10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 51,779 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
The serpentine belt on our 1996 Chrysler Town & Country lxi, makes a horrible screeching sound, that we've almost come to appreciate, when faced with it's alternative silence, when the serpentine belt gets wet & slips off. The immediate & dangerous result is loss of power steering, leaving the driver surprised with their inability to safely maneuver the van. Within less than a minute, a fast hazard bell sounds & the engine temperature sensor is pinned at hot. If the driver is quick, strong, & lucky enough, to get the family "safely" off the road, before the water pump fries, stalling the van in traffic, they are now left stranded. We've had the serpentine belt & tensioner pulley replaced twice, the last time at Chrysler, and still the problem has not been corrected. We've checked for recalls but Chrysler states that this is not a life threatening failure, so no recall has been made. This has happens to us often enough that we keep a wrench in our van, so my husband can attempt to retrieve & re-seat the belt onto the tensioner, in the pouring rain. We've read many complaints about this same problem & can't understand why Chrysler doesn't think loss of steering & sudden heat pump failure is not life threatening. If one of their ceos were to find themselves struggling their family van quickly off the road, standing over, or even lying under their engine, in the pouring rain, while the rest of the family hopes that he isn't injured making the repair, hit by lightening, or by a distracted driver, perhaps they would recall this system. We've spent a lot of time & money on repairs, & have come across an off-market product designed to fix this specific, widely recognized Chrysler product issue, and just purchased it. We find it disgusting to see that the possibility of this problem being addressed may depend on the number of deaths, or persons injured, before Chrysler takes any responsibility. They could at least acquire or cover the cost of the off-market repair kit.
- Melbourne, FL, USA
: the contact stated while driving 45 mph on normal road conditions, the serpentine belt fractured. No warning lights alerted the contact but loss of power steering was noticed. The vehicle had been taken three times to the dealership and the belts, pulleys and tensioner were replaced on every occurrence. The manufacturer was contacted but the resolution was a dealership referral. The contact expressed concern because the loss of power steering could create conditions for a serious accident.
- Langley Afb, VA, USA
He owns a 1996 Chrysler, town& country, only owner with 70,000 miles on the vehicle. Steering wheel popped off, mostly when turning the wheel to left. This happened often since 2005. Also, front and back windshield wipers came on at separate times when it was in off position for about one and half year.
- Carlsbad, CA, USA
The spring in my steering wheel has broken, airbags are inoperative, horn is inoperative, not to mention the other things that won't work because of it. I understand there was a recall on it...up to 70,000 miles, I never received anything about this, I was only told that it would cost 250 dollars to get it fixed by Chrysler.
- Pasadena, TX, USA
While driving at any speed consumer can hear clunking noises in steering column. It could cause consumer to have steering problems. Dealer notified. Consumer states that steering wheel makes growling noise when turning due to rack and pinon failure. Steering makes schruching noise when turning right and dealer lubercate steering shaft. The rear brakes made a noise. The driver side door was hard to close. The left sliding door was rubbing on the body when shut
- Oral Vally, AZ, USA
Automatic transmission occasionally would not shift into overdrive. Often occurred after deceleration from highway speeds. Only way to know was to observe engine RPM. Sometimes could reset by pulling off to side of road and turning engine off for a few minutes, then re-start. First remanufactured transmission also had problems. Second has been okay. Wipers on intermittent settings would wipe several times in a row, then not wipe for an extended period. Created visibility problems. First repair replaced multifunction switch. This didn't solve problem. Second repair replaced wiper motor. Noticed that the heater was not working. Shop determined the evaporator was not working correctly due to leaks. Only way to replace evaporator is to remove instrument panel; very expensive and time consuming.
- Uniontown, OH, USA
Vehicles steering shudders an nearly locks up.
- Lakeview, AR, USA
Driving at low speeds and making sharp turns steering will lock up, causing loss of vehicle control which could result in an accident. Intermittent problem.
- Hazard, KY, USA
Consumer lost all steering control, occurs when air conditioner is running.
- Louisville, KY, USA
The steering provided on this vehicle makes it difficult to control vehicle at highway speeds.
- Durham, NC, USA
The steering provided on this vehicle makes it difficult to control vehicle at highway speeds.
- Durham, NC, USA
Total loss of power steering for short periods of time, particularly during very heavy rain fall, frequently during cold periods, and usually after going through the car wash. On -2-13/97 while driving on Q 3-lane highway, lost control, resulting in an accident. Also tire blew out.
- Syracuse, NY, USA
- Yuba City, CA, USA