Dodge - Caravan :: Moderately Hard Acceleration / Sudden Reduction In Power
May 26, 2013
1992 Dodge Caravan 4cyl manual (last of the breed)Damn thing still runs, until yesterday.
Merging onto interstate, moderately hard acceleration. Sudden reduction in power, engine running rough, won't maintain 60mph in 5th, steering wheel shakes, engine bucks. Made it about 10 mi. Symptoms got worse, pulled off next exit and drove a bit looking for a mechanic.
Same symptoms, lower speed, lower gear. Had to nurse it up even mild hills in first. Got bad enough that I pulled into a gas station and got a tow home.
Check engine light is not on. No warning lights. Did not start to heat up until the very end.
Eats oil, but I just topped it up that morning. Also drinks coolant, also topped up.Oil is not overfull. Did not drive through water or rain.Timing belt was changed about 10,000 miles ago.
The question:If I haven't already destroyed the engine, is it likely that I will kill it if I drive it to the shop (a few miles)?Or should I have it towed there?(Or should I just have it junked.)
Context:I had a hard time warming up to this car when we bought it new. It was, of course, my wife's car until she got a new one and I inherited it. (Why does that always happen?) I've had it now for over half of my married life. It's six years younger than my younger daughter, sort of a neglected and abused third child. But it just won't die.
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Vehicle has 2WD, 4 Spd transaxle, 78K miles, 3.8L, Transmission was power flushed and filter changed last week, minimal debris in pan. Mostly it runs well, this is a newly acquired vehicle for me.
Problem: At highway speed, acceleration that forces a downshift STAYS downshifted until I stop and turn off the ignition. Start and go after that is normal until next passing event, repeat. Shifting is otherwise normal.
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On a recent snowy drive from Chicago back home to Detroit, our 2013 Dodge Journey (6 cylinder AWD) started to make a screeching sound. My husband said it sounded like a belt. The sound would come and go. Due to the snow we were not able to go much over 45mph on the hwy. About 30 min after hearing the noise the first time, the car all of a sudden lost almost all acceleration. Not great when you are in the middle lane in snowy weather. We were able to get to the shoulder. After letting the car idle for a short time (3-4 min) in park and stepping on the gas peddle while in park, we took off again.
As long as we kept our speed 45-55mph for a short time the car would started to drive normal for 45-60 min, until it would happen again. One time we did not let the car rest for the normal 3-4 min and we were back on the shoulder again within a few min. The only warning light that came on once and then went out was the "check AWD" we have only driven the car locally a couple of times since, I was planning to take it to the Dodge dealership later this week. I fear this is a problem that is hard to duplicate, however this also concerns me as I normally drive a lot for work and often have several kids in my car on weekends.
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My girlfriend hit a cow head on with her 2006 caravan around 6months ago. The van was repaired, the cow wasn't as lucky. But every since the repair the van pulls hard to the right at any speed.
She had two alignments done with no correction; never following up for some reason with the mechanic. I just had it aligned and still had the same issue. I'm currently arranging for the vehicle to go back to the shop. (I can't believe I didn't have them test drive it) The alignment according the mechanic indicated that it was off slightly but he suggested that the tires were severely worn and could play into the pulling. He is 100% correct in that the tires are worn.
My concern is that the girlfriend wants new snow tires and I'm afraid to have her order new ones on without the steering issue being corrected. Considering how her current tires look. I read that I should swap the front tires to see if the direction changes if at all. Is there anything else to look for personally or to suggest with my mechanic? Why wouldn't a alignment pick up the severe pulling in the steering? Did the mechanic do a thorough job. I'm thinking not.
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My 2011 Dodge Journey, V-6, auto, awd, pulls hard to the right on hard acceleration. It always pulls just as the transmission shifts. My dealer's service manager said its due to the front drive shafts being different lengths and torgueing differently.
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I have a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT with the 3.8 and 135,000 miles. Whenever it is hot out and the engine has been running it is hard to shift either from park or back into park. Today it completely froze on me and I had to wait for it to cool down before it would shift into park. Temp out is about 80 today.
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I've got a 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan, 3.8L engine. There's a sound coming from under the hood that sounds like a drum roll on a piece of hard plastic. No noise on idle or revving the engine while parked. Noise starts upon accelerating, seems to disappear in second gear (automatic trans), reappears in 3rd gear, disappears in 4th. Appearance and disappearance isn't consistent but seems to disappear when the engine shifts up and the rpms drop. No check engine light.
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This has happened to me three times now. The first time was at a stop sign, the second going 70mph on the highway, and the third time at a stop sign. I will be driving and then all of a sudden the engine loses power. The more I push on the gas, the more the engine wants to die. If the engine stays running after I pull over, it idles very rough, and still if I press the gas, it wants to die. This seems to only happen after driving long distances for maybe an hour or so.
When this happens, if I let the car sit for about an hour, it will start up just fine, idle smooth, and drive normally. This is a 1992 Dodge Dynasty with the 3.3L V6, Fuel Injected engine. The car only has 78,000 miles on it and is in excellent condition. It's such a nice car that I would like to figure out what's going on with the engine because I would like to drive it for a lot longer. So far I have replaced the ignition coil pack, the oxygen sensor, map sensor, fuel filter, and spark plugs an wires.
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I have a 2005 Dodge Caravan, modified for use for someone in a wheelchair. On two occasions now I have been driving and have lost ALL power, including all dashboard lights, signals, power steering and power brakes. Luckily both times I was able to pull over without much problem (aside from problems steering and having to mash really hard on the brakes). Turned off the motor, restarted, and everything seemed fine. The first time this happened I took it to my mechanic who said he was unable to duplicate the problem. The second time this happened (yesterday) was after a severe rainstorm. I can't remember what the weather was like the first time it happened.
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Blower, seats, locks, blinkers stopped simultaneously, abs and airbag light came on. The internet suggested it was the ignition switch, I changed it to no avail. The horn, wipers, 4-way flashers, headlights, taillights, and brake lights all work. Is my wife correct in suggesting we replace this 140,000 mile pile of rust?
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I have a 2001 T&C, 3.3L, 4-Speed tranny and around 116K Miles. On occasion, I totally lose power steering for about a second or two. It acts like the engine has stalled and I have to muscle the steering wheel. There no belt squealing, no pump noise, and the serpentine belt is relatively new. PS Fluid level is good. It seems to happen at idle RPM.
Of all the caravans I've had, this is a first.
Now, I'm OK with it as long as I don't let anyone else drive it. I know what to expect, and I can muscle the steering when necessary. Once this happened to my on a highway offramp and I was able to control it with no problems. I suspect it is a problem with the rack, maybe?
My question is this: Is this an indication of something going terribly bad, like the total loss of steering control?
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My drivers side window hates the cold, getting slower as the temperature drops. When it's real cold it gets to the point where it only goes up a fraction of an inch and stops, then I have to wait a minute and try again. I find that grabbing it and pulling while I hit the switch works a little. So I've researched the problem a bit. Don't think the rails need silicone lube as some suggest. I've seen one guy tap the window motor with a screwdriver, and a post about somehow getting to the brushes and cleaning them. I'm thinking just replace the motor, but it seems odd that it's temperature related.
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2005 Dodge Caravan losing power; code read catalytic converter, so replaced but it is still doing same thing. Will drive fine some days, others it loses power or sometimes accelerates when stopping. What else could be wrong?
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I bought my van in 2011 from my dad's former employer. It was a fleet vehicle and wasn't in the greatest of condition when I bought it. In 2012 I was told that I had a leak in my oil pan from a mechanic. I never ended up getting it fixed for various reasons. A few months ago, I lost power steering in my van and have been driving since without it. My dad wanted to see if anything could be done to fix it and found out the van is completely rusted underneath and ended up puncturing a hole in the bottom when he tried to jack the thing up. I am really hoping to get a (new) used car but don't have the money right now. I was wondering though how long would you expect I could "survive" with my car like this?
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I have a 1995 Dodge Caravan with over 300,000 miles on it. There have been no repairs to the Power Steering system and it made no noises and did not ever leak prior to July 2011. The power steering system started leaking somewhere, so I went to a chain store shop. They replaced the pump citing that it had rusted through. However, the leaks continued. I took it back twice and they found nothing. An affiliate store determined that the problem was the steering rack and they replaced it and the recently replaced pump. They also said one hose that had a crimp clamp had worked loose and the rack seals were shot. My question: is it likely that the pump and rack failed within a three month period independently? That's what the chain store district manager concluded.
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So I needed some electrical parts for the 2000 Caravan mostly the power door actuator is noisy and one vent window motor is shot. So I went to the local pull a part, paid $2 admission fee. Found my parts but no way to test them. Went to pay for them, they wanted to charge me $25 for each part, were not willing to have it returned in case it did not work, and did not have a battery for me to test them either. Is this the norm or should I have gone there with my oldest T-shirt? These parts sell probably for $45 to $80 new/on-line. I was trying to save money but felt if I end up buying the part again, it is essentially worse than just buying new.
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Lately having the following issues with my Tig.
When starting up the engine on cold start (or after having the car sit for about 30 minutes) after about 10 - 20 seconds; pretty much right after first acceleration the car all of a sudden looses all power. RPM fall down even when accelerating. Accelerating more only let's the engine stall more.
5-10 seconds later the engine functions normal again.... What problem could that be ?
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'98 Dodge Caravan occasionally loses power and dies while driving. No power steering or brakes. Have changed alternator, battery, starter, computer, and starter switch. What else could it be?
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My 2004 Caravan lost power to windshield washer motor and headlights, after checking under fuse box, I swapped over the relay marked headlights washer , still nothing. I disconnected the power module at the front of the fuse box by removing four torx head screws. Removed it by rocking it a it out towards the front of the van. I cleaned the terminals and replaced it. Seems to have solved the problem .
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Very loud timing chain noise in my Mitsubishi 2.6 engine. It has 105k miles on it. I ordered a new complete timing chain kit and oil pump from an online autoparts store. The parts arrived here and scheduled an appointment to have those parts put in today. While driving the van to the repair shop, it broke down about 4 miles from my house. I started to lose power on the highway then a loud screeching noise, similar sound to a belt going bad or slipping. The temp gauge started to climb rapidly. I immediately shut off the van and pulled over. It was towed back home and wouldn't restart. Battery was weak. I charged the battery for three hours and the van started again. This time it runs incredibly rough. The whole van shakes badly when in gear (also the loud timing chain noise). I also noticed an oil leak on the ground on the passenger side, in the area of the timing chain/oil pump area.
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Got this nugget this morning after dropping my daughter off at school. I also noticed a significant reduction in power. Had to get fuel so while pumping, I checked the code with my WiFi reader and Engine Link app.
Got the code number which came up with this: 6.7L ? MIL on with DTCs P208E P218F P204F ? 2011-2016 Ford F-Super Duty
I decided to clear the code and see if it would instantly return which it didn't. Power came back as soon as it was cleared too. Will see if it comes back. Looks like the code is saying there might be crystals on my DEF injector. I did have a regen last night right before I parked for the evening and then this showed showed up first thing this morning. Would a DEF injector nozzle be covered under the emissions warranty if it comes back?
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