AutoUtility currently tracks 269 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2018 Dodge Grand Caravan. Electrical System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 92 complaints (34.2% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 8 filings cite a crash, 8 report one or more injuries, 1 reports one or more fatalities.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 269 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Electrical System (92 reports • 34.2% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Body & Structure (74), Engine & Cooling (33)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 8 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 0 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 8 injury filings • 1 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
269
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
8
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
0
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
8
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
1
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2018 Dodge Grand Caravan

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 34.2% of complaints

Electrical System

92 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 1 crash report 🩹 1 injury report entry
#2 Problem Area 27.5% of complaints

Body & Structure

74 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 1 crash report
#3 Problem Area 12.3% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

33 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#4 Problem Area 8.6% of complaints

Powertrain & Transmission

23 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report 🩹 1 injury report entry
#5 Problem Area 5.6% of complaints

Air Bags & Restraints

15 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report 🩹 1 injury report entry
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Dodge Grand Caravan

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Air Bags & Restraints NHTSA ODI ID: #11759581
Filed: 08/25/2026

"At approximately 3:40 pm central standard time I was going through a school zone fixing to turn into the school. I was going about 15 mph and decelerating to a stop near the cop conducting school traffic. As I was coming a stop my AHR headrest deployed. This happened very spontaneously and luckily..."

Incident Date: 08/25/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: AIR BAGS
Electrical System NHTSA ODI ID: #11755853
Filed: 08/10/2026

"The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Grand Caravan. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start after several attempts, with the Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) warning light displayed on the instrument panel. The contact was forced to jumpstart the vehicle; however, the vehicle may not start..."

Incident Date: 08/03/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Other / Miscellaneous NHTSA ODI ID: #11739348
Filed: 05/21/2026

"My rear passenger slide door has recently started buzzing when you press the unlock button. The lock itself will not move so it is not locking. We tried to get this fixed at our local dealership, they told us that it was under the 10y/100k miles warranty, we have 66k on the van. They then told us..."

Incident Date: 05/10/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Electrical System NHTSA ODI ID: #11730000
Filed: 04/08/2026

"The Component that keeps failing on these vehicles is the Actuator for the sliding doors. When it comes to safety, this could be a huge problem in case of an accident or any time there’s a “rush” to get out of the vehicle. Especially having 3+ kids having to climb in and out. The problem has been..."

Incident Date: 12/01/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS
Other / Miscellaneous NHTSA ODI ID: #11727275
Filed: 03/26/2026

"The drivers side sliding door will not open. The local dealership checked it and says it is the door lock actuator that needs to be replaced. There was a recall on this part, but we never got a recall notice. The vehicle messaging system never indicated a problem. The passenger side sliding door..."

Incident Date: 02/01/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Dodge Grand Caravan

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2020)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Dodge Grand Caravan 279 7 4 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Dodge Grand Caravan 1155 37 6 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Dodge Grand Caravan 411 6 3 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Dodge Grand Caravan Current Page 269 8 4 Current
2019 Dodge Grand Caravan 41 0 4 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Dodge Grand Caravan 19 5 1 View 2020 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2018 Dodge Grand Caravan

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 48 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 44 0 0 1 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 42 0 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 37 0 0 1 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 20 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 16 0 0 0 0
Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 12 0 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 11 1 0 1 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 10 0 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE 10 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 9 1 0 8 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 4 3 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 2 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 1 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 2 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 2 1 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE 1 1 0 0 1
AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 1 0 0 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (269). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)

1 CLOSED

Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Official Federal Inquiries: NHTSA opens a defect investigation when safety screening or consumer defect trends indicate a potential unreasonable safety risk. An open investigation is a formal inquiry and does not by itself confirm a defect or result in a mandatory recall.
CLOSED Preliminary Evaluation (PE) ODI Action #PE19014
Opened: 2019-09-09 • Closed: 2026-02-25

Active Head Rest Inadvertent Deployment

Affected Component: SEATS

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE19014 on September 9, 2019, to investigate 128 consumer complaints alleging that the Active Head Rest (AHR) inadvertently deployed without the occurrence of a crash or other rear impact event in model year (MY) 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango vehicles.When ODI opened the investigation, ODI was aware of thirteen alleged injuries.A small number of Early Warning Reports identified driver...

Closed without associated recall campaign. Official NHTSA File →
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.