Dodge - Grandcaravan :: Intermittent Whining Noises On Front End
Dec 31, 2013
Sounds like an old police car siren but only about 10 % of my driving time and usually late evening hours...
View 4 RepliesSounds like an old police car siren but only about 10 % of my driving time and usually late evening hours...
View 4 RepliesI have a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan. Back in November 2014 my car began giving me trouble starting, making clicking noises when I turn the key. My mechanic told me I needed an alternator so I had him install one. A few weeks after that I had the same problem. He told me a wire leading to the alternator was bad and he replaced it. A few weeks after that the exact same thing happened. He said another wire was bad. I asked him to check all the wires, which he says he did. Back in June of this year my car started giving me problems starting again. Every now and then it would click when I turned the ignition key. Finally, I went back to my mechanic and this time he said I needed a new starter. This was July. Then, last week, my battery light came on while I was driving. Long story short, I had to replace my alternator again. It's only been 9 months! Coupled with all this, both my back lights are out; my right turn signal is out, most of the time, every now and then it works, and sometimes my windshield wipers won't come on.
View 6 RepliesDriving our 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan which we love. We have 118,000 miles on the odometer now and a dent or two but otherwise it's in great shape. About 2 years ago, we started to notice a high-pitched "whining" noise on our way from Michigan's Upper Peninsula to Florida. We were driving in the fall in the lovely Smoky Mountains. The weather was hot, the air conditioning on and the van working hard to climb the mountains. We stopped for gas, and then as we started driving again noticed this whining noise when pressing on the accelerator.
The noise did not stop until the next morning when the car was completely cool, but started again when it heated up. This whining continues to happen every time the car is driven long distances/gets very warm. Our Michigan mechanic thought it was the alternator and replaced the alternator and coolant tube in 8/2012 but that did not work. Our mechanic flushed the transmission and replaced the fluid in 5/2013 but that did not work. Neither of them could tell us what causes this noise. Should we just continue to drive it this way or go to another shop?
I just drove away in a new 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan - had 106 miles when I took title at the dealership - and immediately noticed the most annoying high pitched whine or whistle. It seems to occur under 2000 RPMs and starts around 25mph. It continues until about 45 mps and then either becomes less audible behind the engine noise or stops - hard to tell. When the car slows down, it comes back -- most of the time. It changes in pitch as the car goes faster and as it slows down.
It has been so loud at times that I think it's a police or ambulance siren and I have gotten ready to pull over. It does not happen in neutral when I rev the engine - the car has to be moving. Turning the wheels doesn't seem to make a difference. I am going to take it in to the dealer but I suspect they will just laugh and say that's how the car sounds. I've never had a car that had such an annoying soundtrack - and I've rented about 5 of these minivans over the past 3 years and never experienced this, either.
OK so I have a 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.3L V6 with 125,000 miles. Recently about a month or so ago I began having a starting issue. Basically what happens is that when I go to start the car, all I get is one click. The engine does not crank at all. Now this will only happen once or twice in a row and then when I try to start it again the car will start fine and it does not have any issues at all.
This will sometimes happen 4-5 times in one day and then it works perfect for a week or two before it starts acting up again. Two weeks ago when I had this issue, I took it to have the battery, alternator and starter tested. Supposedly they all were good except the battery had a lot of corrosion around it. I cleaned the corrosion off and it started fine for 2 weeks straight before it started acting up again yesterday and today. I am worried that it will get to a point where it wont start at all. The battery was last replaced in December 2011.
I have a weird problem with the radio in our 2008 Grand Caravan.About 2 or 3 weeks ago, the sound just stopped. The radio display still worked, time, channel, volume, just no sound.The sound would come back after the vehicle had been turned off for awhile, then go away again after some time.Now it's starting doing something even stranger... The sound will die, sometimes static with volume control, sometimes no static, no volume. It comes and goes, the radio works fine one day for an hour or so, then dies. Some days, it doesn't work at all.
View 3 RepliesMy 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan has developed a curious problem. It intermittently stalls, sometimes when slowing down, sometimes when going up an incline, sometimes on straightaways. Once stalled, it often won't start again until it has sat for 20-30 minutes. Then it starts right back up again and drives perfectly normally until the next time that it stalls-which can be days or hours. The problem is definitely getting worse--six times today. Warmer temperatures seem to exacerbate the problem. Again, the engine runs very smoothly up to the point of the stall. My mechanic was unable to replicate the problem and his diagnostics showed everything to be normal.
View 5 RepliesOne tech wanted to replace both rotors and sanding down the pads to re-use (he said my brake pads can last up to one year). The guy in auto part said the surface of brake pads having hard spots could cause the pulsation, replace the pads. Of course, replace both rotors and pads is recommended but I have tight budget! What options do I have? can I just machine the rotors?
View 12 RepliesIn cold weather, front suspension is very noisy. I've replaced stabilizer bar bushings, stabilizer bar links, control arms (complete with new bushings and ball joints). A few months prior, I replaced struts with Monroe quick struts. Noise appears when I hit a pot hole or go over a speed bump. Not really a creaking, almost like a slapping sound. I've taken a look at motor mounts and they look OK. Now that the weather is warm there's no noise. Rack and pinion were replaced about a year ago so engine cradle was removed. I removed it and reinstalled. Also installed new tie rod ends and lubed the inner tie rod joints.
View 3 RepliesToday I noticed a knocking sound coming from what sounds like the front left (drivers side). When I accelerate and when I brake the sound stops. The sound also stops when I am going around a bend in the road as well as when I change lanes. When I am turning a corner I do not hear the sound.
View 2 RepliesI have a 1993 Dodge Grand Caravan with about 160,000 miles on it. The front end has been deteriorating steadily for some time now. I have no power brakes or power steering, but I do not think that this is related to my REAL problem: My driver side CV joint (or axle or whatever) failed last week. Upon inspection, my mechanic commented on how he was surprised that it held on long enough for me to get to his shop. It was replaced by a mechanic with a new (not re-manufactured) piece.Yesterday I was driving a friend to the airport about 150 miles away, and 20 miles out of town, my van began wobbling in the front, and then shaking violently - consistent with my previous CV failure.
After dropping my friend off at the airport, I proceeded to the nearest mechanic, who again commented on how he was surprised that I was able to make it to his shop. He said something about the last CV joint being too long or something against a tulip joint (or something, I should have written it down).Initially it drove smoothly, as it did after the first fix, but on the way home I noticed a slight wobble that is connected to acceleration (that is, when I take my foot off of the gas, the wobble disappears). I am concerned that the CV is going to fail again. What would be causing this? Are the mechanics at fault, or is there another problem that propagates in the CV?
I just had my van inspected and tires rotated...van sits for a few days then travels 20 miles and am now smelling something burning and smoke is coming out from front right tire. Other discussions say calipers/pads and that's ok BUT my question is since my van only has @24,000 on it, did the mechanic do something when he rotated my tires? I am a senior citizen and only use my van once a week.
View 6 RepliesShort Version. 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan, I two weeks ago I replaced the front brakes (rotors, calipers, and pads both sides) I drove the van 100 miles Saturday night with no problems. Sunday afternoon, whilst driving home from a restaurant with 5 people in the van (driving super gingerly because they were my inlaws) the right front brake stuck on and smoked on the drive home. The calipers are new, and I have not had any other problems since I replaced the brakes that were trashed when I got it.
Long version, So heres the deal, I am the proud owner of a 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan, its got about 140,000 miles on it, its a little rusty, but I got it for free. A family member was getting rid of it, as it was 11 years old, and they wanted something newer, and it needed brakes and a few other things. They were going to donate it, but it sat all winter waiting for the donation company to pick it up. Being a consummate grease monkey elite shade tree mechanic tinkerer type, and being in the new family, new house cash flow situation, I swooped in and towed it home in hopes that I could make a decent enough ride that I could fit two adults, a car seat and a dog into.
Now when I got the van I knew it had some problems. That's the reason it was free. But it is/was all fixable stuff. Typical of age and mileage It had a whiny power steering pump, it needed an oil change, the power steering lines leaked, the transmission cooler lines needed to be replaced. It needed a serpentine belt. It has a motor mount that needs replacing. The front suspension clunked because of worn out swaybar bushings and end link Its a bunch of work and few weekends and a few hundred in parts, but when the van was free, and you do the work yourself it costs a lot less.
The front brakes were completely trashed when I got the van, that is one of the reasons that the previous owner had parked it. And it was obvious that the right front caliper had seized, I could not push the piston back in. And that was the one that seized on, and had the most damages so I replaced it, along with the left front, as it was also the original one, and well they were both the same age, and have the stuff to bleed the brakes out. So what causes disk brake calipers to randomly stick on when they are used gently? Because when I drive it angry, such as now, they seem fine.
2006 Prius has a strange intermittent tweeting sound that appears to come from the front drivers side, maybe in the console. Mechanic says it is in the tires. But I just can't go with that. The sound almost is like a cricket...
View 3 RepliesI recently bought a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 automatic 4.7L. About 3 days after purchase I've begun to notice a couple of strange noises. Now I put this truck through its paces during the evaluation period and noticed no faults at all. Shifts smooth, 4wd works fine, brakes well, no strange noises, quiet and drift-free on the highway to speeds beyond what the state police would more than frown at. No rust, detailed maintenance records, seemed a seriously great truck. But then...
I began to occasionally hear a sharp squeal from what seems to be from the front passenger wheel area when braking to certain speeds. The sound is similar to cheap brake pads squealing or some foreign matter stuck between the rotor. I couldn't reproduce it on demand so I thought maybe something caught on the rotor or some tire shine got slopped in there or something. The sound began to happen more frequently the next day, although still never through the whole braking process, just maybe around 5-10 mph. I called up the dealership and explained what I heard and basically since it's as-is I'm on my own here. So I just planned to take it easy on it then the rest of the day and inspect the brakes and rotors as soon as I could thinking something brake-related. But then...
I heard the same squeal while I was accelerating from a dead stop while going up a steep incline (again 5-10mph or so). Okay, maybe could be brakes still - maybe sticky caliper? Now, here a day later I hear a loud howl from this same area while accelerating up another of our steep inclines here in the Blue Ridge mountains from previously moving at a very slow speed. Same speed range as produced the whine, after accelerating past around 10mph the sound was gone again. After driving it around a lot more over the course of the day this howl repeated one other time in approximately the same way, but on a different road.
I cannot reproduce either sound purposefully, in all but one case the vehicle was not turning when the noise occurred.
I have a 2004 Grand Caravan 3.8 engine. For the last 2 months the oil light has been coming on when car is first started. If I stop engine and start again the light will be off. I don't think its actual oil pressure because the car runs fine with light on or off. I'm thinking a bad pressure sensor?
View 17 RepliesSometimes when I start my 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan, 3.3 liter engine, the oil light comes on and stays on, even if I rev engine up. Engine sounds normal, does not sound like oil pressure is low. If I turn engine off and the immediately back on, light goes out and stays out. I replaced the oil pressure sending unit - didn't work. I hooked up a gauge - engine has 60 psi oil pressure at idle - plenty! I'm guessing an electrical problem in the circuit.
View 4 RepliesI have a 2005 Grand Caravan, this winter has been a cold one. The GC has always started without problem but after I back out of my parking spot, it sits outside, I put it into Drive and it will not move and after I give it a little gas it would still not move. None of the gears seem to work, but if I wait a little bit and the Van warms a little more it will go into gear and all is good. This does not happen all the time and when it does go into gear and I drive I do not have anymore problems until the next time it will "act up" on me again. Is this a problem or is it a cold problem and not a transmission problem?
View 7 RepliesMy 2000 Dodge Grand caravan loses its gauges every so often. engine light comes on as well as ABS...
View 2 RepliesI got a great deal on this van, and I love it, with one exception. On hot days (73 degrees and hotter) the van will not start if it has been parked in the sun; until the temperature returns down to around 61 degrees (usually overnight, but I have waited it out in the parking lot at work a few times).
When this happens, the lights and radio work fine; the starter motor will not engage. No click, no chugga-chugga vroom-vroom. Sad Curto.
Note: October through about May in North Carolina, this car is fine.
I have replaced the steering column (after replacing the clock spring); I have replaced the Power Distribution Center.
When the problem first surfaced two years ago, I had a mechanic install a wire directly from the starter motor relay to the solenoid. That was an expensive lesson. I'm not sure what the lesson is, so it was REALLY expensive.
So, I thought maybe the Auto Shutdown Relay. Nope... pull that out, and the starter still turns, so that is not my problem. Now I am starting to thing Powertrain Control Module, or something else that could have a temperature-sensitive component.
I have a 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan with 120,000 miles. Starting at about 45mph the car has a really bad shimmy when accelerating. The shimmy fades starting at about 55 mph. There is no shimmy when not accelerating. Gently applying the breaks has no effect on the shimmy. I've put on new tires, Change the steering rack and struts and the engine and tranny mounts. what could be causing this?
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