7.1
pretty bad- Typical Repair Cost:
- $840
- Average Mileage:
- 78,200 miles
- Total Complaints:
- 7 complaints
Most common solutions:
- replace oil filter plastic housing (6 reports)
- replace oil cooler (1 reports)
This problem may be covered under warranty. Ask your Dodge dealer.
This is the second cracked oil filter housing in one year. Dealer said to have them do all future oil changes, so if it cracked again it would be their fault.
- Dan S., Solon, OH, US
third leak from cracked oil filter housing. Fixed at non dealer shop. Dealer later told me they fix these several times a month and no one from his dealership would ever say they would cover the repair if they did all the oil changes. I asked him if I would have to pay for a new housing ($800) each time I changed the oil and filter. Ha ha, only I am unable to laugh.
- Dan S., Solon, OH, US
This is the first of three cracked oil filter housings.
- Dan S., Solon, OH, US
My Caravan has NEVER had an oil leak up until the last oil change. I have always taken the van to a dealer to have the oil changed, and I always used synthetic oil. After the last oil change I noticed leaking under my car. When I checked the oil, I was about 1qt low after a few weeks. The leaking is much worse than my last Caravan that had 240,000 miles on it when I traded it in. I brought it in to the dealer to make sure that the filter and drain plug was tight. The tech at the dealer looked at it, and said that it is a big leak around the housing, which is PLASTIC.
This sounds like a design flaw - who uses a PLASTIC housing on a hot engine???
In talking with the service manager over the phone, this sounds like a $700+ repair. I'm going to have them look at it (again) since the manager was out when I first brought it in.
I shouldn't have to pay for a DESIGN FLAW!
- jphin, Wauconda, US
This model has chronic oil cooler failures. No replacement cooler available from anywhere. According to the Dodge Dealer there is a back order of over 5000 oil coolers and no release date for projected availability of this part.. So far, no repair bulletin much less a recall. I have to drive my van with an unpredictable oil leak and defective oil cooler for months if not longer. Something that can ruin a motor. So I basically have to park it or take my chances.
We bought it to drive to Mexico every winter. Snow Birds. 5 days and 1000 miles one way. I am not going to get stuck in the desert or drive over the Sierra Mountains and wind up with a dead motor in Mexico. AAA doesn't work down there and Dodge dealers are few and far between even in major cities. So far, my choices are drive an older car with 160K on it. Fly. Trade the vehicle. Take my chances.
Below is the whole sad story. The computer in the car sucks. Even stumps the dealer.
Check Engine light has been intermittently going on and off since we bought it 2 years ago.
On way home the transmission started not shifting properly. Warning light for anti skid, cruise control and Eco transmission switch came on. Gas Cap was displayed permanently which I don't care about but prevents the "Low Gas" from displaying which is REALLY important. An engine restart cleared warning lights but they came back on at an increasing frequency. Thankfully, I checked oil level that morning and was a quart low. We decided to Goggle a dealer on our way to get checked.
One the dipstick was DRY. Two, I was due for an oil change after this 2000 mile trip so I got it done rather than just add oil. They checked error codes but there were dozens in storage but none active so they had no clue where to begin to look for the problem. Cleared all the stored codes. Then we would take it for a short drive and see what codes show up, hopefully.
During oil change, physical inspection by a non computerized human being identified two possible sources of a oil leak.1. Oil cooler defect. or 2. Low oil sensor leaking. Would have to do significant labor to pin down and fix. Short drive resulted in NO error codes including the "check engine", Shifted normally. No problems.
Bought 4 quarts of engine oil and decided to complete our trip of another 500 miles with frequent oil level checks. Trip was uneventful. Everything normal, One quart low at 500 miles. No error codes. Put in my local shop which was able to determine the low oil sensor was not leaking thus the most likely cause would be an oil cooler defect. But no REPAIR SOLUTION is possible in the foreseeable future.
- Dale D., St. Charles, US
Ok, 2014 Dodge Caravan spewing oil all over. I had to pay for it to get to a garage. I was then told the housing that holds the oil filter casing was cracked. Dodge has put a plastic housing into a cast aluminum part. This apparently is a well known failure on the V6 Engine with no recalls or safety notices from Dodge. I called the dealership that is a few hours away and they told me to DRIVE the vehicle in. REALLY? With it spewing oil. Once I explained to them a second time that in fact it cannot be driven, I was told I had to pay to get it towed and the part would be covered. I contacted Dodge for help getting it towed. I did not hear from them in three days. We are without a vehicle. No sense of concern or urgency from them. We had to rent a car and the van is still getting fixed. Though covered under warranty, we are stuck paying for the whole thing because Dodge and the dealership dragging their feet. So far, the total bill is $1000 out of our pockets for something "under warranty". This is the third Dodge we had in the past 10 years that we had problem after problem with. I WILL NEVER BUY A DODGE AGAIN
- ralphkrise13, Massena, NY, US
Oil filter housing is cracked. Oil changed by dealership only. Was told I would be responsible, cracks worse with every oil change.
- gregorylong, Meridian, US