Engine shutdown while driving for last 3 years - Life threatening for family

220

Asked by Link2ajit Mar 20, 2018 at 01:43 PM about the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan Crew FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Engine shutdown while driving for last 3 years on inner roads and on
highway. It is life threatening with my family (spouse, kids, parents and
friends), with no accountability from Dodge. No alarms when this happens.
Called multiple times but, Dodge has been pushing us away due to no root
cause or alarms and excuse that cannot reproduce at will. The issue is
intermittent and seen once in few weeks. Have tried all suggestions,
including, bring the car to nearby dealership when happens, drop the car for
few days, reduce the key weight (due to known recall in other models of
dodge Caravan), changed the battery, use fuel cleaner + premium fuel. Now
with suspicion we have asked dodge to change ignition system. I plan to
write my story on different blogs and other groups to make people aware of
how dodge stands behind its car and how unsafe is it for the family when van
is totally sold as a family car

26 Answers

34,290

Let them replace the ignition switch,That is your issue, it's faulty. Doge has known that for years.

31 people found this helpful.
13,440

there is a recall for the ignition module, check safercar,com

20 people found this helpful.
70

Dodge KNOWS about Cylinder head problems 6500 on internet, also complaints about car shutdown, cruise control. THEY DON'T CARE OUR 2016 HAD ALL OF THE ABOVE AND THERE ARE NO CODES THEREFORE NO REPAIR.THEY HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED & REPLIED 'KEEP DRIVING IT !!!!!!!

7 people found this helpful.
120

I have the same problems the last yr. Can't afford another car at this time and these repairs has been done. Still cutting on and off while driving

12 people found this helpful.
100

Bought a vw routan which is basically a dodge grand caravan. Same issue. Not the battery. Not the ignition. Not the celinoid thing the warranty didnt cover. Shut off 2x since dec 22. Basically sold a death trap. Nobody will do anything. Warranty expires in 5 days. Cant trade it for 2 years.

10 people found this helpful.
120

Same problem has happened to me in my 1997, 1998, and 2016 Dodge Grand Caravans. Only 1 difference. I am paralyzed from the chest down and have been in an electric wheelchair since 1984. Fortunately in the 97 and 98 vans, a non-Dodge mechanic figured out it was the factory alarm system (not an actual alarm, but the horn honks when you lock it with the keyfob). I never had a problem with those two after that. And fortunately I was not in the car this last time it died, on the freeway, with my daughter driving it in 100 degree heat! Had that been me, I would not have survived the heat, and would not have been able to exit the van. The car has been at the Dodge dealership for 6 days now, and they still cannot figure it out. They replaced the fuel pump twice to no avail, and do not believe it is the lock mechanism. It has failed on them several times, but they can't figure it out and now want to charge me $300 to research the electrical. I don't know what else to do. Hire an attorney? It has to be a fuel issue, it wants to start but can't quite turn over. My son-in- law sprayed carb cleaner in the intake box and it fired right up but died seconds later.

12 people found this helpful.
80

This reminds me of a problem I had once with a Chevrolet 350-V8 Box Truck. I would be going down the road usually at the posted speed limit or more and the engine would just quit running , leaving me, with no alternative but to coast to a stop and in FreeWay traffic in Houston, Texas that could get to be a risky problem. After 5 to 10 minutes at stop it would start right up and run like a champ until the next time I would get on it to speed up quickly and then it might stop running. After many trials and errors I finally found out that the fuel line from the tank in the rear of the truck to the engine had to maneuver it's way through and over the frame in several places. Since it was a long line the Factory made the line in two pieces and where they joined them together they went over a frame member and instead of using a metal piece of tube they used a rubber hose. The rubber hose had gotten a little old and would flex closed shutting off the fuel supply when the engine was working hard like in passing or speeding up quickly. When it was at stop for a few minutes the hose would return to it's original shape letting fuel flow again and would work just fine until the next time it was sucked shut. Just throwing that out there not saying that this is your problem but it could be. It is a hard one to find if you haven't had the experience before.

8 people found this helpful.
110

Have you found a solution? It's been happening with my 2013 Dodge grand caravan SE. And I can't afford to have a dealership or mechanic to look at it, as some in our city can and will hold you vehicle hostage, trying to soak money out of you for other reasons. My husband has changed alot of parts on it and it still happens, we recently changed the alternator and battery, and it hasn't been as frequent, but still happens. Yesterday, it kept shutting down almost every block, no warning, just everything turns off.

11 people found this helpful.
220

Yes. After changing the ignition module the problem went away.

22 people found this helpful.
200

Everyone that has this issue should report to www.SaferCar.gov so that they can try to make Dodge issue a recall for this. This just happened to me this morning it's very dangerous and someone could get hurt.

20 people found this helpful.
40

This happen to me on the way to my doctor appointment. My 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT cut off at the light and car not paying attention and ran right into the back of me not to mention I'm 8 1/2 months pregnant. Changed the starter, timing change, new battery and new alternator same issue cut the air on and it cut off. I refuse to keep putting money into it and Dodge don't want to help.

4 people found this helpful.
200

2003 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.8 shutdown while driving, What might be the problem?

20 people found this helpful.
200

2012 Dodge caravan will shut off driving down the road. Sometimes will catch itself and start back up on its own sometimes I will have to put it into neutral and it will fire right back up. Is this the same problem that is being resolved with the ignition module?

20 people found this helpful.
60

I have 2013 Dodge Caravan and I'm wondering the same thing. Mine shut off twice tonight on my way home from work.

6 people found this helpful.
80

My 2013 dodge caravan shut off randomly the only solution i find out is disconnecting positive terminal from battery and reconnect. It start like new car. I have change fuse box crank sensor fuel pump transmission but no one can figure out the problem. Plz let me knw if anyone figure out the problem

8 people found this helpful.
150

Dodge 2010 Grand Caravan. I think y'all are describing our problem. Sometimes it doesn't happen for a month or so. Sometimes every few days. For one or two seconds, the lights blink erratically; the "door open" bell dings; the speedometer surges, then everything goes dead. Dead dead. Nothing electrical at all; not even the hazard lights work. Sometimes the key won't come out either. A sharp tap on the battery terminals (crazy right?!) turns everything back on immediately. We had the ignition module replaced several years ago; things were ok for maybe two months, then it started back. When we get a brand new battery, it doesn't happen for a few weeks. It has been it numerous mechanic shops, including the dealership. Nobody can help, since "no diagnostic code means no problem", right? I'm thinking we've had somebody look at the relays too, but I'm not sure -- we have tried to get this fixed for SO long. EduardoBrazil, can you tell me more about this relay fix? What is going on? Why would tapping the battery do anything? Tapping the relay box instead doesn't do anything.

15 people found this helpful.
305

My 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan just experienced the same problem. On 12-23-2019 at approximately 11:49 PM; my engine shutdown while driving at 30-mph down a city street. Incident nearly caused a crash..

5 people found this helpful.
305

Here is a screenshot of the code errors produced after shutdown while driving. Anyone have any thoughts?

25 people found this helpful.
20

A few times over the last 6 months, 2013 Carvan wouldn't turn on the first time I turned the ignition but caught the 2nd time. In early June 2020, turned over the ignition and lights lit up but car didn't start. I believed it was the ignition or starter but after having it towed the mechanic said it was the battery, which he then replaced. Worked fine for a week and then stalled out 2 blocks from home with my son at the wheel. Luckily he was able to restart it and return home to switch vehicles, but if it had been just a few minutes later he would have been in the middle of busy intersections. I still have no idea what exactly is wrong with it since I haven't had time to take it back to the mechanic. We just had the entire radiator system overhauled last summer after finding several cracked hoses and leaks in the system. After seeing all the issues my parents had with theirs when I was younger, I had vowed never to buy a Dodge but unfortunately they stopped making the Chevy van I loved after I drove mine for 15yrs. Never again.

2 people found this helpful.
50

My 2003 dodge grand caravan also shut down on me with my kids in the car right before a red light middle of intersection so scary! Changed alternator battery.. its nothing of that sort.. n were lead to believe it's all in the ignition switch somewhere.. sometimes itll start but it only runs few sec ok mds before shutting off

4 people found this helpful.
10

Same problem here. Around and around I have went with trips to the shop, tow bills, and countless hours wasted. I am upside down on it and stuck on the side of the road about twice a month. I have read about TIPM Modules being a chief cause. Good luck with that costly repair. Sorry to all... we got a bad shake on this one.

1 people found this helpful.
30

Does anyone have the part number etc for the Ignition control module? I keep coming up with a capacitor that costs a couple of bucks.

3 people found this helpful.
80

This is happening constantly, even in 2020. Look at all the 'engine' complains here: https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2012/DODGE/GRAND%252520CARAVAN/VAN/FWD

8 people found this helpful.
50

i've searched for a year because my 2012 grand caravan started doing it. Its very common in Chrysler vehicles different years and models.. Solution I finally found: Bad Fuel Pump Relay in the TIPM. This relay is on the bottom ot the TIPM so very difficult to do it yourself if you aren't familiar. This is what I finally found https://verticalvisions.com/en/22-tipm-bypass-cables. I am not affiliated or have any interest in this company. I bought the plug and play $59.00 part. Dealer will say replace TIPM for +/-$1500 plus labor.and they are back ordered. check this make your own decisions

5 people found this helpful.

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