Dodge Grand Caravan Oil Changes for the Minivan That Keeps Going

Dodge stopped building the Grand Caravan after the 2020 model year, which means every one on the road is at least a few years old and many are well past 100,000 miles. They are still everywhere in Northern Nevada, carrying kids to practice in Sparks, tools to job sites in Dayton and wheelchairs in vans converted for access. A high-mileage minivan rewards steady maintenance, and the 3.6L V6 and its six-speed automatic have clear specifications.

Oil and filter

Dodge's fluids table for the 2019 Grand Caravan lists the 3.6L engine at about 6 quarts of API-rated SAE 5W-20 meeting Chrysler material standard MS-6395, with a Mopar filter kit. The grade on your oil filler cap is the final word, and we check it on every van.

Many Grand Caravans we see have high mileage, and a high-mileage oil in the same 5W-20 grade is an option worth discussing: those oils add seal conditioners for older engines. We will tell you what we think and let you choose.

The interval

Like other Stellantis vehicles, the Grand Caravan uses an oil change indicator. A current Stellantis owner's manual says to service the vehicle within 500 miles of the message and never to exceed 10,000 miles or 12 months, and that short trips, towing, hot or cold temperatures and idling bring the message on sooner. Mopar's Canadian Dodge service page sets a lower ceiling of 6,500 km, about 4,000 miles, for excessive idling or dusty conditions.

Minivans idle a lot: school pickup lines, curbside waits, warm-ups on January mornings. The Reno airport averages 122 nights a year at or below freezing (NOAA 1991 to 2020 normals), and a van that warms up in the driveway before every school run is idling more than its owner thinks.

Transmission, coolant and steering

• The 62TE six-speed automatic takes Mopar ATF+4, about 5.5 quarts on a service fill per Dodge's table. On a high-mileage van, the fluid's condition is worth a look; see our transmission fluid service.
• Coolant: Dodge lists its 10-year, 150,000-mile formula OAT antifreeze, about 13.4 quarts. Many vans are past that line, so we test the mix and look at the hoses.
• Power steering: Mopar Power Steering Fluid +4 or ATF+4, per the same table; our power steering flush uses it.
• Rear A/C: many Grand Caravans cool the back rows too, and our A/C service checks the system before summer, when Reno averages about 65 days a year at 90 F or more (NOAA).
• Wipers, bulbs, cabin filter and tire pressure on every visit.

Your van in our bay

1. Drive in at Mae Anne Avenue or Longley Lane in Reno, College Parkway in Carson City or US 395 in Gardnerville. No appointment.
2. We check the cap, drain, fit a new filter and refill with 5W-20, conventional, synthetic or high-mileage as you choose.
3. The multi-point maintenance check, with extra attention to transmission fluid condition and coolant on high-mileage vans.
4. Indicator reset, and a plain summary of what we found.