2000 Chrysler Town and Country: brake failure

Filed Aug 30, 2010 · Brakes · 54,000 miles · MI

Tl*the contact owns a 2000 chrysler town & country. The contact stated that she was driving when she noticed that the brake lights suddenly illuminated. The next day, the contact was driving into a repair shop when she attempted to stop at a traffic sign but the brakes failed. She was able to detour and drive the vehicle to her residence. A mechanic inspected the vehicle; and stated that a brake line ruptured which caused the failure. The contact called the manufacturer who advised her to take the vehicle to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileages were approximately 54,000.

Filed Mar 10, 2010 · Brakes · 86,270 miles · NY

On march 10, 2010 my husband was driving our 2000 chrysler town & country home when he applied the brakes and the pedal went to the floor! Luckily he was on our street near our home therefore he wasn't going very fast. There was brake fluid coming from under the van & the brake fluid reservoir was empty! Thank god he didn't have an accident and no one was hurt! This ,however did happen approx. 5 years ago with this van and he was in an accident and we did report this to daimlerchrysler.com. Now I do think this year & model car should be looked at. My husband, in both cases, never had a brake light go on or any sign of anything to think the brake line was in need of attention. He is very strict on maintenance with our vehicles. The 1st time, when the brakes were applied, the seals in the rear brake blew out which caused the loss of the fluid hence no brakes. We now have had the van towed and will it be looked at tomorrow 3/11.

Filed Jun 22, 2009 · Brakes · 65,000 miles · MI

Brakes failed to stop vehicle. Pedal goes to floor. After investigating, found both brake lines ruptured under drivers side door area due to corrosion.

Filed Dec 11, 2007 · Body, Brakes · 89,042 miles · NY

As I backed out of my downward sloping driveway the brake pedal went to the floor and it was necessary to apply emergency brake to prevent entry into the street. Visual inspection of the rear brake lines revealed rust/corrosion on both sides of the flexible stainless steel segments which are located about 1 foot to the rear of the ABS module. One of these sections had ruptured causing the loss of braking. I have removed the line from the ABS module and cut it about a foot from the rupture. I have pre-removal pictures of these areas and the affected parts are available. Repairs will be made to both the ruptured line and to the other rear brake line as it looks that one will fail shortly if used.

Filed Mar 9, 2007 · Brakes · 92,786 miles · WI

On saturday, march 3, 2007, I experienced a sudden loss of my brakes upon stopping at a stop sign at a four-way controlled intersection. A pick-up truck on my right side had the right-of-way and had begun to proceed through when my 2000 town & country lxi brakes failed and went through the stop sign. Fortunately, the other driver was able to stop without incident. I had my minivan towed to our mechanic who found the brake lines were both severely corroded/rusted, one totally through the metal, the other nearly so. Both were replaced at a cost of over 600.00. The corrosion problem is electrolysis, the result of the joining of two different metals in the construction of the brake lines. This design flaw resulted in a potentially deadly loss of the brakes. My mechanic can communicate his findings if needed to your personnel. The fact that the parts service he uses stocks this item is telling in that there is an apparent need for the replacement of the lines on a regular enough basis to stock the parts. I have contacted daimler chrysler with this information. I hope something can be done to instigate a recall on this problem as I am concerned about the potential loss of life that could result. 24 hours before this brake failure, I was driving the freeway from milwaukee to oshkosh, wisconsin and back with my 17-year-old for an appointment at the university of wisconsin oshkosh for his admission to the music business program in the fall of 2007 semester. We were in blowing snow on a completely snow-covered highway the entire distance. It is truly a miracle that no harm came to anyone. We lost our two oldest sons, as teenagers, in a deadly car crash and would not wish this tragedy on anyone. This was an extremely close call for our family and I hope that no deaths have to occur before this issue is addressed. This design flaw is one that others have experienced as well and deserves close scrutiny. Thank you for any attention to this matter.

Filed Jan 15, 2004 · Brakes · 56,835 miles · NC

On friday afternoon may 30 my brakes suddenly failed as I was leaving one stop light intersection and stopping for another. Luckily I was only traveling at about 10 MPH and by pumping brakes, gearing down and steering, I was able to avoid an accident. On inspecting my vehicle, under the driver?s side I found a leak in the brake line where the braided gas line joins with the steel gas line. There are 2 braided lines with connections at both ends to 2 steel lines. All 4 connections show extensive corrosion at the joint. The problem appears to be caused by galvanic action between 2 dissimilar metals at the joint. I contacted the dealer neuwirth motors in wilmington nc and will have the car towed in on monday. As of this point I do not have a problem with the dealer or chrysler concerning the repair. My concern is, if I had been traveling at a regular highway speed and had to stop my family and I could have been seriously injured or killed. There was no previous warning or indication that there was a problem. If the same lines I observed under my car is standard, and I believe it is, then chrysler has a death trap traveling the highway waiting to kill or injure thousands of other town and country owners. I have attached the 4 pictures that I took from underneath the vehicle (2000 chrysler town and country). The line that actually went out is the bottom line shown in picture 2 and 3. Luckily I had just left a stop light at one intersection and stopping for another light about 10 car lengths up. My speed was about 10 MPH so I was able to stop and miss the car ahead by using my emergency brake, gears and steering. Basically I went from fully working brakes to no brakes at all. I had an extended warranty so it was fixed and all I paid was the $100 deductible. I called the service center and spoke with a female representative. I asked if they would investigate my complained. She said no only if there was an accident would they investigate.

Filed Oct 24, 2001 · Brakes · IN · crash

First failure was on a road at 20 MPH in a school zone on a rainy day. Applied pressure to the brakes and the brake pedal went all the way to the floor without the car stopping. Car advanced 3-5 feet before I realized my foot was on the brake pedal and they were not working. I applied pressure to the brakes again and the car came to a complete stop. Brakes appeared to work at the next couple of stops. Pulled into parking space and parked car. Brakes appeared to be working fine. Pulled out of parking space. Brakes appeared to be working while backing out. Proceeded to intersection at about 5 MPH. Applied pressure to brakes and they did not work. My vehicle proceeded into intersection hitting a car. My airbags deployed. My foot was on the brake pedal the whole time. It happened all to fast for me to have realized that my vehicles brakes failed me again and to apply pressure to them again. My car was totaled. I do not know what happened to the other person's car. I called chrysler and they retrieved the car in less than 24hrs. (they originally told me 2-3 weeks!) chrysler inspected my car and sent me a generic form letter relieving them of responsibilty from this accident. The letter stated, "per inspection, the information at hand would not permit us to associate this accident with a manufacturing or assembly error." they never mentioned what they checked or how they inspected the vehicle. No where in the letter was ABS brakes mentioned.

Filed Apr 6, 2001 · Acceleration · MT · crash · 2 injuries

Vehicle accelerated suddenly and unexpectedly rearward and forward, resulting in collision, and causing minor injuries.*ak front brakes failed at the time of sudden acceleration.