Power Sliding Door Repair 2001+ Caravan / Town Country

[mikepieronek]

I had a problem with the power sliding side door on my 2001 Grand Caravan. When activated the latch would begin to open and then you'd hear the door power itself close. It would never slide on the track. Like it wasn't getting thrown out far enough to activate the motor that pulled the door back.

I fixed it with a new latching mechanism. It took about 2 hours to replace and about $95. The dealer quoted about $250 - $300 for the repair.

I put up a web page detailing my repair. If you have this problem, you can fix it. Here's how.

http://redhouseon7th.com/howto/2001C...air/index.html

-Mike

[Stevo2]

Originally Posted by mikepieronek

I had a problem with the power sliding side door on my 2001 Grand Caravan. When activated the latch would begin to open and then you'd hear the door power itself close. It would never slide on the track. Like it wasn't getting thrown out far enough to activate the motor that pulled the door back.

I fixed it with a new latching mechanism. It took about 2 hours to replace and about $95. The dealer quoted about $250 - $300 for the repair.

I put up a web page detailing my repair. If you have this problem, you can fix it. Here's how.

http://redhouseon7th.com/howto/2001C...air/index.html

-Mike

Mike, that is a great article! Looks just like you are a Technical Writer!
As far as the door panel clips, the company I deal most with is www.auveco.com They have local distributors and you have to call their 800 number to get the location of one near you. I have been working on power window motors in my Mercury and the clips at the dealer were over $1 each. Through Auveco I was able to get boxes of 25 for $4.84 a box...quite a savings since each door uses 16 clips. Get their catalog, it's good reading!

Stevo

[mikepieronek]

Thanks Stevo,

I get so much good info from the altruism of others on the internet, I thought it was my turn to share. This would have helped me if I saw it when the problem occurred. There are many people capable of this repair who would never attempt it because they don't know what they're getting into. I hope this convinces people they can do it themselves.

Thanks for the comment!

-Mike

[aging_olds]

Mike-
Really appreciate your post, don't need it yet but in time I expect to. I have done latches and power windows on several other cars/trucks, and its nice to have your steps for my T&C when the time comes. You mention taking caution not to accidently activate the latch mechanism and let it crush your fingers because you left the power on. Why not simply deenergize the system by removing the battery cable or fuze, and eliminate the danger?

-Steve

[mikepieronek]

Originally Posted by aging_olds

Mike-
Really appreciate your post, don't need it yet but in time I expect to. I have done latches and power windows on several other cars/trucks, and its nice to have your steps for my T&C when the time comes. You mention taking caution not to accidently activate the latch mechanism and let it crush your fingers because you left the power on. Why not simply deenergize the system by removing the battery cable or fuze, and eliminate the danger?

-Steve

Yep, good idea. Its really not too dangerous. You'd have to be really careless to not know to keep your finger out of the latch. But your point is well taken. Better safe than sorry. I'll update my page.

-Mike