2005 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN Complaints

I HAD NOTICED THE SMELL OF GASOLINE OUTSIDE OF MY CAR A WEEK OR SO BEFORE. MY HUSBAND AND I WENT TO THE GAS STATION TO FILL UP MY TANK. WE PULLED OUT ON TO A MAJOR ROAD WITH TRAFFIC. THE CAR BEGAN JERKING AND TRYING TO STALL. AFTER A FEW MINUTES IT WAS FINE. YESTERDAY, I GOT GAS AGAIN AND PULLED OUT WITH MY KIDS IN THE CAR. THE CAR STARTED DOING THE SAME THING. THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE REPORTS OF THIS HAPPENING. PLEASE HELP BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED! *TR

CAR STALLS WHEN I FILL THE TANK UP WITH GAS. THE CAR STALL OUT SHORTLY AFTERWARDS WHILE DRIVING. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE THE FAILURE WAS UNABLE TO BE DUPLICATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 168,000.

ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS, THE VEHICLE STALLED AFTER REFUELING. ONE INSTANCE OCCURRED JUST AFTER MERGING ONTO A FREEWAY AFTER REFUELING. THE OTHER TWO INSTANCES OCCURRED IN THE PARKING LOT OF THE FUELING STATION AFTER REFUELING.

EVERY TIME AFTER REFUELING THE CAR WITH A FULL TANK, AFTER ABOUT A MILE OF DRIVING THE ENGINE WILL STUMBLE OR DIE ALTOGETHER. THIS CAUSES LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND POWER BRAKES. *TR

VEHICLE STALLED TWICE AFTER FILLING UP WITH GAS. FIRST STALL HAPPENED APPROXIMATELY 500 FEET FROM FILLING STATION, WHILE STILL IN A PARKING LOT. THE SECOND STALL HAPPENED APPROXIMATELY 0.5 MILES FROM THE FILLING STATION WHILE TURNING FROM A ROADWAY INTO A BUSINESS. EACH STALL REQUIRED SEVERAL CRANKS OF THE ENGINE TO RE-START. WHEN THE ENGINE QUITS, THE POWER STEERING ALSO GOES AWAY. THIS HAS BEEN AN INTERMITTENT OCCURRENCE SINCE EARLY 2013, WITH IT BECOMING A REGULAR OCCURRENCE AFTER EACH GASOLINE FILL UP (LATER IN 2013). THE TANK IS ALWAYS FILLED UNTIL THE PUMP SHUTS OFF. IT IS NEVER PARTIALLY FILLED, SO I CANNOT SAY IF IT ONLY OCCURS WITH A FULL FILL UP. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I DECIDED TO RESEARCH THE SITUATION AND FILE A COMPLAINT. *TR

FROM 2013 ON, EVERY TIME I FILL MY VAN UP, WHETHER HALF WAY OR ALL THE WAY, IT STALLS AFTER GOING A FEW FEET OR SOMETIMES FURTHER. IT IS COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED. I HAVE STALLED IN TRAFFIC, PULLING INTO TRAFFIC OR JUST SITTING AT A STOP SIGN OR LIGHT. LATELY IT TAKES TWO OR THREE TIMES TO START UP AGAIN. I HAVE TRIED EXPENSIVE GAS AND CHEAPER GAS WITH SAME RESULT. I WAS TOLD BY MECHANIC IT WOULD BE A HUGE COST TO FIX SO DID NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. IT IS FRUSTRATING AND IS BECOMING DANGEROUS AS IT IS COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED. THIS IS ALSO A PROBLEM THAT CAN ONLY BE SHOWN TO A MECHANIC AT FILL UP. MOST OF THE TIME I AM TOLD I AM OVERFILLING WHICH IS NOT THE CASE. *JS

THE LEFT REAR HYDRAULIC GOT CAUGHT IN THE PLASTIC TRIM CAUSING THE JOINT TO COME APART AND THE TAIL GATE FALLS ON PERSON STANDING UNDERNEATH. *TR

ROUGHLY 4 BLOCKS AFTER REFUELING AN ALMOST EMPTY TANK, THE ENGINE IN MY 2005 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN STALLED AT APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH, RIGHT BEFORE A 90 DEGREE RIGHT TURN. BECAUSE THE ENGINE IS QUITE AT NEARLY IDLE, I DID NOT NOTICE THE ENGINE STOPPED UNTIL I STARTED INTO THE TURN. WITH THE ENGINE STALLED THERE WAS NO POWER STEERING OR POWER BRAKES. IF I WAS NOT A RELATIVELY STRONG PERSON, I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STEER THE CAR AROUND THE CORNER AND TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD IN A SAFE FASHION. I DOUBT THAT ANY OTHER MEMBER OF MY FAMILY WOULD HAVE SUCCESSFULLY NEGOTIATED THE CORNER SINCE IT ALMOST FELT LIKE THE STEERING WHEEL WAS LOCKED AND THE RESULT WOULD HAVE BEEN A SIGNIFICANT ACCIDENT AT THE VERY LEAST WITH THE ON COMING TRAFFIC. I WAS NOT SURE IF I MIGHT HAVE DONE SOMETHING TO CAUSE THE STALL AND IT DID NOT REOCCUR, THAT IS UNTIL THE NEXT FILL UP TODAY. FORTUNATELY IT WAS NOT AS BIG A DEAL TODAY AS I WAS DRIVING AT A HIGHER SPEED (40 MPH) AT A DIFFERENT LOCATION AND ALL THAT HAPPENED WAS BRIEF LOSS OF POWER AND STUMBLING OVER A DISTANCE OF ABOUT 1/4 MILE AND THEN RESOLVED ITSELF, WHICH CAUSED NO THREAT TO SAFETY LIKE LAST TIME. HOWEVER IT PROVED THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM THAT CONSISTENT WITH 2 REFUELS IN A ROW. AFTER SEARCHING THE INTERNET FOR THESE SYMPTOMS, IT WOULD SEEM THAT LOTS OF PEOPLE ARE HAVING THIS PROBLEM WITH 2004 AND NEWER CHRYSLER MINIVANS AND OTHER MODELS, DUE TO A DEFECTIVE VALVE IN THE EVAPORATIVE EMISSION SYSTEM IN THE TOP OF THE GAS TANK THAT CAN ONLY BE FIXED BY REPLACING THE ENTIRE TANK AT A COST OF ABOUT $600. *TR

TURN SIGNALS RANDOMLY STOP WORKING AND THEN WORK AGAIN. PROBABLY 50% OF THE TIME. POSES A REAL SAFETY ISSUE FOR MYSELF AND OTHER DRIVERS. ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT WHEN HAND SIGNALS ARE HARD TO SEE. FUSES ARE ALL GOOD, I'M GUESSING A FAULTY SWITCH IS TO BLAME. *TR