5.0

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
20,117 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #87

Nov 012022

Grand Caravan

  • miles
The door lock actuators on BOTH sliding doors do not work properly. about 3 years ago the drivers side door lock actuator stopped unlocking and could not be used. about 7 or 8 months later, it suddenly unlocked but now makes a loud buzzing sound every time it locks. Then about a year later, the passenger side door stopped unlocking and has remained locked for many months now leaving that door unusable. if there were an emergency or accident where the drivers side could not be accessed, passengers in the back of the vehicle would not be able to exit the car safely without climbing over seats. We also are concerned that the drivers side door will fail again and the rear of the vehicle would no longer be accessible. This is a known issue through the manufacturer that they refuse to recall or repair. There is even a current class action lawsuit for this make and model. several similar makes and models through the manufacturer have been affected by this issue for many years. We have not had this inspected by anyone, we bought new door actuator mechanisms but have not replaced them ourselves yet. every indication is this is a difficult and lengthy repair at home and costly if done through an auto repair shop or dealership. With such a well known issue, this should have been investigated, resolved and corrected by the manufacturer and notices for recalls released to the public. This is completely unacceptable that the safety of passengers in these cars are not important to the manufacturer!

- Parker, CO, USA

problem #86

Apr 132022

Grand Caravan

  • miles
My driver's side rear sliding door will not open or unlock. The locking mechanism inside the door panel is seized up and will not release the lock, so the door cannot be opened. This is unsafe because I now only have one door that passengers can exit from the back and if something were to happen to the other back door, people could be trapped. I regularly transport my nieces that are [XXX], [XXX], and [XXX] and it makes it very difficult to reach them and if there were an accident on the right side of the car we would not be able to reach them from the left and they would not be able to get out due to the fact that they are in car seats and would need to be taken out by an adult. I have received documentation that states this is a known issue for my Year, Make, and Model, and there is apparently a class action lawsuit about it, but based on the mileage of my car, I won't qualify to have it fixed. I was just made aware that this is a known issue and the car had 70,000 miles on it when I bought it. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Akron, OH, USA

problem #85

Mar 072025

Grand Caravan

  • miles
The rear sliding door lock actuator on the passenger stopped working. The door will not open or unlock.

- West Valley City, UT, USA

problem #84

Mar 312025

Grand Caravan

  • miles
My rear passenger sliding door lock is stuck in the unlock position. My concern is my van is at all times unlocked. Also since it won-??t lock at all even when I-??m driving is that anyone could approach my van while I-??m at a light or a parking lot and get inside. My biggest fear is that since it won-??t lock it will just pop open one day while I-??m driving. My grandchildren or my dogs could be severely injured if this happened. I-??ve read online about this being an issue with the Dodge GCV. People suggested writing to you and try to get a recall done for this issue. The dealer wants around $1100 to fix problem. I don-??t have that kind of money to spend. My other issue is if I disconnect the cable so I can lock the door is what if my passengers or animals need to get out of back of van in a emergency their going to be trapped back there. Also unrelated to the lock issues. My van is having a hard time shifting and has cut out multiple times on me. And when I turn on my blinkers it turns on the wipers. So possible electrical issue there.

- Taylorsville, UT, USA

problem #83

Feb 202025

Grand Caravan

  • miles
Driver side rear sliding door is stuck closed. Cannot be operated manually, will not lock or unlock with the other car door locks which work fine. My children-??s safety is at risk. I bought a van because I have 3 children, and in the event of an accident could delay their rescue. One of my children is a Type 1 diabetic and in event of an accident he-??s in even more danger if rescue teams cannot get to him. The problem has not been confirmed by a mechanic, as both Dodge dealerships I have reached out to told me I would have to pay a diagnostic fee, but it-??s a known problem with their vehicles. The vehicle has not been inspected by police, or insurance. There was no warning to the part malfunctioning, just stopped opening and noticed when my children tried to use the door to get out at school. My car currently has 109,000 miles on it but there are is a recall for up to 100,000 miles but Dodge states it cannot extend the warranty although I-??ve see ln that Mopar extended the warranty for this exact issue but Dodge says it-??s misinformation and -??good luck-??.

- Syracuse , NY, USA

problem #82

Mar 132024

Grand Caravan

  • miles
In March 13, 2024, when unlocking the doors from the driver's side control panel there was an audible buzzing sound from the passenger side sliding door. The door was still able to unlock and lock. After doing some research online I found that there was a problem with the locking door actuator that would cause a buzzing sound when engaged. This continued to happen anytime that sliding door was either locked or unlocked. In June of 2024, using the driver's side control panel, I attempted to unlock the passenger sliding door. The door didn't make the buzzing sound, but it also would not unlock. The door was seized shut. I use this vehicle to transport my three children to and from school. Their drop offs are on the right hand side. With the passenger sliding door being seized shut, because of the faulty actuator, my children have to get out on the driver's side door and into incoming traffic! This is a great risk to my children. I called to get it repaired from the dealer I purchased it from with the actuator recall that was issued only to be told thaty vehicle wasn't covered in that recall, yet I still have a door that is seized shut from the recalled actuator part.

- Price, UT, USA

problem #81

Sep 042024

Grand Caravan

  • miles
The lock mechanism on the driver side sliding door is stuck in the lock position. From what I-??m reading online this is a VERY common issue. It seems to me that being unable to open the door could be a huge safety concern.

- New Bloomfield , MO, USA

problem #80

Sep 052023

Grand Caravan

  • miles
The sliding doors in my van are not functional. One side does not open at all which is a safety hazard for my children/other passengers to be able to get out of the back seat if an accident occurred. The other side does not lock so it is a safety concern too because someone could enter my vehicle without my knowledge. I would like these fixed so that I can feel safe in my van.

- Mt. Pleasant, SC, USA

problem #79

Jul 212024

Grand Caravan

  • miles
Sliding door lock stuck. Door will not open in emergency.

- Appleton, WI, USA

problem #78

Jul 132024

Grand Caravan

  • miles
As I was driving home on a city street, the entire car locked. I had no steering control. My brakes didn-??t work the Entire vehicle locked. In the middle of the street. I turned the ignition off, put it in park and restarted the car only then did it work properly. This is the second time this vehicle has locked. This is very dangerous as I had a child in the car with me and I was in traffic. My brakes didn-??t work, I had to use two feet really hard then I was able to stop the vehicle. The steering wheel didn-??t work. Nothing worked. I don-??t know What-??s the problem. The very first time this happened, while dropping the child off at school, I put the car in park, I was not able to get the shifter out of park. The car locked. I sat in my car, wondering what to do decided to go on the web and check out problems with this particular vehicle, then I noticed there is a little door leading to the shifter to change it manually. But when you are in traffic, there is no time to look for a screwdriver to open the door to do anything manually. This is a safety hazard and I really don-??t know why there is not a recall on this vehicle.

- Los Angeles , CA, USA

problem #77

Nov 012023

Grand Caravan

  • miles
Driver's side passenger door will not open due to a faulty actuator. Other vehicles with the same make/model and year have this exact issue covered under warranty, but for some reason this one is not. I believe the warranty should be expanded to cover more dodge vehicles.This is a Safety issue as it prevents a safe and timely evacuation from the vehicle.

- Kelowna, Bc, WA, USA

problem #76

Jan 082024

Grand Caravan

  • miles
The car stalls and shuts off when coming to a stop. When attempting to stop, sometimes it keeps moving forward as if the breaks weren-??t working properly. It only happens when I-??m slowing down. No codes comes up nor does the check engine light turn on. It had been checked by different mechanis and they cant figure out what is wrong with the car.

- Homestead, FL, USA

problem #75

Apr 092024

Grand Caravan

  • miles
Unable to open rear left sliding door, lock actuator is failed. Burning smell from left sliding door 1 year ago. Right sliding door make buzzing noice from the lock actuator area, sometimes unable to open sliding door.

- Southampton, PA, USA

problem #74

Apr 092024

Grand Caravan

  • miles
Both sliding door actuators are malfunctioning. The door locks have to be manually locked and unlock. Searching the internet, I found that if the door is not lock, the door can disengage and fly open. This has not occurred and we keep the doors locked. I was told by the dealership that because my 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan was manufactured in Canada that the RT warranty does not pertain to my vehicle. This is a very expensive repair. Since both of my doors are affected, it could cost around $1,300 to repair both. If this was an isolated incident, I could understand having to pay for the repair. However, it seems to be a common problem. The part is defective and the cost should not be bared by the consumer.

- Greensboro, NC, USA

problem #73

Jan 172024

Grand Caravan

  • miles
Car randomly stalled out without warning or signs of issues. We just purchased this used from Automax Hyundai. It has happened a total of 4 times this week.

- Edmond, OK, USA

problem #72

Nov 182023

Grand Caravan

  • miles
door lock actuator failed - driver side sliding door - door stuck closed will not open

- Portage, MI, USA

problem #71

Jul 012023

Grand Caravan

  • miles
2017 Dodge Grand Caravan. Check engine light reading code P0302 (cylinder 2 misfire). Mechanic replaced spark plugs and coils, but car is still throwing same code. This is appears to also be an issue with a recall on other year models of Dodge Grand Caravans. Mechanics unsure what to do as components have already been replaced and engine light comes back on after clearing code repeatedly.

- Fenton, MO, USA

problem #70

Sep 012023

Grand Caravan

  • miles
When locking and unlocking the doors or using the automatic lock when the car is in drive, the driver side sliding door either will not unlock at all (even manually) or when it automatically locks and unlocks it makes an aggressive vibration sound and does not work. I have to go through the passenger side sliding door to take the car seat out of the van. If it were an emergency and I needed to open the rear door it would cause a serious safety issue

- Citrus Springs, FL, USA

problem #69

Aug 102023

Grand Caravan

  • miles
The left (driver's side) passenger sliding door will not open. The lock actuator seems to be frozen. It is available for inspection as needed. Safety concern is the limited egress from the vehicle. The problem has been confirmed by a dealer and is persistent. No warnings of any kind were present prior to the failure. The failure appeared in August of 2023. An appeal to MOPAR for a repair has been denied, in spite of the fact that other vehicles have had similar problems.

- Burnside, IL, USA

problem #68

Aug 042023

Grand Caravan

  • miles
Transmission Went out Last year I just found out I could report it this seems to be a common issue with these Vans and would be nice to get some help with repair costs as I was told around 6k to repair. Also the flywheel has a crack in it I ordered a new oem replacement hoping the transmission shop can replace that while they do the repairs.

- South Bend, IN, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »