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2012 Dodge Grand Caravan problems, recalls and owner complaints
What the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan has been recalled for and what owners report, from official government data. Updated October 25, 2026.
- 6safety recalls
- 584owner complaints
- 7crash reports
- 14fire reports
- 14injuries reported
584 complaints, against an average of 377 for the other 8 Dodge Grand Caravan model years.
Every Dodge Grand Caravan model year with its number of owner complaints. Pick a year to compare.
What goes wrong with the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan?
The components named most often in the 584 owner complaints. One complaint can name several, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
What symptoms do 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan owners describe?
Found by reading the text of all 584 owner complaints. Tap a symptom for the answer, a real owner quote and any related recall.
- Why does my 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan stall, lose power or shut off while driving?111 owners · 19%
- Why won't my 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan start?56 owners · 9.6%
- Why do the power windows stop working on my 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan?28 owners · 4.8%
- Why is the check engine light on in my 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan?26 owners · 4.5%
Has the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan been recalled?
6 U.S. safety recalls. Repairs are free at a franchised dealer; some are done over the air.
Equipment Adaptive/Mobility: Wheelchair Restraints/Securement: Latch/Anchor: Rollx Vans (Rollx) is recalling certain GMC Yukon, Sierra, Chevrolet Express 2500, Ford Transit, E-250, Toyota Sienna, Sienna Hybrid, Honda Odyssey, Chrysler Town and Country, Voyager, Pacifica, Dodge Grand Caravan, and Ram Promaster vehicles equipped with QRT-Deluxe and QRT-Max wheelchair restraints. Please refer to Rollx's recall report for specific model year information. The retractors may not lock, preventing the wheelchair from being properly secured.
Risk: An unsecured wheelchair can move during transit, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Rollx will work with Q'Straint to inspect and replace the retractors as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 5, 2026. Owners may contact Rollx's customer service at 1-800-956-6668.
Air Bags: Frontal Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain 2011-2012 Dodge Grand Caravan vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the driver's frontal air bag may unexpectedly deploy if the air bag wiring harness gets chafed within the steering wheel and short circuits.
Risk: Unexpected deployment of the driver's frontal air bag increases the risk of a crash or driver injury.
Fix: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the air bag wiring within the steering wheel, replacing it if necessary. A protective cover will also be installed. These repairs will be made free of charge. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is T33.
Electrical System Chrysler Group, LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Chrysler Town and Country and Dodge Grand Caravan vehicles manufactured August 25, 2010, through October 31, 2013. The affected vehicles may experience overheating of the vent window switch in the driver's door armrest.
Risk: An overheated switch may result in a vehicle fire.
Fix: Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the vent window switch with a newer version, free of charge. The owner notification letter was issued and the remedy campaign launched on on December 31, 2014. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1-800-853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is P25.
Equipment CHRYSLER IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2012 TOWN AND COUNTRY AND DODGE GRAND CARAVAN VEHICLES, MANUFACTURED FROM MARCH 9, 2012 THROUGH MARCH 12, 2012. SOME VEHICLES MAY BE EQUIPPED WITH A RIGHT SIDE LIFTGATE PINCH SENSOR THAT DOES NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY. AS A RESULT, INCREASED FORCE MAY BE REQUIRED IN ORDER TO STOP THE POWER LIFTGATE DURING FINAL CLOSING STAGES.
Risk: THE POWER LIFTGATE DOOR MAY CLOSE ON AN APPENDAGE, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY.
Fix: CHRYSLER WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND REPLACE THE RIGHT SIDE LIFTGATE PINCH SENSORS, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 18, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHRYSLER AT 1-800-853-1403.
Suspension: Rear CHRYSLER IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2012 TOWN AND COUNTRY AND DODGE GRAND CARAVAN VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM NOVEMBER 15, 2011, THROUGH NOVEMBER 21, 2011. SOME VEHICLES MAY BE EQUIPPED WITH RIGHT REAR HUB AND BEARING ASSEMBLIES THAT WERE NOT FULLY MACHINED.
Risk: THIS COULD RESULT IN A DECREASE IN DURABILITY, WHICH MAY LEAD TO WHEEL SEPARATION, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Fix: CHRYSLER WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE RIGHT REAR HUB AND BEARING ASSEMBLY, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 27, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHRYSLER AT 1-800-853-1403.
Engine And Engine Cooling CHRYSLER IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2012 CHRYSLER VEHICLES, INCLUDING 200 AND TOWN AND COUNTRY MODELS, DODGE VEHICLES, INCLUDING CHARGER, DURANGO, GRAND CARAVAN AND JOURNEY MODELS AND JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM AUGUST 31, 2011, THROUGH SEPTEMBER 13, 2011, THAT ARE EQUIPPED WITH 3.6L ENGINES. THESE ENGINES MAY EXPERIENCE CONNECTING ROD BEARING FAILURE DUE TO DEBRIS INSIDE THE ENGINE BLOCK.
Risk: CONNECTING ROD FAILURE MAY LEAD TO ENGINE SEIZURE WHICH MAY INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Fix: CHRYSLER WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE ENGINE FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR ABOUT NOVEMBER 18, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHRYSLER AT 1-800-853-1403.
Is the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan recalled in the UK or Europe?
Recalls issued by the UK's DVSA and through the EU's Safety Gate system that cover this model and build period. European models can differ from U.S. ones, and "years estimated" means the recall gave no build dates, so confirm your own car with your registration or VIN.
UK DVSAThe driver's airbag emblem may have become loose or detached
Risk: The driver's airbag emblem may have become loose or detached.
Fix: Remove the emblem and the emblem retainers
EU Safety GateThe trade-mark logo may not have been properly affixed.As a result, it may become detached in the event of an airbag release and be projected into the passenger compartment, causing injury to the occupants.
Measures: Type of economic operator taking notified measure(s): Manufacturer; Category of measure(s): Recall of the product from end users; Date of entry into force: Unknown
EU Safety GateIncorrectly installed steering-wheel wiring may chafe and cause a short-circuit.As a consequence, the driver's airbag may be accidentally activated and may injure the occupants and/or cause an accident.
Measures: Type of economic operator taking notified measure(s): Manufacturer; Category of measure(s): Recall of the product from end users; Date of entry into force: Unknown
EU Safety GateA software flaw in the ORC (occupant restraint control) module may cause the side airbags to deploy improperly in the event of an accident.
Measures: Type of economic operator taking notified measure(s): Other; Category of measure(s): Recall of the product from end users; Date of entry into force: Unknown
What do 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan owners report?
12 of the 584 complaints, the most recent for the most-reported components, as the owners wrote them. NHTSA removes names and VINs; long reports are trimmed. CarHooq has not verified individual claims.
Randomly shuts off Says key is in the ignition when it isnt
We purchased our 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan 1/2026. Only 85000 miles on it. After about a week or 2, when husband tried go start van to go to work early cold, morning, van wouldn't start easily. Sometimes he would wait up to a few hours and keep trying to start, eventually it would. But last 3 days, its gotten harder to start van.at all. Not cool. Why isn't this recalled, it seems ALOT of people have same issue..
The fuel pump would run all night and going down the road the van would cut off...had it checked the tipm was bad
My van tipm went out..it would cut off going down the road the safety door locks was not working the fuel pump was running all the time with switch off
While driving, the vehicle will periodically shut down/lose all power. This appears to occur when a slight bump in the road occurs. The loss of power to the vehicle is obviously a significant safety issue. We have been able to restart it when switching to neutral and turning the key; however, this obviously isn't a safe solution while traveling down the highway with no power to the vehicle. This has occurred multiple times at varying speeds (30-70 mph) over the last few years - I am reporting it now as I was assuming/anticipating there would be a recall on this safety issue.
The driver's seat active headrest spontaneously deployed while my wife was operating the van. Luckily this did not cause an accident, but being hit in the back of the head by the headrest certainly can cause an accident in the future. Inspection shows the internal plastic latch mechanism broken, thus the spontaneous, unintentional deployment of the active headrest.
While driving engine was cutting out, stalling, hard to restart. Found the reason was thr TIPM. Found there was a safety recall R09 / NHTSA 15V-115 fuel pump Relay, however this was for other Fiat Chrysler models and not the Dodge Grand Caravan, please help me understand why? The TIPM within this caravan is the same TIPM installed is other Fiat Chrysler models and clearly the same danger concerns. I don't believe I need to tell the NHTSA how scary it was to be driving 65 on a freeway when this occurred putting my life and others around me in danger of possibly losing control of a vehicle. Then…
After talking to others and researching and reading reports this seems to be another ghost problem: Driving around town this issue doesn't usually occur but, on a long drive and coming to a stop or near stop such as a traffic light and/or in traffic my van starts to die. Depending on how long I am going to be stopped or slowed down to a crawl I either have to keep one foot on the brake while accelerating or switch to neutral. When switched to neutral I have to keep a foot on the accelerator while switching back into drive. Sometimes turning the ignition off and back on helps, usually not. The…
I bought the car 2 weeks ago with 105k miles on it. The car has died approximately 20 times in the last 2 weeks while I am driving it. It is so insanely dangerous, you will be going down a busy street and the car completely dies without warning. There is no dash lights on, no warning. The power steering goes. It's an accident waiting to happen, it’s unacceptable. After spending 2k at the mechanic and still the same problem. They have now told me I need the TIPM replaced at the dealership. Which also affects the lights, which are erratic, they come on or come off when they want, along with the…
Replacing brakes ever y 18,000 miles normal is every 40,000-60,000 miles
SEAT BELT WARNING CHIME IS PERIODICAL ACTIVATED WHILE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION AND SEAT BUCKLE IS ENGAGED.
DRIVER SIDE REAR SLIDING DOOR STUCK IN LOCKED POSITION. MECHANISM HAS FAILED AND MANUAL UNLOCK DOES NOT WORK. DOOR CANNOT BE OPENED.
2012 Dodge Grand Caravan: questions owners ask
Is the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan reliable?
NHTSA data alone cannot rate reliability, but it shows what owners reported. Owners filed 584 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan; the most common categories were electrical system (337, 57.7%), engine (119, 20.4%), fuel/propulsion system (68, 11.6%). There are 6 safety recalls. 7 complaints mention a crash, 14 mention a fire, 14 injuries were reported.
What are the most common problems with the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan?
Across 584 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the categories mentioned most often are electrical system (57.7% of complaints), engine (20.4% of complaints), fuel/propulsion system (11.6% of complaints), power train (8.2% of complaints), service brakes (6.5% of complaints). One complaint can name several components.
Does the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan have any recalls?
Yes. NHTSA lists 6 recalls for the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan; the most recent (campaign 25V876000, 2025-12-17) concerns Equipment Adaptive/Mobility: Wheelchair Restraints/Securement: Latch/Anchor: . Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer; check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Why does my 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan stall, lose power or shut off while driving?
111 of the 584 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan (19%) describe the engine stalling, losing power or shutting off while driving. One owner wrote: "While driving, the vehicle will periodically shut down/lose all power. This appears to occur when a slight bump in the road occurs. The loss of power to the vehicle is obviously a significant safety issue." (NHTSA complaint 11699639, November 2025). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Why won't my 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan start?
56 of the 584 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan (9.6%) describe the car failing to start. One owner wrote: "We purchased our 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan 1/2026. Only 85000 miles on it. After about a week or 2, when husband tried go start van to go to work early cold, morning, van wouldn't start easily." (NHTSA complaint 11731166, April 2026). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Why do the power windows stop working on my 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan?
28 of the 584 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan (4.8%) describe power window or window regulator failures. One owner wrote: "The drivers side window won't go up!! the van was in motion on a street. i don't feel safe in south florida with my window down." (NHTSA complaint 11320015, April 2020). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Why is the check engine light on in my 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan?
26 of the 584 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan (4.5%) describe the check engine light coming on. One owner wrote: "Car stalls unexpectedly with no warning or check engine light on. intermittent occurrences. sometimes interior lights stay on, sometimes not. can usually get car restarted right away but not always. has been doing this for awhile." (NHTSA complaint 11651093, March 2025). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Check your own Grand Caravan
Counts are a starting point, not a verdict: popular models collect more complaints because more of them are on the road, and NHTSA does not verify individual reports. To see whether a recall is still open on your car, enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls (U.S.) or your registration at check-vehicle-recalls.service.gov.uk (UK). Had a safety problem? Report it to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations and recalls.
Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation recall and complaint databases (public domain), DVSA vehicle recalls (Open Government Licence v3.0), EU Safety Gate alerts (© European Union), retrieved October 25, 2026. Model year 2012 only.