Serpentine belt falls off when driven through a puddle of water. The Chrysler dealership I contacted informed me that this was typical with my make and model (2000 Chrysler Town and country). When the belt falls off, the van loses power steering and is very difficult to control.

- Fort Worth, TX, USA

My serpentine belt has come off 4 times. I have informed the dealer of this problem during warranty time period and nonwarrantly time period. The dealer and other mechanics keep charging me to temporarily fix a manufacturer "recall" problem. My wife drives the van, normally with children with her. This is very dangerous and needs to be corrected immediately. This is a very common problem for this type of vehicle.

- Erie, PA, USA

It is a well known problem with Chrysler minivans - whenever there is a heavy rain and the water puddles in the street, the serpentine belt slips off and all power to the vehicle is lost. This has happened to me multiple times. I have spoken to my local mechanic about this problem and he stated that this happens to all Chrysler minivans (Dodge and Pontiac minivans as well) and has occurred since they started making minivans. Every time there is a heavy downpour he has a lot full of chrsler vans that need their belt put back on. I called my local Chrysler dealer in urbana, il and spoke to the service representative. She told me that they are fully aware of the problem because two of their own service vans are out of commission due to the recent rain. She agreed that every time it rains heavily, the belts come off these vans. I called Chrysler automotive and spoke to a customer service rep. About the problem. She checked and told me that Chrysler will not do anything about this because it is a known problem and because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not issued a recall. Since Chrysler will not address this known problem until NHTSA issues a recall, please issue a recall. What could be more dangerous than for people to lose power while driving on crowded roadways and interstate?

- Champaign, IL, USA

Our 2000 Chrysler Town and country minivan has had major mechanical problems. The most recent was the repeated failure of the serpentine belt. The first failure occurred while driving in cold weather (February 2007). The belt slipped off the pulleys leaving me to try to careen it over to the side of the rode with no power steering and an overheating engine. The car was repaired at our local mechanic shop. The second time occurred while it was raining outside. The belt popped off as I was driving at 40 mph and I nearly had an accident. It was all I could do to get the car off the busy street - again with the engine overheating. The car was then repaired at a new ase certified mechanic shop. The tensioner pulley and idler pulley were replaced. We thought they were fixed when I was traveling at 55 mph and the belt popped off again. I slightly ran off the road and was left stranded in the middle of a country road with no one in sight. A local mechanic said the new tensioner pulley was defective and I drove (in another vehicle) to a dealership 30 miles away to purchase a new tensioner. Two days later in the middle of a visit to a national park, the belt slipped off again and left me stranded with my children in a hot car. We then realized that the problem was not being resolved, got the belt put on one more time by a aaa mechanic and made it home on a wing and a prayer.

- Arlington, TX, USA

2000 Chrysler Town and country lxi** the consumer stated for the past several years the serpentine belt that operates the power steering, engine cooling, and alternator has periodically jump from the pulleys during heavy rains on well drained streets.

- Savannah, GA, USA

- the contact stated that the V2000 Chrysler Town & Country had a number of problems with the serpentine belt popping off while driving. The contact stated that this had happened on four occasion. There was heavy rain and while driving 30-35 mph under heavy traffic, the battery light came on and the vehicle was difficult to steer. He was able to pull off the road into a parking area. The contact opened the hood and noticed that the serpentine belt came off again. The contact called aaa to have the vehicle towed to the dealership, and they also informed him that the serpentine belt had come off. The contact stated that the vehicle is still at the dealership. The contact will have the belt available for investigation. The contact will be calling the manufacturer of Chrysler to file a complaint. The contact felt that if this continued to happen, one day the serpentine belt will pop off and he will lose control of the steering and something drastic could happen. This vehicle had 62,500 miles, and was not sure how many miles were on the vehicle when the serpentine belt popped off the first time. The contact will have all repair orders available for this investigation. The consumer states the belt was okay per dealer and reinstalled. The consumer has provided invoices of repair. Updated 05/04/07.

- Savannah, GA, USA

- the contact stated that the 2000 Chrysler Town & Country had a number of problems with the serpentine belt popping off while driving. This happened on four occasions during heavy rain and while driving 30-35 mph under heavy traffic, the battery light came on, and the vehicle was difficult to steer. He was able to pull off the road into a parking area. The contact opened the hood of the vehicle and noticed that the serpentine belt had come off again. The contact called aaa to have the vehicle towed to the dealership, and they also informed him that the serpentine belt came off. The contact stated that the vehiclewas still at the dealership. The contact will have the belt available for investigation. The contact will be calling the manufacturer of Chrysler to file a complaint. The contact felt that if this continued to happen one day the serpentine belt will pop off and he will lose control of the steering and something drastic could happen. The contact stated that this vehicle had 62,500 miles and was not sure how many miles were on the vehicle when the serpentine belt popped off the first time. The contact will have all repair orders available for this investigation.

- Savannah, GA, USA

The serpentine belt on my 2000 Chrysler Town & Country van pops off causing loss of power steering, alternator and water pump. Very dangerous to have to safely drive to a stop without power steering. Belt has been replaced. Tensioner has been replaced. Pulleys have been replaced. Dealers and private shops have no clue what is wrong, but owners do- the tensioner gets out of alignment! Goodyear and gates have begun to market kits to fix the problem, but the manufacturer should do a recall. Just "google" to see how many owners are affected. This is a serious safety issue! the incident date I list is the last of 4 incidents in the past 2 years.

- Janesville, WI, USA

While driving 15 mph the fan belt slips off only when raining. As a result, vehicle overheats very quickly, steering and brakes malfunction. Still waiting on a part, dealing with dealer.

- Orlando, FL, USA

Every time the vehicle ran on wet road the serpentine belt came off the pulley. This caused the vehicle to stall and lose power steering control. Vehicle had not been taken to the dealer. Dealer was contacted, they were familiar with the problem and had a suggestion for correction. Consumer wants to know why would the dealer be so familiar with the problem if it wasn't a regularly occurring problem.

- Lagrange, GA, USA

While driving in a rain storm, the consumer drove in a water puddle and the serpentine belt became disengaged. When this happened the dash light illuminated, . the battery light came on and the lights started to go dim. The vehicle became difficult to drive. It also, over heated.

- Racine, WI, USA

Serpentine belt slipping off for the 6th time during a rainy day. Control for steering, power brakes and power to battery lost. Previously reported: ODI number: 770436 12/4/02; 10054483 1/20/2004. Issue has not been resolved.

- Lubbock, TX, USA

Chrysler Town & Country with 3.3 liter engine. The idler pulley freezes on this engine (since 1992 Dodge dynasty same motor, same problem) causing the serpentine belt to come off causing a lost of power steering among other equipment failures powered drive belt. (I.e. water pump, alternater, ect).

- Houston, TX, USA

Whenever serpentine belt gets wet under any condition, rain or running over a puddle, it tends to slips off of the pulleys, making vehicle inoperable.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

The consumer stated that whenever it rained or the belt became wet in any way it slipped off the pulley. When this happened the consumer lost control of vehicle. This incident has happen twice since owning the vehicle.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

Mounting bolt for serpentine belt idler broke, complete loss of power steering -no accident due to low speed-would have been disaster at higher speed.

- Carmichael, CA, USA

While driving 65 mph vehicle lost power steering and power brakes. Dealer determined that serpentine belt had broken. Mileage was 10000.

- Tulsa, OK, USA