2008 Dodge Grand Caravan User Reviews

Pros

almost 30K miles - so far so good

Purchased As New

We purchased this car new in December 2007. It came with a ton of features (4L, 17" alloys, sunroof, 2 DVDs, 3 zone temp control) at a price substantially less than the equivalent Honda Odyssey that we were also considering. I wrote one of these reviews on this same website around that time but it doesn't seem to be linked here anymore. I can find it by searching for 'Carvaning in CT', though.
At the time, my family and I were totally excited about the car but I was definitely skeptical of the reliability. The lifetime powertrain warranty was a big factor in the decision to go ahead and by it.
So, 17 months later, we've put nearly 30K miles on it. In addition to the usual around town hockey, theatre, soccer, forgot my lunch-mom stuff, it's been on separate trips to Great Smokey Mountain National Park, Virginia Beach, Washington, D.C and it's just been great. We drove nine hours straight one day on that NC trip with three kids and it was not only doable but fun. No way we would've even considered driving to NC in the first place if we were going to use our prior minivan.
The review is - fantasic! There have been absolutely no problems. It has run perfectly (knock on wood). My wife still says even now, "I love this car" - I swear....read morehide

Pros

Spacious, quiet on the highway with the 3.8 V6

Cons

Horrendous gas mileage

Purchased As New

Paid $34000 Cdn for this Van. Its been in the Dealers repair shop on more than a dozen occasions since purchase in Oct 2007. It was supplied with NO FREON in the airconditioning system, transmission was faulty , repaired under warranty at 5000 kms..electric doors faulty and needed repair, windshield was cracked on delivery, Power steering lines just replaced under recall notice, faulty dash lights stay on indicating the stability and traction control is not working..awaiting parts for that, GAS mileage is horrific around town..here in the North am getting 19 to 22 Litres per 100 kms or 14.9 to 13 miles per gallon..Highway is OK at 28 miles per gallon.
Will trade it asap for Honda, Toyota or Nissan vehicle. VERY disappointed with this Chrysler..invested a lot of money into it thinking it would keep me going well into my retirement..but it has proven to be so unreliable and costly to operate I cannot wait to get rid of it.......read morehide

Pros

Space and comfort

Cons

Braking is unresponsive, slow acceleration, poor build quality

Purchased As Not Purchased

I have hired this van twice now for a total of four weeks and covered over 6,000 miles touring around CA, AZ, NV and UT. The trunk space is unrivaled if you need the third row of seats - the only van that actually has usable trunk space with the third row in use. Saying that, the build quality is so poor I am ashamed to see this being American. The brakes are too small and far too unresponsive when van is fully laden and do not adapt to vehicle load. Turning circle is ok though could be improved. Consumption is so-so with the engine being just adequate for the anticipated maximum load. Empty, it is fine, laden, not so. Seats are comfy although I can never understand why a bank of seats cannot be installed in the second AND third rows, increasing capacity and limiting need for third row if carrying five passengers. Crazy!...read morehide

Pros

Stow and Go, Seat Confort

Cons

Fuel economy

Purchased As Used

We bought this van used and saved lots of money. The stow and go seat are fantastic and it is very comfy on long trips. I really like the radio controls in the steering wheel and the sperate heat controls for driver and passenger.

The van looks a bit boxy. I like the older style better.

The only disappoint ment has been fuel economy. We have the 3.8 engine and it only get 23 on the highway. Our old Chevy van got much better mileage....read morehide

Pros

nice ride,good features it has evrything we need for a family of four

Cons

my only complain is the gas mileage, i had a 2005 caravan b4 and it was more fuel efficient

Purchased As Used

I bought this van used 27.000 km no probl with it so far, easy to maintain, lots of room, hopefully we see some e85 distributors here in the GTA.

Pros

Great up to the point of 15k miles!!

Cons

Brakes and Rotor!!

The vehicle has been great up to 15k miles. At that point there was a squeek on the brakes. In checking it out the brake pad was gone and eating into the rotor. I took to Dodge and they said, "oh that is normal"!! So does this sould like a reliable vehicle??

Pros

Excellent fuel mileage for mini. Plenty of room for family. Great for in town & distance travel.

Cons

C.D. sometimes doesn't eject. Driver's power seat challenge to adjust.

Have over 25,000 miles with very good performance and reliability.

The seat covering and interior are very easy to clean.

The second tier windows work like a regular car or SUV -- great addition.

The engine performs well at both sea level and high altitude. Gas mileage for a minivan is the best of its class.

Doesn't look so much like a minivan and more for buck than Crossover....read morehide

Pros

Very comfortable ride, Awesome look, stow&go is a phenomenal feature, price is fantastic

Cons

Axle is squeaky, no rear climate control,

I've had this car on lease for one year and its been very good to me. Takes me and my family of 5 around with ease. The stow and go feature is amazing. Very easy to put the seats down into the floor and lift them back up. The actual look of the van is great, going back to the old retro trim lines was a great idea. It drives smooth.

The gas mileage is okay, not amazing.

I hate the fact you have to purchase the DVD system in order to benefit from the rear camera feature and rear climate control. I think thats lame.

Overall, great van for the price!...read morehide

Pros

Seats fold down for large cargo space, seat material is spill-resistant

Cons

Hard to corner with at high speeds, passenger side automatic door wouldn't close

A nice family car, rides well except for cornering at higher speeds. Passenger side aotomatic side door required a firmware download to make it close. Our options include stowaway seats which fold down nicely for lots of storage. A nice all-round vehicle, so far!

Pros

looks good

Cons

noisy suspenion and brakes

the low tire pressue light stay on. gas mileage is non extence. lucky to get 10 mpg. l have a hotrod that better than that.