Dodge Caravan 1994 - Structure - car safety information, failing parts, recalls, bulletins, complaints

Dodge Caravan 1994

Recalls
Technical Service Bulletins
Defect investigations
Consumer Complaints

Recalls

Campaign	Manufacturer	Manufacturing date	Type	# of units affected	Date Owner notified Mfg	Recall Initiated by	Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products	Report Recieved Date	Record Creation Date
STRUCTURE - BODY - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE - HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS
99V213000	DAIMLERCHRYSLER CORPORATION	from 08/01/1990 to 06/30/1994	V (Vehicle)	1318189	08/30/1999	ODI	CHRYSLER GROUP LLC	09/02/1999	10/15/1999
Defect Summary	Vehicle description: mini vans. the bolts used to attach the strut to the body and the rear liftgate can accumulate fatigue damage if three factors combine. if the bolt is loose, the gas strut is over-pressurized, and the frequency of opening and closing cycles is higher than for the average customer, the bolt can fail.
Consequence Summary	Personal injury could occur if the bolts break allowing the liftgate to fall suddenly.
Corrective Summary	Dealers will inspect for loose fasteners, if the fasteners are loose, the strut (and integral bolts) will be replaced. if the bolt shows evidence of torque, the bolt will be removed, larger washers will replace the existing washer and the bolt will be reinstalled and hand tightened to the target torqued.
Notes	Owner notification began during august 1999. owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact chrysler at 1-800-992-1997. also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236.

Bulletins

Bulletin	Bulletin date	Replacement Bulletin	Item no.	Summary	Added
STRUCTURE - BODY
233599REVA	10/01/1999	233599	612160	Subject on the child seat tether anchors. *mjs	06/06/2000
STRUCTURE - FRAME AND MEMBERS
230397	02/14/1997		51942	Difficult to clean light colored chalky residue from plastic body components that are molded in black. *tw	07/17/1997

Investigations

NHTSA ID	Manufacturer	Date open	Date close	Subject	Recall campaign
STRUCTURE
EA94005	CHRYSLER GROUP LLC	01/31/1994	10/25/1995	LIFTGATE LATCHES	95I001000
	Liftgate latches in the subject vehicles have failed in low and moderate speed impacts resulting in occupant ejections, injuries, and fatalities.there are two failure modes associated with latch failure: fork bolt-detent lever bypass, and inertial unlatching.nhtsa analyses of chrysler and peer minivans took the form of static and dynamic crash testing, engineering evaluations, complaint and field analyses, and real world data analyses.a technical report discussing these analyses can be found in the engineering analysis technical report in the public viewing file.chrysler has advised nhtsa that it will conduct a campaign to replace the latches on all the subject vehicles.the chrysler campaign will consist of notification letters to all owners; free replacement of all latches with stronger, safer latches regardless of the age of the minivans; national advertising to promote customer awareness of the campaign; quarterly reports regarding campaign completion rates; as well as additional measures to ensure a high completion rate, above and beyond the actions that normally would be taken in a formal safety recall.these include follow up written and telephonic notifications to owners who do not bring their vehicles in for corrective action.nhtsa firmly believes that the crash performance of the latches on these minivans raises serious safety concerns, and that the campaign addresses these concerns.the chrysler corrective action will increase the strength of the liftgate latches and decrease the potential for inertial unlatching, thereby reducing the risk of crash-related openings of the liftgate and possible occupant ejection through the liftgate opening.owners of chrysler minivans will get a stronger, safer latch free of charge at the earliest possible time, without the need for further technical investigation and complex and time-consuming litigation with an uncertain outcome.based on the above, odi is closing this investigation.

Consumer Complaints

Fail date	miles	occurences	Purchase date
STRUCTURE - BODY
05/01/1999		2	05/01/1999
	Door on passenger in back won't close completely and roof pops in warm wheather. *ak
11/23/1996
	Driver hit a concrete barrier at 4 to 6 mph in which the air bags deployed, collision was not frontal, but the lower h-frame was bent, consumer will add repair information. *ak
01/01/1995		1	07/31/1994
	Vehicle floods inside when it rains, leaving foul odor in carpet.
04/10/1994
	The vehicle shakes when you do over 30 miles an hour water leaks in the inside of the vehicle. tt
STRUCTURE - BODY - DOOR
	99000	1
	There is a light on the sliding door that gets very hot if the door stays ajar for a few seconds. *ak
11/02/2002		1	04/01/2094
	Door was sticking and hard to close. my wife tried to close the door and it stuck. she pulled on the door and it fell off the hinges. body shop said all the parts were completely worn out. dt

	Van sliding door locks will not unlock. as a result passengers were trapped inside of vehicle . dealer has been contacted. please provide further information. *ak
07/15/2001			08/01/1999
	No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak
01/30/2000
	While closing the sliding door it came off the track.
10/13/2000			08/01/1995
	Driver side door opened while rounding a bend causing me to almost fall out of the vehicle, if it hadn't been for the seat belt i would have fallen out. after the door opened i swerved loosing control however ther wasn't an on coming vehicle at the time.from the force of the door swinging open both of the joints broke off and the service man at our local dealer informed us that he sees many of these problems on the 1994/1995 models. i had all of the recalls done to date including the rear latch, that i never had a problem with . i have also had to replace the 02 sensor. i fell this could have been far worse if there would have been an on coming car at the time, we were very lucky.
04/22/2000		1	04/02/1999
	While child was opening sliding door door slipped out of track. dealer/manufacturer has been notified. ak ml
05/01/1999		2	05/01/1999
	Door on passenger in back won't close completely and roof pops in warm wheather. *ak
		1	05/01/1999
	The sliding door fell off the track when consumer opened the door. nlm
05/15/1999		1	06/01/1995
	I and 3 others i know have had our sliding doors become stuck open and /or fall off . it starts with becoming hard to close and then imposible. the slide guide fell off my car . my husband was able to fix it now it's starting to jam again so i am taking it in. just weeks after my insident my friends door actually fell off in my drive way. last month my nieghbors door fell off. all 1994 chrysler/ dodge mini vans.
06/28/1999
	Whenever the driver's/passenger's doors are closed, they fail to remain locked. the mechanism failed to work properly. has been to dealer & mechanic could not solve the problem. *ak

	Sliding door fell off.

	In winter time sliding door will not open from the inside and outside. in the summer time it sticks from the outside. dealer has not seen vehicle. *ak
10/26/1997		1
	Slider door falls off.
03/05/1997
	The sliding door won't lock, causing it to be inoperative, can cause injuries if an accident was to occur. *ak
08/04/1996		1	05/01/1994
	Tailgate/side door squeak due to worn rubber stops.
06/22/1996		2	10/01/1993
	While turning the transmission will slip into neutral and could cause an accident. ak dealer stated vehicle had lost its computer program, dealer reprogrammed, however failure hapened again, dealer states there were faulty seal on transmission, consumer has not experienced any problems since then. door seals loose. slc
03/12/1996		2
	Left hand side panel behind driver's side rattles, also unstable sliding door. *sd
03/12/1996
	Side sliding door fell off the rail while trying to open the door. *ak
03/06/1996
	Sliding door was closed on a child's hand and was very difficult to get it open. 8ak
12/25/1995
	The sliding door comes open while the vehicle is moving. please describe. tt
03/01/1994		1
	Sliding door out of adjustment, causing door to stick.
04/07/1995
	Sliding door failed. tt
01/27/1995		1
	Sliding door closes when vehicle is parked on a slight incline, causing injury.
STRUCTURE - BODY - DOOR - HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS
12/11/2004	200000	1
	The passenger sliding door fell off the hinges. it would be difficult to open/close door. dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak
08/15/2002
	Hinge on driver door is cracked.*ak
07/27/2001
	Front passenger's door separated from hinge on two occasions. consumer stated door hinge was not rusted. manufacturer has been notified. please provide additional information.*ak
06/11/2000			06/01/1996
	I was leaving church on 6-11-00 and had 5 other passangers in the car. the last passanger into the car was having difficulty closing the sliding door so i got out to do it. the door was indeed difficult to close and as i managed to get the door almost closed, it fell off of the tracking and landed on my feet. my feet were hurt as well as bad scraping to my arm as i tried to catch the door when it started to fall. i was in total shock at having a door fall off. we couldn't get the door back on and had to drive with the door off. i had two children and two elderly passangers in the van besides myself and my friend. i had no other way of getting the vehicle home so had to drive it this way. when we got home we managed to get the door back onto the track but could not open the door again as it was inoperable. i called chrysler and was told that there was not a recall on this but they would look into helping me get this repaired outside of the warranty as they said that they do this from time to time. when i brought the car to papa's dodge where i bought the van i was told that they called chrysler credit and were told that i would have to pay for the part and the repair at the cost of around 300.00. a service technician told my friend privately that they have had a problem with this happening with this model van. i had been told by the service manager that this problem had never occurred before. this is a safety problem. doors don't just fall off of cars! i was told that the rollers had eroded. this should be covered under unusual wear. one can't tell me that everybody who owns a dodge caravan will have their door fall off after 6 years of ownership. i don't agree that i should have to pay for this. this is not normal wear and tear, this is abnormal. my children now have to crawl through the front of the car to get to their seats. i am also in fear of the door falling off while i am driving until i can get this fixed. please help. *ak
04/25/2000		1	11/01/1999
	When opening the sliding door door fell off the hinge which held the door in place. the lower lip of the carrier (of the door) is covered by a snap-on coated aluminum strip, which popped out of the slot. consumer has contacted the dealer, but made the repairs himself. ak ml
03/24/2000		0
	While trying to open the sliding door, door fell off without prior warning. also, vehicle experienced some other problems. *ak
12/04/1999			07/01/1994
	The sliding passenger door basically fell off. the door was not abused, just normal wear. my wife went to shut the door and it fell off. (only thing keeping it off the ground was one bent hinge. i took the van to the dealer from which i purchased it. the dealer would not admit to manufacture fault. however, i was able to get them to lower the bill to fix the door from $303 to $133. i still believe that this is a safety hazard, caused by a structural design flaw in the sliding door. there are numerous complaints in the nhtsa database concerning this problem. i don't believe i should have to pay for fixing this problem. dodge, chrysler, and the local dealership should be responsible for all of the costs.

	Driver's side door has a crack were the hinges meet the body of the vehicle, causing the door to become detached. dealer has been contaced. *ak
11/28/1998
	The consumer has been experiencing problems with sliding doors. when consumer tried to close the door, it fell off. the manufacturer has been contacted. *ak
10/11/1997
	Side sliding door difficult to close, suddenly dood fell off the hinge on to the ground, replace hinge center.

	The sliding door disengaged from the tracks causing the door to fall completely off, cause is unknown. please give any further details. *ak
07/05/1997
	The side sliding door fell off the van while the owner tried to close the door. *ak
11/15/1996		1	02/20/1994
	Sliding door disconnected due to hinges.
STRUCTURE - BODY - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE
		1
	The liftgate failed. *slc
06/01/1997
	While driving the middle window shattered all in the inside of the vehicle. driver was doing 65mph at the time, there was no warning or reason for the window to shatter. *ak
08/15/1995
	The back door continues to stay open and causes the warning chime to keep ringing. please describe. tt

	Upon impact, during side impact, at low speed rear lift gate popped open. tt
04/26/1995		1
	Vehicle was hit at 15 mph and rear door popped open. tt

	Rear door will ajar while driving with warning indicator illuminating. please describe details. tt
03/01/1994
	While driving, rear door pops open. tt
04/18/1995
	Rear hatch liftgate opens periodically when driving. repaired twice. please describe details. tt
02/03/1995
	Right rear side impact caused rear hatch/liftgate to open during accident causing cargo to eject. please describe details. tt
05/08/1994		1
	Rear tailgate flew open, upon a side impact on passenger rear side, item flew out of the rear of the vehicle. tt
03/14/1995		1
	Rear hatch opens by itself. tt
11/01/1994		1
	Rear hatchback opened upon an impact from the rear. tt
01/01/1992
	While driving hatch open when hitting a bump or something. tt
02/28/1995		1
	Rear liftgate popped open while vehicle was still. tt
06/20/1994		1
	Rear liftgate switch on dash failed. *ak
STRUCTURE - BODY - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE - HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS
08/05/2006	66793	1	06/27/1984
	1994 dodge caravan mileage 66.873 with wheelchair lift rear liftgate hinge, bolt holding the hinge together broke due to metal fatigue, letting hinge separate, causing liftgate to drop down. this is a very serious safety problem. chrysler/dodge 1-800-992,1997 ref.#15261363 was contacted by phone several times. i was told that ii was not on the recall list. sorry car is out of warranty. the van is always parked in my carrage. like new. i have the old parts and 17 color poctures. *jb
02/01/2005		1
	Nhtsa recall campaign 99v213000, the bolt to the hatch broke, causing the piston to break in half. a stick must be used to hold the hatch up. consumer was aware of recall for this particular model. *ak
08/11/2002
	Left bolt that holds hinges to hatchback sheared off. hatchback came sliding down to the right, causing left arm to freeze in position, rendering hatchback door inoperative.*ak
02/01/2000		3	12/01/1997
	Chrysler dealership refused to honor recall 99v213000 concerning liftgate support bracket. ak when the hydraulic liftgate bolts had broken-3 times, the consumer states that they had to get the liftgate repaired because they couldn't open or close the hatch otherwise. scc
06/01/2001
	Consumer received recall notices 99v113000/ air bag deployment; 99v213000/liftgate support bracket, and 00v305000/ steering wheel separation in the mail. when dealership/manufacturer were contacted to repair these defects, she was told that work had already been performed. consumer stated that this vehicle had never been examined for these recalls. please provide any additional information/attachments. *ak
08/23/2000		1
	Consumer received recall (99v213) repair, however had to pay for the drill broken bolt, dealer said this was paid by the consumer because this part was not included in the recall, consumer feels this part should be part of the recall. *slc
08/02/2000		3
	Consumer is having difficulty obtaining recall repair (99v-213) from the dealership, dealership is too busy to perform recall repair. *mjs
05/29/1999		1
	Recall component failed prior to notification, resulting in damage to vehicle when support broke causing liftgate to collaspe (99v213). *mjs
11/09/1998		1
	Recall component failed prior to recall notification (99v-213). *mjs
		1
	The bolt attaching the left liftgate to the frame of the vehicle failed prior to recall notice causing it to fall on consumers head (99v-213). nlm
07/01/1999		1
	Recall component failed prior to notification. (99v-213) *mjs

	Consumer received recall 99v213000 concerning liftgate support bracket. dealer refused to correct problem due dent in the vehicle. *ak
03/30/1998
	While driving the sliding door flew open unexpectedly, no prior problems with the sliding door. dealer said the hinges were bent. *ak
STRUCTURE - BODY - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE - SUPPORT DEVICE

	While driving latch failed w/hatch opening. dealers realigned and owner was told recall is in phase v. please describe details. tt
STRUCTURE - BODY - TAILGATE
02/25/2000		1	05/23/1994
	Intermittently tailgate comes ajar when driving, dealer has been notified. ak consumer stated rear liftgate opens without being activated, also airbag light was illuminated, head gasket was leaking.slc
09/06/1999
	While driving occupant heard a clicking noise which opened the rear liftgate unexpectedly. occupant pulled over and tried to open and close the liftgate, but the right side broke and could not close the liftgate. please provide further information. *ak
08/04/1996		1	05/01/1994
	Tailgate/side door squeak due to worn rubber stops.
03/06/1995
	Rear hatch tailgate opens prematurely while driving at any, often difficutly in getting latch to lock when closing tailgate. please describe incidents. tt
STRUCTURE - BODY - TAILGATE - HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS

	Consumer contacted dealer in refernce to nhtsa recall number 99v213000 and 99v113000/ manufacturer's recall's 730 and 818. dealer did not correct recall. please provide any further details. *ak

	Recall 99v213000: liftgate support bracket. owner vehicle attempted to fix problem before recall notice came out. presently, dealer and mamufacturer indicated that they will not remedy the recall because the owner tried to fix the problemon on his own. dealer is bob ruwart chrysler, wheatland, wy 307-322-3146. please provide further information. *ak
07/03/1997
	The bolt that holds the liftgate support broke, and caused the gate to fall, breaking the glass and cracking the molding. the glass and liftgate support were replaced. *ak
STRUCTURE - BODY - TRUNK LID
06/12/1996		2	10/01/1994
	Recall related, 95i001005,structure liftgate assembly failure,vehicle impact 6:00, position and lifgate popped open and unlatched. ak consumer was waiting on inside lane for traffic ahead of her when she was struck from behind, after vehicle rear ended her, she looked at the gear shift and noticed the lift gate light on the dash had come on showing it was open, consumer took vehicle to dealer and s he was informed that the ligt gate did not have the shims, which were part of a recall kit which was not on the vehicle, so the ligt gate latch had to be replaced for the second time. consumer and son suffered injuries from accident.jb
STRUCTURE - FRAME AND MEMBERS
		1
	Molding on the outside of the car came off. *slc
02/02/1995		12	07/26/1994
	Water leaks through the floor continuously.

	Vehicles front end welds are failing had to be fixed 4-5 times. tt
04/18/1995
	The board was manufactured on truck wasn't the right size . tt