1996 Chrysler Town and Country: loss of power steering

Filed Jul 14, 2008 · Engine · 140,000 miles · NY

The serpentine belt on my 1996 chrysler town & country lxi, makes a loud squeal and then falls off a week later. When driving in rain and going over a puddle the serpentine belt falls off this has happened so many times that I have installed brackets one by the tensioner and one by the pulley. The immediate & dangerous result is loss of power steering and power brakes next is water pump fails causing engine to over heat so unless you have a spare belt in your van at the time and the tools to change it you are let stranded.

Filed Jul 1, 2008 · Engine, Steering · 80,000 miles · FL · 1 injury

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.

Filed Nov 15, 2006 · Steering · 185,698 miles · VA

Dt*: 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.

Filed Nov 27, 2004 · Body · 112,000 miles · MA

I just returned from a family trip and on a routine under the hood inspection I discovered to my horror that the right strut tower on my 1996 chrysler minivan had rusted right through and was holding the entire weight of the vehicle by a thread. I quickly looked at the internet to see if this was a recurring problem and found that thousands of other chrysler minivan owners have the same problem. Considering that there are millions of these mini vans on the road this problem must affect tens of thousands of minivans . I'm horrified at the lack of attention this problem has received from chrysler and the federal safety agency because if a strut fails in this way while traveling at high speed on a highway the consequences can be catastrophic , with loss of steering, going off the road, crashing into other cars and rollover resulting into multiple fatalities. This is a vast problem with all chrysler minivans from1996-2000 and beyond . I call on the federal safety agency to issue a warning to all owners of chrysler minivans and to force chrysler to fix this problem which is clearly a design defect that affects the safety of this vehicle. I discovered that not even the chrysler dealers have been told about this even though chrysler has issued a technical bulletin tsb-23-044-02.

Filed Sep 10, 2004 · Steering · 112,530 miles · NJ

While driving lost power steering fluid, which lead to the power steering failure. Vehicle becomes very difficult to steer safety. Failure of the power steering was later identify as a corroded high pressure power steering line.

Filed May 25, 2003 · Electrical · 54,000 miles · OH

The vehicle stalls while driving creating a loss of power steering and brakes. Chrysler dealers have repaired the vehicle 3 times for this complaint, but the problem persists. Two other chrysler owners I know have complained of this problem.

Filed Sep 20, 2001 · Steering · VA

While traveling over a puddle of water consumer lost power steering, dealer has been notified. *ak the loss of steering occured twice and the dealer indicated the steering problem was due to the A/C belt failure and failure to install special bracket by the manufacturer.

Filed Mar 20, 2001 · Airbags, Electrical · ND

While traveling noticed air bag indicator light on, no power steering or horn. Technician stated that clock spring needed to be replaced. Please provide further information.

Filed Oct 26, 2000 · Engine, Steering · SC

Idler pully broke,lost power steering, cooling, also broke pulley on power steering pump. $500.00.

Filed Sep 30, 2000 · Steering · CT

At 20k and 40k miles I experienced a loss of steering when cornering on wet pavement. The steering would seize while in the turn so I was not allowed to straighten the wheels. Fortunately I was not in a high traffic area when this occured and I was able to avoid a collision. On both instances I immediately went to my chrysler dealer. They initially replaced the tensioner which did not correct the problem. When they replaced the power steering belt it corrected the problem for 20k miles. At 40k miles they once again replaced the tensioner thinking it would cure the problem but they needed to replace the belt again as well. Now I expect to have this problem every 20k miles as it seems to be a design problem. The power steering unit is located beside the right front wheel and appears to be prone to water problems. When I asked chrysler who was going to pay for these repairs every 20k miles for the life of the vehicle they told me to take it to my dealer and he would take into consideration mileage and warranty to make that decision. They implied that I am the only person that has had this problem. I feel it is a design problem. If this is the case then I certainly shouldn't be the only person experiencing difficulties.

Filed Aug 11, 2000 · Steering · TN

While driving spring idle arm broke which caused the power steering pulley to break, resulting in loss of steering control.

Filed Jul 19, 2000 · Engine, Steering · CO

While driving through a drive through consumer heard a loud snap, and then clicking noise coming from the engine and lost power steering. Consumer looked under car, and saw tensioner belt was hanging. Second time after a car wash, consumer put car in reverse, and the same thing happened. There was a snap, and clicking looked under vehicle, and it was hanging again. Took vehicle to dealer. Dealer said they had seen the problem a lot with these vehicles. Both incidents, the tensioner broke causing the belt to break also.