Dodge Grand Caravan
Problems & Worst Years

Sliding doors are the defining headache in the Dodge Grand Caravan's complaint record. From 2016 through 2018, door-related electrical failures dominate the file: the 2016 model year logged 214 occurrences of sliding door actuator failure plus another 91 against the driver's side specifically, the 2017 shows 143 reports of sliding door lock actuator failure, and even the lighter 2018 file leads with 50 more. Owners describe doors that won't lock, won't open, or buzz during locking and unlocking — an annoyance in most cases, but flagged at safety severity in 2016 and 2018, because a door that won't secure is more than a convenience problem.

The two heaviest years are 2016, with 730 total complaint occurrences and five safety-severity problems, and 2010, with 607 occurrences spread across an unusually broad 45 distinct problems. They fail differently. The 2016's single biggest entry is engine misfire and power loss, at 297 occurrences and safety severity, with transmission pump failure also appearing. The 2010's file is dominated by stalling — the engine quitting while driving, at idle, and in variants traced to electrical system failure — a pattern serious enough that several of those entries carry high or safety severity. The 2017 adds a fuel-system wrinkle: 47 reports of stalling and random shutdown.

NHTSA recall campaigns touch every year here: 11V139, 14V234, and 14V373 on the 2010; 16V461 on the 2016; 18V524 and 20V278 on the 2017; and 18V524 again on the 2018. Verifying completed recall work should be step one on any candidate van.

At 136 total occurrences, the 2018 looks comparatively clean next to 2016's 730, though its top complaints echo the same door-actuator story plus 17 reports of cylinder misfire. Keep the numbers in perspective: these counts reflect what owners chose to file with NHTSA, not measured failure rates, and later years simply haven't had as long to accumulate reports. On a van of this age, a pre-purchase inspection — with the sliding doors cycled repeatedly — and a documented service history will tell you more than the model year will.