Chrysler Town & Country Dodge owners beware

[csharpwv]

Well I have never in the last 16 years felt unsafe in my Chrysler/ Dodge product. As a matter of fact I have been in 2 accidents both bad, other drivers fault & both times my vans drove away & the other car(one a Ford Taurus) had to be towed from the scene.
Not only would I buy another Chrysler/Dodge product we are in the process right now. We have owned over 10 between the 2 of us and love them.

The very last mine of my post -
Everyone is entitled to their opinion - mine is above and in my previous post.

I am speaking from personal experience - not fact.

However.....

As far as being the worst vehicles on the market - Consumer Reports info pasted below.

"Chrysler remains the lowest-ranked manufacturer in our survey. We can recommend only one of its vehicles, the four wheel-drive Dodge Ram 1500."

"Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep are saddled with dated vehicles that rate below average in reliability. But since Chrysler's acquisition by Fiat, many of its products will either be replaced or redesigned."

 

[quentina]

I had that happen in a Chevy....just driving and dead. I can't remember what it was however; the dealer had to put a special ticket into CHevy to determine what it was.

 

[play-2-learn-2-play]

We just purchased our 8th Chrysler vehicle (3 Jeeps, 1 Dodge, 4 Chrysler - 3 of which were T & C). We have been happy with all of our cars - and have never experienced any of the issues that were previously listed.

I'm sorry that you are having issues with your T&C and I hope that it gets corrected quickly, so that you can feel safe driving to FL.

Companies have issues - not sure I see how that is relevant - no need to be a hater!

 

[huey duey & luey]

I do hope they find out and can fix your car before your trip.
It's sad to say that cars in general don't seem to be made that well before. My husband and I both drive Toyotas (camry and sequoia). Which were purchased after the whole recall situation. We both love our cars and have been very HAPPY. Before this I drove the Mercedes R30 and while it never had a recall, there was always something electrical going awry.
2 people have mentioned Volvos having the same problem and they are noted to be some of the best made and safest cars. Just never no anymore

 

[mousebymarriage]

The very last mine of my post -
Everyone is entitled to their opinion - mine is above and in my previous post.

I am speaking from personal experience - not fact.

However.....

As far as being the worst vehicles on the market - Consumer Reports info pasted below.

"Chrysler remains the lowest-ranked manufacturer in our survey. We can recommend only one of its vehicles, the four wheel-drive Dodge Ram 1500."

"Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep are saddled with dated vehicles that rate below average in reliability. But since Chrysler's acquisition by Fiat, many of its products will either be replaced or redesigned."

My DH works for Chrysler and I am currently driving my 4th Chrysler Town & Country. I have never had any problems with any of the minivans. My DH drives a Chrysler Cirrus and also has never had any problems (however, I hate his car because I feel like I am lying on the floor when I am driving it). I have never for a second felt unsafe in my Town & Country.

Yes, Chrysler has had many recalls but, so have most of the other car companies. I believe that the recalls are all an example of substandard workmanship coupled with substandard materials, all part of the efforts by many companies trying to save a few bucks. Unfortunately, these issues seem to be plaguing the entire auto industry. There are many more recalls of vehicles(not just Chrysler products) that most people don't know about because the recall may be small, the media only seems to report the larger ones.
A few examples of other car companies that have also had serious recalls:

Feb 28, 2011
Toyota- 1.7 million vehicles for faulty fuel pumps, faulty fuel lines, and oil leaks.

Feb 23, 2011
Ford- 144,000 F-150 pick up trucks. Airbags may deploy without warning while driving.
*The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) sent a letter to Ford reccommending that they recall 1.3 million vehicles for this problem but, Ford resisted stating that the number of complaints was low. Injuries that have occurred due to faulty airbag deployment: chipped teeth, broken noses, burns on arms and face (from the chemical on the airbad) etc. and 2 people lost conciousness from the airbag being unexpectedly deployed.

Dec. 2010
Honda- 10,800 2010 & 20111 Honda Pilot's due to problem with the suspension.

**I only mentioned the above examples just so people are aware that Chrysler is not alone in it's recall issues. It's very easy to find infor on any recalled vehicle just by typing in: (insert car company name) recalls.


Most of the problems with the Chrysler line actually began when it was acquired by Mercedes in the late 1990's, (which is when the company was called Diamler Chrysler). The funny thing is that Mercedes which is considered a luxury vehicle tried to re-make Chrysler into a luxury line instead of keeping it as originally intended, a reliable family American vehicle. Sadly, in the process of trying to "update" and "modernize" Chryslers image, Diamler (aka Mercedes) destroyed the company. I hope that Fiat can bring them back to the company they once were.

 

[ORDisneyfans]

I hate - Despise - and LOATHE all Dodge, Chrysler, and Jeep Products.

I have to rent vehicles for work all the time and the local rental car branches just have these inferior vehicles.

The variable transmissions are awful, the engines are unreliable, the interior fit and finish are absolutely horrendous! They feel like driving a giant chuck of plastic.

They may look really sporty from the outside - but that's as deep as any attraction should go.

We owned a 1991 Dodge Caravan for about 8 years growing up and it had constant repair problems. Problems from day one - and the dealership refused to fix the problems as they were 'out of warranty' on a BRAND NEW vehicle.

My dad always jokes that he bought two Dodge Caravans on the same day - the first one - and the last one.

If I were you I would have the vehicle repaired and contact a lemon lawyer. You WILL continue to have issues with the van. Your transmission WILL fail before you reach 100,000 miles. The chances are very high that your head gasket will disintegrate if you live in a cold climate, and you will go through breaks like most cars go through gas. The rotors are notorious for warping, and the belts will squeal very loudly every time the weather changes.

RUN - don't walk away from your Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep product!

There one main reason why the company almost went out of business last year is very simple to understand - the vehicles are absolutely the worst on the market. They are not made well, they do not last, and they do not hold their resale value at all.

So sorry to hear about your car - but if you aren't confident the safety of driving it - follow your instinct! It's not a safe vehicle!

We purchased a 2000 T & C Limited Mini van for $30,000. (My first ever brand new car!) Drove it 200 miles home and the engine was bad. Long story short they would not refund or replace my vehicle! We were told they would repair only. Needless to say 3 months w/o a car (good thing we didn't trade in my old one!), $3000 in lawyer fees and they finally gave me my money back! Oh and the original dealer was absolutley no help! Luckily our local dealer stepped in and we were finally able to mediate. It cost us a lot of time, money and aggravation. I will never purchase a Chrysler product again! Sorry but I agree run as fast as you can!
Bougt a brand new 2002 Honda odessey and drove it 85,000 with out any trouble at all. Sold it for $15,000 after 4 years! I felt really good about that transaction! People are still driving it as I see it around town now and then!

 

[gracie1]

We purchased a 2000 T & C Limited Mini van for $30,000. (My first ever brand new car!) Drove it 200 miles home and the engine was bad. Long story short they would not refund or replace my vehicle! We were told they would repair only. Needless to say 3 months w/o a car (good thing we didn't trade in my old one!), $3000 in lawyer fees and they finally gave me my money back! Oh and the original dealer was absolutley no help! Luckily our local dealer stepped in and we were finally able to mediate. It cost us a lot of time, money and aggravation. I will never purchase a Chrysler product again! Sorry but I agree run as fast as you can!
Bougt a brand new 2002 Honda odessey and drove it 85,000 with out any trouble at all. Sold it for $15,000 after 4 years! I felt really good about that transaction! People are still driving it as I see it around town now and then!

Did you purchase the vehicle brand new for $30k? You shouldn't have been left with the legal fees. Did you contact Chrysler headquarters to discuss this?

 

[okeydokey]

Add me to the no-Dodge list. Our Caravan was a piece of junk. When they said I had to replace the AC AGAIN, after replacing the transmission already, we got rid of it for a Honda Pilot. The Honda is awesome!

 

[redandblue]

We have a Dodge Avenger and haven't had hardly any problems. But I was not impressed with our old Dodge Ram.

I have a Ford Taurus as a company car (The old 500 body type) and love it I feel so safe in it, it feels nice and heavy so I usually have no problems trucking through the Michigan snow, I did get stuck last week in a parking lot but it was some pretty bad snow. Anybody who has ever had a company car knows they are pushed to the limits, they rack up the miles and aren't exactly treated with kid gloves. I wish Ford would come out with a Mini-van because I really like the look of the windstar but I don't think they make it anymore.

IL's have a dodge caravan and they they have been having problems with it as well most have been under warranty but they do complain about the heat either it is too hot at their feet and cold towards there head or the other way around, basically not evenly dispersed.

 

[Toystoryfan32]

I do hope they find out and can fix your car before your trip.
It's sad to say that cars in general don't seem to be made that well before. My husband and I both drive Toyotas (camry and sequoia). Which were purchased after the whole recall situation. We both love our cars and have been very HAPPY. Before this I drove the Mercedes R30 and while it never had a recall, there was always something electrical going awry.
2 people have mentioned Volvos having the same problem and they are noted to be some of the best made and safest cars. Just never no anymore

Thanks. I hope they find out to. I still havent heard back from the dealership yet. We are driving a rental right now. My husband read somewhere that they think it may have to do with the key slipping in the ignition, of course its not really a key but large piece of plastic or whatever. Not sure what they are called. But that does make sense that it could shift easliy, possibly causing your car to turn off. I hope thats what it is, sounds like it might be easy to fix.

 

[Toystoryfan32]

We have a Dodge Avenger and haven't had hardly any problems. But I was not impressed with our old Dodge Ram.

I have a Ford Taurus as a company car (The old 500 body type) and love it I feel so safe in it, it feels nice and heavy so I usually have no problems trucking through the Michigan snow, I did get stuck last week in a parking lot but it was some pretty bad snow. Anybody who has ever had a company car knows they are pushed to the limits, they rack up the miles and aren't exactly treated with kid gloves. I wish Ford would come out with a Mini-van because I really like the look of the windstar but I don't think they make it anymore.

IL's have a dodge caravan and they they have been having problems with it as well most have been under warranty but they do complain about the heat either it is too hot at their feet and cold towards there head or the other way around, basically not evenly dispersed.

I agree. We used to have a Ford Windstar and I loved it. We never had any problems with it. It would be nice if they could bring it back.

 

[WDWDad]

We have a 2005 T & C and it has 103,000 miles. We have had almost no issues with it and have thoroughly enjoyed it for 5 years. Oh and we have three children who are all in sports so they and their friends beat the crap out of it. Looks and runs great. Can't beat it for family road trips.

 

[Toystoryfan32]

We have a 2005 T & C and it has 103,000 miles. We have had almost no issues with it and have thoroughly enjoyed it for 5 years. Oh and we have three children who are all in sports so they and their friends beat the crap out of it. Looks and runs great. Can't beat it for family road trips.

Thanks. That makes me feel better because we really love our 2010 T & C. Its so comfortable and we are always hauling our kids their friends etc. So hopefully we can get this recall issue resolved before our trip in two weeks. I was really looking forward to our drive to Florida in it. We usually fly, but about five years ago we drove our Buick Rendezvous to Florida and it was not comfortable at all!

 

[goofyisinphilly]

Way back in the mid-90s my mom had a Dodge Caravan that would do the same thing. Turns out the problem was the fuse that controlled the rear window defrost. The replaced the fuse the van stopped dying.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Two words: Nissan Quest.

 

[ReneeA]

We have a 2005 T & C and it has 103,000 miles. We have had almost no issues with it and have thoroughly enjoyed it for 5 years. Oh and we have three children who are all in sports so they and their friends beat the crap out of it. Looks and runs great. Can't beat it for family road trips.

Ours is a 2001 Crysler Voyager with 120,000 and the thing is a tank. We've spent no money on it at all other than maintenance, and it just keeps on going. It's been a very reliable car...because of it, I bought a Dodge Journey a year ago...and that's been a good car so far.