Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1996 Plymouth Voyager owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
There was no events leading up to the failure. I have had no proablems with the vehicle. I parked the van in the yard and it started on fire under the hood. The fire inspector said the fire was from the wiring. My insurance totaled the vehicle. I have contacted daimlercrysler and I am still waiting for a response.
There was no events leading up to the failure. Parked vehicle in front yard and engine caught on fire. Fire inspector said fire was due to electical failure. Insurance totaled vechile. Called daimlerchrysler still waiting for response.
1996 Plymouth Voyager ;when ignition key is switch to on.front windshield wiper will turn on for a brief period and power door lock makes like a grinding noise.note the engine has not been crank and started yet and all the switches has been off and not touch at all.eventually a few days after incident some switches to the HVAC fan has not been working and the factory stereo eventually malfunction.you cannot tune the am/fm tuner it stays in 1 station.the automatic transmission at times wont shift and other times will shift without problem.the minivan has 48.500 miles only.I brought it to the dealer at mall chysler and they recomended transmission fluid replacement and replace clock spring,and repair fluel rail-injection.there is no change in the transmission shift,it still occasionally refuses to shift at times noticing the tach needle going at 4,000rpm with speed of only 30-40mph.the …
Tl contact owns a 1996 Plymouth Voyager. Since November of 2003, the transmission has been replaced three different times. After purchasing a brand new transmission, it failed again the very same day and needed to be replaced again. The contact has had the top half of the engine rebuilt. The vehicle is stuck in drive and will not hold fluid. The front windshield wipers activate without a power surge in the vehicle. In addition, the rear bolts keep coming out of the shocks. The contact has taken the vehicle to have the bolts tightened three or four times. The engine is ticking and smoking. The serpentine belt slips off if it gets even slightly wet from snow or rain. The check engine light sporadically flashes on and off or constantly remains illuminated. The air conditioner was completely serviced; however, it cannot be used because of the transmission failure. …
My minivan had a slight jerk and the tachometer and speedometer went to zero, the engine was still running and all lights were on so I continued, when the car was restarted the guages registered correctly. 10 days later the same thing happened on acceleration. Then the guages all pegged at high end and blue smoke poured from under the hood. The resulting fire burned out my started, battery and wiring harness. A Chrysler dealership is repairing the problem, but under my auto insurance instead of vehicle warrenty. This same symptom of the guages going to zero was reported to my by a friend who owns of a 1997 Dodge caravan. This fire was extremely scary and I wanted a record of it in case of reports by other owners of similar problems thank you.
Me and my son was driving down the interstate when all of the sudden my speedometer stopped working and the rpms was going up to a dangerous zone ,I let off the gas to try and avoid a engine blow up and the rpms was still quite high, I manged to get us off with out getting ran into from behind, I went 25 MPH going home at the rate of rpms at 3 1\2 to 4 ,I have no ideal as to what is going on but a few things I have read so far sounds like maybe emissions or trasmission, I live on a fixed income and disabled ,I wished I knew about all the recalls and the troubles the Voyager had before I bought it, well some one wish me luck , thanks
Engine failure occurs after driving for 25 to 90 minutes. Failure would occur ramdomly regardless of season, weather, or temperature. First indication of failure would be a loss of power and reduction in speed. The engine would not respond to increases of throttle position. The rate of loss of speed would increase till the vehicle was hardly moving. There would be bucking and backfiring through the intake. The check engine soon dashboard warning light turns on. Engine stalls and will not restart. Has happened in 2003 4 times and on 1/16/04, 1/23/04 and 1/30/04 the last after replacing ECM (computer).
The design of the lamp assembly allows arcing to occur between the bulb holder and the reflector assembly. Arcing caused problem in the electrical contacts, melted and charred the plastic reflector assembly. Mfg was contacted but chose to take no action. Damage was limited to contact area in reflector. However would expect that fire/charring of plastic could extend in some cases to cause ignition of entire assembly. Condition has been occurring for some time based on damage but was only found when lamp appeared to be "burned out". Dates and mileage are actually unknown for when event started. Mr
We had a 1996 Plymouth minivan that has been giving us problems with electrical and engine. It wouldn't shift, the cruise control would stick, the battery would be drained even though nothing was left on. On Tuesday, dec. 9th 2008 we moved our van to clear our driveway of snow. Within 10 minutes it started on fire in the dash. Somewhere near or in the glove box. The van is a total loss due to the fire department having to use high pressure water,fire extinguisher, cutting wires and fire/smoke damage.
Basically, this vehicle has had several electrical problems since I have owned it ( I am the original owner). The windshield wipers go on intermittently , I have put 3 or 4 new batteries in it. The alarm system does not function properly. I have heard the NHTSA is investigating the air bag, horn and cruise control problem. Has any decisions been made so that I wont have to pay $300.00 to fix this defect. ****dimsii ivoq entry posted after 12/12/02 cut-over to artemis****770839
NHTSA investigations
Air bag clockspring
There is no summary currently available
Electrical complaints in other Voyager years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 1996 Plymouth Voyager?
NHTSA has 114 complaints about the electrical system of the 1996 Plymouth Voyager, 15% of the model year's 756 complaints. The component named most often is horn (48 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1996 Plymouth Voyager electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for the 1996 Plymouth Voyager, though it has 9 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 1996 Plymouth Voyager electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 96,000 miles, and 7% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 12 fires and 1 injury to electrical system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.