Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure on the 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan
1 crash 1 of the 22 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 control module (ecm/pcm/bcm) failure gets reported
Owners of the 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan report control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure at a median of 90,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 80,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles, from 8 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 92,000 miles. It is the 21st most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 35,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 95,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 59,070 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A window that narrow is the signature of a part that fails on its own schedule rather than on how the car is driven — which is usually a design or supplier problem rather than wear and tear.
13% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34,580 miles | 80,750 miles | 92,000 miles | 92,000 miles | 93,650 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, 1 a crash 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 $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 18 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2003, at a median of 35,000 miles, and latest on the 1996 at 90,000 miles.
By volume the 2005 carries the most reports, with 109; the 1996 has 22. 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.
Our 1996 dodge grand caravan's front windshield wipers one day went on, and stayed on whenever the engine was on {no matter what we did, nothing would shut the wipers off -- no way -- no how ! We tried everything electrical to get them to turn off.} I had to drive the vehicle for days/weeks while the front windshield wipers were on and couldn't be turned off, and nearly got in two accidents because I was so distracted. This went on for several days while I waited for the problem to automatically cease of its own accord, which it never did. The problem got worse with time. The front windshield wipers went on of their own accord intermittently in the beginning, then after days/weeks, we could not shut them off at all. I was forced to bring the minivan to a chrysler authorized dealership where they had to replace the BCM (body controller or body control module) at a cost of $574 at our own expense. I have asked chrysler corporate twice if they will reimburse us; both times they refused. This is a factory defect that was not in any way caused by us. Chrysler is responsible for taking care of this defect, and doing the right thing by…
Windshield wipers failed to function. They either quit working, worked only in one speed or engaged by themselves. Dealership replaced the body control module, which provided a temporary solution, but problem recurred. *ak
There are two major problems with my 1996 dodge grand caravan. First there is a serious vibration in the front wheel/tires. I have replaced 8 tires (in 30000 miles!), both front axles, all three motor mounts, and had the transmission overhauled, as well as having three alignment checks. The vibration is still there. The second problem involves the windshield wipers. The front wipers were, for a time, coming on any time they felt like it; this was remedied by replacing the multi function switch on 09/21/01. Since then, the rear wiper will occasionally come on for one swipe when I first start the vehicle - annoying, but not an immediate hazard. But today, my windshield wipers quit working at all. They will only work if I put the wipers on interval - in which case they do nothing for a time, then make two to four swipes, then wait a while, make one or two swipes, wait a while, etc. They will make one high speed swipe across the windshield if I press the washer button in. I spent $80 today so the dodge dealer could tell me this was caused by a body control module failure. This repair costs over $400...and researching a used part…
Also reported on the 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Cruise control failure
Other engine problem
Other powertrain problem
Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure
Other body or interior problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 22 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 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan?
Across 8 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 90,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 80,000 miles and a quarter after 90,000 miles. 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 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan?
22 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