The vehicle lost oil pressure. The vehicle had to be towed. It was found that the front seal had failed resulting in loss of 4 quarts of oil. When evaluated at a repair facility they found that the crankshaft had failed and was pushing the front seal out. I was told that a technical service bulletin was available to tell dealers how to fix the problem. I have found references in posts to others having a similar failure in this engine.

- Lyndhurst, OH, USA

I own a 2006 Dodge Caravan with 2.4 liter, 4 cyl DOHC 16 engine. This van was built at the factory in 2005 - sold new in January 2006 to a rental Agency and I purchased later when the vehicle had about 19,000 miles on it. The van now has 63,000 miles (in November 2010). I noticed very significant engine oil leak near the oil filter housing. The leak was determined to be coming from the front crankshaft seal. I had this seal replaced but within a days it had popped out and was leaking again. I understand that there is a technical repair/service bulletin - case number [xxx] (do a google search to find) on this issue. I also see that there are two NHTSA cases with identical problems to mine listed on this site (10333917, 10257511). Anybody see a trend here"??" it's pretty clear to me that Dodge has manufacturing issues with this engine if the crankshaft is continuously kicking out the seal. I wasn't expecting major engine overhaul or replacement on this vehicle when I purchased it and, as I said, the van only has 63,000 miles. Last Dodge I will be buying!! information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Warner Robins, GA, USA

While driving our 2006 Dodge Caravan in the rain or thru a puddle the serpentine belt keeps slipping of comes off this is an on going problem and the date listed below is the latest incident. This seems to me like a safety issue, power steering is lost and if not expecting this problem an accident could happen.

- Cleveland, TN, USA

Exiting the freeway a going 70 my van turned off, struggled with the power steering, the gas light came on as the engine died, I got rear ended, while we waited to be towed the van sizzled and all the hazards and power went out, dark out.

- Pasadena, TX, USA

My boyfriend noticed an oil leak under the van. We took it into a repair shop to have it fixed. They said that it was the front crankshaft seal. Ten days after it was fixed, the van started leaking again. We took it back to the shop. They fixed the leak again and took it for a test drive. The van stared leaking during the test drive so they ran a bunch of tests. They decided the problem was the oil pump. When they took the oil pan off to fix the pump, they found the thrust bearing in the oil pan. I decided to have it towed to a different repair shop. That shop told me that I'd have to replace the whole engine. I think that the bearing was faulty and that it defiantly shouldn't have gone out considering the van only has 30,000 miles on it. The second repair shop said that they couldn't fix just the thrust bearing because the engine was toast. I am the second owner of the van. When I bought the van it had 18,000 miles on it. It was under warranty, but it expired in November 2008. The second repair shop said that there are no used engines or refurbished engines available. I pay $305 a month in payments and can't afford a repair bill that shouldn't have happened in the first place.

- Newport, WA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Dodge Caravan. While driving various speeds in rainy weather conditions, the belts in the vehicle become wet when driving through an inch or more of water. As a result, the vehicle will have reduced power, a loss of power steering, and the alternator will reduce its conductivity. When the failure occurs, the contact is unable to make any turns due to the loss of power steering. He has to wait until the belts dry before the power steering can become operable again. The vehicle has not been taken to a dealer and no repairs have been made. The contact is in the process of notifying the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 22,000 and current mileage was 50,000.

- Lawton, OK, USA

On 7/29/08 I drove my vehicle to a business meeting and noticed the oil light flashing on and off. When I was through with the meeting I checked my oil to see if it was low and found that it was, when I pulled out of the parking space I found a puddle of oil on the ground. I drove directly to monro-joppa rd. Shop to get it checked out and they found that the crank shaft had cracked and was causing oil to pour out of the car. The replaced all parts necessary and it cost me $737. One week later on 8/8/08 I drove to another business meeting and coming out to my car found that it was leaking again. I took it back to monro-joppa rd. And they found that it was the same problem. They went to schaefer & strominger to obtain a Dodge part (crank shaft) and was told by the service man there that they have been seeing this problem with certain Dodge cars. The mechanic from monro asked why haven't the cars been recalled. The Dodge service man gave the mechanic from monro a paper with the solution number and what would need to happen if it continues. The next step if this problem is not corrected, would be to replace the engine. I was given a copy of this form as well. So far this problem has been repaired twice and I am concerned about it happening again and causing me to replace an engine on a 2 year old van.

- Parkville, MD, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Dodge Caravan. The contact stated that the vehicle constantly shuts down. The failure was noticed while driving 55 mph. The vehicle is currently at the dealer. The dealer is unable to determine the cause of failure. The current mileage is 13,000 and failure mileage was 12,000.

- Ottawa, KS, USA