CarComplaints.com Notes: What the heck happened here? A year after getting our "seal of pretty good" for the 2004, Chrysler turns around and delivers this crapwagon.
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I own a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country which ive put about 30,000 miles on give or take. Recently over the past year ive experienced issues with the power steering. My belt broke when arriving at an airport parking lot, stranding my vehicle with my father in law. Since then ive experienced issues with it, noises, slippage when it gets water from puddles on it, etc. Ive looked online for help and find many similar issues with the belt slippage, as well as problems with defective power steering pumps, rack & pinion, etc for this vehicle. Chrysler does not have a recall on it nor sees it as a problem, disregarding the many people who have and complain of this issue. This is a highly dangerous issue as when the power steering goes out of your vehicle you cannot turn!! had this ever happened to me, with my children in the car driving down the road I am sure this would have resulted in injury to us or innocent bystanders. This needs to be looked at and addressed. I have been told that if it is my pump im looking at a cost of over $700, if it is my rack and pinion over $1400, the belt replacement cost me $200. And according to others, even when its fixed they still have problems! I now avoid driving in the rain for fear I will lose control without steering, which is hard as our car is the only one in our household and I commute my husband to and from work, as well as my daughter to and from school, all the while with a 4yr old in the back seat.
My 2005 Town & Country has been leaking power steering fluid for the last couple of years. A mechanic just told me that the rack & pinion needs to be replaced, estimate of $1000. My van has 67,000 miles on it, but this problem has been going on for a couple of years. My car was at the dealer a couple of years ago, and they told me they added power steering fluid, but never said anything about it needs to be replaced. Of course, at that time, it was still under warranty. Makes me feel like I was deceived. My mechanic said this happens often with this van. Why hasn't this been recalled yet? this isn't something that should need to be replaced.
2005 Chrysler Town and country mini van having to have steering column replaced on it after recent purchase dealer will not fix knowing the problem exist. Fraudulently sold the car knowing the problem and not disclosing it to me. Started after one month after purchase and key was stuck in ignition. Seems to be a common and very highly complained about problem. I traded a perfectly working not one thing wrong car for this one that the dealer made a huge profit on and fraudulently lied about any problems with this. Replacement is stated at 1300 dollars after one month of ownership. Chrysler should fix this known defect and the dealer should be investigated for fraud.
Power steering pump is making a loud whining noise. Started occurring in the colder months just when the car was started and the wheel was turned. Now a constant noise. Need to replace pump before it goes out and cracks mantle.
In order to continue driving my Chrysler Town and country LX, I will have to pay close to $1000 to have the steering rack replaced. If I do not get this expensive repair, I risk having no power steering while I am driving myself or my family around. This could be very dangerous if I am on the highway and suddenly have to adjust my speed or position when there are other cars traveling at high speeds. I went online to research this problem. What I found is this is a serious problem with the 2005 and 2006 Chrysler Town and country vehicles. There are many other customers who have had to have this part replaced in their vehicles. Therefore, it is a defect with the Chrysler Town and country and not a condition of normal wear and tear. I made a request to Chrysler to help with the repair and my request was denied. Please force Chrysler to own up to and reimburse their customers for this defect. This money is coming from my much needed vacation fund. My husband is deployed and my three children and I were looking for a chance to vacation near family this summer. Instead we will be spending it alone because I have had to put my money into a poorly designed vehicle. Please make them recall this part. Thank you.
- Lawton, OK, USA
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In order to continue driving my Chrysler Town and country LX, I will have to pay close to $1000 to have the steering rack replaced. If I do not get this expensive repair, I risk having no power steering while I am driving myself or my family around. This could be very dangerous if I am on the highway and suddenly have to adjust my speed or position when there are other cars traveling at high speeds. I went online to research this problem. What I found is this is a serious problem with the 2005 and 2006 Chrysler Town and country vehicles. There are many other customers who have had to have this part replaced in their vehicles. Therefore, it is a defect with the Chrysler Town and country and not a condition of normal wear and tear. I made a request to Chrysler to help with the repair and my request was denied. Please force Chrysler to own up to and reimburse their customers for this defect. This money is coming from my much needed vacation fund. My husband is deployed and my three children and I were looking for a chance to vacation near family this summer. Instead we will be spending it locally because I have had to put my money into a poorly designed vehicle. Please make them recall this part. Thank you.
My 2005 Town & Country van began making a humming noise when the steering wheel was moved. I was told that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. This vehicle only has 52,000 miles. I have been told by numerous people that this should not happen in a vehicle with such low mileage.
Power steering whine developed. Steering never subjected to rough service. Mechanic discovered low fluid and leak in steering rack. Rack had to be replaced at a cost of $820 for parts and labor. Loss of power steering definitely safety hazard. Obviously a design flaw. Steering rack should outlast the vehicle.
Upon hearing a noise while driving, I checked under the car and noticed a lubrication seal was no longer performing its function. My local mechanic inspected the control arm and related ball joints and informed me the control system was good at this time, but the steering rack was leaking and would require replacement soon. Since I only had about 64,000 miles on my 2005 Town & Country, I was surprised especially since I had not had this type of failure in the 40 plus years of car ownership, exceeding 100,000 miles on each car. Rich in Chrysler customer assistance informed me the Town & Country does not have an historical problem with the power steering rack & pinion; thus a recall to fix the problem is not necessary. All that is required to show the stance Chrysler is taking is false is a simple internet search and a search on the NHTSA website. There are numerous complaints regarding this very serious problem. Chrysler should have recalled all Town & Country's for the problems with the power steering. They should not be waiting for the 'Toyota rug under the accelerator' issues.
Every time van is running low whine emits from under the hood, when turning steering jerks and sound under hood gets much louder. Power steering, rack and pinion need to be replaced.
This complaint is in reference to a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country minivan. The approximate mileage is 67,000. Upon noticing what appeared to be a fluid leak on the ground in my driveway, I looked but could not find the source of the fluid. After a scheduled visit to a local Chrysler dealer repair center, I was told that the power steering pump/rack & pinion would need to be replaced at a cost of roughly $1400. This is ridiculous - in all of my years I have never seen a failure of a major steering system in such a short period of time. After researching complaints online I have found that many other owners have experienced similar problems with this same vehicle. What can be done to force a safety recall on this product??
I started hearing a whinning noise coming from the hood of the van a couple of months ago. The noise was worse when the weather was colder and then the engine light came on. Took it in and discovered that the powersteering fluid had leaked out and the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The reason the engine light came on wasn't because of the powersteering but because the egr valve needed to be replaced as well as the brakes (front/back) needed replacing. Just had them replaced not that long ago. $2300 later. Drive away, 1 week later engine light comes on again, now I have an engine oil leak and the emissions exhaust system is faulty. I only have 55,000 miles on this vehicle and it is less than 4 years old, I would expect this from an older car. I have a family of 6 to worry about their safety and I am not very confident in this product that Chrysler has produced. It is a shame that they are not willing to step up to the plate and admit their faults. They have lost me as a future customer as well as my family and friends. In today's economy, our hard earned money on a teacher's salary is quickly going down the drain with this vehicle. Are they waiting for a death to actually occur before they start to honor a recall? I wouldn't have known about this forum if it wasn't for consumer reports. How many chrsyler consumers are out there who don't know where to look and find out that they have a faulty vehicle, that they really aren't down on their luck. You can be sure, that every Chrysler owner I come across, I will definitely share this information with.
1) drove to home from work and backed van into garage 2) half hour later noticed significant leakage trickling from right hand side under the engine. 3) noticed power steering was harder to steer.
Like thousands of other owners of a 2005 Town and country van, the rack and pinion steering and the power steering failed at 34,000 miles. This cost $1450 to repair. Most fail around 30,000 to 40,000 miles according to what I have read here. The car got so you could hardly steer it. I am sure this has caused many people to wreck, but I was able to get it to a repair shop before I wrecked. This is a scandalous, sometimes fatal defect that has been reported thousands of times, but no recall has been issued. The problem was so prevalent that replacement parts were on back order for months, but rebuilt parts are readily available now since so many thousands have been replaced. As far as I can determine, the newer models also have this defect.
Purchased a used 2005 T&C van from a local dealership. Took it to the local Chrysler dealer to have oil & lube service. Mentioned that my brakes were a little squeaky, please check them. The vehicle has 41,600 miles and I am the second owner. Was informed by the dealership that my rack and pinion was leaking and causing the noise and needed to be replaced....to the tune of $800 plus tax. I have been researching this since I got home and have seen there are many, many complaints exactly the same. This is so obviously a defect that even a child could see it. Too many vehicles with the same complaint. Chrysler needs to replace these units under warranty.
We use our 2005 Chrysler Town & Country for 2.5 years. We purchased the van used with roughly 25000 miles on it in July of 2006. We now have 77000 miles on it and now the front end makes a clanking noise while going over bumps and the is a whining grinding like sound underneath the hood close to the dash. It is worse with cold weather and when the stirring wheel is turned completely in either direction. I did an internet search and found a blog forum at townhall-talk.com. Everyone one on this particular blog had T&C vans and had the same problem I have experienced and dealers have said the rack and pinion needing replacement for roughly$850 plus. I have not had the problem assessed (will be today). Our warranty is expired and now we are having problems. Sounds typical right? if Chrysler T&C vans all seemed to have the same problem with the stirring system. I read about many different dealer saying that they replace many of those racks and the parts are on back order. If the parts are on back order that should be a sign that there is an issue across the board and there should be a recall. In these trying economic times people don't have money to spend on crappy made parts and Chrysler cant afford anymore negative publicity either. Something needs to be done!
Whining noise when driving my 05 Town and country minivan. The problem started a little over a month ago. Took the vehicle in and explained the problem to the dealership service department. The man asked to look under the hood. He told me that it is a common problem for the rack and pinion steering to go out on the Town and country van and that my steering fluid was low so that might be the problem. If the people at the service department are used to this problem, I feel that a recall should be issued. There are numerous message boards of people having the exact same problem as well. The vehicle isn't even 4 years old yet and has 50K miles on it. I feel like a $1000 repair on a known issue is ridiculous when the car is that old.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Sarasota, FL, USA