Other powertrain problem on the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan
When other powertrain problem gets reported
Owners of the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan report other powertrain problem at a median of 60,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 12,500 miles and a quarter after 92,500 miles, from 30 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 92,000 miles. It is the 6th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 500 miles at the tenth percentile to 117,500 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 116,139 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.
37% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 483 miles | 13,395 miles | 60,000 miles | 92,125 miles | 116,622 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 $400–$4,500 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 23 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2003, at a median of 20,000 miles, and latest on the 1997 at 105,000 miles.
By volume the 2016 carries the most reports, with 139; the 2012 has 36. 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.
I noticed a fluid leak in my driveway and based on the red color I eliminated the possibility that it was from the power steering because the reservoir was at the max level. I was later informed that the transmission side cover was leaking. I sent the vehicle to the dealer where dye was added and was informed that fluid was leaking in the area of the bell housing and the transmission would require disassembly to ascertain what the cause is. *kb ....updated 04/09/12 *bf.
I have a transmission manufacturing defect that should be afforded the same consumer protection as the 2012 grand caravans with engine sludge. My pump and axle seals began leaking while I was driving at 45 MPH. I didn't notice until 20 miles were on the odometer. The dealership refused to examine it before I had to release it to ams vans for wheelchair conversion. It was returned to me with 36 miles on the odometer and it was leaking during the additional 16 miles. Unless chrysler is willing to provide documentation that this transmission cannot be damaged by running it without fluid it should have been replaced under the 5 year 50,000 mile drive train warranty. But chrysler and the dealership have refused to do so, replacing only the fluid and seals and leaving me with a damaged transmission on my new vehicle. This leak was documented by more than one technician not working for chrysler or the dealership where it was purchased. Updated 04/13/12 *bf..updated ivoq 04/19/12 updated 04/24/12......updated 05/15/12 * lj the consumer stated the check engine light did not illuminate and the vehicle is not being driven, because of the…
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 dodge grand caravan. The contact stated that the vehicle would exhibit a loud noised when the gear was in reverse. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the computer, transmission and the reverse gear failed. The manufacturer was notified and offered no assistance. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 11,083 and the current mileage was 12,000.
Also reported on the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan
Other electrical problem
Other engine problem
Fuel pump failure
No-start or intermittent start failure
Stalling while driving
Alternator or charging system failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 36 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 powertrain problem happen on the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan?
Across 30 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 60,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 12,500 miles and a quarter after 92,500 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other powertrain problem on the 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan?
36 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.3 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