2008 Dodge Caravan
Complaints about this year name electrical system far more often than the model's other years — 27% of them, about 23× the usual rate of 1.2%.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 302 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 78 |
| Involving a crash | 8 |
| Involving a fire | 6 |
| Recalls | 2 |
| EPA combined | 18.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- electrical — 31.5% of this year's complaints, against 12.2% across the model's other years (2.6×). Owners wrote it as: electrical, electrical system, amount time, time recall.
- bags — 18.2% of this year's complaints, against 5.4% across the model's other years (3.4×). Owners wrote it as: bags, air bags, several occasions, recurred several.
- rotors — 14.6% of this year's complaints, against 4.1% across the model's other years (3.5×). Owners wrote it as: rotors, pads, brake pads, wear.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- amount time — 20% of complaints, 50× usual
- time recall — 17% of complaints, 42× usual
- caravan contact — 37% of complaints, 3× usual
What owners wrote
A RECALL NOTIFICATION FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V373000 (AIR BAGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) AND STATED THAT THE PART NEEDED WAS UNAVAILABLE TO PERFORM THE RECALL REPAIR. THE [VIN] WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE.
A NOTIFICATION FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V373000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM). HOWEVER, THE PART NEEDED WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THE [VIN] EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL. THE [VIN] WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERI…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 10V148000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE Fixed free of charge.
- 10V164000 SUSPENSION Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Dodge Caravan was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2008 Dodge Caravan? What happened to yours?
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