Owners have filed 6,090 complaints on the Dodge Grand Caravan, covering 1988–2020. The system named most often is Electrical System (1,574 reports). Worst years by volume: 2016, 2010, 2012; cleanest: 1988, 2020, 1989. 134 reports describe a crash, 98 a fire, 3 a death. On average the car was 5.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Dodge Grand Caravan
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 6,090 Grand Caravan complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 1,574 Read
I experienced ramdom failure of the headlights on my dodge caravan. I brought this to the attention of my dealer and they said they "could not duplicate concern". I was told the cause was probably the "front control module" but they would not replace it because they were not positive it was the cause, and because of…
The rear power outlet (between the middle rear set and rear set on driver side) caught fire. We were driving in ocala, fl entering the i75 highway on ramp when we saw smoke and then flames shooting from the rear power outlet. We got the kids out of the van and the fire took over the entire van. I was told an…
My wife hit a deer going 70 mph driving northbound on i65 right after crossing the tenn. State line. The deer hit the front center and passenger front of the van and the airbags never deployed. The airbag lights came on and stayed on but the airbags never deployed. The fender molding was ripped apart, radiator was…
Power Train 490 Read
On [XXX] after filling van with gas I entered and started my van. I noticed the gas cap was open so I put the van in park, took my foot off the brake, took off my seat belt, opened the door and exited leaving the door open. After a couple minutes while I was putting the gas cap back on, the vehicle started to back up.…
The contact owns a 2020 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that after refueling the vehicle and leaving the fuel station, it was noticed through the side view mirror that the fuel door was still open and was forgotten to be closed after refueling. The contact came to a stop and shifted into the Park position, she…
3 year old 2020 Dodge Grand Caravan sxt had failed transmission pump and transmission. I was driving 30 mph and it lunged forward fast after not changing gears for 2 miles. My warranty company put the wrong replacement transmission that is a closed transmission. It was from a junk yard reject with crumbled gasket…
Structure 354 Read
My hood flew open while driving on the highway, and I checked the NHTSA site and see there was a recall for the hood latches, but apparently not for
I was driving at 2 or 3 mph in heavy traffic on a city street and the car accelerated when I touched the brake. Pressure on the brake pedal would not stop the vehicle and it crashed into the car ahead, pushing it into the second car ahead. Eventually the rpms dropped after the collision. Fault code showed headlamp…
I put the van in park. Got out to walk around and get a car seat & the van started moving in reverse (back up camera was not on) so I know I put it in park. The van hit another car beside me and if I was not able to stop it in time it would've hit my apartment complex because it was moving fast enough to go over the…
Engine 262 Read
V1 was parked for at least 12 hours and vehicle engine compartment fire
Engine oil filter adapter assembly failure of Manufacturer OEM Part Numbers: 68105583AA, 68105583AB, 68105583AC, 68105583AD, 68105583AF, 68105583AE This failure results in many safety concerns to include engine bay fires. The inferior plastic OEM part is prone to failures causing pressurized oil leaks at the top of…
The contact owned a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated while her daughter was driving at approximately 55 MPH the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the daughter lost power steering and crashed into a highway barrier on the passenger side. The contact stated that the damage was from the front fender to…
Air Bags 179 Read
Small overlap vehicle accident. Driver unrestrained. Front airbags failed to deploy. Driver fatality
Front driver head on collision passenger curtain airbags failed to deploy and passenger front air bag exploded also third row drivers side passenger seat belt failed. Passenger flew to passenger side of seat and head shattered window and sustained head injuries which could've possibly been prevented by curtain air bag…
The contact owned a 2016 Dodge Caravan. The contact stated that while her son was drunk driving and passed out at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle crashed into a sign and a guardrail causing the vehicle to flip over and come to a stop at a ditch. The contact stated the vehicle was in a previous collision where the…
Seats 177 Read
We were in an accident with our 2018 dodge grand caravan where a person rear ended us going at least 75 mph while I was going a maximum of 20 mph. We were in a city maintained road, silverbell rd at the intersection of cortaro rd. My sister in law was in the very back 3rd row passenger side chair when it dislodged…
While driving, the vehicle active head restraint deployed, on its own, pushing my head forward. No collision had occurred at the time of deployment. The head restraint looks as if the plastic bracket inside broke because I tried resetting the head restraint, per manufacturer instructions, but it will not reset. Head…
Consumer's vehicle was struck from the rear by a school bus and driver's seat did not hold. The reclining back broke
Service Brakes 105 Read
I was crossing an intersection when 2 cars stopped in front of me making a left turn I tried to stop slammed my brakes no skidding at all and ran into the back of a car totaling my van as of the result of the wreck in wich l felt like there was something wrong with the brakes
When I applied the brakes the vehicle kept going it wouldn't srop this happened to me 3xs 2 times I was in a crash the brakes fo low to the floor but when it was checked I was told everything was fine. This last saccident people where with me they witnessed me frantically applying brakes but car wouldnt stop
Vehicle purchased used 3/3/19, supposedly with no problems with brake system. Two months later rear brakes are grinding away at rotors, calipers are getting stuck, and there was a fire on driver's side rear brakes
Steering 93 Read
9:45 pm I had just taken the exit for 781 off off I-81 in jefferson county, ny to head to fort drum. I was in the right hand lane. I set the cruise control to 62, the speed limit is 65. It was about a mile or so down from the on ramp when the van shut off by itself at 62mph. There was no electrical or lights, not even…
2010 dodge grand caravan with one passenger (driver) was hit by a driver running a red light at ~ 50mph. The collision occured at the front right (passenger) side of the grand caravan. The collision was severe and the van was totaled out as a result of this accident. Although the accident was a side impact none of the…
Was entering a parking place. Right foot on top of brake. While my car was moving at idol speed-the engine RPM's speed surges causing no control in steering, brake . The surgeing over rides the brake. Steering, everything.. Hit parked car. You have no control in situation. Had another "2010" van & same thing happened…
Grand Caravan years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Air Bags,seat Belts | 3 | — | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 6 | — | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 5 | 3 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 13 | 7 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 6 | 2 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 11 | 13 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 12 | 3 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 7 | 14 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 7 | 15 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 14 | 13 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 10 | 6 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 11 | 10 | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 6 | 4 | |
| 1993 | Air Bags | 7 | — | |
| 1992 | Air Bags | 11 | 3 | |
| 1991 | Air Bags | — | 4 | |
| 1990 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 1 | 1 | |
| 1989 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 1 | — | |
| 1988 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 950 |
| Average complaints per series | 6.4 |
| Worst single series | 51 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.2 years |
A model average of 6.4 hides a worst series at 51. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Grand Caravan?
By complaint volume, 2016, 2010, 2012 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Grand Caravan years are the cleanest?
1988, 2020, 1989 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Dodge Grand Caravan have?
6,090 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1988–2020. Of those, 134 describe a crash and 98 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.