock actuators are failing in the rear sliding doors. This is accompanied by loud buzzing. Sometimes they don’t unlock which causes some problems for backseat passengers. After looking online, I found there is a recall for this same problem in model years 2016-2017. I’m having the same issue but my vehicle is not covered under the recall. I just want you to know that the problem is still happening.

The sliding door locks/actuators on the rear sliding doors do not engage allowing the doors to open even when the doors are locked leaving the risk of the doors opening while the vehicle is moving or allowing someone to break into the vehicle since the doors won't lock and can be opened, even when the rest of the doors on the vehicle are locked.

The sliding door on the back passenger side will not unlock. A lot of times we carry grandchildren still in car seats and in case of an emergency, this can be a safety hazard.

Very shortly after purchasing the vehicle, the rear drivers side sliding door stopped opening. It cannot be opened manually or with the button. It seems to be stuck in the locked position. I was aggravated but let it go because I had the other side sliding door functioning. Yesterday 06/06/2024 the passenger side sliding door did the same thing. I have 4 children that had no way out of my vehicle other than to climb through the 2 front seats. In the event of an accident this would be an incredibly unsafe situation. I noticed that there was a recall for this issue for my model of vehicle that ended in 2017. Mine is a 2018 and therefore not covered by that particular recall.

Sliding door lock actuator failure resulting in inability to exit the vehicle quickly in the case of emergency.

The headrest on the passenger side front deployed for no reason as the car was sitting overnight. It cannot be reset.

The actuator in both rear sliding doors is not working. The drivers side is stuck locked and the passengers side is stuck unlocked. My children have to exit the van through the back lift gate and one of them has to sit in the seat next to the door that does not lock. We have not taken it to a dealer but have a mechanic in the family that has diagnosed this to be the issue. No one else has inspected the problem at this time. There were no warning lamps or indications of the problem prior to the drivers side rear door not working starting on December 17, 2023. It was after that that we realized the passenger side rear door has not been locking for somewhere close to a year prior to that date. We have been dealing with the security alarm going off when someone opens the rear passenger door while the doors are locked. We can open that door even when the doors are locked which in turn sets off the alarm. That’s when we realized the rear passenger door never locks not even while driving!!! it should also be noted that neither door can be manually locked or unlocked. They are stuck in one position!.

Power sliding door makes buzzing sound when unlocking.

The passenger side power door actuator stopped functioning making it extremely difficult to access the seats on the passenger side. I was unable to easily get to a young child who was in a car seat on that side. If we were in an accident I would have been unable to get to them quickly.

The drivers side passenger sliding door won't unlock or open. It is stuck at the lock position and you can not manually or using the van system unlock and open the door.

Driver's side sliding door stays locked and will not open it also prevents me to lock the passenger side sliding door.

We are having power sliding door issues. The doors are trying to stay in the locked position causing you to not be able to get passengers and kids out of the car safely.

Sliding passenger door staying in the unlock position.

While I was driving my headrest exploded. Causing a loud noise and my neck hurts with nausea and dizziness. It was so scary and painful. Something about ahr problem.

The passenger sliding door on the driver’s side will lock up and has no mechanism that allows me to open/close the door manually. Essentially my passenger(s) are stuck on that side. I cannot use the overhead button near the rear view mirror or the button on the back near the door. I have tried to manually open the door and it does nothing either. This seems like a safety hazard that the door lock will not release up either.

Faulty lock actuator on driver’s side sliding door. I could not get my child unbuckled and out of the vehicle without climbing all the way in to the van from the other side. I looked it up and it seems this is a well known problem to Dodge. This is incredibly unsafe and concerning!.

There is a faulty lock actuator in the sliding door. My door is suddenly stuck closed and I could not open it. My child was inside and I could not get my child out of her car seat without having to climb all the way into the van from the other side. This is incredibly unsafe and concerning. And apparently it is a well known issue.

The left sliding door of the van has an issue which started immediately after my last service more than a year ago (around April 12, 2023) at glendale CA Dodge. Initially the door wouldnt unlock and lock. I reported it to them but got no response. I had to manually unlock and lock to make it work and fixed the issue. Since then, it makes a lod buzzing noise whenever it's locked and unlocked. So, the issue now it just the loud buzzing noise and it's been that way since. I searched online and found forums with other users with the same problem who reported their issues here at NHTSA too. So, I'm reporting mine. Thank you.

Left sliding door actuator frozen. Unable to exit car if there is an emergency.

My passenger side powered sliding door wont close all the way. The back part won't latch. Even if we close it manually it wont close all the way. This car is only 5 years old!! why am I having so many problems with it. How can I feel safe driving my car when one of the doors won't close correctly?.

The rear driverside sliding door was stuck in the lock position for several months. It was inconvenient that the actuator stopped working on the door. After months of it being stuck it suddenly works, but everytime the door s lock the rear driverside sliding doors locking system makes a buzzer sound while locking. If this fails again and we need to leave the car quickly in an emergency not having both doors working properly could be very dangerous.

The driver side sliding read door is stuck in the lock position. The door is unable to be opened manually in case of an emergency. This is a known problem with these vans and it is a safety issue. To fix this problem a part needs to be replaced, the "door lock actuator", which is costly. This should be fixed by the manufacturer as it can be dangerous if my family is stuck because of an accident and there is no way to force the door open. This problem could also happen to the sliding door. I have small children and I worry about this issue. My van only has 64,000 miles and I bough the vehicle used just six months ago. Prior to the failure the door would make a buzzing sound and seem to struggle to close. There should at least be a way to operate the door manually for safety reasons and that is not the case. This is dangerous.

Power control module or totally integrated power module(tipm) is giving multiple faulty codes. Car would not turn off(even when key is taken off) some times can not be put into gears. I'm afraid and concerned that vehicle could derail and not respond correctly. Veicle has been inspected by mechanics but failed to locate problem. An schedule has been made at Dodge dealership for octuber 10. They will charge $160 just to inspect. Vehicle VIN # not included in the recalls with the same issue.

Door locks fail when the door lock fails it locks the door without a way to manually unlock doors. This is on sliding doors. Children can lock themselves in the car and suffocate. Remote nor manual door lock will operate. If lock fails in unlock position door may be opened while in motion I have not repaired the issue yet.

Passenger sliding door alternates from locking and cannot open to will not lock. This is a safety issue when trying to extricate my great grandchildren from their car seats!.

Around February 2022 the passenger side sliding door on our 2018 Dodge caravan began making a buzzing noise when we locked and unlocked the door. It made this buzzing noise for a few months, until eventually it made no sound at all and was stuck in the lock position. We were not able to get it out of the lock position and cannot open the door. This is problematic because this is the side of the van our kids exit to go to school. It's not safe for them to exit on the driver side of the vehicle due to traffic. It's also problematic if we need to exit the passenger side door during an accident if the driver side doors and hatch are inaccessible. There were no warning lamps or messages associated with this problem. On July 25, 2022 a mechanic identified the issue and indicated the door lock actuator needs to be replaced at a cost >$500.