2010 Dodge Grand Caravan Sxt on 2040-cars

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Chrysler investigating complaints of vehicles with faulty power modules

Chrysler owners are hopping mad after experiencing a series of electrical gremlins in some of the company's vehicles. Issues range from mere annoyances - windows rolling down and radios turning off of their own accord - to serious safety issues, with headlights that randomly shut off at night and cars that stall and refuse to start.
The issues are being blamed on the total integrated power module, which can cost up to $1,000 for customers to replace. This, of course, has led to a hefty batch of complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, with 240 owners expressing their displeasure so far. Another site, CarComplaints.com, has registered over 300 complaints relating to the 2010 to 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango, alone, according to The New York Times.
Chrysler has acknowledged that it's investigating the complaints and is analyzing the faulty TIPMs, but that isn't quite enough for customers of the affected vehicles. The newspaper has snagged a few of the more harrowing tales with the electrically challenged Chrysler products, culled from the NHTSA complaints.

Mopar Hellephant crate engine sells out in 48 hours

This happened so quickly that we're only just catching up with it. Mopar opened pre-orders on the 7.0-liter Hellephant Hemi crate engine on April 26, which is Hemi Day. According to Allpar, hubbub on social media not long after that day claimed Mopar had gone through all of its Hellephant stock. When Allpar asked Fiat Chrysler for clarification, a spokesperson e-mailed, "Given the high demand and the hand-built, time-intensive build process, we have closed preordering for the 426 Hellephant Supercharged HEMI crate engine. Based on preorders, the engine sold out in just two days. Customers can visit www.cratehemi.com to receive future information and updates on the 'Hellephant' engine." No one is certain how many engines Mopar sold. Allpar wrote, "Industry insiders believe Mopar may be making around 100," but reiterated that it's a guess. The engine and the ordering process have their peculiarities. Mopar Insiders explained that Tool Engineering International helped create the 426-cubic-inch block, and that the Hellephant engine "shares nothing except for displacement with the rumored upcoming 7.0-liter 426 Hemi V8." On the Hellcat.org forum, a poster wrote that the engines "can only be sold through a dealer and that the dealers can only order 1 engine per week." The Hellephant doesn't come with Mopar's three-year, 100,000-mile warranty, either. During a press briefing last October, FCA officials said they weren't sure about offering any warranty. Based on the motor being given a part number starting with the letter P, there is a bit of protection, but it's a 90-day limited warranty covering "defects in materials or wokmanship," and only applies to engines not used in competition. For those who didn't get the opportunity to drop $29,995 for 1,000 horsepower and 950 pound-feet of torque, the best bet is to hope for the return of Apollyon's pachyderm. Motor1 wrote that "Rumors hint at... another limited run scheduled for next year due to overwhelming demand." That's thin thread to hang a Hellephant from, but it beats bupkis.

Dodge Grand Caravan reportedly will cease production in 2020

The Dodge Grand Caravan looks like it may finally be reaching its demise next year. A report from Automotive News Canada says the old Dodge minivan will cease production in May 2020. The report cites AutoForecast Solutions as the source of its news. FCA confirmed to us that the van will be going away eventually, but the company is not ready to put an official end date on it yet. For the time being, it looks like the Grand Caravan’s long run will eventually grind to a halt in Windsor, Ontario, the vanÂ’s only production site. With the introduction of the Chrysler Voyager as the budget minivan option from Chrysler, FCA may think it no longer has any use for the outdated Dodge. The Grand Caravan has a starting price of $28,535, whereas the new Voyager is priced from $28,480. ThatÂ’s an almost identical starting point, but we still donÂ’t know what kind of incentives FCA will offer for the Voyager. There are typically big cuts for the Grand Caravan, which have pushed recent average transaction prices down to $24,972. We imagine itÂ’ll be much more difficult for FCA to offer discounts of that magnitude to Voyager shoppers. Still, AutoForecast Solutions told Automotive News it believes FCA will transition folks away from the Grand Caravan. “For the 2020 model year, theyÂ’ll likely run to fleet and then get the consumers to buy the new Voyager,” says Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions. Eliminating the Grand Caravan would be a strong bet on ChryslerÂ’s strategy of splitting the Pacifica into two different model lines. Nearly every month, FCA sells more Grand Caravans than Pacificas. The Pacifica is the far superior minivan to own, but you canÂ’t argue with a cheap price. Once the Grand Caravan is gone, budget minivan buyers will have no choice but to buy a Voyager if they want the cheapest new option out there. Entries from the few other manufacturers that produce minivans are all going to be more expensive than the Voyager. The 2020 Pacifica and Voyager team are slated to reach dealers later this year, but it wonÂ’t be until next year that weÂ’re able to fully take stock of how this plays out for FCA.