The heated seat on the driver side was heating up so hot that it would burn your bottom. Now it has seizes to work even with repairs.
1999 Chrysler Town and Country seats problems
48 complaints (13% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 69,000. 1 crash reported.
- owner complaints
- 48
- of this car's complaints
- 13%
- typical mileage
- 69,000
- crashes
- 1
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Front assembly: seat heater/cooler42
- Front assembly: recliner1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Chrysler Town and Country seats problems in other years
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Overheating of seat heaters
Odi opened this investigation based on 24 complaints alleging that the electrically heated driver or passenger seat sparks/overheats.daimlerchrysler believes the failure is due to one of two factors:the stitching operation on the seat cover may cause the sewing needle to sever some strands of the wire heating grid in the seat, or a poor solder joint/wire connector fails due to improper processing or long term overstressing.the ignition switch and the seat heater switch must both be turned on to power the seat heater.complainants report that when overheating occurs, switching the heater off also stops the overheating.the failure cannot occur in an unattended vehicle with the ignition switch off.odi finds that the 33 fire allegations are reporting very localized overheating(photos of damaged seats show holes the size of a pencil or less).there are no reports of sustained combustion and no reports of other fire damage to the vehicle.the injury allegations are reporting minor injury.no consumers required medical treatment (physician care).there are no allegations of loss of vehicle control due to failure of a heated seat.a safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that no safety-related defect exists.the agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.
PE04017
What 1999 Chrysler Town and Country owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Tl*the contact owns a 1999 chrysler town and country. The contact stated that the heated passenger side seat caught fire. The vehicle sustained approximately $10,000 worth of damages. The failure began while the contact was driving at an unknown speed, and the seat began smoking. He pulled off the road and the vehicle became engulfed in flames. The fire department arrived at the scene. A police report was filed. Chrysler stated that there were no defects and the failure was due to how the vehicle was driven by the owner. There were no injuries. The current and failure mileages were 178,000.
1999 chrysler town & country limited: problem(s) worsening - becoming more frequent over last 3 yrs: start van, runs 5-10 secs, then shuts off, disconnect battery-wait 3 mins, cranked in beginning, now only 50/50: security system activates and shut system down 24 hrs, disconnect battery but no startl 24 hours, had new key made at dealership use VIN, problems persists: rear vent windows stopped working, changed motors and switches, problem continues: heater in seats recalled, dealer replaced; heaters on recall but would not replace bottom cover(leather)has hole from where heater burning through, now heaters come on/off at will: gauges go off with engine running, back on when they get ready: radio and power windows intermittent: transmission will not shift from first when exiting interstate after traveling in od for 100 miles, happened 3-4 times, not continuous: alarm sounds in middle of night and when standing in street 25ft+ behind the van; manufactured on 4/17/98 so 1999 has mostly 1998 parts, real problematic when purchasing parts: note: have two 1999 t&c limiteds, one having these problems the other (red) only paint clear coat peeling; had to tow van several times. Now having the instrument cluster and lock switch in driver's door replace. Next step change bcm: I am throwing $1s at van, dealerships (more than one) say no idea causation. Dealer has replaced battery, cables, belt, maintenance on transmission +). Your url from chat rooms and forums. Many others having same or similar problems. No luck with their local dealerships either. Have owned many chrysler and dodge products, these may be last! Thank you. Pastor steve randall
My 1999 chrysler town and country limited mini van driver seat caught fire when the seat warmer was on. The seat got very hot about 1 minute before and then smoke came up in front of me while I was driving and I looked down and saw flames. I put it out and turned off the seat. We purchased the vehicle in 2001. At the time of the purchase, the driver's seat warmer was not working and as part of our sale the dealership replaced the entire seat with a brand new one to correct the problem. Also, at the time of incident my passenger sliding door will not open from the inside. So, had the fire spread my passengers in the back would not have been able to open the door from the inside of the car. Someone would have had to let them out from the outside of the car. We have had the locks replaced in the past 2 years due to the car locking itself and locks not working from both outside and inside.
Complaint received via e-mail."the driver side front heater seat malfunctioned and burned a 3/8 diameter hole in the center of the bottom cushion. Never been smoked in. " *jb the consumer was told by the dealer a notice had been received from the manufacturer but a recall was never issued. *er
Our 1999 chrysler town & country's heated driver's seat developed a hot spot last winter. I took it to the dealership 6/23/04 to have a number of problems addressed, including the heated seat. They told us it checked out ok and that they couldn't find a hot spot, even though we knew there was. They said it was safe and that anyway the seat wasn't a warranted part. Because they said it would cost approx. $900 to replace, we decided not to do it. Also, because they said it was safe, I started using the heater again when the weather turned cold, although I had to keep turning it off when it got too hot. On january 18, 2005, I drove about 20 miles on the freeway, and when I got out of the car I noticed a burn hole in the seat--about 3/8" across--just in the location that had always felt too hot. I felt lucky that it hadn't burst into flames while I was on the freeway! I was really upset and took it into the dealership. They told me that there was no problem with these seats, but they offered to "share" the cost of replacement. The cost of the seat has now gone up to $1100, and they want us to pay $700 of that. I'm going to get the seat replaced because it's a safety issue, but I don't think we should have to pay for a faulty part. After the most recent incident, we started to do some research and discovered that quite a few other complaints have been made to the federal safety agency. I downloaded report #pe00-034 which was quite informative. I contacted chrysler's recall department today and was told that the "situation is under investigation." then I spoke to customer assistance, where I was told that they couldn't do any better that the $700 "co-pay." chrysler should not get away with not addressing this problem, just because there haven't been major injuries yet. Also, it does not seem right that customers should have to pay to replace what is quite obviously a defective component. I will ask the dealership to give me the burned seat when they replace it.
I have a 1999 chrysler town and country van. It has all the options and I puchased this vehicle brand new. I have taken excellent care of it. The problem is that the drivers seat, leather with heat, is overheating in one area. It gets so hot that it burns the back of my leg. If I leave the heat on for more than 1 minute, I can smell burning leather. I know that if I left it on, it would probably catch fire. I can see a small spot on the seat where the leather has actually burned. Unfortunately, I cannot use this feature anymore. It is too dangerous. I am courious as to other incedents of this same thing hppening.
This vehicle was involved in a chain effect crash which was not related to this equipment failure. The failure occurred during the crash. When hit from the rear and pushed into another vehicle, the seat of the car broke in two ways; the back of the seat collapsed and the bottom part of the seat twisted slightly. The car was drivable from the scene of the accident. Of four vehicles involved, this vehicle was the only one which sustained seat damage. The other three vehicles had to be towed from the scene.
After the vehicle started up driver's automatic seat heater overheated, causing driver to sustain minor burns. Consumer was able to drive vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic could not determine the cause of the problem.
The heated seats continue to get hot after turning the temperature down. Consumer stated it made it hard to drive when the seat continued to get hot. Consumer could turn them off altogether, but could not use the seat heater. *ak....
Questions about the 1999 Chrysler Town and Country seats
Does the 1999 Chrysler Town and Country have seats problems?
Owners have filed 48 complaints about the seats of the 1999 Chrysler Town and Country, 13% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 1999 Chrysler Town and Country seats problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 69,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 1999 Chrysler Town and Country seats?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Chrysler Town and Country have bad seats?
The Chrysler Town and Country model years with the most seats complaints are 2014 (94 complaints), 2015 (80 complaints) and 2013 (58 complaints).
Other 1999 Chrysler Town and Country problems
Airbags 59Electrical 56Engine 45Transmission 44Suspension 32Wheels 28Brakes 27Steering 25Body 17Acceleration 16Fuel system 13Tires 11Visibility 10Lights 8Seat belts 6Locks 5
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