We’ve owned this 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT since spring 2018. We purchased it with just over 30,000 miles on the engine and chassis and a brand-new VMI Northstar conversion. Several review sites on vehicles, such as Edmunds, can provide analysis on the vehicle itself: https://www.edmunds.com/dodge/grand-caravan/2018/review/. While most of this review will cover the Northstar conversion, my family probably will not purchase a Dodge van for the platform for our subsequent wheelchair conversions. We’ve faced many issues with it that should not be a problem, such as the “Pentastar tick” leading to a new camshaft and rocker arms at 65,000 miles, gauges that flicker, a new fuel pump at 85,000 miles, a new driver window regulator at 90,000 miles, and a super slow freon leak that we have not been able to solve (we “test” it every 9 months or so with dye). I’m disappointed with having to spend a large amount on the maintenance and repairs for this van.
Now for the seven-year review on the accessible conversion itself. To be honest, it will be more of a review on the service than on the conversion. Overall, the accessible conversion has worked almost flawlessly. I would recommend Vantage Mobility conversions to others facing the difficult (and expensive) decision to purchase an accessible van. We will definitely consider purchasing a vehicle conversion done by Vantage Mobility for our next vehicle.
When we first purchased the van, Jim, the owner of Vango Mobility, told us that we needed to find a shop that would personally care for us and our vehicle when we moved. This shop was small, and Jim knew mobility vehicles inside and out. If you’ve read these blogs, you’ll remember that we purchased the van near the National Capital Region, drove it for about a month, then shipped it to our next duty station. We had to start over with a new maintenance company when we arrived on the island of Oahu.
The wheelchair conversion is designed with a sequencer “brain” that ensures the door opens, the ramp comes out, and the springs compress (the van kneels) to reduce the ramp angle in that order. There are many places drivers (and passengers) can make the ramp work and turn on or off the various portions of that system. We can open the doors without the ramp, turn off the kneeling feature on a curb, etc, or make the ramp work after we’ve opened the door without using it. This brain requires regular service and alignment, so one of the buttons that regularly flashes green will flash red when it needs service (approximately 750 cycles if I remember correctly).
We’ve used different service agencies to maintain the van and had no issues. The vendors are limited to the amount they can charge us for that regular service (we pay under $200 every 9 months or so). Now, if you remember what I said up above regarding the servicing company, it’s essential to find an accessibility service company that cares about the van and can discern what components are original to the van (Dodge parts) and which parts are part of the conversion.
Early on, we identified that the van door did not open well when the temperature dropped below 60 degrees (that was cold in Hawaii!!) or when it was raining. The door would sense resistance and not open. Unfortunately, this caused many challenges as my wife and daughter would be caught in the rain and unable to get in the van. Here’s where the shop is critical. We found not-so-helpful shops, shops that just threw a price at us, hoping they could get us to pay them to figure out the problem, and helpful shops. I’ll discuss them in that order so you know what to look for. We’ve owned this van in three different states: Hawaii, Texas, and Virginia.
For the first four years, we were stationed in Hawaii. The only shop at the time we moved there was called Soderholm in Honolulu, HI. They did maintenance on the door for us a couple of times, and did well. I mentioned the issue on one of those trips and scheduled an appointment to drop off the van. They kept the van for a few days and told me, “Sometimes we just can’t fix a problem with these vans. It’s just something you have to deal with when you have a handi-van.” In my mind, that’s not an appropriate answer. We purchased the van to get my daughter around, and they couldn’t help us use it. After working to get the help we needed, we found another shop called A to Z Bus Sales, and started working with Alexander Automotive in Honolulu, Hawaii (see helpful below). Unfortunately, during this time, our three-year, 36,000-mile warranty on the conversion expired.
Now, for the service companies that threw a price at us: In the summer of 2022, we moved to Killeen, Texas (location of Fort Cavazos, TX, formerly known as Fort Hood). This base is an hour South of Waco and an hour North of Austin. When it was time for us to get our van serviced again, we took it to Mobility Works in Waco, TX (they picked it up in Killeen for us). While talking to them, I mentioned the door issue that had not been solved after four years of owning the van. They told me that they thought the problem was the kneeling mechanism, told me a price of $3,000, and asked when I wanted them to start. The issue wasn’t the kneeler; it was the door. I called several contacts at Vantage Mobility and was redirected to a shop in Austin called Christian Brothers. This shop told me they thought they knew the solution to the problem and would charge us $7,000 to repair the door by replacing all the mechanisms that made the powered door work (they told me they “thought that might solve the issue”. While it may have solved it, that didn’t seem like an acceptable amount to pay.
Now for the helpful shops. As I’ve mentioned, moving three times while owning this van has been the biggest challenge. I wish I could establish a relationship with a shop that services our van: one that knows us and our daughter’s needs, but God has us moving positions or duty stations every couple of years, so we get to check out shops nationwide. On the island of Oahu, A to Z Bus Sales works with a small shop called Alexander Automotive in Honolulu, HI. He was the first person to listen to our concern and truly work to solve it. He submitted a warranty claim for the sequencer and replaced it for us, then noticed that the rear hinge on the door was flexing differently than it should, and suggested we replace it. That made the door work better, but didn’t solve the problem. We moved to Texas shortly thereafter. While in Texas, after finding the two shops that just threw a price at us, I contacted Vantage Mobility Warranty Support and asked for further assistance. I highly recommend this step. The warranty support department knows the helpful shops and the ones that are not for their customers. We drove two hours to go to https://www.ntsmobilityvans.com/ in Irving, TX. This shop was exactly what we needed. Their techs tested every component of the door system to see where the resistance was and identified the primary drive mechanism on the door. There was slight resistance, which could increase when cold or wet. He ordered the replacement part, replaced it, and fixed the problem. I’d encourage you to find helpful smaller shops if you’re facing challenges like we did.
Now for a personal note (this blog is, after all, my reflection of where I see God at work in my own heart and the hearts of others): I recognized my own heart in the midst of fighting to get this van fixed. I attempted to fight my way into an answer. Scripture tells us to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to be angry (James 1:19). We have a responsibility to live out the Gospel, even when we don’t get the answer we want. I don’t think I handled that well in this journey a few times. Perhaps God used this as one of those “all things (Rom. 8:28-29)” in my life to make me more like Christ. I think He did and I’m continuing to grow through our van that God is using as an agent of grace in my life.