Engine suddenly stalls while van in motion. Losing power steering and power braking. Once van coasts to a stop, restart with no issues. Normally occurs after van sits overnight and engine isn't warmed up as yet.
2000 Chrysler Town and Country: loss of power steering
22 of the 306 complaints about the 2000 Chrysler Town and Country describe loss of power steering.
- owner complaints
- 22
- of this car's complaints
- 7%
- typical mileage
- 99,400
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 3 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
Loss of power steering by model year
What owners say
When driving through puddles, or large amounts of water on roads, the alternator belt falls off causing the loss of power steering, engine over heating, and the battery to die. Could be while turning or driving straight.
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 chrysler town and country. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH there was a complete loss of power steering with the illumination of the engine and voltage indicators. The vehicle was driven to the side of the road where the detached serpentine belt was reconnected. The failure recurred ten times. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 235,000.
While my wife was pulling into a driveway she drove thru a small puddle and the water splashed up on the idler pulley and caused the belt to slip. This in turn caused the vehicle to lose power steering. She ended up in the yard instead of the driveway. I have been in quality since 1985 and I am currently a quality manager so I am really surprised with chryslers' lack of concern with this design problem. I am really disappointed with chrysler and the federal safety agency for not doing something about this issue. Maybe it is time to let some of the national investigative tv shows know about the problem.
Several incidents of serpentine belt disengaged (slipped off pulleys) caused loss of steering and overheated engine. First time happened in car wash and three times driving through rain puddles.
After repeated serpentine belt replacement on 2000 t&c the belt has slipped off during a "minor" rain storm, the belt slipped off again and caused me to lose power steering and I crashed into another vehicle as well as a business. I contacted the dealer and they informed me that even though there have been repeated complaints about this problem, that because the federal safety agency has not issued an "official" recall of this problem that there was nothing that could be done. What are my tax dollars being spent on?
After getting caught in an early evening's thunderstorm, I attempted a regular, right turn off us 34 toward our subdivision. Our 2000 chrysler mini van lost power steering during the turn. I was unable to keep completely with in my lane. Thankfully, no one was in the opposing traffic lane. After regaining my composure, I deciding it was ok to "limp" home with the van, through the subdivision. I noticed a lot of the dash lights were triggered, which indicated to me that the alternator was no longer working for the final couple of blocks. This affected the brightness of the headlights and slowed the wiper speed. This also affected the air conditioner and that prevented the defogger from working properly. Once at home, I found that the serpentine belt had come off. In another moment of time, the belt's coming off might have easily have resulted in more disaster. Consulting the auto repair place, (which had replaced the same belt in june), I had the van towed in, where a new belt was installed. Nothing else was found amiss in the system. It was suggested that perhaps the rain or a particular puddle had the effect of causing the wet belt to slip off during the turn. And it was mentioned that they had seen similar "wet belt" issues from my van's manufacturer. Now I'm afraid to drive in the rain with the van for fear of it happening again with worse consequences.
At least 6 times since owning a 2000 chrysler town and country, the serpentine belt has come off either in the rain or snow. Once causing property damage as I pulled off the road when the car overheated. It also caused the head gasket to fail. Gates has a correction kit for this. Chrysler should supply them on a one time basis t every owner. Failure of this design causes occupants to be put at risk in the most inclement weather conditions when you need the car to perform it's best. Additional there is loss of power steering, power brakes, and alternator.
Driving through small puddle of water (drainage from waterhose run off not storm type drainage). Serpentine belt comes off rendering the vehicle unusable. Happens in all weather conditions. I have replaced the water pump, the tensioner, the idler pulley. I've had the alignment of the pulleys checked, all have had no effect on the serpentine belt. It still comes off going through any form of moisture. This has been ongoing now for over a year, I have gone through 4 different belts trying to see what could work. The first time it happen was early in the morning (approx. 3am) while my wife was on her way to work, with the sudden loss of power steering she ran into a curb. The only damage was to the vehicle front bumper and bottom valance.
My 2000 chrysler town and country serpentine belt keeps slipping off after driving through puddles. This problem has been "repaired" 4 times already and is still slipping off. This is a potentially hazardous problem as it is not always immediately known that the belt has slipped off which cause driver to lose power steering (among other things). Being unable to steer while driving is an absolute danger especially depending on the speed of the car!
During rain or snowmelt events, splashing water causes the serpentine belt on the engine slip from the engine idler pulleys. They are smooth and rounded in design, allowing water to slip beneath during operation resulting in the belt slipping from the pulleys. The steering on these vans is extremely inadequate without power assist, even while the vehicle is moving. Our belt has slipped off in the past, requiring belt replacement, but this recent event caused a loss of steering while the vehicle was in motion, resulting in a crash. No one in my family was seriously injured, but the valence at the front of the vehicle was damaged. After calling my local dmv to find out where to report this, and searching the internet about the problem, I find it unconscionable that chrysler and the federal safety agency have not acted on a solution sooner.
The serpentine belt on my 2000 chrysler town and country slips off when I drive through puddles resulting in loss of power steering, cooling and electrical. This event strands us where ever we happen to be.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2000 Chrysler Town and Country power steering loss
Is loss of power steering a common problem on the 2000 Chrysler Town and Country?
22 of 306 owner complaints about the 2000 Chrysler Town and Country (7%) mention loss of power steering. The model year with the most reports is 2010.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2000 Chrysler Town and Country?
There are 0 recalls and 3 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2000 Chrysler Town and Country
Loss of power 22Airbag light 15Overheating 11Fire or smoke 10Stalling 10Adaptive cruise 8Brake failure 8Fuel leak 7Transmission failure 7Headlights 6No deployment 5Check engine light 5Slipping 5
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