I've always liked the looks of the new GCs, like the 07-current years, so when it came to minivan shopping, I looked at the Dodge first. I test drove a 2009 with all the features and liked it. Fit my family (I have 3 kids) perfectly, loved the features and the idea of the stow n go, overall I liked it. Interior was a little cheap but other than that, I liked it.

Anyways, I was set on a Grand Caravan...until I started reading reviews online. Everybody says the same thing: "junk, a lemon, worst van ever". Horror story after horror story. They eat brakes, burn oil, transmission's go out at 20k. Leave families stranded in the cold. It's crazy! Electrical issues galore, and the new 2013s are no different, apparently.

I just want some opinions, and to see if the online reviews are really true, because if that's the case I'm going to have to consider something else.

Can anyone share there experiences with a GC?

 

So far so good.

I was scared about the GC before buying it. But It's perfect for me. Sure, the Honda take less fuel, but I don't drive much, and mostly on highway.

It's not supposed to be reliable as the Toyota. But I don't need it on a daily basis, so I don't care if it's stay a few day a the dealer.

Rear seats are not to the Nissan's level. But I don't care, since my kids are using child safety sets.

I like leather seats. Not only because they are confortable, but because they are easy to clean. If I had buy the Nissan's, Toyota's or Honda'a van, I would have got leather seats.

 

My son needed a larger vehicle for his growing family. He bought a used 2012 Caravan SXT with alloy wheels and u-connect as the main options. A number of his friends have had Caravans for a long time and found them very reliable and fitted their family needs well. The stow and go seating was a big factor in the utility of the van since it accommodated passengers and easily converted to carrying 4x8 sheets of building materials without removing any seats and storing them. Young families tend to be active in all areas, so the Toyota, Honda and Nissan were non starters for him. The Crossovers allow for some utility but are not up to the Caravan standard of utility for large objects or for passenger room and convenience and comfort.

I read some of the comparisons of vans and the Dodge Caravan was criticized for almost everything. The reviewers seem to be people who do not appreciate a family vehicle and were looking for something that would compete on another level. After driving my son's Caravan I cannot relate to those reviews at all. When you drive the Caravan you can see why it has been and continues to be the best selling mini-van. Getting into it is easy and all the seats are comfortable. The controls are simple and easy to hand. It has a very comfortable and stable ride. The brakes are outstanding and after 28,000 kilometers are hardly worn. The steering is nice and precise and the van goes where its pointed. The trans shifts perfectly through the 6 gears, but we never tried the "econo" mode that bypasses 2nd and 4th gears.

Only problem with my son's Caravan to date is a passenger blend door actuator that needed to be replaced under warranty. That did not take long at all. So far the Caravan is showing itself to be everything my son's friends said it would be. I looked at several Caravan forums and the level of problems is low but the level of enthusiasm for the Caravan is very high. I checked out the Canadian Autos website for their assessment of used Caravans and the problems raised seemed relatively minor. Consumer Reports panned the Caravan but it is not easy to see the basis for their conclusion, since number of incidents is not related to type or severity of the concern.

A lot of the problems with vehicles is the level of maintenance they receive. And when you sell the most vans there are going to be those who do not maintain their vehicles, so problems arise.

Good luck with your choice.

 

I would say so, YES!!!
We just got rid of our 08 T&C and that thing was the worst investment we ever made! Finally traded it off with 60,000 miles on it and no joke, its been in the shop no fewer than 15 times..
twice for brakes, 4 times for the auto sliding door, once cause it over heated, once for the ball bearings goin out, 3 times for the A/C not working, once for the transmission sliping...
Im sure there are more but that was a nightmare of a van...good riddance!!

Got into a Honda Odyssey now and it is miles above the Town/Country

 

It's the best selling minivan in the country by far and has been for decades much to the chagrin of Honda and Toyota. Granted, Chrysler Corp minivans have had their share of problems but so have the Sienna and Odyssey. What sources have you been reading because I've read of many happy Caravan/T&C owners.

I bought a 96GC with the 3.8 ltr engine and 4 speed 41TE tranny new in 95. Biggest complaint was the lousy fit & finish. The dealer easily fixed all of it. 211K miles later the biggest repairs it's had was a new radiator and had to drop the transmission to replace a leaking seal. Everything is still original except the radiator and a few minor parts. It's going to be in my driveway for the foreseeable future because it's too damned versatile to get rid of and it still runs like the day I drove of the dealers lot 18 years ago.

 

mine 2010 seems yet to give me issues granted I am experiencing brake issues but hey nothing perfect.

 

I looked up Consumer Reviews from several different websites. I also did a search on this forum, which turned up threads about numerous tranny and brake issues, especially on the 2011.

I thought Chrysler fixed these issues on the brand new ones, with the new CEO and what not. I read on Wikipedia they have different engines and transmissions along with just being a little better quality all around.

My plan was to buy a brand new one in 2014, I figured if the 2009 I wanted might have issues, they must have fixes for them 5 years later. It seems like the 2009 might be better than the new ones!

So some people love them some people hate them it seems like.

It's pretty sad these days overall, Toyota can't even make a gas pedal, Chrysler STILL can't make a tranny, and my town's (DPW) brand new Ford dump truck spends more time at the dealership than anywhere else.

 

We have a 2005 SXT and I am not impressed.

The way the interior is laid out is stellar. The fold into the floor seats, storage, etc, all very good. Great design, still better than anything else out there even 8 years later. Mechanically though, it sucks. Hard.

Every common problem, we've had. I just replaced the sway bar bushings for about the 6th time, this time with the "improved" version, which I don't think is going to last any longer than the old style. One of the links was loose AGAIN. It really irritates me when I repair something but I have to use the same poorly engineered replacement parts guaranteeing I'll need to do it again in a few months. My 40 year old Buick still has the original sway bar bushings, maybe Chrysler should have copied that design. At the same time I noticed a very large oil leak, possibly the rear main seal. If it is, I'm hosing it off and trading it in NOW rather than waiting until the fall like we had been talking about, as I'm NOT in the mood to tackle a job like that. One of the power doors quit working AGAIN, about 2 days after I repaired the power wire. I've fixed the AC leaking into the cabin, a power door lock, both power side doors, we've had the computer program door lock problem umpteen times although it hasn't happened in a while now. What else, power steering reservoir.

Wife wants something smaller, specifically a Volvo wagon, which I'm inclined to buy.

Pretty sad that our little $12k Saturn at 17 years old run circles reliability wise around a vehicle that cost more than twice as much, is half the age and has half the mileage. I wouldn't hesitate to drive that across the country, and I have. The van, not so much. I need Mrs69 to have something to drive that we don't have to worry about.

I took a chance on buying a Chrysler, and it's biting me in the ***. At least I'll get a few thousand of my $20k back when I pawn it off on some unsuspecting sucker.

This is going to sound harsh especially on a Dodge forum, but there is a very good reason why Chrysler needed to be bailed out 3 times. Not even the Germans could straighten out their poorly engineered crap and finally had to throw up their hands in defeat and walk away.

 

My father has had two Caravans.

1999 was a 3.0L, went to 380,000km before the body rusted off, never let him down.

Current is a 2001 Caravan, 3.3L, with 335,000km so far, never let him down, only wear and tear items so far, original motor, original trans including fluid. Just keeps going.

Cousin has a 1997 with the 3.3L, just reached 460,000km and is still going, second transmission, engine is original.

You can't kill these vans, father has a Ford Windstar before, fell apart at 160,000km. Cousin has had a Chev Venture and a Pontiac Montana, both 3.4L and both have had headgaskets go and transmissions.

You will be MORE than pleased with the Caravans, I can't say much for the newer 3.6L ones (2011+). But the 3.3L will go for a long time with normal maintenance...

Good luck!

 

Most people seem to say they're cheap crap, with common problems I read about over and over (tranny's, brakes specifically) Yet, there are still some happy campers who loves GCs and highly recommend them...

I don't get it; do the 1% of people who love these vans just have "luck" for some reason? Or do they just deal with the problems and move on? From what I'm reading people are on there 4th set of brakes and transmissions go like crazy.

And I'm talking about 2008+, because that is the year I would buy.