2005 Chrysler Town and Country: loss of power steering

Filed Feb 25, 2015 · Transmission · 54,500 miles · FL

When braking rather hard to slow/stop quickly, transmission hesitates to downshift so when starting to accelerate again, engine revs up but transmission does not engage. Then it will engage suddenly with a hard jerk which can be dangerous. Also, when braking hard to slow quickly and because the transmission does not disengage as it should, the engine sometime kills when I have slowed. In an instance when that happened, I was making a turn and, of course, lost power steering so barely avoided hitting a vehicle waiting on the street into which I was turning since steering was very heavy to accomplish. Brought this up to a technician who said, "yes those vehicles are known for their transmissions failure to disengage and occasional slippage on starting and then suddenly engaging with a very hard jerk". *tr updated 5/10/2015

Filed Feb 22, 2015 · Airbags, Body · 150,000 miles · SC · crash · 1 injury

I left my house & a mile at the most down the road. I heard a noise & felt the rear end slide to the right. I tried turning the wheel to straighten the van nothing happened. The steering wheel went side to side, but the wheels didn't turn. I wondered why the van had slide to the side. That is when I realized there was no steering b/c the direction didn't change & it was like the steering wheel was just there. I was coherent the entire time, I noticed at that time I was headed for the embankment across the other lane of traffic. (it is a two lane road.) I already knew there was no steering, so I grabbed the wheel with both hands, planted my feet to the floor board! I then asked god to forgive me. The van hit the embankment head on ,flipped, vans top scrapped all the way down just on the edges where the frame is. Then it landed on the pass. Side & slid backwards into the embankment ( on the side of the road I was originally going down.) on the other side of the road. I tried to get out b/c I thought I saw smoke. It was the airbags, they had exploded.my shins looked like I got beat with a baseball bat, the seat belt got stuck, &the doors locked. I lifted the driver door up over my head. (van was on pass. Side).a man helped me get out & van was pulled onto all 4 tires. I had back surgery on 4-23-14. I went & had xrays taken. I filled an investigation w/chrysler [xxx]#[xxx] ,[xxx]took pics. Of van, asks qts & sent to chrysler.[xxx] w/cust. Claim resolution grp 248‑512‑2934 sent letter b/c van @ salvage 803‑324‑7510,980-8900 & tampered w/ no invest. Could be done. They have to go to the scene of wreck (standard procedure) & didn't.I contacted [xxx] & numerous others @chrysler 800‑247‑9753 reason?.1.)4 blown tires removed 2.)fuses were gone. It was totaled! I faxed in pic.s from the scene & letter. Please help me! [xxx] called said the case is not reopened. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Jun 30, 2014 · Electrical · NJ

On multiple occasions when I owned this vehicle, when driving highway speeds over 65 MPH the car suddenly lost all power when I hit a bump in the road complete with loss of power steering. Although I was not in an accident, there were many close calls including almost being hit from behind by a tractor trailer. Shaken, I called the car agency every time I had an experience and brought the vehicle in after each incident both in nj and in south carolina. On every occasion, I was told there was nothing wrong with the car and no error codes were produced from the computer. I questioned whether there were any recalls or bulletins, and demanded that a chrysler rep. Review the complaints, to no avail. I have since traded in the vehicle for a kia but feel compelled to report this after reading reports about this for cars 2007-2009. This problem extends further back than being reported.

Filed Apr 16, 2014 · Brakes, Engine · 157,000 miles · PA

The vehicle experiences sudden power failures. The engine shuts off while mobile with a sudden loss of power steering and brakes. It is very dangerous as I could have lost control or been rear ended. Internet research has noted that dealers have diagnosed that the evaporator valve in the fuel tank was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance.

Filed Dec 27, 2010 · Fuel system · 51,050 miles · VA

2005 chrysler town & country. Vehicle stalls after filling gas tank. Was happening intermittently, now more regularly. Most troubling, vehicle often stalls once out in traffic--causing loss of power steering, power brakes, and obviously creating a hazard for other vehicles. Dealer said problem was battery and replaced battery. (did not fix problem.) dealer claims to never have heard of the problem with the fuel system/tank. Am starting to find others with same complaint.

Filed Jun 11, 2010 · Steering · OK

In order to continue driving my chrysler town and country lx, I will have to pay close to 1000.00 to have the steering rack replaced. If I do not get this expensive repair, I risk having no power steering while I am driving myself or my family around. This could be very dangerous if I am on the highway and suddenly have to adjust my speed or position when there are other cars traveling at high speeds. I went online to research this problem. What I found is this is a serious problem with the 2005 and 2006 chrysler town and country vehicles. There are many other customers who have had to have this part replaced in their vehicles. Therefore, it is a defect with the chrysler town and country and not a condition of normal wear and tear. I made a request to chrysler to help with the repair and my request was denied. Please force chrysler to own up to and reimburse their customers for this defect. This money is coming from my much needed vacation fund. My husband is deployed and my three children and I were looking for a chance to vacation near family this summer. Instead we will be spending it alone because I have had to put my money into a poorly designed vehicle. Please make them recall this part. Thank you.

Filed Jun 11, 2010 · Steering · OK

In order to continue driving my chrysler town and country lx, I will have to pay close to 1000.00 to have the steering rack replaced. If I do not get this expensive repair, I risk having no power steering while I am driving myself or my family around. This could be very dangerous if I am on the highway and suddenly have to adjust my speed or position when there are other cars traveling at high speeds. I went online to research this problem. What I found is this is a serious problem with the 2005 and 2006 chrysler town and country vehicles. There are many other customers who have had to have this part replaced in their vehicles. Therefore, it is a defect with the chrysler town and country and not a condition of normal wear and tear. I made a request to chrysler to help with the repair and my request was denied. Please force chrysler to own up to and reimburse their customers for this defect. This money is coming from my much needed vacation fund. My husband is deployed and my three children and I were looking for a chance to vacation near family this summer. Instead we will be spending it locally because I have had to put my money into a poorly designed vehicle. Please make them recall this part. Thank you.

Filed Feb 16, 2010 · Fuel system · 53,665 miles · MD

2005 chrysler--town & country mini-van / (3.8l) every time this vehicle is refueled the engine stumbles or stalls out 2 minutes after restarting. This is extremely problematic when attempting to exit gas stations adjacent to busy roads. The "stumbling" or stalling occurs quite abruptly and always causes temporary loss of power steering and brakes as the engine shuts down. Based on numerous car blog sites this seems to be a fairly common problem on 04 and 05 chrysler and dodge mini-vans. Some chrysler mechanics have commented chrysler is aware of the problem. However, the issue seems to involve the gas tank emissions purge valve system, which is an integral part of the fuel tank. The only way to correct the problem is to replace the fuel tank. Given the nature of this problem I believe government emissions regulations and other safety regulations should be used to force a manufacturers recall of these vehicles to replace fault fuel tanks.

Filed Nov 17, 2009 · Steering · 60,666 miles · VT

Power steering whine developed. Steering never subjected to rough service. Mechanic discovered low fluid and leak in steering rack. Rack had to be replaced at a cost of $820.00 for parts and labor. Loss of power steering definitely safety hazard. Obviously a design flaw. Steering rack should outlast the vehicle.

Filed Mar 2, 2009 · Steering · 61,300 miles · OH

1) drove to home from work and backed van into garage 2) half hour later noticed significant leakage trickling from right hand side under the engine. 3) noticed power steering was harder to steer.

Filed Feb 24, 2009 · Steering · 34,210 miles · NV

Like thousands of other owners of a 2005 town and country van, the rack and pinion steering and the power steering failed at 34,000 miles. This cost $1450 to repair. Most fail around 30,000 to 40,000 miles according to what I have read here. The car got so you could hardly steer it. I am sure this has caused many people to wreck, but I was able to get it to a repair shop before I wrecked. This is a scandalous, sometimes fatal defect that has been reported thousands of times, but no recall has been issued. The problem was so prevalent that replacement parts were on back order for months, but rebuilt parts are readily available now since so many thousands have been replaced. As far as I can determine, the newer models also have this defect.

Filed Apr 24, 2008 · Steering · 35,500 miles · PA

I purchased a 2005 chrysler town & country touring edition brand new in july of 2005. During december of 2007, I noticed a slight hum under the hood during startup. This sound eventually kept getting louder and lasting longer. This sound is more drastic during turning of the steering wheel. I had the vehicle inspected by a chrysler dealership service center. They said it was due to a leak in the rack of the rack and pinion system. They said that the whole rack and pinion assembly needs to be replaced ($800+). They also said that is the system fails further, it could result in loss of steering (during driving!). I have seen a lot of complaints for the same exact issue. My vehicle has 37,000 miles on it (warranty expired at 36,000). This is definitively a recall issue. Steering systems should not need replacement in less than 3 years and 37,000 miles.