During the past three months all of a sudden the horn starts blowing erratically, the windshield washers and wipers activate, lights start flashing, the doors lock automatically and the transmission will not shift into high. This has happened five or six times since aug., having occurred four times in the past three weeks. It happens while the car is running and while it is not. With each incident the symptoms become worse and the duration is longer. Last week, I had to pull off the road and wait five or ten minutes for it to stop as I could not see where I was going. Yesterday, it occurred while sitting in the garage and I had to disconnect the battery to stop it. The chrysler dealer says it is the total integrated power module that needs to be replaced @$524.12. Additionally now at 54,000 miles the front rotors are warped and need to be replaced @ $409. They had to be replaced @ 25,834 and 35,272. When the brakes are applied the front end and steering vibrate uncontrollably. Both conditions are safety issues, have been well document by hundreds of people, and are obvious inherent defects in the vehicle, and should be issues that result in a recall of these vehicles and repairs or replacements made at chrysler's expense, yet they continue to deny there is an inherent problem. Both issues could result in a serious accident.
2008 Chrysler Town and Country brakes complaints
Page 5 of 12: complaints 101 to 130 of 319, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Vehicle has repeatedly needed to have brake rotors replaced due to severe vehicle shuddering when applying the brakes which is worst at highway speeds causing the steering wheel to oscillate. This also negatively impacts vehicle stopping power. This is most likely due to improperly sized or designed brakes for the weight of this vehicle causing the rotors to overheat and warp. There is no way these parts last through typical driving behavior. There are multiple complaints of similar nature that can be located at http://www.lemonlaw.com/wordpress/dodge-chrysler-brake-problems/.
We have had to replace all 4 brake pads and rotors at 20,000 miles. Now, at 33,000 miles the rear pads and rotors have to be replaced again! Yet all I've read is that chrysler is only paying $100 of the cost and only on the front brakes. There are a myriad of complaints of this very problem all over the internet. Isn't there something the federal safety agency can do to force chrysler to back their defective product?
* in may at 70mph on I-90, we began to hear a whining, grinding, vibrating noise coming from the left rear of our van. We pulled over to the shoulder asap when we determined something was wrong, and then smelled and saw acrid blue smoke pouring out from the left wheel. I thought it was a wheel bearing, and called for a tow. The dealer said it was just some rust in the brakes, and they cleaned it up. In august, the exact same thing happened at 70mph on I-35. We pulled over to the shoulder and smoke poured out again. We let it cool, activated & deactivated the parking brake and drove in reverse and hit the brakes several times until they freed up. Probably not the safest thing to do, but not much choice knowing the brakes stick at freeway speeds. * recently searched the internet & found that the 2008 t&c has a very bad history with brake issues. People are irate and demanding a recall on them. Just go out and read all of the complaints concerning this particular van - http://www.aboutautomobile.com/complaint/2008/chrysler/town+and+country/hydraulic+brake * after you read through a few dozen complaints, my question to you is: why haven't you forced a recall from chrysler on these dangerous brakes? There's obviously a design flaw if so many people are having problems with very premature wearout, and worse yet, brake binding and lockup, especially on the left rear wheel. *** please *** - force a recall on these brakes asap before someone is killed sitting on the shoulder of an interstate with smoking brakes, if they are not killed first by the panic to get off the road when smoke starts pouring into their vehicle. This is utterly ridiculous to let this keep going on.
We have two issues. First: during an abrupt stop recently, the brake pedal mashed to the floor. The vehicle didn't want to stop. I thought it was the ABS kicking in, but they are designed to stop the vehicle and keep you from sliding the wheels. This just doesn't seem right and its not the first time we noticed something out of the ordinary. Our van was made for traveling, but when loaded down (not overloaded either) the brakes start to act up. For instance when you start to slow down the vehicle front end will start to shake. I have newer brakes on the front, new tires (2-weeks old) and brand new rotors (less than 2 months old) on the vehicle so I know nothing is out of balance. I simply don't trust my van and am seriously worried that there is a defect. I have a tow hitch on my vehicle, but am afraid to pull my motorcycle on it because of the brakes acting up. I can only imagine what would happen if I had my trailer hitched. No warning lights are on, but we've noticed that during a quick turn the warning bell dings and a light comes on then goes off immediately. Second: the powertrain doesn't' shift smoothly. I mentioned this to the dealer's maintenance shop, but the guy told me they wouldn't do anything (warranty wise) unless there was catastrophic failure with the powertrain system. I have a 100k mile powertrain warranty, and feel the dealer is skirting the issue to keep from paying for covered problems.
In july 2011, I brought my vehicle to chrysler to report a bad pulsation feeling when the brakes were applied. We had 41,761 miles on vehicle and on a trip from new jersey to pennsylvania, we felt that the vehicle was struggling to brake fast enough. Chrysler stated that I needed new front rotors. They replaced them and my cost was close to $400. Several weeks later, on 8/16/11, I brought my vehicle to chrysler again to report the same bad pulsation feeling when the brakes were applied and felt that the vehicle was struggling to brake fast enough. I was informed by chrysler that the left front rotor was scored and pitted and the coating failed for mopar ro 180802. On 8/16/11, they replaced the left front rotor. One year later my vehicle has 53,754 miles on it. On 8/30/12, I bring my vehicle to chrysler due to a very high pitched brake squeal. Chrysler completes a full brake inspection and informs me that the brake pads and rotors are fine and do not need to be replaced. About 4 days later, the high pitched squeal from my brakes is louder and occurring more. I am feeling a bad pulsation feeling when the brakes are applied. I am told I need new front rotors. I should not have to replace rotors after 12,000 miles. Chrysler should recall the brakes in the 2008 town and country model. Brakes are one of, if not the most important part of a vehicle that should be functioning properly and should not need to be replaced 1-2 times per year. I drive under normal weather conditions on a mix of highway and some city roads.
We have been having problems from day one with our chrysler town and country. We purchased it with 12,000 miles on it, and have had to had the brake pads and rotors changed out twice. We have been told the vehicle will never stop squeaking. We have taken it in for pads to be replaced, and yet it still continues to squeak. At the beginning of summer, my husband had the oil changed, and asked for the guy to look at the brakes, he said we had plenty of 'thickness' on them. I was out with my children just a few months later, and very few miles later, to find my brakes had difficulty stopping the vehicle. I wasn't able to fully stop at a street light and ended up running the red with my car hanging completely over the line. I had 3 children in the vehicle and was lucky that no one was hurt. On a separate occasion months prior, I was again with my children in the vehicle, and found the vehicle completely stopped running while I was driving 65 miles per hour on a busy street in mid commuter traffic. The car completely just shut off. I was thankfully in the right hand lane and able to pull to the side with the aid of the brakes. After pulling out the key and putting it back in, I was able to restart the vehicle. I took it in and the mechanic said they were unable to replicate the problem. Looking on blogs, it appears this has happened on numerous other occasions for other people. This car has proven on two occasions that it can have fatal consequences if left untreated. Fixing the brakes and stalling issues isn't going to help, because the problems come with no warning. I had no idea that my brakes even needed to be replaced because we were told they were okay only soon to find out they weren't. This all happened because of the permanent squeak. I am terribly concerned for the safety of my family. *tr
In my 2008 chrysler town and country which now has about 70,000 miles on it I have changed the front brakes and rotors 6 diffrent times. When going down a hill and braking the steering wheel shakes so bad and I dont feel like I have a full pedal. Have taken back several times to ask about the problem and all I get is a run around from a chrsler garage.
Bought this car from car max 4 months ago and 4 weeks ago had the front pads, rotors, and calipers replaced. The car was shaking violently when breaking. As it turned out, the inner right front brake pad warped due to excessive heat. It warped in its slot in the caliper...bending backward toward the caliper piston. After it cooled it was not applying force evenly to the rotor and that is what caused the shaking. Ok so I have it all replaced and runs ok except for on several occasions when exiting the vehicle we noticed what I would call excessive heat by the tires. Today my wife drives home from work and a few errands and upon exiting the vehicle she notices flames coming from the left front tire area. I douse them with a hose and then do a google search to see if other 2008 chrysler town and country owners have had any problems like this. I am blown away by the inordinate large number of complaints being filed regularly since 2008. Almost all of them are complaining about the braking system on this vehicle. It is undersized for the size and weight of this vehicle. Many owners had to replace everything I had too and some several times a year. Chrysler seems unwilling to do anything and this is serious my whole house could have burned down.
2nd set of brakes prematurely failing. First set of front and rear brakes failed at 21,811 miles and were covered under chrysler recall in 2010. The brakes installed at that time have failed with 45,000 miles on the vehicle with 23,189 miles on the brakes. Independent repair shop told me that 1mil was left on the brakes and rotors needed to be replaced as well. The repair shop said they have never seen anything like it before with such low miles and brakes completely shredded!!! He said that I was very close to complete loss of brakes which could have resulted in an accident. Total cost of repairs are $379 not including tax. There are thousands of other town and country owners that are having the same problems - when are you going to do something about!!! These vans are dangerous. Chrysler already replaced the front brakes for this vehicle once before for premature failure - there is obviously a issue with this van. I have contacted chrysler today 8/22/12 and they refuse to acknowledge the problem and will not offer any assistance. The customer service rep exact words were "we don't know anything about a problem with the brakes."
While driving down a secondary road at appriximately 25 MPH the motor shut down as well as power to the steering and brakes. Proceeded to coast down the road until a safe place was identified to turn off the road. Since power had cutoff steering and braking the vehicle was extremely difficulty. Stopped the vehicle safely and placed the shifter into park and turned the ignition to the off position. Restarted the vehicle with no indication of any further problems. Two months later the same problem occured but vehicle was traveling at 35 MPH this time.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chrysler town and country touring. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, he heard a rattling noise in the front brake area. Upon further inspection, the contact noticed that the brakes and rotors were too small for the vehicle. As a result, the contact had to change the brakes and rotors every 14,000 miles. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileages were 40,200 and the current mileage was 55,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chrysler town and country. The contact stated that while traveling 60 MPH, the brakes failed and began to grind. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer for inspection where they stated that the rotors, calibers and the brake pads needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified and they informed the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer for repair. The failure mileage was 28,000.
Our 2008 town & country touring has begun shutting down while moving without warning. It has happened six times in 3 months at both lower speeds, and once going 60+ MPH on a busy interstate. When it loses power, we lose steering and breaking power making it very difficult to control the vehicle. This is a very dangerous situation, particularly for a car normally filled with children. It also occasionally will stall every time you start it. Ours will throw no codes and no warning lights come on, so no one has been able to find the problem. The dealership claims no knowledge. This problem is discussed on multiple forums and going back only one year there are at least 7 other complaints of the same issue (odi id numbers: 10453837, 10452564, 10450629, 10441113, 10438800, 10428568 & 10422766) and many more dating past that. I know you all are probably very busy reviewing complaints, but chrysler and the federal safety agency should not be waiting for some one to get in a serious accident before figuring this out becomes a priority.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chrysler town & country. The contact stated that the brakes were prematurely wearing. The contact also mentioned that both of the power sliding doors would haphazardly open while the vehicle was in motion. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer and the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 15,000 and the current mileage was 43,000.
The engine just stalled with no warning. Had no power steering or brakes. Just pulled out of a parking lot where the car was sitting for a few hours. This is the third time this has done it.
I originally wrote a letter to chrysler corporation in august of 2010 and instructed them to forward the letter to you. I do not believe that ever happened so I decided I should file a complaint. Myself. Back in 2010 chrysler notified owners that there is a problem with the braking system in 2008 town and country's that leads to premature wear. In the notice it said that chrysler would pay for the first replacement of brake pads and rotors based on low mileage repolacements being required. I feel this is an unsafe situation that with no warning whatsoever the pads can just wear out and the rotors warp. I have had to replace the front brake pads 3 times with new rotors twice. Replaced at 12,000, 21,000, 34,000. The vehicle has been through a total of 4 new sets of pads and 3 sets of rotors. I also know that there is a defect with the front end geometry on the van and that could be a contributing factor. At a service appointment shortly after the initial purchase I was informed that the van needed all new struts, shocks, bushings, and front sway bar. The service manager indicated that there was a bulletin, and that the height of the mounting points were off, and thus all new parts were needed to fix the front end geometry, so the front sway bar would not break or wear out prematurely. I feel that the entire brake system is too light for the overall weight of the vehicle and the heat generated by the rotors is very dangerous. I feel the brakes should be recalled by chrysler, and fixed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chrysler town and country. The contact stated that the vehicle would leak antifreeze unto abnormally. In addition, the vehicle would not stop when the brakes were applied. The dealer diagnosed that the rear heater tube hose assembly and master cylinder should be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 75,498 and the current mileage was 87,000.
The egr valve has failed resulting in the check engine light coming on. Now the right rear brake caliper has seized causing the brakes to smoke.
I have had the front brakes pads replaced at 15000 miles, and then the front pads replaced again at about 30000 miles. The rear pads were replaced also around 30,000 miles. When at the dealer for an oil change at 50000 they said the rear pads need replacing. I was fed up with the brakes on this vehicle and did not have the dealer repair them. Today at about 54000 miles I took my vehicle into midas and they showed me that the rear drivers side brake pad was wore down nearly all the way while the rear passenger side pad was only about half. (unever wear). The rear drivers side rotar also showed signs of overheating. (had a blueish/purple sheen to it) I paid about 600 bucks to have the rear pads, calibers, and rotars replaced with ceramic pads.
Howling noises from rear wheels when moving. Touching brake pedal stops noise. Right and left calipers, rotors, and pads replaced with new. At 50,469 miles on 2/27/12, grinding noise recurred. Front wheel bearings replaced under extended warranty. At 50,484 miles on 2/28/12, noise from rear wheel recurred; left rear rotor warped, pads stuck. Replaced left rotor, freed up pads. Noise not cured. At 50560 on 3/7/12, noise verified by chrysler mechanic, replaced right rear rotor and rear brake pads. Total cost to owner to date for these repairs: $413.73 and many visits to dealer. Far too much wear and tear for vehicle used only for personal transportation. Took delivery october 1, 2008. Averaged 1,231 per month since purchase. All repairs completed at chrysler dealer.
Vehicles current mileage is 64,500 miles and as of today had to replace front brake pads/rotors 4 times and rear brake pads/rotors 2 times.
I bought this vehicle new in february 2009. At 30k miles the front brakes were squealing and my husband replaced them. The brakes should not have worn out this soon. The inner pad on the right front brake was worn to the metal, ruining the rotor. The outer pad on the front right showed on a 30% wear. Thinking that the caliper was defective,we took it to the dealer. The dealer found nothing wrong with the caliper, so they said. At 48k miles, the back brakes were scrubbing...again, this should not happen at this low mileage. We own 3 other chrysler vehicles that have over 200k miles each and the back brakes have never been replaced nor given any trouble. Because the back brakes on the 2008 van were scrubbing so badly, my husband preceded to replace them. What he found was an utter disaster. Poor engineering in parking brake design would not allow release of the right parking brake. The inner pad(again on the right side) was completely worn into the rotor. The parking brake does not release when used, therefore the inner brake pad continues to ride on the rotor until it is worn out. Therefore, I cannot use the parking brake anymore. We spoke with several mechanics, even at the chrysler dealership, and was informed by all of them that the brake system used on these vans was the same used previously on honda, toyota, ford, and general motors. All of these auto makers dropped this brake design because it was so poorly designed. Chrysler needs to recall these vans and replace the whole braking system!
The power booster failed causing a loss in braking capability.
We are having issues with mopar products. We replaced brakes at 31,843 miles at chrysler world in abrahms, wi. Chrysler helped out with that they saw a defect in their van products and paid part of the cost. At 53,861 miles chrysler world told us we are due for new brakes in the front and need rear brakes also! They said it was ok to drive to az but that the brakes needed attention by spring. That's 22,018 miles after the replacement! Something is wrong and it is not our driving! In the summer we live in rural wi and we travel to surprise, az in the winter. The wi to az trip is 2,100 miles, mostly interstate. Since our purchase more than 20,000 of our miles have been on interstate highways. About 95% of our miles are rural and interstate miles! The next problem occurred on our way to az in october. Some type of spring broke in the steering column. This was repaired at tom obrien chrysler jeep in greenwood, in. This was replaced by another mopar product. How long will that last? They said I needed new brakes also but it would be ok to continue to az! I filed a complaint with chrysler corp. On 11-16-2011 a chrysler representative phoned and stated they will do nothing as the car is out of warranty. He gave me this case# [xxx] for reference to his phone call and their decision. My brakes are grinding at times when I stop and I feel chrysler must have a bigger problem with this van than they are telling or willing to make right. I am afraid to take it in to a chrysler dealer because of the faulty brake linings they installed at 31,843 miles. We are in surprise, az now and have in the past used moore chrysler jeep in peoria for servicing. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chrysler town and country. The contact was driving 45 MPH when a roaring sound was heard from the vehicle as the brakes were depressed. The brakes were extremely difficult to depress and the vehicle did not respond to braking attempts. There was an increase in braking distance and time as the vehicle rolled to a stop. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the manufacturer was contacted but the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 55,000 and the current mileage was 62,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chrysler town & country. The contact was driving 45 MPH when burning fumes were emitted into the vehicle. The contact stated that after inspecting the vehicle it appeared that the burning smell was coming from the wheels. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the rear driver side caliper froze and burned the brakes and rotors. As a result, the brakes, rotors and calipers needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 30,274.
2008 chrysler town & country... 5 recalls... Brakes brakes brakes...I have had the brakes replaced 4 times now with 96,000 miles on it. Also the rear driver side caliper froze up and I had to replace the pads,rotor,caliper @ a cost of 250.00. The noise from the front hubs drove me crazy!! Paid 550.00 to fix them and got bad parts off the shelf.. Then I got a notice in the mail 3 months after I fixed them about bad bearings in the front and that I can be refunded the money spent to fix them. Now im trying to fill out the paper work need for the refund.
I was driving along and all of a sudden I heard a squealing noise and smelled a burning smell. I quick pulled over and my rotors on the left rear tire were fire engine red. The next day a called the dealer and sure enough I need to replace the brakes and rotors on all 4 axles. The car only has 15,000 on it. I fear that this will be an ongoing issue and I have kids in the car. I need my brakes to work properly at all times.
Very bad design flaw with brake design causing myself and other customers to purchase multiple brakes and rotors for this badly engineered vehicle. This problem is also going to cause a loss of trade in value for us.
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