At 160K still has very quiet, smooth ride. Body built to last: I was hit broadside a couple years ago, right in the rear wheel. Lady bent the tar out of the axle and leafspring (and my neck I hasten to add). After replacements and re-alignment, car still tracks perfectly straight. Creature comforts adequate and holding up after 9 years (if you discount funky smell in ac). Maybe the reason so many of us gripe about chrysler minivans: there are so many things that are done right, it breaks our heart that certain notorious, big-ticket things like transmissions get so many of us. I think 95 was a good period for this vehicle -- a lot of them still seem to be holding up fine; many kinks had been worked out by then.

If you're a driveway mechanic like me, you'll just _love_ changing those spark plugs. (To think I used to mutter about the back cylinders in my dad's chevy v8...!) There are certain gotchas that will getcha sooner or later. Put a cigar box in the car and toss in a dollar for every trip to the store to save up for your transmission rebuild.

I have always liked the power of the 3.3 V6. Never had driven anything so big, so quickly -- especially with family of 6 loaded. But, oh the problems! * Air conditioner compressor seized up one day, taking serpentine belt with it. $1200 * Transmission died at 130K miles. (We got by a few months with warning signs -- but people stare when you throw your car into park in middle of the road, turn it off and restart it to get it to go into a gear.) $1800 last summer for a bargain basement rebuild. (My little sister was envious that as a father of 4 I got a sizeable advance child tax credit. It went straight into the hands of my neighbor's transmission shop!) I later noticed that every trans shop in town always has 3 or 4 chrysler minivans on their lots at all times -- right up to very late models. (The newer vans have been totally remade bodywise, but my impression is the same old troubled tranny lurks under the sleek rounded hoods.) * Right at 100K miles -- the driver door literally was about to fall off the car, when door post broke at upper hinge. I wrote a letter to chrysler saying that was just beyond the pale for a car that young. They said take a hike, of course. $100 to body shop guy on his lunch hour (he said he could do 'em with one hand behind his back, he's done so many.) * Headlights get dimmer by the year. Check voltage / current at lamp terminal -- right at spec. It's the plastic bezels that are getting cataracts. What was ever wrong with sealed beams, anyway? Sometimes bulbs exploded when too much water condensed inside -- I fixed that by drilling drain holes into undersides. * Summertime mystery stall. Engine has always run like a top, lots of power. BUT every summer, there has to be ONE day where car mysteriously stalls after road trip of 50 miles or so. Turns over, acts like no fuel or spark, refuses to restart. Wait 1 hour -- retry -- zoom, fires right up! Rest of summer, every other season, no problem. Go figure. * Funky smell in air conditioning. Somewhere in there lurks a fungus farm!?

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I just bought a 2004 KIA minivan for my wife. Now the Caravan is my work-commute car. Frankly, going back and forth between the two ... the Dodge still holds its own in performance and comfort. (We haven't had a drag race yet -- I know I'd win because the KIA weighs in 800 lbs. heavier.) Hmm ... wonder why I bought the KIA, though...?

Handles well in any driving conditions, easy to park and manuever in tight situations. Roomy inside with lots of cubby holes for everyone's 'stuff' when taking trips. Runs great mechanically and lasts as long as the energizer bunny!

The short wheel base minivan is a little tight in leg room in the back seat. So buy a Grand Van. Problem solved!

We love this van! This is our 3rd Plymouth/Dodge minivan and have been well satisfied with all of them. All have been purchased used and our first 2 were driven until they just simply died. Both had close to 200,000 miles before we finally traded for a newer model. When we traded the 2nd van, we couldn't find a minivan we could afford, and so went to a sedan. We missed having a van so much that after 18 months, we bought a '96 Ford Windstar just to get back into a van. BIG MISTAKE! We hated it! Our mechanic was much better acquainted with it than we ever were! The Windstar had everything power but the seats, and we traded it even for a Caravan short-wheel base with absolutely NO options and higher mileage - a very GOOD trade in our opinion, since we have not had a single thing go wrong or need repair in this van other than the usual maintenance you would expect.

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Ford Windstar

none

4 cylinder has no power, air conditioner takes half the available Horsepower

Please beware of Dodge caravan, the money pit. I bought a 1997 model new and everyone told me the transmission would fail at 70k miles. My wife treated it like a baby, and we had the service done at 30K and 60k miles. Guess what, it failed at 72k miles and cost $1800 to fix. And this was a rock bottom price. Oh, btw, the timing belt broke at 11k (yes 11k) miles and it has used a quart of oil every 1500 miles since new. when the timing belt broke chrysler took 12 days to fix it!! And how can I forget the check engine light which has stayed on constantly since 10k miles. the dealer cannot explain it and chrysler corp could care less. the engine skips horribly every few months because the spark plugs have failed and need repalcing (they are not fouled by oil). Also the plug wires need replacing every year at the most. here is the kicker, the transmission mechanic (not the front desk salesman) told me "chrysler keeps our doors open". this is a quote.

Decent gas mileage 20 aroung town, not bad for a minivan. Easy to take the seats out for hauling.

Questionable reliability early on. Probably should have got the V6 vice the 4 cylinder.

At 21,000 miles transmission had to be rebuilt, 22,000 and 39,000 replaced head gasket, 5,000 air conditioner wiring harness replaced, and numerous recalls all covered under my extended warranty. Things repaired at my expense: 81,000 water pump and exhaust manifold, 88,000 failed California smog check (catalytic converter).

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2002 Nissan Xterra, 1984 Chevy full size van.

I like the comfort of the seats and the ride on highways.

No daytime running lights. Removing & replacing cargo area seats is labor intensive. New 2005 models will solve that.

With 38,000 miles, quite pleased thus far. My second Chrysler van product. Other was '90 Grand Voyager LE. My nephew bought it and with 130,000 it is still going okay, except for unreliable torque converter lock up (works some of the time). Had a bothersome cracking noise in the steering wheel. Didn't get it into the dealer until the 37th month and even with only 32,000 on it, was told "out of warranty". A servicer bulletin was out on the problem, so it must be fairly common. Called Chrysler to complain and was told that since I hadn't taken it to dealer for oil changes, etc, they didn't feel they owed me any favors. Only a $50 "fix", but ticked me off anyway. Service rep on phone definitely not a people person. Maybe he works for nothing; I don't know why they would have him otherwise. Over the winter, I noticed a slight transmission line leak on garage floor. Replaced the hose clamps on the line, but still leaked. Recently put a second clamp on to see if that will help. Was told by one mechanic that the problem is not uncommon in cold weather (below zero)if the vehicle is driven prior to being warmed up. Over past 6000 miles, all kinds of driving condtions, averaged 21.1 mpg with 3.0 engine. As with most minivans, this is a good vehicle for comfortably transporting people as well as household "freight".

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Former van was '90 Plymouth Grand Voyager.

NONE

Everything: In specific: Brakes Engine Transmission Shocks

I needed a car that I could fit the family in. I decided on the 2002 Dodge Caravan SE because I thought it was a reliable vehicle, and the price seemed reasonable. Just go outside and you see so many caravans on the road. I don't know why. These cars are a piece of junk. Since I purchased the car it has given me nothing but problems. The fan makes a griding noise everytime I turn on the heat or A/C. I took it into the dealer and they said they could't find any problem with it. Second my brakes went out at 15,000 miles! I never heard of brakes that only lasted such a short time. Third my transmission has begun to leak. There are only 18,000 miles on the car. Also I have noticed that the engine is leaking oil. Fourth the shocks are bad. Everytime I go over the smallest bump the shocks rattle as if they are going to fall off, and the CD player only works when it is a full moon. I wrote this review to warn hard wkorking consumers not to buy this product. Don't get tricked into buying American. These cars are the worst on the road. In conclusion each time I take the car in for a problem the dealer tries to blame the defect on me. They tried to blame my brakes going out at 15,000 miles on my driving habits. This is bull. To top it off they wanted to charge me $270 just to replace the front brake pads. I am going to dump this car as soon as I can. It seems as if the dealer is tring to hold me off until my warranty runs out, and then they can charge me the big bucks.

Your basic, and I mean BASIC, multiple kid vehicle.

Too many to list. It's like asking me to name every one of the hairs on my head. Here's Joe. That's Sarah. Blah Blah.

Do not buy this car. That is, unless you can't fork over some more bucks for a similar vehicle in another make, and you simply MUST HAVE a minivan. I bought this van for only one reason: we needed a vehicle that we could put 4 kids in, AND we could only afford just about 18k. As a rule, I DONT buy used, because my experience is that all you are doing is buying someone else's problems. I have a new rule. I WILL NEVER again buy an American vehicle. I have owned two fords and this dodge. All garbage. The fords were worse. If they weren't leaving me on the side of the road, they were costing me an arm and a leg. I also have owned three old VWs, one used Datsun, one new mazda, a new Geo metro, which was based on a foreign design, and two japenese motorcycles. FEW PROBLEMS. Bottom line is, the Dodge Caravan is junk that is thrown together for the least possible cost to suit the intended purpose. Here's an abbreviated list of what's wrong with my Caravan: Brakes require a hammering to work. That is, get ready to work them quads when you want to stop, because you're going to have to smash that pedal into the floor. They are awful. The car eats tires, and they are expensive tires. First set replaced at 24k. Needed front brakes at something like 24K miles. Huh? What are they made of? Chalk? There had to be at least 6k highway miles on the first 24 miles. The car pulls to the left, and no alignment can fix it. It's a constant reminder to me of what it means to buy a poorly made vehicle. The check engine light is now coming on and going off at, seemingly, random (46K miles). Should I bring it in? Or should I wait for it to show a definite issue, other than a light being on, before I bring it in and take the hosing from the dealer. At least if I can feel or see a problem I know I got something fixed when I take my hosing. The slider doors need to be slung like an Olympic hammer to close. That's what you want when you have 50 little kids fingers inside to worry about. The transmission stopped upshifting at 24K miles and needed a 20$ part to start working again. The car is now (46K) starting to rattle like a baby's toy. I think it's going to need new shocks or suspension parts. The transmission is now slipping in cold weather until the vehicle is driven for a few miles. That makes me feel safe with 5 kids in the back. Nothing like being in the middle of an intersection and the car just revs up when you hit the gas. Remember how the original Caravans all blew out the trannys at fewer than 50k miles? When I bought this van, I thought the trannys had been fixed. Wrong. Removing the seats is like a "world's strongest man" competition (but I could have checked that when I bought, so my fault). Radio sounds like "Mr. Microphone", but I could have checked that, so my fault. A/C is awful. Bought in Winter, so no way to check. Get 5 kids in the car for a 10 minute ride on an 85 degree day and they'll all be hot and miserable by the time you get out. Heating system is LOUD> Put the heat on high fan with recycled air, and you can have a conversation with the passenger if you are an accomplished screamer. Whole A/C heat system rots. It's the hot in front/cold in back issue (or vice versa in summer). Coolant was leaking from the radiator at 30K miles. Turned out to be a 2$ hose. Why would something like that leak at 30K? I have 55k on my Mazda, and nothing leaks. Big pain. So here's the scoop. When you "buy American", what you are doing is encouraging a bunch of overpaid union workers to produce low quality, undependable cars. Perhaps my expectations are too high. I expect a brand new car, purchased new and driven off the lot with 10 miles on the odometer, to perform with no major, debilitating issues for the first 40k miles, and few issues from then until 75k. I drove my metro for 120 with NO issues. I have driven my Mazda for almost 60k with NO issues. I mean none. The Dodge Caravan? In the shop at 20k miles with a transmission that won't let the car drive over 20mph. Leaks, creaks, and otherwise, undependable. I am looking to unload this piece of garbage before it has a massive heart attack and requires a quadruple bipass. And it will. Do any of you want it? If you're a big fan of American cars, give me a call. I'll sell it to you for Kelly minus 10%. Call me a traitor, but I'm never sinking my hard earned money into an American junk vehicle again. Who needs the worry? Every time I drive the darn thing, I can't stop wondering when it's going to present the next issue. Will it be the tranny? The computer? Electrical? Forget about it. I'm glad I have enough money now to buy something else. Anything else. If you have kids, DON'T buy this van. You will wonder why you did.

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- Price - US Product

- Transmission - Electronics - Engine - That fact that ChryslerDaimler built it

We bought the Grand Caravan Sport becuase of the overall savings compared to the Honda, Nissan or Toyota. The options and fetures "seemed" similar at thousands less. We also wanted to support the US ecomony by buying American. We made a big mistake. From the first month the belts constantly squeeked - my 4 year old thought there were birds under the hood. That was the minor problem. The biggest problems we had 1) would downshift from 3rd to 1st and missed 2nd all together. 2) would not always go into reverse. 3) five different times the automatic back hatch would just open up when we were on the road. These problems were attempted to be fixed five different times in less than ten months. Finally we subbmitted a Lemon Law application. The folks from ChryslerDaimler rode with we along with a Motor Vehicle Dept Rep. All aggreeded that this vehicle was a lemon. They made good by refunding us. They are lucky no one was hurt - it would have cost ChryslerDaimler huge bucks. We are now looking at the Honda, Nissan and Toyota products. Wish we didn't have such problems with our US built product. The saving grace is that at least the vehicles we are looking at are built in the US, too bad the profits go over seas. I learned later that the line workers on the Dodge assembly line are only trained for two weeks before they start - the Honda, Nissan and Toyota line workers are trained for six months before they touch a car. I hope this is not an indication of the future for US car makers. If anyone form the industry reads this - please look to increase your vehicle's quality. I would have gladly paid more for a better car if I knew it was US born and built!

ride and base options are great. Visibility and room are great too.

Went to pick up from lot, under 2km on it and the Air didn't work! So they replaced the compressor. Also had passenger side front pwr door lock switch replaced as it didn't work properly either. Shift from 1st to 2nd is crappy.

Excellent ride and easy to drive.

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93 Grand Am GT, 93 Ford Taurus wagon. the '93 had 3 transmissions in it, as well as 2 engine rebuilds.

notting

Trans. breaks down in 4 years

Bad Van The worse

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a 92 dodge Caravan change trans. 3 times then junk it