Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure on the 2003 Dodge Caravan
Only 6 reports for this mode came with an odometer reading, which is too few for percentiles to mean anything. The page is here because someone linked to it; treat the figures as anecdotes, and see the full report for this year instead.
When control module (ecm/pcm/bcm) failure gets reported
There are 6 reports of control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure on the 2003 Dodge Caravan, 6 with a mileage attached. That is too few to place the failure on the odometer with any confidence.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 92,000 miles. It is the 15th most-reported problem on this model year.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 45,201 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
Putting it right typically runs $700–$3,000 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 12 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2007, at a median of 10,000 miles, and latest on the 2004 at 120,000 miles.
By volume the 2005 carries the most reports, with 50; the 2003 has 6. 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.
Transmission fluid was replaced by dealer at 34,000 miles. After leaving dealership, van experienced hard downshifting at 30 MPH. Dealer said a control module on the side of the transmission was faulty and it was replaced. Van continued to experience hard downshift at 30mph, so it was again returned to the dealer. Problem was corrected, but no further explanation offered.*ak
I have a 2003 dodge caravan and all of a sudden when I slow down the air bag light comes on. I took it in to the dealer and they said it was the clock spring. After doing some research online, I am 1 of thousands of people with this issue. *nm
After auto repair shop change the transmission fluid in my 2003 dodge caravan with 3.3l engine (at around 45,000 miles), there is very rough downshifting of the transmission. They used mopar oem transmission fluid and filter. The problem is especially visible when downshifting from 4th to 3rd gear. There was also a little beat rough downshifting before car came to stop, so I believe between the 2nd and 1st gear. This a common problem, and I do not feel safe when it occurs, because the wheels can spin on the wet or snowy roads. Definitely it should be recalled, since a lot of people complain about the same problem on the internet: "the problem you described is called "bump shift" and is pretty common with the 604/41te. Depending on the year, the tcm may need "flashed" or the solenoid pack may be faulty. You'll need to see the dealer to check the tcm, while your there you can get the codes checked.", "the trans controller will take for ever to do a relearn on its own. You will get to the point of dumping it in the river before the bump shift will go away. Basically it is a 4th to 3rd gear downshift bump, and the quickest way to get…
Also reported on the 2003 Dodge Caravan
Other steering problem
Other body or interior problem
Other engine problem
Alternator or charging system failure
Other powertrain problem
Other brake problem
How far this goes
This page is kept out of search results because 6 reports is not enough to publish percentiles from. It stays reachable because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see the reports than be told there are none.
Complaints are voluntary, so 6 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 control module (ecm/pcm/bcm) failure happen on the 2003 Dodge Caravan?
Across 6 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 45,000 miles. A quarter were filed before — and a quarter after —. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is control module (ecm/pcm/bcm) failure on the 2003 Dodge Caravan?
6 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.1 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