First Caravan and First Post!
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 2
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First Caravan and First Post!
My first post here. I recently purchased a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT with all the bells and whistles. My wife loves the power lift gate/sliding doors. My daughter loves the 6 disc DVD entertainment system. I love the leather heated seats and the audio controls on the steering wheel! The van is a real treat; we had two VW TDI Jettas before. My daughter is 2 and we have another baby girl on the way. The van has 125,000 KM’s (77,700 miles) on it and for $7,000 I think it was a steal. Both my sisters drive Caravans (1996 & 2005 model years) and they have been good to the family.
Is there anything in particular I should watch for with this caravan platform? Known problems etc … Thanks in advance!
Is there anything in particular I should watch for with this caravan platform? Known problems etc … Thanks in advance!
Rookie
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 64
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Let's see, you should:
1. Definitely flush the transmission if it hasn't been done yet.
2. The power sliding doors can be problematic, deal with that as it arises.
By @ 77k miles, my '06 Caravan SXT was needing:
1. EGR Valve
2. New plugs and wires (Dodge 100k mile plugs are not really 100k mile plugs.
3. Shortly after it needed a water pump/coolant flush/etc.
Other than that, ours is at @ 86k and has been a very good vehicle for 2 and a half years now (bought November, 2009 with 42k miles, used).
Good luck and enjoy the van!
Oh, BTW, if you have the rear climate control option you may run into problems with the rear AC and heater lines corroding and leaking - I remember that from my days at the Dealership back in '07 as a Service Advisor.
1. Definitely flush the transmission if it hasn't been done yet.
2. The power sliding doors can be problematic, deal with that as it arises.
By @ 77k miles, my '06 Caravan SXT was needing:
1. EGR Valve
2. New plugs and wires (Dodge 100k mile plugs are not really 100k mile plugs.
3. Shortly after it needed a water pump/coolant flush/etc.
Other than that, ours is at @ 86k and has been a very good vehicle for 2 and a half years now (bought November, 2009 with 42k miles, used).
Good luck and enjoy the van!
Oh, BTW, if you have the rear climate control option you may run into problems with the rear AC and heater lines corroding and leaking - I remember that from my days at the Dealership back in '07 as a Service Advisor.
Rookie
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 64
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It still only has 77k miles (125k in KM). Any reason you recommend not flushing at this mileage? I am looking at another flush in 30k miles or so.
Professional
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 206
Likes: 0
From: NW Arkansas
I would drop the pan on the transmission and change the filter and add fresh ATF+4. Remove and add some fresh fluid each 30k miles. Do not do a reverse flush!!!
The power steering resevoir has a filter screen in the bottom. It can clog and cause a whine when the pump is cavatating. I replaced my resevoir around 70k miles and just recently took the resevoir off and cleaned it with carb cleaner. I am now at 140k miles. It is a good idea to remove as much fluid as you can, use a turkey baster and replace with fresh ATF+4. I do this when I change some fluid in the trans.
The power steering resevoir has a filter screen in the bottom. It can clog and cause a whine when the pump is cavatating. I replaced my resevoir around 70k miles and just recently took the resevoir off and cleaned it with carb cleaner. I am now at 140k miles. It is a good idea to remove as much fluid as you can, use a turkey baster and replace with fresh ATF+4. I do this when I change some fluid in the trans.