Hatchback/liftgate Problems of Dodge Grand Caravan

The contact owns a 2011 Dodge caravan. The contact stated that the hatch back door opened independently without engaging the key less entry. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem and referred the contact to the local dealer. The vehicle had not been repaired. The approximately mileage at time of failure was 53,000.

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We were walking up to our vehicle and used the keychain remote to open the rear liftgate. It went all the way open and my wife walked underneath it to put some things in the car. After it went all the way open, it stayed there for a couple of seconds and then all of a sudden came down hard and slammed my wife in the head. She sustained a sore neck and a headache that has since gotten worse. I tried operating the liftgate again while we were clear and it did the same thing. It went all the way open, paused for 2 seconds, and then slammed down hard about a foot before it went back closed in a normal fashion. It has since been repaired by the dealer. They had to replace the 2 hydraulic cylinders for the rear liftgate. However, my wife is still experiencing neck pain.

See all problems of the 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan 🔎.

: the contact stated the while pulling the lift gate down manually, the contact's husband pushed the button that automatically brings the lift gate down unaware that his wife was pulling the lift gate down manually. The lift gate jerked up hitting the contact in the face causing the contact's four bottom teeth to go through the bottom lip. The contact went to the hospital resulting in three stitches to the bottom lip. The dealership has been alerted.

See all problems of the 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan 🔎.

After I had closed the liftgate on my 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan, I heard a "pop". I had heard this "pop" before - I had previously owned a 1992 Plymouth grand voyager that had the same problem and was covered under a recall. When I re-opened the liftgate, the passenger side strut shot through the space between the liftgate and the roofline. It was still secured by the lower bolt, but the top bolt had sheared, just as happened on the 1992 Plymouth model . However, due to design changes in the area of the where the strut is, there was no place for the strut to go but to scratch the paint on the vehicle. The 1992 Plymouth had a "pocket" that the upper bolt sat in and it would force the strut into the area between the roof and roof liner inside the vehicle. On this 1998 Dodge, I had to forcibly remove the strut from the lower bolt, since it was attached with a star design headed bolt, therefore effectively ruining the lower pivot area of the strut. This is the fifth (5th) strut (1st on the 1998) that I have had failure with, and all have been to bolt failure in the threaded area of the bolt. I will contact local Dodge dealer to inquire about possibility of fixing under same recall as 1992 recall.

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There has been a leak into passenger compartment from top of hatch opening. Leak was hidden by plastic covering and not detected until noticeable smell, possible caused by mold. Water is entering through a faulty weld on each side of the upper hatch opening. Leak was additionally obscured because carpet is rubber backed. The underlying padding was soaked from the rear up to the middle row of seats. This has obviously been ongoing for a considerable time, but was undetectable due to it's location. The van is 3 1/2 years old but has only 31,300 miles. The welds should not fail in this short time. This is either a design flaw or a mfg defect. Many people may have this problem and not know about it. I have photos of the area where the water is entering. There is no specific date of incident, but I first noticed a small amount of wetness sometime last year. I thought it had dripped off the open hatch. I would like to know if this is an ongoing problem with these vehicles.

See all problems of the 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan 🔎.