* in may at 70mph on I-90, we began to hear a whining, grinding, vibrating noise coming from the left rear of our van. We pulled over to the shoulder asap when we determined something was wrong, and then smelled and saw acrid blue smoke pouring out from the left wheel. I thought it was a wheel bearing, and called for a tow. The dealer said it was just some rust in the brakes, and they cleaned it up. In August, the exact same thing happened at 70mph on I-35. We pulled over to the shoulder and smoke poured out again. We let it cool, activated & deactivated the parking brake and drove in reverse and hit the brakes several times until they freed up. Probably not the safest thing to do, but not much choice knowing the brakes stick at freeway speeds. * recently searched the internet & found that the 2008 T&C has a very bad history with brake issues. People are irate and demanding a recall on them. Just go out and read all of the complaints concerning this particular van - www.aboutautomobile.com/complaint/2008/Chrysler/town+and+country/hydraulic+brake * after you read through a few dozen complaints, my question to you is: Why haven't you forced a recall from Chrysler on these dangerous brakes? there's obviously a design flaw if so many people are having problems with very premature wearout, and worse yet, brake binding and lockup, especially on the left rear wheel. *** please *** - force a recall on these brakes asap before someone is killed sitting on the shoulder of an interstate with smoking brakes, if they are not killed first by the panic to get off the road when smoke starts pouring into their vehicle. This is utterly ridiculous to let this keep going on.

- Rochester, MN, USA

We have two issues. First: During an abrupt stop recently, the brake pedal mashed to the floor. The vehicle didn't want to stop. I thought it was the ABS kicking in, but they are designed to stop the vehicle and keep you from sliding the wheels. This just doesn't seem right and its not the first time we noticed something out of the ordinary. Our van was made for traveling, but when loaded down (not overloaded either) the brakes start to act up. For instance when you start to slow down the vehicle front end will start to shake. I have newer brakes on the front, new tires (2-weeks old) and brand new rotors (less than 2 months old) on the vehicle so I know nothing is out of balance. I simply don't trust my van and am seriously worried that there is a defect. I have a tow hitch on my vehicle, but am afraid to pull my motorcycle on it because of the brakes acting up. I can only imagine what would happen if I had my trailer hitched. No warning lights are on, but we've noticed that during a quick turn the warning bell dings and a light comes on then goes off immediately. Second: The powertrain doesn't' shift smoothly. I mentioned this to the dealer's maintenance shop, but the guy told me they wouldn't do anything (warranty wise) unless there was catastrophic failure with the powertrain system. I have a 100K mile powertrain warranty, and feel the dealer is skirting the issue to keep from paying for covered problems.

- Manassas, VA, USA

In July 2011, I brought my vehicle to Chrysler to report a bad pulsation feeling when the brakes were applied. We had 41,761 miles on vehicle and on a trip from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, we felt that the vehicle was struggling to brake fast enough. Chrysler stated that I needed new front rotors. They replaced them and my cost was close to $400. Several weeks later, on 8/16/11, I brought my vehicle to Chrysler again to report the same bad pulsation feeling when the brakes were applied and felt that the vehicle was struggling to brake fast enough. I was informed by Chrysler that the left front rotor was scored and pitted and the coating failed for mopar ro 180802. On 8/16/11, they replaced the left front rotor. One year later my vehicle has 53,754 miles on it. On 8/30/12, I bring my vehicle to Chrysler due to a very high pitched brake squeal. Chrysler completes a full brake inspection and informs me that the brake pads and rotors are fine and do not need to be replaced. About 4 days later, the high pitched squeal from my brakes is louder and occurring more. I am feeling a bad pulsation feeling when the brakes are applied. I am told I need new front rotors. I should not have to replace rotors after 12,000 miles. Chrysler should recall the brakes in the 2008 Town and country model. Brakes are one of, if not the most important part of a vehicle that should be functioning properly and should not need to be replaced 1-2 times per year. I drive under normal weather conditions on a mix of highway and some city roads.

- Ephrata, PA, USA

We have been having problems from day one with our Chrysler Town and country. We purchased it with 12,000 miles on it, and have had to had the brake pads and rotors changed out twice. We have been told the vehicle will never stop squeaking. We have taken it in for pads to be replaced, and yet it still continues to squeak. At the beginning of summer, my husband had the oil changed, and asked for the guy to look at the brakes, he said we had plenty of 'thickness' on them. I was out with my children just a few months later, and very few miles later, to find my brakes had difficulty stopping the vehicle. I wasn't able to fully stop at a street light and ended up running the red with my car hanging completely over the line. I had 3 children in the vehicle and was lucky that no one was hurt. On a separate occasion months prior, I was again with my children in the vehicle, and found the vehicle completely stopped running while I was driving 65 miles per hour on a busy street in mid commuter traffic. The car completely just shut off. I was thankfully in the right hand lane and able to pull to the side with the aid of the brakes. After pulling out the key and putting it back in, I was able to restart the vehicle. I took it in and the mechanic said they were unable to replicate the problem. Looking on blogs, it appears this has happened on numerous other occasions for other people. This car has proven on two occasions that it can have fatal consequences if left untreated. Fixing the brakes and stalling issues isn't going to help, because the problems come with no warning. I had no idea that my brakes even needed to be replaced because we were told they were okay only soon to find out they weren't. this all happened because of the permanent squeak. I am terribly concerned for the safety of my family.

- Nicholasville, KY, USA

In my 2008 Chrysler Town and country which now has about 70,000 miles on it I have changed the front brakes and rotors 6 diffrent times. When going down a hill and braking the steering wheel shakes so bad and I dont feel like I have a full pedal. Have taken back several times to ask about the problem and all I get is a run around from a chrsler garage.

- Apollo, PA, USA

Bought this car from car max 4 months ago and 4 weeks ago had the front pads, rotors, and calipers replaced. The car was shaking violently when breaking. As it turned out, the inner right front brake pad warped due to excessive heat. It warped in its slot in the caliper...bending backward toward the caliper piston. After it cooled it was not applying force evenly to the rotor and that is what caused the shaking. Ok so I have it all replaced and runs ok except for on several occasions when exiting the vehicle we noticed what I would call excessive heat by the tires. Today my wife drives home from work and a few errands and upon exiting the vehicle she notices flames coming from the left front tire area. I douse them with a hose and then do a google search to see if other 2008 Chrysler Town and country owners have had any problems like this. I am blown away by the inordinate large number of complaints being filed regularly since 2008. Almost all of them are complaining about the braking system on this vehicle. It is undersized for the size and weight of this vehicle. Many owners had to replace everything I had too and some several times a year. Chrysler seems unwilling to do anything and this is serious my whole house could have burned down.

- Overland Park, KS, USA

2nd set of brakes prematurely failing. First set of front and rear brakes failed at 21,811 miles and were covered under Chrysler recall in 2010. The brakes installed at that time have failed with 45,000 miles on the vehicle with 23,189 miles on the brakes. Independent repair shop told me that 1mil was left on the brakes and rotors needed to be replaced as well. The repair shop said they have never seen anything like it before with such low miles and brakes completely shredded!!! he said that I was very close to complete loss of brakes which could have resulted in an accident. Total cost of repairs are $379 not including tax. There are thousands of other Town and country owners that are having the same problems - when are you going to do something about!!! these vans are dangerous. Chrysler already replaced the front brakes for this vehicle once before for premature failure - there is obviously a issue with this van. I have contacted Chrysler today 8/22/12 and they refuse to acknowledge the problem and will not offer any assistance. The customer service rep exact words were "we don't know anything about a problem with the brakes."

- Absecon, NJ, USA

While driving down a secondary road at appriximately 25 mph the motor shut down as well as power to the steering and brakes. Proceeded to coast down the road until a safe place was identified to turn off the road. Since power had cutoff steering and braking the vehicle was extremely difficulty. Stopped the vehicle safely and placed the shifter into park and turned the ignition to the off position. Restarted the vehicle with no indication of any further problems. Two months later the same problem occured but vehicle was traveling at 35 mph this time.

- Jacobus, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler Town and country touring. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, he heard a rattling noise in the front brake area. Upon further inspection, the contact noticed that the brakes and rotors were too small for the vehicle. As a result, the contact had to change the brakes and rotors every 14,000 miles. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileages were 40,200 and the current mileage was 55,000.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler Town and country. The contact stated that while traveling 60 mph, the brakes failed and began to grind. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer for inspection where they stated that the rotors, calibers and the brake pads needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified and they informed the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer for repair. The failure mileage was 28,000.

- Ballston Lake, NY, USA

Our 2008 Town & Country touring has begun shutting down while moving without warning. It has happened six times in 3 months at both lower speeds, and once going 60+ mph on a busy interstate. When it loses power, we lose steering and breaking power making it very difficult to control the vehicle. This is a very dangerous situation, particularly for a car normally filled with children. It also occasionally will stall every time you start it. Ours will throw no codes and no warning lights come on, so no one has been able to find the problem. The dealership claims no knowledge. This problem is discussed on multiple forums and going back only one year there are at least 7 other complaints of the same issue (ODI id numbers: 10453837, 10452564, 10450629, 10441113, 10438800, 10428568 & 10422766) and many more dating past that. I know you all are probably very busy reviewing complaints, but Chrysler and NHTSA should not be waiting for some one to get in a serious accident before figuring this out becomes a priority.

- Richmond, VA, USA