Dodge Caravan years to avoid
Dodge Caravan years to avoid, by NHTSA owner complaints: the 2005 (537 complaints, led by the door latches at 203 and the electrical system at 123) and the 2000 (494, led by the powertrain at 86 and the airbags at 69) drew the most of the 2000–2017 model years on record as of November 10, 2026; complaints are owner reports, not proven defects, and the counts also reflect each year’s age and sales. Before buying a used Caravan, run its VIN: the $14.99 original ClearVIN PDF shows title brands, odometer readings, accident and auction records on file.
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The 2005 (537) and 2000 (494) drew the most owner complaints to NHTSA of the 2000–2017 Dodge Caravan model years on record, as of November 10, 2026.
NHTSA lists recalls but no complaint for 2010 under this name, so that year’s complaints may be filed under a name this collection did not find.
2004 and 2007 drew far fewer complaints than the years around them; nothing in this collection shows them filed under another name, so their counts are read as low, not as missing.
2013–2015 and 2017 have fewer than 40 complaints on file, too few to compare.
NHTSA also holds fewer than 10 complaints and no recall for 2016; that stray filing is left out of the table.
Fewest complaints: of the Dodge Caravan model years from 2000 to 2017 with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2004 (65) and 2011 (78) drew the fewest. Fewer complaints can also mean fewer sold or fewer still on the road, so it is a starting point, not a clean bill of health; years after 2020 are left out because they have had less time to collect complaints.
Half of the 2,729 NHTSA owner complaints on the Dodge Caravan that list mileage came after 69,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Dodge Caravan last? →
Dodge Caravan complaints and recalls by model year, 2000–2017
This table lists the 17 Dodge Caravan model years NHTSA holds records for between 2000 and 2017, collected from NHTSA’s complaints and recalls APIs on November 10, 2026. Each owner complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, and a complaint can name more than one component; recall campaigns are counted once per model year, by campaign number. Across these years NHTSA lists 28 distinct recall campaigns, the newest filed Feb 8, 2018.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Most-reported components | Recall campaigns | Newest recall filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Caravan | 494 · most | powertrain (86), airbags (69), engine cooling (67) | 13 | Aug 10, 2010 |
| 2001 Caravan | 257 | airbags (43), steering (32), suspension (31) | 10 | Aug 10, 2010 |
| 2002 Caravan | 256 | airbags (61), steering (37), electrical system (34) | 10 | Aug 10, 2010 |
| 2003 Caravan | 195 | steering (41), brakes (31), electrical system (29) | 9 | Aug 10, 2010 |
| 2004 Caravan | 65 · low next to the years around it | fuel system (12), electrical system (8), brakes (7) | 8 | Aug 10, 2010 |
| 2005 Caravan | 537 · most | door latches (203), electrical system (123), exterior lighting (90) | 9 | Aug 10, 2010 |
| 2006 Caravan | 173 | electrical system (30), airbags (27), steering (27) | 6 | Aug 10, 2010 |
| 2007 Caravan | 82 · low next to the years around it | fuel system (13), engine (11), electrical system (10) | 4 | Aug 10, 2010 |
| 2008 Caravan | 302 | electrical system (162), airbags (42), brakes (41) | 2 | Apr 23, 2010 |
| 2009 Caravan | 118 | electrical system (72), airbags (26), engine (17) | 2 | Apr 23, 2010 |
| 2010 Caravan | 0 · may be filed under another name | — | 2 | Apr 23, 2010 |
| 2011 Caravan | 78 | electrical system (54), engine (14), fuel system (12) | 0 | — |
| 2012 Caravan | 87 | electrical system (47), engine (19), brakes (9) | 0 | — |
| 2013 Caravan | 30 · too few to compare | electrical system (15) | 0 | — |
| 2014 Caravan | 20 · too few to compare | electrical system (7), engine (4), body structure (3) | 0 | — |
| 2015 Caravan | 23 · too few to compare | powertrain (6), electrical system (4) | 0 | — |
| 2017 Caravan | 1 · too few to compare | engine (1), powertrain (1), brakes (1) | 1 | Feb 8, 2018 |
Dodge Caravan by model year: mileage, problems and recalls
Each page below covers one model year in NHTSA’s complaints file of November 11, 2026: the mileage when owners reported problems, the most-reported components and the recall campaigns NHTSA’s recall files list. That file is a separate collection from the table above and goes back to the 1981 model year, so its counts can differ and it holds years the table does not.
How to read these numbers
- A higher count is not proof of a worse vehicle. Complaint volume rises with sales volume and with years on the road, so older and best-selling years collect more.
- The comparison is between years of the Dodge Caravan only. It says nothing about how the Caravan compares with other models.
- NHTSA publishes owner reports without verifying them. A complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- Recall campaigns cover production ranges. NHTSA’s VIN lookup checks open recalls within its coverage and excludes completed repairs. A zero result does not prove the vehicle’s complete recall or repair history; ask for dated repair documentation.
- NHTSA files some years under body or cab names (for example ACCESS CAB or CREW CAB). This collection asked for the names NHTSA lists, and a year far below its neighbours also under the common cab and body names. Such a year is marked as possibly filed under another name only when NHTSA’s records show it split across names or holding recalls and no complaint; otherwise its count is read as low.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and API documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA complaints by vehicle APINational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls by vehicle APINational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Dodge Caravan year-by-year questions
Which Dodge Caravan years should I avoid?
Dodge Caravan years to avoid, by NHTSA owner complaints: the 2005 (537 complaints, led by the door latches at 203 and the electrical system at 123) and the 2000 (494, led by the powertrain at 86 and the airbags at 69) drew the most of the 2000–2017 model years on record as of November 10, 2026; complaints are owner reports, not proven defects, and the counts also reflect each year’s age and sales. NHTSA lists recalls but no complaint for 2010 under this name, so that year’s complaints may be filed under a name this collection did not find. 2004 and 2007 drew far fewer complaints than the years around them; nothing in this collection shows them filed under another name, so their counts are read as low, not as missing. 2013–2015 and 2017 have fewer than 40 complaints on file, too few to compare. NHTSA also holds fewer than 10 complaints and no recall for 2016; that stray filing is left out of the table.
What are the best Dodge Caravan years?
Complaint counts do not show which model year is best; the closest they come is which years drew the fewest complaints. Of the Dodge Caravan model years from 2000 to 2017 with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2004 (65) and 2011 (78) drew the fewest. Fewer complaints can also mean fewer sold or fewer still on the road, so it is a starting point, not a clean bill of health; years after 2020 are left out because they have had less time to collect complaints.
Do complaint counts mean the Caravan is unreliable?
No. NHTSA complaints are unverified owner reports, and the count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road. They are useful for comparing years of the same model, which is what this page does, not for ranking one model against another.
How do I check a specific Caravan before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the windshield or driver-door label and run it through NHTSA's free recall lookup. It reports open recalls within its coverage and excludes completed repairs. A zero result is not a complete recall or repair history; ask the seller or manufacturer for dated repair documentation. For the vehicle's own past, the original ClearVIN PDF from VIN Lookup shows title brands, odometer readings, accident and auction records on file for that VIN.