1999 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN Steering Problems

MY SERPENTINE BELT FALLS OFF EVERY TIME IT GETS WET. IT FALLS OFF IN HEAVY RAIN, IT FALLS OFF IN SNOW. AS YOU COULD IMAGINE WHEN YOU SUDDENLY DON'T HAVE STEERING ON WET AND/OR ICY ROADS IT BECOMES VERY DANGEROUS, ESPECIALLY IN A FAMILY VAN. EVEN AFTER I GET THE VEHICLE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD I HAVE TO GET THE BELT BACK ON. ROAD SIDE REPAIRS ARE NEVER SAFE OR EASY BUT THEY ARE MADE EVEN MORE SO WHEN DONE IN THE RAIN OR IN A BLIZZARD WHEN IT'S 60 BELOW WIND CHILL. THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED AND FIXED!!!!! *TR

ON GOING PROBLEM, WITH MYSELF AND PREVIOUS OWNERS. NEVER ADDRESSED BY CHRYSLER AND NO RECALL EVER DONE. WHEN DRIVING ON WET ROADS THE SERPENTINE BELT COMES OFF LEAVING YOU WITH NO POWER STEERING AND LOSS OF CONTROL IF GOING AT NORMAL SPEEDS AND ON A CURVE. IT IS A WELL KNOW PROBLEM AND HAS NOT BEEN ADDRESSED BY CHRYSLER. THEY JUST SAY THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A RECALL AND REFUSE TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM IS SO PREVALENT THAT GATES HAS MADE A REPLACEMENT PULLEY AND BELT TO FIX IT, BUT IT COSTS ABOUT $120.00 AND CHRYSLER SHOULD PAY FOR THE FIX AND INSTALLATION. WHY HAS THIS NOT BEEN TAKEN CARE OF? *TR

SERPENTINE BELT CAME OFF PULLEYS WHILE DRIVING IN HEAVY RAIN. LOST ABILITY TO STEER VAN. HEADED DIRECTLY FOR ANOTHER CAR AND COLLISION NARROWLY AVOIDED. BELT COMING OFF WHEN WET APPEARS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS SERIES VAN, AND WOULD SEEM TO BE A VERY SERIOUS HAZARD. IT IS BEYOND ME WHY DODGE IS NOT REQUIRED TO RETROFIT A BETTER BELT/PULLEY SYSTEM (WHICH DOES EXIST AND IS ON THE MARKET). *TR

1999 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN 3.3L. SERPENTINE BELT SLIPS OFF PULLEYS WHEN DRIVING IN WET CONDITIONS, EVEN SLIGHTLY. THIS PRODUCES AN IMMEDIATE LOSS OF POWER STEERING, WATER PUMP, ETC., AND WITHIN 15-20 SECONDS THE VEHICLE OVERHEATS. THIS CREATES SEVERE SAFETY HAZARD WITH IMPAIRED STEERING ABILITY ALONG WITH ATTEMPTS TO REMOVE VEHICLE FROM TRAFFIC BEFORE IT OVERHEATS, STALLS, OR ENGINE CATCHES FIRE. THIS SLIPPAGE OCCURS CONSISTENTLY TO THE POINT WE MUST AVOID DRIVING WHEN RAINING (EVEN DRIZZLING) OR EVEN IF ROADS ARE STILL MOIST AFTER A RAIN. WE FOUND HUNDREDS OF THE SAME COMPLAINT AFFECTING NUMEROUS MODEL YEAR DODGE CARAVANS, AS WELL AS CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY VAN. TWO INDEPENDENT MECHANICS STATED THE CAUSE IS POOR DESIGN OF THE PULLEY SYSTEM. TWO OF THE PULLEYS ARE SMOOTH-SURFACED AND ONE SIDE OF THE SERPENTINE BELT IS SMOOTH. WHEN A LIQUID (RAIN/SNOW/LUBRICANT, ETC.) IS INTRODUCED TO THE PULLEY SYSTEM, THESE SMOOTH SURFACES ALLOW THE...

THE SERPENTINE BELT CAME OFF SEVERAL TIMES IN THE RAIN , ON OUR 1999 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN, RESULTING IN LOSS OF POWER STEERING. I HAD GONE THROUGH A PUDDLE AND AS I TURNED A CORNER I LOST POWER STEERING. I MADE IT ONTO THE SIDE GRASS AS I WAS UNABLE TO COMPLETE THE TURN. I WAS ONLY A COUPLE FEET AWAY FROM HITTING A BRICK BUILDING. THIS WAS A VERY UNSETTLING EXPERIENCE. I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO BE TERRIFIED TO DRIVE IN THE RAIN. *TR

THREE TIMES IN SIX WEEKS, THE SERPENTINE BELT (WHICH POWERS THE POWER STEERING, ALTERNATOR AND WATER PUMP) HAS SLIPPED OFF THE PULLEYS. IN ONE OF THE THREE INSTANCES, THE DRIVE BELT WAS SHREDDED. AFTER A QUICK SEARCH OF THE INTERNET, LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS WERE FOUND. FORTUNATELY, IN OUR CASE, THERE HAS NOT BEEN AN INJURY TO DATE, HOWEVER A LOSS OF POWER STEERING AT THE WRONG MOMENT COULD EASILY CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. LIKEWISE, LOSS OF ACCESSORIES SUCH AS THE ALTERNATOR AND WATER PUMP COULD LEAVE SOMEONE STRANDED. ON THIS VEHICLE, THE BELT TENSIONER HAS BEEN REPLACED AND THE BELT HAS BEEN REPLACED THREE TIMES IN LESS THAN 1,000 MILES. *TR

1- NOISE SERPENTINE BELT. 2- SUDDEN TEMPORARY LOSS OF POWER STEERING WHILE DRIVING IN RAIN. OCCURS EVERYTIME IT RAINS. RESULTING IN TEMPORARY EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION AS I AM UNABLE TO STEER EVEN THOUGH I AM A STRONG 350LBS. 3- HAVE CHANGED SERPENTINE BELT SEVERAL TIMES BUT PROBLEM PERSISTS. *TR

1999 GRAND CARAVAN - SERPENTINE BELT COMES OFF WHEN IT RAINS OR VEHICLE IS DRIVEN THROUGH WATER, EVEN MINOR AMOUNTS. CAUSES SUDDEN LOSS OF STEERING ABILITY, ESPECIALLY IF IT OCCURS WITHOUT WARNING DURING A TURN. I HAVE OWNED THIS VEHICLE FOR 6 YEARS AND 125,000+ MILES WITHOUT INCIDENT. DURING THE LAST 25,000 MILES BELT HAS COME OFF UNPREDICTABLY 6-8 TIMES IN WET WEATHER. OCCURRENCES STARTED FOLLOWING REPLACEMENT OF FRONT TIRES AND A WHEEL ALIGNMENT. DEALERS AND SERVICE STATIONS HAVE BLAMED THE TENSIONEER, A PULLEY, THE BELT ITSELF, AND WATER. REPLACEMENT OF THESE PARTS DOES NOTHING TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM WHICH OCCURS AGAIN WITH THE NEXT RAIN STORM. SOMETHING CHANGED AT 125,000 MILES THAT CAUSES THE BELT TO DISENGAGE THE PULLEYS AND /OR TENSIONER WHEN WATER IS SPRAYED UP BY THE TIRES IN WET WEATHER. I CHANGED TIRES TO A DIFFERENT TREAD DESIGN AND THIS HELPED FOR A TIME, BUT WITH...

ELECTRICAL FIRE UNDER THE STEERING COLUMN, WIRING HARNESS REPLACED, AND PROBLEMS WITH THE STEERING WHEEL.*MR THE VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH EMC DS2000 ADAPTIVE STEERING AND EMC EGB. WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE'S FAILURE ALARMS CONSTANTLY SOUNDED. ON ONE OCCASION THE SYSTEM MALFUNCTION AND CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. ON ANOTHER OCCASION THE VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE UNDER THE STEERING COLUMN. ON BOTH OCCASIONS THE DEALER REPLACED THE WIRING HARNESS. THE DRIVER CONTINUED TO HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE STEERING WHEEL. THE DEALER DETERMINED THAT THE GEAR TRAIN OF THE ENCODERS WERE DAMAGED. BOTH ENCODER GEARS AS WELL AS THE ENCODER ASSEMBLY WERE REPLACED. *NM

I OWN A 1999 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN, SPORT EDITION. YESTERDAY WHILE MY WIFE WAS MAKING A RIGHT TURN ON THE STREET, THE STEERING FROZE AND THE BRAKES FAILED. SHE WENT STRAIGHT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CROSS STREET AND THE VAN WENT DEAD. UPON STARTING THE VAN AGAIN, THE "SERVICE ENGINE SOON" LIGHT CAME UP. THE SPEEDOMETER WAS UNRESPONSIVE AND SOMEHOW WE BROUGHT THE VAN HOME. THIS IS PROBABLY THE SPEED SENSOR THAT HAS GONE BAD AGAIN. THREE MONTHS AGO WHEN I WAS DRIVING THE VAN ON THE FREEWAY, THE VAN WENT UNRESPONSIVE AND I HAD TO PULLOVER. UPON STARTING THE VAN, IT SHOWED THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT AND WOULD NOT CATCH UP HIGHWAY SPEED. I HAD TO DRIVE AT 35 MPH SPEED ON FREEWAY AT VERY HIGH ENGINE REVOLUTIONS AND COME HOME. THE DEALER REPLACED THE SPEED SENSOR TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THE SERIOUS THING OF THE...

NHTSA #02-V-293-000. ON CERTAIN MINI VANS, THE CLOCKSPRING ASSEMBLY MAY HAVE BEEN WOUND INCORRECTLY DURING THE VEHICLE ASSEMBLY PROCESS. CONSUMER HAS THE SAME PROBLEM. A RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUES ON SIMILAR MAKES AND MODELS. HOWEVER THIS VEHICLE IS NOT INCLUDE DUE THE VIN#. *MM *SCC

WHILE TURNING INTO THE DRIVEWAY, THE CONSUMER HEARD A CLUNK AND THE STEERING WENT COMPLETELY AROUND. CONSUMER FEELS THIS IS VERY UNSAFE. *AK THE CONSUMER STATES THAT THE STEERING WHEEL HAD NO CONTROL OVER THE TIRES. INJURIES OR FATALITIES COULD HAVE OCCURED. THE DEALER HAD REPLACED THE LOWER STEERING SHAFT. IT HAD BEEN STRIPPED OUT FROM THE LACK OF FULL/APPROPRIATE CONNECTION. THE MATERIAL ENGINEER STATED THAT THE PART APPEARED TO HAVE BEEN ENGAGED ONLY 1/3 OF THE WAY, INSTEAD OF THE WHOLE WAY. *SCC

WHILE PULLING INTO A PARKING LOT THE STEERING BROKE, STEERING WHEEL THEN WAS ABLE TO SPIN FREELY WITH NO CONTROL OVER THE VEHICLE. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED.*AK