1994 Dodge Caravan problems
Owners have filed 836 complaints about the 1994 Dodge Caravan with NHTSA. Power train accounts for 14.1% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of air bags at 12.6%.
Complaints836
Crashes116
Fires7
Injuries159
Deaths5
What owners report breaking
Power train 14.1% · 118
Air bags 12.6% · 105
Structure 9.9% · 83
Engine and engine cooling 9.4% · 79
Service brakes, hydraulic 8.5% · 71
Latches/locks/linkages 6.9% · 58
Visibility 5.5% · 46
Electrical system 4.9% · 41
Severity
Of those complaints, 116 describe a crash, 7 describe a fire, 159 report an injury and 5 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 22 model years of the Dodge Caravan in this data, 1994 sits 6th by complaint volume. 1996 draws the most.
Filings are rising — 5 in the last three years against 4 in the three before. For a vehicle this age that usually points to a wear-related failure owners are hitting now.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 107,500 miles.
In owners' own words
Transmission began slipping at low gears, then pausing and jumping into gear. Began sticking in 1st gear causing driver to stop, restart engine to reset transmission or drive at speeds under 30 mph. Rebuilt in 5/99 but transmission is slipping again and will not shift into higher gears.This proves dangerous when driving on highways and cannot accelerate to a safe speed. Power train
The lower reverse gear went into limp mode while vehicle is in drive. Would be sluggish & hard to shift. Would have no prior warning of problem. Shut vehicle off & then restarted. Worked fine untill it was shifted a few times. Then went back into limp mode. Took vehicle to dealership & was informed by mechanic transmission needed to be replaced. Power train
Transmission started leaking.After dealer fixed the problem I was told it was "hard seals" due to temperature fluctuations or wear and tear. Our climate does not change drastically and how can a major part like this fail after only 43,000 miles? We have done the routine maintanence on this van every 3,000 miles.Is this a normal problem? Power train
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…
Other Dodge Caravan years
1991 773 complaints · 30.4% service brakes, hydraulic 1992 1,126 complaints · 25.4% service brakes, hydraulic 1993 1,229 complaints · 28.8% service brakes, hydraulic 1995 656 complaints · 15.2% power train 1996 2,178 complaints · 11.9% engine and engine cooling 1997 1,028 complaints · 15.0% air bags