2007 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN Power Train Problems

MY 2007 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN SE CAN BE EASILY SHIFTED INTO GEAR WHILE IN AUXILIARY POWER, AND IT SOMETIMES LOCKS OUT MY BRAKES, AS THERE IS A LOCKED STEERING WHEEL YOU CAN'T STEER IT AND CAN'T TURN IT ON WITHOUT SHIFTING BACK TO PARK WHICH CAN BE DIFFICULT IF THE BRAKES LOCK. A CHILD COULD EASILY SET IT IN GEAR IF YOU ARE RUNNING THE AIR AND YOU LEAVE THE CAR BRIEFLY, I DO NOT HAVE KIDS BUT I DO RUN SOME TAXI WORK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. IT COULD BE DONE ANYWHERE AS LONG AS IT'S IN AUXILIARY POWER TO RADIO AND ELECTRICS BUT NOT FULLY ON

THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED ON AN INCLINED DRIVEWAY. THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OF AND THE KEY WAS NOT IN THE IGNITION. MY DAUGHTER PULLED THE COLUMN SHIFTER WITHOUT PRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL. THE VEHICLE SHIFTED INTO REVERSE AND ROLLED BACKWARDS DOWN THE DRIVEWAY. THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE DOOR WAS OPEN. THE DOOR STRUCK A TREE AND STOPPED THE ROLLING VEHICLE.

MY STEPDAUGHTER WAS DRIVING MY VAN AFTER WE WERE RETURNING FROM A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. WE GOT TO HER HOUSE TO DROP HER OFF WHERE SHE PUT THE VAN IN PARK . I THEN WALKED (BEHIND) FROM THE PASSENGER SIDE TO THE DRIVERS SIDE WHILE SHE WENT TO HER MAIL BOX TO GET HER MAIL. I OPENED THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR, THAT'S WHEN THE VAN STARTED ROLLING BACKWARDS DOWN HER DRIVEWAY. I COULDN'T SEE HER SO I SCREAMED HER NAME SO IT DIDN'T RUN OVER HER, SHE WAS DIRECTLY BEHIND THE VAN LOOKING DOWN AT HER MAIL. SHE GOT OUT OF THE WAY IN TIME TO SEE THAT THE VAN DOOR HAD CAUGHT ME, WAS ABLE TO REACH ME, LUCKILY, TO GRAB AND YANK ME FROM BEHIND IT. THEN WE WATCHED AS IT ROLLED DOWN HER DRIVEWAY INTO THE STREET. LUCKILY WHEN IT HIT THE BOTTOM OF HER DRIVEWAY THE...

1ST OCCURRENCE: WHILE DRIVING ON FREEWAY ON A HOT DAY THE CAR STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. ON ATTEMPTED RESTARTS CAR WOULD FIRE FOR A COUPLE OF SECONDS AND QUIT. TRIED OTHER KEY: NO HELP. AFTER ABOUT 7 OR 8 ATTEMPTS THE CAR WOULD NOT CRANK AND SOLENOID CLICKED. TOWED HOME. CAR SET CODES P0339 AND P0344(INTERMITTENT CRANK AND CAM SENSOR). CHARGED BATTERY . REPLACED BOTH SENSORS CAR INITIALLY WOULD NOT START, THEN MYSTERIOUSLY FIRED UP AND RAN FINE. OK FOR ABOUT A MONTH. BATTERY TESTED OK CHARGING VOLTAGE GOOD WHEN RUNNING. NOT RELATED TO HAVING JUST (OVER)FILLED GAS TANK. (MUCH ON INTERNET ABOUT THIS: BAD VALVE IN TANK ALLOWS EVAP TO FLOOD) 2ND OCCURRENCE. ONCE AGAIN DRIVING ON HIGHWAY HOT DAY. ONCE AGAIN STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. SAME SYMPTOMS ON ATTEMPTED RESTART. AFTER WAITING ABOUT 15 MINUTES, CAR RESTARTED, RAN ABOUT 4 MILES AND STALLED AGAIN. ATTEMPTED FOUR OR FIVE RESTARTS, THEN...

I JUST COMPLETED FILLING UP MY VEHICLE WITH REGULAR GASOLINE. ABOUT 100 YARDS FROM THE FILLING STATION, MY VAN STUTTERED AND STALLED. IT DOES THIS EVERY TIME I FILL IT UP. IT STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT IS THE RESULT OF A FAILED COMPONENT OF THE EMISSIONS SYSTEM AND A PRETTY COMMON PROBLEM WITH CHRYSLER/DODGE VANS. HTTP://COMMUNITY.CARTALK.COM/DISCUSSION/2137227/ENGINE-DIES-AFTER-GASOLINE-FILL-UP. *TR

MY 2007 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN WAS PARKED IN THE DRIVEWAY AND MY 4 YR OLD WAS ABLE TO SHIFT THE VAN OUT OF PARK INTO NEUTRAL WITHOUT DEPRESSING THE BRAKE OR STARTING THE VEHICLE. THE VAN COASTED DOWN THE DRIVEWAY, ACROSS THE STREET AND CAME TO REST IN THE NEIGHBOR'S YARD ALL THE WHILE WITH MY 4 YR OLD IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT. I WOULD ESTIMATE THE VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING UP TO 10MPH DOWN THE SLOPED DRIVEWAY. NO INJURY OR DAMAGE LUCKILY OCCURRED. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE DODGE DEALERSHIP STATES THE SHIFT INTERLOCK SOLENOID FAILED. THE DEALERSHIP WILL NOT COVER UNDER WARRANTY. I BELIEVE THIS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A RECALL ISSUE SINCE THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE AND HAS BEEN THE PREVIOUS SUBJECT OF NHTSA INTERVENTION WITH THE AUTOMAKERS. *TR

FOUR SEPARATE INSTANCES OF AN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION OCCURRED WITHIN 5 MINUTES WHILE TRAVELING AT LOW SPEEDS (5 - 15 MPH). EACH OF THESE INSTANCES IS DESCRIBED BELOW: 1. WHILE TURNING RIGHT OUT OF A GAS STATION AT ABOUT 5-10 MPH, THE CAR LURCHED FORWARD AND THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM SEEMED TO FAIL (I.E., THE CAR WAS STEERING RIGHT AND IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO KEEP FROM CONTINUING RIGHT INTO A CURB). THE BRAKES WORKED FINE AND PREVENTED A COLLISION WITH THE CURB. I HEADED FOR A FRIEND'S HOUSE LOCATED NEARBY. 2. APPROXIMATELY 500 - 1000 FEET LATER, WHILE TURNING LEFT AT 15 MPH ONTO A SIDE STREET, THERE WAS ANOTHER UNINTENDED ACCELERATION AND THE STEERING WHEEL WAS 'LOCKED' LEFT (I.E., THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM AGAIN SEEMED TO FAIL). THE BRAKES ON AND THE CAR COLLIDED WITH THE CURB AT A LOW SPEED (1-3 MPH). HAD TRAFFIC BEEN COMING DOWN THE...

THIS ISSUE HAS OCCURRED AROUND 20 TIMES SINCE PURCHASE OF THE VEHICLE. WHILE DRIVING THE VAN AND STOPPING IN TRAFFIC (TRANSMISSION IN DRIVE), WHEN PUSHING THE GAS PEDAL (FOOT OFF THE BRAKE) THE RPM GAUGE WILL RESPOND BUT THE VAN WILL NOT MOVE. THE VAN BEHAVES LIKE THE TRANSMISSION IS IN PARK DESPITE THE TRANSMISSION BEING IN DRIVE. IN ORDER FOR THE VAN TO MOVE AGAIN YOU MUST PUT THE VAN IN PARK AND THEN BACK TO DRIVE. AT THIS POINT THE TRANSMISSION WORKS AS IT SHOULD. AT LEAST TWICE I HAVE HAD TO TURN THE VAN OFF AND BACK ON BEFORE THE TRANSMISSION WOULD WORK CORRECTLY. HAVE TAKEN TO DEALER BUT THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE AND THERE WERE NO CODES TO PULL. I FEEL THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AS IT COULD LEAD TO AN ACCIDENT. *TR

THE DODGE GRAND CARAVAN DIES WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY. IT HAS HAPPENED TWICE. I'M BRINGING IT IN TO A DODGE DEALER IN VEGAS IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS. I'VE BEEN TOLD THE ERROR CODE IN THE COMPUTER SYSTEM WILL ZERO OUT ONCE THE CAR HAS BEEN STARTED THREE TIMES AFTER THIS PROBLEM OCCURS SO THERE IS NOTHING FOR THE DEALER TO LOOK AT. I'LL TAKE IT IN ANYWAY BECAUSE MAYBE THEY HAVE RUN INTO THIS BEFORE. IT ALMOST HAS TO BE A COMPUTER PROBLEM I BELIEVE. IN MY CASE THIS PROBLEM OCCURRED RIGHT AFTER I ACCELERATED ON THE INTERSTATE TO PASS A CAR. EVERYTHING GOES DEAD JUST LIKE I TURNED THE CAR OFF. I PUT THE VAN INTO NEUTRAL WHILE IT IS GOING AND RESTART THE CAR. NEVER HEARD OF THIS BEFORE. IT MAY BE IMPORTANT TO GET ON THE RECORD BECAUSE THIS COULD BE A DANGEROUS SITUATION DEPENDING...