1999 Chrysler Town and Country: sudden loss of power

Filed Apr 28, 2008 · Engine · 112,000 miles · VA

I bought my town and country used about a year ago. I have not had any significant problems until around three months ago when the serpentine belt started coming off. It has come off approximately 9 times in the last three months and only in wet weather while driving through small puddles in the road. I thought the tensioner was bad and changed it, but the next day the belt came off in the rain. I called the service department and asked the service tech why the belt kept coming off and he asked me if it was raining at the time. Imagine that! They know it is a problem but will not recall the vehicle for a fix. I will never buy another chrysler product again. Again like almost all the other complaints, loss of power steering, engine cooling, alternator etc. Lucky for me I am mechanical otherwise it would have cost me a ton of money on towing charges.

Filed Nov 25, 2007 · Engine · 11 miles · MS

On several occasions my 1999 town and country has had belt and pulley problems where while riding in busy traffic rainy days, the belt will slip completely of the pulley its attached to,causing my vehicle to completely lose all power steering abilities right in the middle of the heavy traffic,prior to the belt coming off the vehicles makes this loud chirping noise for several days prior to the belt coming off. I have had so many incidents with this same problem,but cannot afford to purchase a new vehicle as this one is still nice and paid off. Every mechanic I've used is telling me that this is a know factory issue because of the number of vehicles they've seen with the same problems. And have suggested that I change my vehicle for something with less aging problems. This is such a problem. We cannot travel in this vehicle when it rains as we know the belt or pulley will definitely leave us walking again. If water puddles are in the street it is suggested that the vehicle not be driven through them in order to keep the belt attached and not lose power steering that will for sure cause a major accident on busy streets. Is there anything my family and I can do to avoid being killed by this problem? Or is there something that can be done mechanically to fix this problem? We still favor the town & country but not in favor of the known mechanical problem with the belt and pully situations.

Filed Feb 25, 2005 · Engine · 42,400 miles · TX

While driving a 1999 town and country chrysler van the pulley for the water pump separated from the water pump. This caused the drive belt for all engine accessories to come loose. The lack of the belt caused the loss of all power assist, I.e., brakes,steering elect. Etc. A subsequent review of the water pump pulley showed that it was bolted to a three bolt hub. The hub was a pressed fit on the water pump shaft. The hub appeared to be designed to be permanently attached to the water pump shaft. There was no obvious damage to the water pump shaft nor to the hub bearing that would indicate that an induce torque caused the separation of the hub and the water pump shaft. The vehicle only has 42,000 miles on it. It appears that this premature failure is either a poor design or a manufacturing defect. In either case the failure at highway speed would induce a high risk accident. The loss of steering power assist alone would make the driver feel that the steering had locked up. When I discussed this failure with the chrysler customer service that stated that they had no record of this type of failure. When I discussed the failure with the local repair garage ( pep boys ) they recalled several pulley failures on chrysler/dodge vehicles. The question is do we have a potential safety problem with the water pump shaft and the hub connection that can fail with any prior warning. I have the water pump and the hub.

Filed Dec 18, 2002 · Steering · CA

Consumer states while traveling in heavy rain vehicle loss all power steering and serpentine belt falls off. Dealer has been contacted. Please provide further information. Ts

Filed Sep 18, 2002 · Electrical · PA

Intermittently vehicle will not start, or will stall or will lose power steering. Contacted dealer, they cannot find the cause.

Filed Aug 24, 2001 · Engine · WA

Acute failure of engine belt tensioner resulted in immediate loss of power accessories, including steering and brakes. Engine coolant circulation lost as well as the serpentine belt had derailed. It was not possible to reinstall the belt as the tensioner was frozen in place.

Filed Aug 21, 2001 · Electrical · CO

Van would not start. Battery appeared weak. Had vehicle towed to dealer. Service department stated that the positive battery cable had corroded through, about 6 inches down from terminal clamp. No outside indication of serious cable corrosion. Concern is that the van gave no indication of a problem up until the time it would not start. If the cable had failed while driving we could of experienced loss of electrical power, and loss of engine power, leading to loss of control of vehicle. Service repair department stated that they are repairing several of these cable per year, at least on the 1999 model vans. Service departement also stated that the wiring design had been changed due to the high cost to replace positive battery cable (quoted as being $720) as it is part of the main wiring harness as well as starting system. I believe this is a potential defect that should be repaired by chrysler. In over 40 years of motor vehicle associated activities I have never heard or seen a battery cable itself that has corroded. I have seen corrosion on a cable next to the old style terminal clamps (e.g., made out of lead) but not to the cable itself. It appears to be some kind of galvanic corrosion as it is only the positive battery terminal that exhibits corrosion. The positive battery cable terminal clamp is made out of a different metal than the negative battery cable terminal clamp.

Filed Apr 3, 2001 · Engine, Steering · TX

Consumer's wife was driving when she rode through a puddle of water, and serpentine belt came off, causing her to lose power steering, etc.*ak the consumer learnt from the dealership that thes serpentine belt failure was a common problem.