2001 Dodge Grand Caravan problems
The 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan has 362 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (14%) concerns lighting. Next are air bags (13%) and electrical system (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 362 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Lighting 14% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 10 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 12 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 65,000 miles 241 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 13 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 41 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 55 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 35 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 41 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 22 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 17 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 10 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 6 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 241 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 65,000 miles. For lighting specifically, the median reported mileage is about 80,000 miles (38 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 10 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 12 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2001 ranks 19th most-complained-about out of 31 model years of the Dodge Grand Caravan with enough data (245 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
When involved in an accident my sons seat belt unlatched causing him to be thrown foward, luckly he survived the accident with only bumbs, cuts and bruises. The repair shop told me the belt seamed fine, but I have been bothered by this ever since and did my own research to discover that this is a know problem and they no longer use this type of buckle. Crysler refused to change my buckles to the new kind and I fear if in another accident it could be fatal.
My dodge grand caravan 2001 was involved in a front end collision in october of 2015. I t-boned another car that pulled out in front of me. I was going 35-40 miles per hour. The seat belt failed to tighten around my hips. Because of this failure I sustained extensive damages to my right leg. This included a displaced fracture, numerous other fractures, a crushed injury to the tibia plateau. I had 5 months in rehab, 3 surgeries, extensive physical therapy. I am still receiving medical treatment a year later.
My minivan was in park with the engine running while I delivered a package to a neighbor during a thunder, lightning, rain storm. The van jumped into gear, raced forward and pinned me to the neighbor's door for more than an hour before being rescued. I spent several days in the intensive care unit of a hospital with a severe crush injury and hip sprain to my right leg. When the car was examined by my dealer/mechanic, nothing registered on the computer.
Tl*- the contact stated had ignition problems with the 2001 dodge grand caravan. When he tried to start the vehicle couldn't get the key to turn in the ignition on a number of occasions. He contacted the local dealership, and was informed that there had been a number of calls on the same problem with the same vehicle. The contact was informed to take something heavy and tap on the key so that the cylinder could connect with the key. The contact called the manufacturer, and they urged him to call NHTSA.
Ruptured fuel line spraying gasoline onto muffler. The fuel lines are plastic and are attached to the fuel filter and are replaced together as a unit. The plastic line had a quarter inch rupture. This filter had less than 30k miles and was about a year old. Why does chrysler use plastic fuel line? I do not know the cause - a weak inferior plastic or a sharp stone perhaps. Either way, it does not matter. I have never seen a hard plastic used for fuel delivery.