2012 Dodge Grand Caravan Acceleration Problems

Which parts fail

• Accelerator pedal
  2

Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  523%
• 25k–50k
  314%
• 50k–75k
  732%
• 75k–100k
  314%
• 100k–150k
  29%
• 150k+
  29%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact shifted the vehicle into reverse and without warning independently accelerated while in reverse and crashed into another vehicle. The contact then depressed the brake pedal and shift the gear to drive and the vehicle independently accelerated forward. As a result the vehicle hit another vehicle. . A totaled of 5 vehicles were involved in the crash. The vehicle was then turned off. No air bags deployed. A police report was failed. The contact stated that one of the vehicle was occupied however no injuries were sustained by the vehicle occupant. The contact sustained whiplash which required medical attention. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot by the insurance company and deemed a total loss. No dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

While pulling into a parking space with my foot slightly on the brake pedal, the engine surged with an audible revving, and the vehicle accelerated resulting in a collision. Idling or near idling in cold weather seems to be a frequent issue, but this is the only time it has not been overridden by applying the brake.

On January 4th, while pulling into a neighbor's driveway, I tapped the brakes to stop (I was going less than 5mph, so I didn't need to press hard) the engine suddenly accelerated hard. I immediately slammed on the brakes harder to stop the acceleration, and my van ended up five to ten feet in my neighbor's yard. Two weeks later, I was pulling into a parking space at my son's work. I was moving slow and straightening the wheel approximately two to three feet from the sidewalk curb, when the engine acceleration surged and my van lurched forward. I again slammed on the brakes in order to not slam into the building wall just past the sidewalk, the van stopped on top of the sidewalk after hitting the car parked next to my van (as my wheels were still turned from turning into the parking space. The damage to my van and the car hit by my van totaled over $10,000. …

While driving my 2012 3.6l Dodge Grand Caravan with a 160 amp alternator the battery light came on, within 5 miles the transmission control system stopped working. Further all of the system lights on the dash came on and the radio and HVAC system stopped functioning. The cause of these system conditions was the denso tn421000-0770 alternator failing. I believe that this is the same alternator that is used on vehicles that are included in NHTSA recall no. : 14v-634. Chrysler claims that the alternator fails only on cars that are equipped with ehps. I believe that my alternator failed in a similar fashion to this recall. The Dodge and Chrysler minivans that are equipped with a 3.6l engine and the denso 160 amp alternator should be recalled. In the end my car stalled in the middle of the road which could have resulted in a terrible accident had I been on the highway.

While attempting to turn left onto two lane highway, van surged, all dashboard lights came on and then had almost no acceleration. Had to maneuver into center turning lane and then was able to get van into parking lot of store. Engine was revving but van would not go above 10mph. Van was towed to local dealership tonight. This is the third time this has happened since late December of 2015. Main computer (TIPM) has been replaced twice already by dealership. Dodge did help cover part of repair cost first time, never heard back from them when it happened again in the end of February and just filed third claim / complaint tonight. Just wondering if they are waiting for someone in my family to be seriously injured or killed when the vehicle does this before acknowledging that there is an inherent issue with this van or the parts they are repairing it with.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan. While driving 55 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle accelerated independently without warning. The contact disengaged the cruise control without his foot on the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle continued to increase rpms independently. The contact depressed the brake pedal and the vehicle decelerated. As soon as he removed his foot from the brake pedal, the acceleration recurred. The contact pulled the vehicle over and turned it off for ten minutes. The vehicle was restarted and operated normally. Four months later, the failure recurred without the cruise control being operated. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted or made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. There was no warning indicator illuminated. While driving and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle intermittently failed to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to planet Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram (located at 400 east central street, franklin, ma 02038, [phone]) where it was diagnosed that the totally integrated power module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA. The approximate failure mileage was 74,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that while making either a right or left turn, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was able to restart on the first attempt after the vehicle gear shift was shifted into park. The local dealer was not contacted or made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, who informed the contact, that there was no open recall for the failure experienced, no further assistance was offered. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan. While driving approximately 45 MPH and when the accelerator pedal was depressed, the pedal independently depressed further and the speed suddenly increased. On another occasion, the pedal became stuck and the pedal had to be depressed in order to release. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was not taken to a mechanic for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 75,500.

While accelerating to 65 MPH on an interstate my gas pedal became stuck and began to accelerate my van to a higher speed, I attempted to resolve this issue by tapping the brake hoping the system would reset or disengage but it did not. I also checked my floor mat to ensure it was not interfering but it moved easily. To stop the acceleration, I had to physically pull on the gas pedal in which it finally released from being stuck and allowed me to drive at a normal rate of speed.

Acceleration complaints in other Grand Caravan years