Other engine problem on the 2002 Dodge Caravan
2 fires 2 of the 12 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When other engine problem gets reported
Owners of the 2002 Dodge Caravan report other engine problem at a median of 80,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 20,000 miles and a quarter after 105,000 miles, from 8 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 8th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 10,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 125,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 112,534 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
38% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12,440 miles | 22,125 miles | 78,736 miles | 105,094 miles | 124,974 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 2 a fire is mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $300–$4,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 18 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2004, at a median of 40,000 miles, and latest on the 1997 at 110,000 miles.
By volume the 1996 carries the most reports, with 153; the 2002 has 12. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Problems with transmission slipping on vehicle.*mr the transmission and the computer system that controlled the transmission encountered numerous problems. The transmission slipped while the vehicle was being driven and the transmission did not change gears properly. The vehicle has been taken to the dealer for repairs on three occasions for the transmission but to date the problems still exist. The check engine light illuminated. The speedometer failed. *nlm
While driving approximately 25-30 MPH noticed smoke coming from under the hood on passenger side. Had slowed down ,and smoke came from vents. Pulled over, and everyone got out of vehicle. Consumer popped open the hood and flames shot out. Fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. Preliminary analysis by fire department indicated that fire was caused by engine fuel valve. *ak
2002 dodge caravan will stall at high rate of speed - usually without warning. No engine lights come on indicating engine has turned off. Realize engine off when no response occurs with pressing throttle. Must coast to side of road to stop. Vehicle will often not start for at least 20 minutes - engine will not turn over, no check engine light will appear. Vehicle has stalled at 62 MPH and even at lower speeds on all types of ground elevation. Very intermittent stalling. Engine will also not turn over when sitting over night in driveway or just when eating in a restaurant. Extremely unsafe to drive as will stall in intersections, or on highway typically without warning. A few times car jerked at high rate of speed then loss of power occurred. *nm
Also reported on the 2002 Dodge Caravan
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Other body or interior problem
Other powertrain problem
Other steering problem
Seat belt or retractor failure
Other electrical problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 12 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other engine problem happen on the 2002 Dodge Caravan?
Across 8 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 80,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 20,000 miles and a quarter after 105,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other engine problem on the 2002 Dodge Caravan?
12 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed