1997 Chrysler Town And Country

ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS SINCE OWNING OUR 1997 TOWN AND COUNTRY CHRYSLER VAN, ANYTIME WE HAVE RUN INTO AN EVEN SLIGHT PUDDLE, TURNING LEFT ONTO OUR STREET, WE HAVE COMPLETELY LOST ALL POWER AND UNABLE TO TURN....RUNNING INTO THE NEIGHBOR'S YARD....WHERE CHILDREN HAVE PLAYED, AT TIMES. WE REPORTED SUCH TO OUR DEALER WITH THEIR SAYING THAT "NO ONE HAS EVER REPORTED THIS." APPARENTLY, THEY HAVE NOW. WE WOULD LIKE IT FIXED PLEASE, AT NO COST TO US. ALSO, OUR TRANSMISSION FOR TWO YEARS WORKS AND THEN DOESN'T WORK, WITH OUR HAVING TO DRIVE OFF THE ROAD, TURN OFF THE VAN, AND TURN BACK ON IN ORDER TO HAVE IT SHIFT PROPERLY....ESPECIALLY WHEN THE AIR CONDITIONING HAS BEEN ON. WE WOULD LIKE THAT FIXED, TOO, WITH NO COST TO US....FOR IT MUST BE A DEFECT AS IT HASN'T QUIT COMPLETELY. THANK YOU, LARRY WRIGHT 7/08/05

JANUARY 2003 - R & R CROSS OVER PIPES HAD A CRACK. HAD TO REPLACE JANUARY 2003 - 3 LUGNUTS FELL OFF. HAD TO REPLACE JULY 2003 - KEY CYLINDER LOCKED UP. HAD TO REPLACE AND HAD THE CAR TOWED. OCTOBER 2003 - FUEL PUMP WENT BAD. PART BROKE INSIDE THE GAS TANK. HAD TO REMOVE THE TANK AND BUY A NEW PART. I HAVE A TOYOTA WITH 128K MILES AND IT HAS NEVER HAD ANY OF THESE PROBLEMS! I'M THINKING ABOUT TRADING THE VAN IN.

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 82,000 & 86,000 MILES, MY ENGINE BEGAN MAKING A TICKING SOUND. SINCE I WAS DUE FOR AN OIL CHANGE, I TOOK THE VAN IN TO A NEARBY SHOP FOR AN OIL CHANGE. THE FIRST THING THE MECHANIC CALLED ME ABOUT WAS AN OIL LEAK...HE THOUGHT THE HEAD GASKET WAS BLOWN AND WAS CALLING FOR MY AUTHORIZATION. WHEN HE REMOVED THE VALVE COVER, HE CALLED BACK TO INFORM ME THAT I HAD A BROKEN HEAD. SOMEHOW, ONE OF THE STANCHIONS THAT HOLDS THE ROCKER ARM ASSEMBLY HAD BROKEN OFF AND THE ROCKER ARM NEXT TO THAT STANCHION WAS LOOSE AND CAUSING THE CLICKING SOUND. NEITHER HE NOR I HAD NEVER HEARD OF THAT TYPE OF PART FAILURE AND I WENT TO THE SHOP TO SEE WHAT HE HAD FOUND. THE STANCHION WAS BROKEN THROUGH ABOUT 1/4 INCH BELOW THE ROCKER ARM. IN MY MIND, SINCE A HEAD IS A SOLID BLOCK OF CAST ALUMINUM, THIS WAS NOT A PART THAT SHOULD WEAR OUT OR HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THE ENGINE HAD NEVER OVERHEATED, ET CETERA. IN QUOTING THE REPAIR ESTIMATE, THE MECHANIC INFORMED ME THAT SINCE THE HEAD WAS BROKEN, IN ADDITION TO THE COST OF PURCHASING A RECONDITIONED HEAD, I WOULD ALSO HAVE TO PAY A $200.00 CORE CHARGE SINCE MY BROKEN HEAD COULD NOT BE EXCHANGED AND RECONDITIONED. TO MY WAY OF THINKING, SINCE THE HEAD SHOULDN'T HAVE BROKEN IN SUCH A MANNER ANYWAY, THE CORE CHARGE WAS UNFAIR. MY BELIEF WAS THAT THIS IS EITHER A CASTING OR DESIGN FLAW AND REGARDLESS OF THE FACT THAT I WAS 16,000 MILES OVER THE WARRANTY, THIS TYPE OF BREAKAGE SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. I THEN WENT TO THE DODGE DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT TO SEE IF CHRYSLER CORP. WAS HELPING CONSUMERS WITH THIS TYPE OF PROBLEM. HE THEN PUT ME IN TOUCH WITH THE SERVICE MANAGER. I LEARNED A FEW MORE THINGS FROM THE SERVICE MANAGER. FIRST, SINCE MY VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, HE WAS CERTAIN THAT CHRYSLER WOULD NOT HELP IN ANY WAY WITH THE REPAIRS. WHEN THEY RECONDITION THE HEADS, THEY NOW INSERT A SHAFT THROUGH THE STANCHIONS TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL STRENGTH TO PREVENT THESE BREAKS.

1. STEERING SYSTEM LOCKED UP WHILE MAKING TURNS MAKING CONTROL OF VEHICLE DIFFICULT. VAN ALSO MADE SCREECHING NOISES WHILE TURNING. WAS TOLD RACK AND PINION NEEDED REPLACING PER "SERVICE BULLETIN". IT WAS, BUT DID NOT SOLVE PROBLEM. DEALER RECOMMENDED DRIVE BELT AND TENSIONER BE REPLACED. THIS FINALLY HELPED. 2. AIR BAG LIGHT AND ABS LIGHTS CAME ON, AND TRACTION CONTROL WENT OFF AT HWY SPEEDS. AIR BAG LIGHT REMAINED ON CONSTANTLY. DEALER SAYS THAT BOTH AIR BAG CLOCK SPRING AND ABS CONTROLER MUST BE REPLACED. DEALER STATED THAT IF THESE CONTROLERS WERE NOT REPLACED, NEITHER THE AIR BAGS, THE HORN, THE CRUISE CONTROL NOR THE ABS BRAKING SYSTEM WOULD WORK. PLEASE REOPEN NHTSA ACTION INVESTIGATION #EA01007 FOR THE AIR BAG CLOCK SPRING IN THIS VEHICLE. IT IS IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT IF THEIR AIR BAG LIGHT WON'T GO OFF IT MEANS THAT THE SYSTEM IS NOT OPERATIONAL!