soupstone

Took the plunge, got a 1575kg loaded twin axle. 525 mile trip to see how she goes. First tank 14mpg, cruise at 60. Second tank just under 18mpg, cruise at 55. I'll try a tankful at 50 on the way home again. Does spend a lot of time at higher revs, but overall, its OK.

Clint, what dealer did you get it from and did you have to pick it up? How much was it direct from Chrysler? Not been able to talk to a parts department yet, found a company that can supply one, but it's £120 delivered. Felt that was a bit steep, but if that's what it costs, I'll have no choice.

Have a look at the strap numbered 1. Mines got stuck once, and wouldn't let the back lock up. I put something through the loop in the rear for a bit of purchase, (which was shorter than the same strap on the other rear seat, as it was stuck in) and gave it a good yank. This put everything back into place and it has been fine since.

Got mines done recently, gave the guy 5 litres of fluid, and there's still some in the container so 4-4.5 quarts sounds correct.

Have you had a meter on and pulled all the other fuses out to see if any other options lose the current draw? Mines went when I pulled the rdo ewd/rr wpr fuse. I had a 600 mA draw, and traced it to a switched feed for the radio being live all the time. Other pointers for my issue, was the clock was displaying constantly, and the electric windows worked even without the ignition on. I've just fixed mines by adding a switch into the switched live, that was live all the time. I isolate the stereo when I park up. On the caravan front, how do you rate the GV as a towcar? What weight is the van and do you find it ok? I've just bought a 1575kg max loaded van, and seem to be getting around 15mpg towing due to it dropping down the gears.

Welcome to the club Joe, great cars.

Sounds like the radiator itself is full of crud/partially blocked. Had it a couple of times with other vehicles, rock hard radiator top hose and the gauge getting higher on hills or, in my case, whilst towing. Final check I done to prove in mines was to use a piece of wood to stop the fan from turning, and feel the radiator. It'll probably be cold at the bottom, hotter at the top. Reading it again, you've already replaced the radiator?

This might help. http://www.parkers.co.uk/chrysler/grand-voyager/station-wagon-2008/car-tax/

Had a learning curve with my first one, the battery drain, cutting out, timing belt failure, handbrake work, thermostat mod. This one? When I enquired about it, the seller said he'd get the timing belt done if I didn't beat him up on the price. He didn't just do that, he gave it a full service. I'm confident he did, it started cutting out after about 30 miles, and I had to get it recovered. Caused by a loose fuel filter. Temperature gauge never went over 1/4, added the second thermostat. Battery charging at 13.8ish, added the resistor to get it up to 14.4. It's on 115k now, I've just had the auto box serviced to make sure I'm confident in that. Need to get the handbrake looked at, and I'll get the radio working again by fitting a switch to cut the battery drain when not in use. That aside, these cars do everything I need. Sure they can be problematic, but between this forum and the other one that ends .com, there's plenty assistance for everything that can go wrong.

Find out whats causing the battery issue though, replacement will mask the issue for a while, but it'll eventually go the same way as this one. With mines, I done the battery sensor mod, to make sure it's always charging at over 14 volts. I also had a live feed to the radio through a wire that should only be live with the ignition on. I've currently got this wire disconnected so it doesn't drain the battery. Just another consideration for the grounding, mines started grounding out at places it previously hadn't. Couple of dips in the road and when going onto a low kerb outside my house. There was fine cracks in the sidewalls of the front tyres. Changed them, and all good again.

Have you tried emailing the people on Ebay that are breaking voyagers? There seems to be a few on there just now. Failing that, calling local breakers in the off chance someone has one in.

Hello Graham, welcome to the Chrysler forum. Picked my van up today, and it wasn't too bad to be honest. I made sure all the tyre pressures were spot on, which probably helped. We're planning a weekend away next week quite local, and possibly another weekend away, before a 450 mile trip to the South Coast at the end of June. If you've not took the plunge by then, I'll let you know how it goes.

Here's a wee description I found a while back. http://forum.chryslerminivan.net/showthread.php/12603-Procedure-For-Checking-Automatic-Transmission-Fluid-Level

Just done this today as she had an oil and filter change yesterday. Right hand button ("STEP") till you get to "next service due" and a mileage displayed, then hit the left button ("RESET").

Out by Lanark here, Central Scotland. Welcome to the forum and Voyager ownership. The forum (and the other one, just swap .co.uk for .com) is a great source of help, with most niggles you'll come up against already having been solved. Hope you enjoy the car.

Does anyone tow a caravan with an automatic GV? Hoping to get a caravan soon, but not sure if the Voyager is the best towing option. I bought a Towavan a few months ago, and even bringing it home, I found the voyager kicked down too easily trying to maintain 50 mph even on the flat. I had around 1500kg in the trailer the other day (similar weight to the caravan probably), and it pretty much sat in third constantly, occasionally kicking down even further. Recent run to pick up a motorbike (much lighter) had similar results. Planning a fluid and filter change on the box, then retrain, but I'm not sure if it'll make much difference.

I've decided mines is due a wee bit TLC. Just ordered the filter, gasket and atf +4, I'm on around 110k, so due a change. Also ordered oil filter, air filter and I'm going to get the coolant and brake fluid changed too. Give the old girl a wee treat.

ATF +4 from what I've read previously.

Good choice

I'd be looking at the fuel filter still. Remove it, pour the contents into a container and see if there's any crud in it. Check there's only 1 o-ring in there too, just in case. I'd be tempted just to change the filter again, and make sure it's tight. With my current Voyager, the seller serviced it before I picked it up. It cut out a couple of times, and I ended up having to get it recovered. They had changed the fuel filter, but had only put it on finger tight. It was drawing air and causing the cutting out.

Mines is currently in the drive with 8ftx4ft sheets of ply lying flat on the floor. Can't see many other cars being able to do that. I'll probably just keep this one as long as I can, and as I don't buy new anyways, I should be able to get another one before having to give up on them altogether. When we bought our first one, I was also looking at the Hyundai i800, Renault Traffic/Vauxhall Vivaro and the Merc Vito. Also looked at some Japanese import people carriers. Good luck in your quest, let us know what you eventually go with.

What symptoms are you having Dizzy? On both my voyagers, I've had cutting out problems when accelerating. They would cut out under acceleration, and I had to come to a halt and restart. Both times, it was fuel filter issues. In my case, it was a slightly loose housing (on a 2002 2.5, the filter bowl next to the fuel tank) and more recently in a 2006, a renewed fuel filter wasn't tight enough. this filter was at the front of the engine under the bonnet. (2006 2.8).

Hi Rich, personally, I wouldn't let 195k put me off buying it, as it's cheap enough. See if you can check when the timing belt was last done, and if the autobox has had a service. If not/can't see it's definately been done, I'd still buy it but get the timing belt done ASAP. After that, as long as it's all working fine, and your happy with the condition, I'd jump at it. There's a few little faults reared their heads through this forum and the one with the same address but .com on the end, but a lot of them are easy, cheap fixes.

Have you tried disconnecting the battery for a while? Just to reset everything so to speak. Perhaps give the battery a good charge as well. I know you say it starts fine, but just to make sure it's tip top.

When you say metered the wires, have you removed the bulb holder and had the meter directly on the wires at a plug coupler? If not, i'd be looking at the bulb holder, or trace it back to a plug connection and try there. Think the wiring is behind the wheel arch liner, you could take that off and hand trace the wiring. It must go through the bodywork at some point to connect to the main wiring, this could be a point where you might find a break in the wire. I installed a towbar recently and I'm sure I seen the wiring for it when I had the liner off. The sweeping dials are normally a sign that the battery is a bit low. I get it occasionally if the cars been sat for a couple of days or it's been used for a lot of short runs.