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1998 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

1 injured · 674438 · 2008-06-18

Vehicle

Make
DODGE
Model
GRAND CARAVAN
Year
1998
Manufacturer
Chrysler (FCA US, LLC)
Component
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Miles at failure
122,000

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
1
Fire
No
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

OUR DODGE GRAND CARAVAN WAS IDLING AT A FAST FOOD RESTAURANT DURING LATE OCTOBER OF 2007. THERE HAD BEEN NO PROBLEMS UP TO THIS POINT. I NOTICED THAT THE ENGINE TEMPERATURE HAD GONE ALL THE WAY TO THE HOT POSITION AND MY HUSBAND GOT OUT TO LOOK. THE COOLING FANS WEREN'T RUNNING. MY HUSBAND OPENED THE HOOD. HE HEARD THE RADIATOR BOILING LOUDLY, AND THEN THE CAP BLEW OFF WITHOUT BEING TOUCHED, GIVING HIM SECOND DEGREE BURNS TO HIS FACE AND CHEST. AFTER AN EMERGENCY ROOM VISIT, WE SEARCHED ONLINE AND FOUND THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM. THE COOLING FAN RELAY SYSTEM IS A FAULTY COMPONENT LISTED AS A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN FOR ALL CHRYSLER MINIVANS AND AS A RECALL ITEM ONLY FOR CERTAIN CHRYSLER MINIVANS. THE FUNNY THING IS THEY USED THE SAME CONTROL UNIT ON ALL OF THE CHRYSLER MINIVANS BUT WON'T FIX THEM BECAUSE THEY AREN'T ON THE "OFFICIAL" RECALL LIST. THE VAN WAS TAKEN TO THE DODGE DEALER IN PENSACOLA FLORIDA AND I WAS TOLD THAT THEY WOULDN'T DO ANYTHING TO FIX IT WITHOUT AN $80.00 INSPECTION. THE PROBLEM PART IS A FAN RELAY. IT IS CALLED A SOLID-STATE SPEED CONTROL WHICH IS A COMPUTER UNIT CONTROLLING SEVERAL DEVICES ALTHOUGH DODGE CALLS IT A RELAY. WHEN LOOKING TO PURCHASE A NEW ONE, PART STORES EITHER SAID THAT IT IS A RECALL ITEM OR THAT IT IS ONLY AVAILABLE ONLY THROUGH CHRYSLER AS THE ENTIRE COMPUTER SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE "FLASHED" AFTER INSTALLATION AND ONLY A DEALER CAN DO IT. WE CONNECTED A HOT WIRE DIRECTLY TO THE FANS FROM A POWER SOURCE TO RUN THE SYSTEM FULL TIME.

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10231417
Machine
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