Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||
| 06/01/2012 | 9000 | 1 | |
| Slightly before 9,000 miles i started noticing a slight shimmy of the steering wheel when the brakes were applied when driving over 50mph. this condition did not occur consistently, but was sporadic. as time has past, this condition has become much more frequent, the steering wheel shimmy has become much more severe, and is now occurring at speeds as low as 35mph. i have owned chrysler town and country vans over the past 16 years (trading up every 2 years) and can testify that their brakes have been a consistent weakness (typically warped discs). my previous 2009 chrysler t&c even had a recall for their brakes. however, this severe steering wheel shimmy thing is something that i have never seen in the past and i am afraid that it is approaching a violent situation that may cause loss of control. the mileage on the vehicle is far too low for a brake wear issue. furthermore, a warped disc would be noticeable when breaking at all speeds. i am about to go to my dealer with this, but am checking the internet to see if this is a known issue and if there are any existing recalls. these observations are made from my 30 years of experience as a mechanical engineer and former head of product reliability at motorola. *tr | |||
| 06/01/2012 | 9000 | ||
| Slightly before 9,000 miles i started noticing a slight shimmy of the steering wheel when the brakes were applied when driving over 50mph. this condition did not occur consistently, but was sporadic. as time has past, this condition has become much more frequent, the steering wheel shimmy has become much more severe, and is now occurring at speeds as low as 35mph. i have owned chrysler town and country vans over the past 16 years (trading up every 2 years) and can testify that their brakes have been a consistent weakness (typically warped discs). my previous 2009 chrysler t&c even had a recall for their brakes. however, this severe steering wheel shimmy thing is something that i have never seen in the past and i am afraid that it is approaching a violent situation that may cause loss of control. the mileage on the vehicle is far too low for a brake wear issue. furthermore, a warped disc would be noticeable when breaking at all speeds. i am about to go to my dealer with this, but am checking the internet to see if this is a known issue and if there are any existing recalls. these observations are made from my 30 years of experience as a mechanical engineer and former head of product reliability at motorola. | |||
| 08/25/2011 | 400 | ||
| Vehicle bottoms out and scrapes the bottom of the gas tank and its holding straps on any deep driveway approach. occurences have prevcented vehicle use at church, doctor's offices, us post office, etc. bottom hit has occurred at high spedd yet but a highway pothole could puncture the gas tank and lead to fire. the vehicle is a braun conversion van with an articulated ramp. the local distributor for braun, the ability center, contacted braun got the suggestion to change tire size along with an explanantion that under clearance decreased in 2008 when chrysler changed its body style. i contacted braun customer service and got no relief, no other suggestion. i worked with the ability center and we made a modification adding a shim to the suspension system elevating the undercarriage slightly. braun mad it clear they would not pay for this work. unfortunately the fix didn't completley solve the problem, clearly, there is a risk for anyone in the vehicle. the sound of the bottom of the car scraping sounds like a car crash, is verty disconcerting and very distracting. pulling out of church or the post office, both of which are on well travelled arterials, requires some acceleraztion to properly clear traffic. right in the middle of such a move is when the bottom hits when you need your most concentration. such an occurence on today's highways in their national state of disrepair strongly suggests a car fire from a ruptured tank at speed. this needs a fix! | |||
| 01/01/2011 | 100000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2001 chrysler town and country. while driving at approximately 5 mph the contact noticed a cracking noise coming from the front of the vehicle. there was a recall under nhtsa campaign id number: 01v152000 (suspension:front:control arm:lower arm) that may be related to the recall. the contact also noticed the radio would not function correctly. the failure occurs constantly in hot or humid temperatures. there was a recall under nhtsa campaign id number: 04v531000 (equipment:electrical:radio/tape deck/cd etc) that may be related to the failure. the manufacturer was made aware of both failures and stated the vehicle was not included in either recall. the contact noticed the air conditioner began to leak water on the pipe where the anti-freeze is located underneath the front passenger side. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostics. the mechanic directed the contact to the manufacturer. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 100,000. ds | |||
| 10/01/2011 | 3500 | ||
| Noisy tires, 225 65r 17 michelin energy a/s feathering on outside edges on front tires. alignment checked and found to be in spec by dealer. tirerack rates this tire very high, but after a few thousand miles, they are already showing signs of abnormal wear and cupping. the combination of the t&c fwd engine weight, cheap front end components which cause stabilty problems, along with this soft riding, hard rubber michelin, will become another problem like the ford explorer & mavericks with firestone 500s. steering stability, quick response and wander are a safely issue on this tire /vehicle combination. | |||
| 09/08/2011 | 3500 | ||
| Today i noted that both michelin as energy saver 225 65 r17 front tires are cupping on outside edge, steering has been very sensitive at high speed, vechicle wanders easily on the the freeway requiring frequent steering correction. it is the alignment of the caster adjustment/design or manufacturing of the new t&c design has a problem. with only 3500 miles on it, i ran my hand over the tread of all tires, and the front tires are cupping, while the rear are smooth. please advise. dealer informed of oversensitve steering, has not performed an alignment yet. waiting for a call from from chrysler complaint dept. | |||