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2018 or 2017 caravan

9K views 12 replies 11 participants last post by  theKING 
#1 ·
i had 2 caravans a 91 and an 03 both were solid with no engine or trans issues, i am thinking of a new 17 or 18 caravan, after reading some reviews, i am hearing there are transmission issues and they are getting a bad rap on safety. maybe i can get some input to help change my mind and make the purchase. are these transmission issues a reality and about the bad rap on safety crash reports. any thoughts. the next thought was an Honda Oddysey.


chet
 
#2 ·
My 2016 6 speed has been as smooth as silk. I would get the pacifica way before the Honda.
The 3.6 and the 6 speed are pretty rock solid. As far as safty remember the body was designed in 2008 but it depends on your wallet. The new desigened vans are proberly safer but do you want to spend 35 grand or 20 grand?
 
#3 ·
The current Grand Caravan design is probably fine by 2008 standards, but would likely fair poorly in the new tests, like the small offset test (equivalent to hitting a stationary object with the drivers front corner only).

The 6 speed has been good for most though some people can find it clunky st times.

All in all, you’re getting yesterday’s tech at s good price. You have to decide if it’s worth the trade offs.
 
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#5 ·
Our 2011 Grand Caravan with Pentastar and 6spd recently crossed 100K miles and we've had zero problems. Just among folks where I work, I've heard of several Honda Odyssey transmission failures. Have only heard about clunkiness with the Caravan 6 spd - and I suspect a lot of that is while it's in ECON mode.

Concerning safety, I think it's not that the Caravan isn't sturdy, it's that it was designed prior to some new types of crash tests being instituted.
 
#6 ·
so can it be said the Pacifica is safer then the Dodge Caravan, are they build on a sturdier chassis ect
The caravan is on an older chassis that was designed before current safety standards were in place, for example the offset front crash standards. The Pacifica is on a totally different and new chassis designed with today's safety standards in place, along with accident avoidance and more airbags.Basically the Pacifica would be a safer vehicle when compared to the caravan. But it can also be said today's caravan is safer than say your 1991 or 2003. But the Pacifica is quite a bit more expensive. Up to the purchaser what they think works best for them.
 
#7 ·
Our 2013 Grand Caravan had the transmission rebuilt under warranty between 60k and 70k miles. It's been well behaved since then, now at about 108k miles. We like everything else about it and are going to keep it till at least 150k miles if not longer unless a Pacifica Hybrid becomes too tempting.

If price is a big factor, a new GC is basically impossible to beat for the value. I agree with looking at a Pacifica over a Honda.
 
#8 ·
I got to say, when I hear people talk about how safe a vehicle is, I laugh. The only safe vehicle is the one piloted by someone whom knows how to operate their vehicle. A lot of safe vehicles end up killing the occupants, cause they are clueless. Just my two cents.

As for GC, I met a cabbie in Toronto and they had a 2012, probably bought in 2011 CVP, he told me they had 400,000 km plus and this was August 2013.
Taxi is severe duty 24 hrs a day, they performed regular maintenance, with no engine or transmission issues. Well, when I heard that I bought myself a 2013 CVP for $21,800 with just some minor issues to this present day.

One issue that has annoyed me, living Newfoundland (this place has the most rapid temp. change I have ever experienced 20 c in a day) the car has had some internal rust issues, I believe caused by condensation. The car has no rust on the outside but the rockers both have little bubbling in the same spot both sides (it appears to be above the jacking points of the car). The dealer tried to tell me it was a stone chip I argued and Chrysler covered a 900$ repair (waste of money as the rust came back). It first started on the drivers side, for your information (moral of the story is get the car oiled well). I have also now noticed a little tiny bubbling on the drivers side lower tail gate area, most likely oil will stop this too.

The clunking is caused by the lock up converter when the car is in ECON mode, but it does save you fuel, but at a power/acceleration loss (ECON works for city stop and go driving, not highway). On the highway I have gone down to 8.8l per 100km. It gets excellent mileage on the highway when using cruise at 100-105km. I drove back from Deer Lake, NL and still had 1/4 tank, I believe thats about 700km back to St. John's.

If I could have figured out how to attach a photo, without having to read a book, I would have.


Take care,
 
#9 ·
Both our 2012 and 2016 Town n Country's have been reliable in regards to the engine/trans. The 12' had some odd clunking when engaging 'Drive' but otherwise it was very smooth. Our 16' is even smoother and has not one issue with trans smoothness. Best yet!

Safety. they are pretty good, our took on a GMC Envoy XL and we walked away. So I feel pretty safe.
 
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#10 ·
pick up a used 2016 RT or a 2017 GT... they will have most if not all of the options and the price cant be beat. Just picked up a 2016 RT with 19,200 miles. loaded with dual dvd screens and the optional safety tech $16,300.00 us. yes the pacificas perform better in the new tests but the GC are safe vehicles.
 
#11 ·
My 2011 was reliable with the only real problem being, the passenger side vents would blow hot in summer and cold in winter. Took it to the dealer and they said Chrysler knew about the problem but no fix was yet available. (The dealer is so useful!). Asked again on a visit and they said they "never heard of it" Lol. 5 years later I traded it in, still not fixed. It was intermittent, but dangerous in the Winter. Apparently the fix was the blend door actuator motor.
The engine was reliable with no problems other than it made a hell of a racket at idle. The 6 speed worked fine with no reliability problems, however it banged like it was full of rocks in the first 3 gears. That was without Econ on. Econ was useless and caused a shudder, to the point I thought the trans was slipping. Used it twice and had enough of it. Asked the dealer about it and they said they were telling people not to use it. There was a "Brake Warranty" issued for the first two years due to problems. The only problem I had in the first 2 years was a seized rear drivers side caliper. Everything was replaced at the dealer for zero dollars. I found brake wear to be equal to anything else I had from Chrysler.
I've heard, however, many of these problems have been rectified.
 
#12 ·
I think the 2017 or 2018 DGC would be a pretty solid buy.

The transmission in our 2011 is busy, and not as refined as a transmission could be, but it's still working at > 100,000km

We've had brake issues, but that's been dealt with on the newer vans; the engine has been flawless; only real issues we've had are random electrical things (TIPM, climate control being confused, faulty FOBIKs) and it's starting to get a little noisy while driving on rougher roads.

We did just have the hood replaced under warranty as it was starting to bubble.

Otherwise, it's been a great vehicle.
 
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