Used 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan Minivan Consumer Reviews
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Still good at 8 years and 180k miles
Over eight years and 180k miles, and in most respects this GC remains a great family/vacation/car-pool/kids-activities/daily-driver van. Pros still are: strong and so-far robust drivetrain; nice road manners, good road feedback - I honestly still enjoy driving the van; flexible seating/cargo options (Stow and Go is very nice when we infrequently use it); reliability in the main has been great; and low purchase price compared to Japanese alternatives. Neutral points include: city gas mileage (17-19 mpg, even with Econ mode engaged), but that's probably what we should expect, and highway mileage is a much better 22-25 mpg; brakes are now longer and more evenly wearing than was the case on the first sets of pads and rotors, which may be just be me; and tires have worn well (replaced 3rd set after 57k miles). Negatives are: - not electronic, but electrical failures like intermittent or difficult-to-actuate buttons and switches, some of which are seasonally (hot weather) dependent, and a failed sliding-door remote locking mechanism which required removing the door skin to replace. We're on our 3rd alternator, mainly because the 2nd one failed very early (not Dodge's fault, and fixed under alternator and mechanic's warranties. We, the dealer, and our independent mechanic are now sceptical earlier failures attributed to clockspring wiring harness in the steering column were correct. We don't have the gascap seal/engine-check error anymore. - the vinyl upholstery on the front seat and front-door armrests that looked cheap when the car was new, was - we've got unsightly splits and cracks on these now; and we occasionally have a. But for us at least, these are minor issues. All of them are known issues with Dodges of this vintage. The armrest vinyl cracking has aftermarket solutions - though that shouldn't have been necessary. The gas-cap error is a nuisance, but after going to our mechanic a couple of times for diagnosis and resetting, it prompted me to get an OBD scanner (BlueDriver and the Haynes onboard diagnostics manual are both highly recommended), which we leave permanently plugged in, and reset the error lights ourselves. Looking back, getting this Grand Caravan still looks like the right thing to have done. We fully expect to keep the van to 200k miles, and hope to get to 300k, which will make it our last van.
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Easy Buy
Our 1997 GC was used and only had an O2 sensor go out. We took it past 150k miles and it still had spunk but couldn't trust it to longer trips. After renting a 2011 GC three times I had developed an attachment. Still looked for other options but after talking to a rep at a great dodge dealer we went to look at a 2011 GC Crew fairly loaded and was blown away at the price, which was way lower than the msrp of $30k. The 300 mile ride home was sweet. Good milage, smooth, quiet and handled excellent. Shifting, acceleration and braking were not too slow or jerky. The transmission didn't clunk or give reason to fear. I just love it and need to plan a trip just to satisfy my need to drive it.
- Express Passenger MinivanMSRP: $2,20030 mi away
- Express Passenger MinivanMSRP: $12,90035 mi away
- R/T Passenger MinivanMSRP: $13,90035 mi away
Almost 4 years and 75k later
Replaced all four brake pads and rotors after 50k miles. Front had more then 6mm left while rear were closer to 3mm in thickness. Replaced with PowerStop rotors and ceramic pads. Had to replace front pads after only 15k miles. Rear ones were still like new. At 73k check engine went on and front (left) cylinder head was replaced under warranty. Also, upstream left O2 sensor was replaced. Still going strong. Very satisfied.
Lemon.
We purchased our Dodge Grand Caravan Crew on May 22 (the day before my husband left for Iraq). We have barely had it 2 months and for the last 7 days it has been in the shop (second time since we purchased it). *Check engine light came on at aprx 1500/2000 miles *Traction control light comes on for no reason, even when just starting the vehicle *The ignition gets "stuck" when you stop turning the key, it keeps trying to start *The gas pedal quit responding to me while driving with my 3 children on the interstate- very DANGEROUS *My son got stuck in the rear seat belt and it wouldn't unlock- had to cut him out *Not important but if you have kids (minivan usually = kids) interior color is bad
Crew for the crew
Since now, I was always buying base models without any blows and whistles. Steering wheel and 4 wheels were the only "options" I wanted. But this time, I got the Crew model (due to $4000 on lease+$750 incentives) plus $500 for existing Dodge owner (not sure about this). Anyway, $5250 discount and employee pricing (my friend works for Chrysler) made me look Dodge way. Because of the new engine/transmission and mostly because of the known reliability of Chrysler vehicles, I did not dare to buy this car so I choosed to lease it instead. I choosed Driver and Passenger package and since it was very hard to find a vehicle with both options and not to be fully loaded I ended up buying the car ...