Want a new minivan - reliability issues???

[sweetpeakaris]

I've had my 2012 Chrysler Town & Country limited for almost 2 mos, and I love it!!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

My caravan def has enough space for 6/7 plus luggage.. We have a 2011 Caravan crew with stow n go and I adore it. More than enough room for everything.

You must pack WAY lighter than we do. That's the same van my parents have & no way would all our stuff fit with 6 people. Honestly, even with 4 people & our gear, we'd have at least 1/2 the 3rd row folded flat.

For a weekend? Yes. For a week-long vacation? No way.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We've had two Siennas. Would still have the first if it hadn't been totaled in an accident. Ten year old Sienna and we got about $8000 for insurance value on it. Our 2006 has been great and we've had no problems with it. For four years we had two (and our son drove the older one to school).

However, with all three rows used, there isn't room for luggage for seven people in the back end. But you could put it on the roof if you needed to.

 

[princessmorgan]

We have a 2008 Sienna. I like it fine, but I'm not in love with it. We haven't had any mechanical issues. We'll have to replace the tires very soon, the tread is thin and we only have 30,000 miles on it. Also our CD player doesn't work anymore. I personally would not buy another car for the 15% inconvenience, but that's me. If you had 3 kids, then I might consider it, but I like not having a car payment.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

You must pack WAY lighter than we do. That's the same van my parents have & no way would all our stuff fit with 6 people. Honestly, even with 4 people & our gear, we'd have at least 1/2 the 3rd row folded flat.

For a weekend? Yes. For a week-long vacation? No way.

You must overpack! I can fit luggage for 10 days/7 people in my van utilizing the compartments under the middle seats. We don't have a roof rack container.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

You must overpack! I can fit luggage for 10 days/7 people in my van utilizing the compartments under the middle seats. We don't have a roof rack container.

We do tend to bring a ton of stuff along, but pretty much every minivan owner I know personally uses a rooftop on vacation with 6 or more people. We could economize on our bags a bit, but we'd also have to ditch the cooler, the electric skillet, & our large storage container of snacks/food in order to squeeze 6+ people into a van for a long trip.

I do know when I've traveled on business with 6+ people in a minivan and nothing more than a rolling carry-on each, SOMEBODY ended up with a bag or two on top of them on the way to the airport

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

We have a 2008 Sienna. I like it fine, but I'm not in love with it. We haven't had any mechanical issues. We'll have to replace the tires very soon, the tread is thin and we only have 30,000 miles on it. Also our CD player doesn't work anymore. I personally would not buy another car for the 15% inconvenience, but that's me. If you had 3 kids, then I might consider it, but I like not having a car payment.

This is how we feel too. We will probably be in the market for a new minivan soon as we've worn ours out; but we don't want to commit to a car payment anytime soon. However, I've considered the crossover style Chevy Traverse as a nice alternative to a minivan as well as the Chrysler T&C and Kia Sedona if we decide to go the minivan route again.

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

We have a 2010 T & C and I hate it.

We had a brand new 2009 for 8 months. I kept having a lot of transmission problems. Finally the transmission went out. They refused to replace it, they would only re-build the 3rd gear. It was still terrible to drive and would contantly have transmission problems. In the midst of trying to get them to replace it due to still having problems, the transmission went out again 4 weeks later.

They replaced the transmission that time, but as soon as it was towed back to the dealership, we filed a Lemon Law complaint with the BBB in order to make them buy the car back. They fought us tooth and nail for the entire 5 weeks it took them to replace the transmission. We ended up winning the complaint and instead of them purchasing the car back, they had to give us the current model year car, which had just rolled over to the 2010.

Since we've had this one, we've had it in the service center so many times I couldn't even say. For just about anything and everything under the sun has had to be repaired, replaced, re-programed, had a recall, be reset, etc. Even the one I have now had subtle transmission problems. Enough that DH & I notice it, but not ppl who don't drive it every day.

It never stops and I can't wait to be done with this thing.

Funny thing is, that we took almost 2 months of car shopping to look at every singel make, model, manufacture possible and when we finally picked the T&C it's been a crap shoot.

 

[adventure_woman]

With not having a car payment, I don't think I would get a new one unless I needed it (and by new = something that is used but new to me).

If we were taking a road trip and I needed a bigger vehicle, I think I would just go ahead and rent one. That way you can avoid having a car payment.

I would shove the kids in the back seat for the time if your parents needed to ride in your current car. And, if you need to carpool, kids can squish in the back....that's what we used to do! No reason to have 5 feet of legroom to just go across town!

 

[sanibelover]

We have a 2008 Chrysler T&C. While I love all of the bells and whistles, we have had a lot of issues with it. There are definitely some design flaws, etc. We have also had numerous recalls. I wouldn't recommend one.

 

[kwhite1022]

Im just 15 days removed from our first driving trip to Disney from Michigan. Hands down our Honda Odyssey made the difference. We were praising her to high heaven as we had 3 kids in the van and many times felt like it was just hubby and me We hit bad construction on 75, you know, the kind where you can literally change drivers cuz your stopped for so long! Two hours of this through the high elevation in TN and our vans temp gauge didnt move an inch. Oh and did I mention this wasnt a new van, a 2005 that rolled over 100,000 miles during our trip. Heck for the wireless headphones alone, Id buy another one What ever you decide, have a magical vacation.

 

[SaraJayne]

We have a 2010 T & C and I hate it.

We had a brand new 2009 for 8 months. I kept having a lot of transmission problems. Finally the transmission went out. They refused to replace it, they would only re-build the 3rd gear. It was still terrible to drive and would contantly have transmission problems. In the midst of trying to get them to replace it due to still having problems, the transmission went out again 4 weeks later.

They replaced the transmission that time, but as soon as it was towed back to the dealership, we filed a Lemon Law complaint with the BBB in order to make them buy the car back. They fought us tooth and nail for the entire 5 weeks it took them to replace the transmission. We ended up winning the complaint and instead of them purchasing the car back, they had to give us the current model year car, which had just rolled over to the 2010.

Since we've had this one, we've had it in the service center so many times I couldn't even say. For just about anything and everything under the sun has had to be repaired, replaced, re-programed, had a recall, be reset, etc. Even the one I have now had subtle transmission problems. Enough that DH & I notice it, but not ppl who don't drive it every day.

It never stops and I can't wait to be done with this thing.

Funny thing is, that we took almost 2 months of car shopping to look at every singel make, model, manufacture possible and when we finally picked the T&C it's been a crap shoot.

DH just rented a brand new T & C for a business trip and he said it was a piece of *^#& that drove terribly and he couldn't wait until he got home to dump it.

So I guess we'll never buy a T&C. I've never heard one good thing about them.

 

[kwhite1022]

DH just rented a brand new T & C for a business trip and he said it was a piece of *^#& that drove terribly and he couldn't wait until he got home to dump it.

So I guess we'll never buy a T&C. I've never heard one good thing about them.

Bwah!!! I almost mentioned that my sister who has a T&C, told me had that had it been her and her van stuck in traffic in TN her van would have blown up! She is on her 3rd transmission, and if not for the fact they have so much into their van they'd be making a change.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We have a 2004 Sienna, and I love that car! I didn't want a van to start with, but now I can't imagine being without it. Ours has about 105K miles and we haven't had any problems with it. We will be replacing it with a new(er) Sienna in the next year.

 

[DawnM]

I would make what you have work. I can't stand the thought of car payments EVER again! My Sequoia is an '04 and we don't plan to replace it for another 10 years!

As for luggage, we take one of the back seats out of our Toyota Sequoia and we still don't have room! There are only 5 of us.

However, we take a GIANT cooler with most of what we need for the week in the condo, we take at least one set of golf clubs, plus all our gear.

We got one of these:

http://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Cargo-Carrier/Curt/C18130.html?feed=npn

It fits our giant cooler perfectly and sometimes even a suitcase or two.

 

[loveysbydesign]

We have an 08 Grand Caravan with stow n go and we are getting ready to trade it for a large SUV (Suburban or Yukon XL) because travel is miserable for just the 5 of us in the van. No matter how we configure the seats, the kid's knees or feet are hitting the seats in front of them and it is impossible to get a weeks worth of luggage and a single stroller in it without a roof top luggage carrier. And just in general, it is very hard for DD7 or an adult to get in and out of the 3rd row. Before deciding on an SUV, we looked at other vans and newer Dodges but it was the same in all of them.

So OP, I would really investigate whether a van is the right choice for you because things might not get much better going from a Pilot to a van.

This makes me laugh as we have a 2005 Town and Country, base model, no grand, no sto-n-go, no roof top carrier and we have driven it with 5 of us to FL from PA 2x with no problem(once with 2 weeks worth of stuff for our vacay, including beach chair and umbrella and cruise clothes!). I am a packing freak, gotta make sure everything is in there just right and we are packed to the gills but that's ok!

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

well the other thing about our T&C is that we did get the bigger engine and stow and go.

We never ever use the stow and go, except when we are packing the car for long trips and we need the space. It's so hard to get too. You have to push the front seat all the way forward, the middle seat all the way back, take out the floor mat, pull up the hinge, hold the compartment open, shove the bags in. Not ideal way to conceal you are hidding things in there .

wish we had gotten the swivel seats with the pop up table.

 

[MSLRAC]

This makes me laugh as we have a 2005 Town and Country, base model, no grand, no sto-n-go, no roof top carrier and we have driven it with 5 of us to FL from PA 2x with no problem(once with 2 weeks worth of stuff for our vacay, including beach chair and umbrella and cruise clothes!). I am a packing freak, gotta make sure everything is in there just right and we are packed to the gills but that's ok!

See, I just don't get the whole packed to the gills, everything has to be packed in a certain order and be in a certain place for it all to fit. With 3 kids, that it just way too much work and not how I want to start my vacation. Plus, we like to ride comfortably with plenty of leg room when we are riding for 8-10 hours. So while a van might be great for many families, it just does not work for us any longer.

 

[dreamer03]

We have a 2010 T & C and I hate it.

We had a brand new 2009 for 8 months. I kept having a lot of transmission problems. Finally the transmission went out. They refused to replace it, they would only re-build the 3rd gear. It was still terrible to drive and would contantly have transmission problems. In the midst of trying to get them to replace it due to still having problems, the transmission went out again 4 weeks later.

They replaced the transmission that time, but as soon as it was towed back to the dealership, we filed a Lemon Law complaint with the BBB in order to make them buy the car back. They fought us tooth and nail for the entire 5 weeks it took them to replace the transmission. We ended up winning the complaint and instead of them purchasing the car back, they had to give us the current model year car, which had just rolled over to the 2010.

Since we've had this one, we've had it in the service center so many times I couldn't even say. For just about anything and everything under the sun has had to be repaired, replaced, re-programed, had a recall, be reset, etc. Even the one I have now had subtle transmission problems. Enough that DH & I notice it, but not ppl who don't drive it every day.

It never stops and I can't wait to be done with this thing.

Funny thing is, that we took almost 2 months of car shopping to look at every singel make, model, manufacture possible and when we finally picked the T&C it's been a crap shoot.

I am hearing this story more and more. I recently traded in a 2008 T&C for a Chevy Impala. I bought my T&C in 2010 and put 30,000 miles on it. I traded it in with 45,000 miles. In the two years we had it, it was in the shop 18 times and three of those were for brakes alone. We had to do full replacement of the brakes in the rear twice. Not to mention Chrysler standards are to burn a quart of oil every thousand miles. My wheel bearing went out the EGR valve went out and the air conditioning went as well. We had air bag recalls for accidental deployment, sway bar bushings and list goes on. Never again will any of my family purchase a Chrysler product. I wish Chevy would still make a van but the impala has quite a bit of room.I will not be recommending Chrylser to anyone.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

See, I just don't get the whole packed to the gills, everything has to be packed in a certain order and be in a certain place for it all to fit. With 3 kids, that it just way too much work and not how I want to start my vacation. Plus, we like to ride comfortably with plenty of leg room when we are riding for 8-10 hours. So while a van might be great for many families, it just does not work for us any longer.

I'm curious, what is it that you're in that's got more space than a van?