— A Dodge Grand Caravan sliding door lock lawsuit settlement has received preliminary approval by a federal judge, but the final version is much different than the original class action lawsuit.
July 2021
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into sliding door lock problems in 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan and 2016 Chrysler Town & Country minivans.
July 2021
Two weeks later the minivan sliding door lock actuator class action lawsuit was filed, but the lawsuit included 2013-2020 Dodge Grand Caravan and 2013-2016 Chrysler Town & Country minivans. The class action lawsuit makes the same allegations of sliding door lock actuator problems as mentioned in the NHTSA investigation.
August 2022
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closed its Chrysler minivan sliding door investigation by finding actions taken by the automaker repaired the door lock problems.
NHTSA learned Chrysler had already issued technical service bulletin (TSB) 23-017-20 telling dealerships to replace the sliding door lock actuators in 2016-2017 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans.
In addition to the TSB that had already been issued prior to the investigation, NHTSA learned FCA had also approved a sliding door lock warranty extension.
In June 2021, Chrysler approved a sliding door warranty extension of 15 years or 150,000 miles for door lock actuators on minivans built between May 1, 2015, through January 9, 2017.
The government found there had been no crash or injury reports for the past six years, and the number of new minivan sliding door complaints had been decreasing since 2020 and further reduced by the sliding door actuator warranty extension program.
Dodge Grand Caravan Sliding Door Lock Settlement
Although Fiat Chrysler agreed to settle the case, FCA denies all the allegations in the door lock class action and says it settled due to the burden and expense of continued litigation.
It's been nearly four years since the minivan sliding door class action was filed and things have changed.
A preliminary settlement has been approved, but only for 2017-2018 Dodge Grand Caravans if they were built between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2017.
Dodge Grand Caravan Sliding Door Lock Warranty Extension
The settlement says FCA will provide a 10-year/100,000-mile extended warranty for a failed sliding door actuator or latch. The warranty extension begins from the date the vehicle first went into service, or the first 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first. Keep in mind some of the minivans have already been in use eight years.
A minivan customer may also be eligible to be reimbursed for previous repairs if Chrysler hasn't already reimbursed the expenses.
According to the settlement, the minivan owner who filed the lawsuit will receive $3,000, and the attorneys representing the plaintiff will receive $1,750,000.
Nothing is official until a judge grants final approval to the sliding door settlement. The final approval hearing is scheduled for September 16, 2025.
The Chrysler sliding door lock actuator lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan: Lisa White, v. FCA US.
The plaintiff is represented by the Miller Law Firm, P.C., Beasley Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles PC, Dicello Levitt LLP, and McCune Wright Arevalo LLP.