1998 Dodge Caravan Transmission Problems

Which parts fail

• Automatic transmission
  82
• Driveline › Differential unit
  8
• Automatic transmission › Park/neutral start interlock switch
  7
• Automatic transmission › Cooling unit and lines
  4
• Automatic transmission › Torque converter
  3
• Manual transmission
  3

Components named in complaints (automatic and manual transmissions, CVT, axles, driveshaft, 4WD/AWD).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  00%
• 25k–50k
  38%
• 50k–75k
  1747%
• 75k–100k
  925%
• 100k–150k
  514%
• 150k+
  26%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1998 Dodge Caravan owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

Vehicle was parked in a level parking lot, and while idling in neutral vehicle suddenly slipped into reverse inadvertently. Then, vehicle rolled backwards into another vehicle's left side panel in front of the left rear wheel. The consumer was caught in the drivers side door and dragged to the ground.

On my way home from the dealership I heard a noise in the front end when I arrived home I called a mechanic the next day. He looked at my van on that Monday to find the stabilizer bar broke and zippity strip to the strut which was also bad. The dealer let me drive 180 miles with my son in the vehicle, and the front end was like this. The following week I was driving down the road and white smoke started to come from the vents so I returned to the mechanic and paid $105.00 to have freon with dye ran through my system to find the evaporator was bad and needed replaced, which would cost at least $860.00. Then at 36 days of ownership and only 64000 miles the constant velocity joint is bad and a new transaxle is going to have to be put in this week. …

Consumer states left front side of vehicle appears to be lower than the right and the brakes wear down only on the front left side, vehicle skidded when brakes were being applied which caused an accident consumer was advised front caliper, rotor and brake pads were needed because they were worn, dealership advised consumer they could not explain why vehicle was skidding, consumer is having to replace the rotor, caliper and brake only on front side every 8000 miles, consumer was advised by delearship that this type of vehicle is known to have problems with the brakes and would probably have to be replaced every six months. Key would not turn in ignition, dealer attempted to remove cylinder and it broke, dealer replaced. Tape dragged in the tape player, dealer replaced. At times when starting vehicle, there is no radio, lights, or horn, dealer could not find any problems. …

Total transmission failure. We drove to nj from our house, no problems, noises or warnings parked the car and 1/2 hour later go in the car and car would not move either back or forth. Had car towed to mechanic and next day he told me I needed a new transmission, I was shocked, so decide to get a 2nd opinion, took car to amaco , they diagnosed also that a needed new transmission or rebuild transmission. I was going away on vacation on Friday , so had no options but fix transmission which cost me $2,021.25. I was glad it didnt brake while we were driving in the highway and no one got hurt. I asked the people at amaco , what made the transmission just die, at 81,525 miles and they told me is a very common problems with this particular car, so I decide to research and found out that they were right, by your own records of complaints. …

I purchased my vehicle in 2000. Two months later my transmission went. 16 months after that my motor went. I had to let my vehicle sit for nine months not being able to drive it and yet still making payments on it before I could afford to replace to the motor. So 3 weeks ago I had the motor replaced and now my transmission has gone again. Supposedly it was replaced with a factory rebuilt transmission the first time around. This seriously upsets me that the transmission has gone again. I still owe 2 and 1/2 years of payments on this vehicle and I am back to I cannot drive it again because I cannot afford to get it fixed. I was told of some factory problem with the transmissions and I wondered if this could be the reason that my vehicle is out of commission again. For the amount of money this used vehicle is costing me I would have been better off to buy a new one. …

Transmission failed at 86000 miles. The transaxle was perforated by broken pin. The 2nd transmission at the transmission shop could not be installed because of a crack in housing due to same problem. Transmission #3 that was installed lasted about 3 months and failed in the same manner. #4 could not be installed because it arrived with a crack in housing due to same problem. I now have transmission #5 installed in this vehicle. The failure is a pin in the transaxle becoming loose and flying out at a high rate of speed.the pin then creates a hole in the transmission case and allows fluid to escape causing transmission failure. The pin is usually stopped by the transmission case but it is only a matter of time before one flies out and injures somebody. Roll pin that secures gear pin is breaking. This is a manufacturing defect. Total cost of repairs was $1950.00.

I started out in the morning to take my son to school, and we had to make a stop at the grocery store. When I got to the stop sign to turn into the grocery store I heard this clanking sound. The car had stopped and would not move. I had my car towed to a repair shop, and they said my transmission broke into pieces and fell out from under the van. He could not understand why this happened being that I only had 67,000 miles on the van. He could not fix it so I had to get a new one from the manufacturer. The whole process cost me $2400.00 (outrageous). Before this incident happened there was leaking coming from under the van. With all the complaints and problems with the transmission I cannot believe Dodge/Chrysler has not done something about this. They should be held accountable.

Transmission failed at 63,000 on the highway, on a cold day, 90 miles from home when I had my children, ages 2 and 5 in the van. This is supposed to be a family vehicle! It should be reliable and safe. I've always had toyotas and hondas and put 200,000 miles on them with no transmission failure. The public is being dumped by daimler Chrysler into thinking that replacing transmissions is a normal part of vehicle ownership. I just had to spend $2800 to fix a vehicle that is worth about $7000. I've recently learned that many, many people have had this same problem and that caravans are notorious for bad transmissions and motor failure in under 100,000 miles. If they are going to market family vehicles they should be safe and reliable!

I have a 1998 Dodge Caravan with only 66,332 miles the problem's that have come up is first the transmission had a internal pin bust which caused several parts to come apart. This caused the transmissionto break, it had to be rebuilt on 2-17-04 with 61995 miles at the cost of $1685.25. The second problem is the air conditioning system had a failure with the evaporator which seems to be very comon according to several service centers that I have contacted outside the Chrysler company. Which spitzer Dodge wanted to charge $1100.00 to repair. I know the vehical is 6 years old but with the low milage I think this is a little uncalled for and though it should be reported.

Transmission ------------ sudden failure of all forward and reverse gears. Key off-on brings back forward drive for about 100 yards then fails again. No reverse gear at all. Computer diagnostic indicates 3 transmission errors related to shifting. Sensors look OK. Shop had to rebuild transmission at a cost of over $2,000. Brakes ------ extremely excessive wear of front brake pads. Must be replaced at least once a year now. First time it occurred it destroyed one brake rotor -- had to replace that. Now, at the first sign of brake squeal I must check and replace the pads as they are close to wearing out. Generally get less than 15,000 miles per set.

Transmission complaints in other Caravan years