2008 Chrysler Town and Country: shudder or vibration when accelerating

Filed Jul 4, 2016 · Suspension · 120,000 miles · SC

Rear axle brace that fastens rear wheel to body broke ,leaving wheel only fastened by spring and shock , flopping erratically. This has happened twice to us once at 20 MPH and once at 40 MPH .we both times brought the vehicle to a slow easy stop ..we shudder to think what would have happened, at any higher speeds.the chrysler dealership we showed photos of the broken bar to after the first break expressed surprise ,"we have never seen this before " was their comment. The break was at the cut-out hole in the brace ,the hole is fairly large , big enough to stick all 5 fingers into.(we notice that after 2009 models, this fairly large cut-out hole was reduced to a quarter inch slit , on the models we checked. Chrysler wanted to replace the entire rear axle ,but we ended up taking it to a master welder who as a favor welded and sanded it to where you could not tell there was ever a break..6 months later in october 2015, it happened again breaking about 2 inches from the first episode break,on the same piece of metal .we were at about 40 MPH ,the back wheel flopping ,almost throwing us off the road.this time we requested our welder friend to add plates to the brace ,photo of finished job enclosed , you can still see the original cut-out. .we figured we just ended up with a bad piece of metal on our van. But then in april 2016,my nephew ,who has a 2008 chrysler built van (sold by vw) experienced exactly the same axle brace failure,while moving, at exactly the same spot in the brace,at the same type of cutout hole.he lives about 5 miles from us, I personally examined his van axle brace ,and we discovered the other side brace was almost broken through too ..he has a wife and 3 small children,this was very traumatic thing for the family. We concluded this must be a very common problem, and wonder if people are not dying across the country from this obvious axle brace defect.

Filed Apr 8, 2016 · Transmission · 110,000 miles · TX

When driving on a flat surface between 35 and 45 MPH there is a shuddering/stuttering that happens. It feels like the van does not know whether to speed up or slow down. Sometimes when this happens the vehicle will completely shutoiff/stall causing steering and braking to be reduced. I have to quickly put vehicle in neutral and then restart. If I keep rpms high by staying in a lower gear there is no stuttering/shuddering

Filed Nov 12, 2012 · Brakes · 20,000 miles · CA

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/.

Filed Nov 23, 2009 · Brakes · 21,000 miles · KY

Chrysler town & country with 21,000 miles only presents excessive wear of brake pads. Symptoms of the problem were noise, vibration and lately difficulty in braking: car did not stop with brake pedal full down. Dealer service reports states that front brake pads have only 5% life remaining and pads and rotors had to be replaced for a total cost of $335 at owner expense. Chrysler has issued a service bulletin no. 05-006-08 on 12.09.2008 stating that "front brake pads may exhibit excessive noise, squeal/shudder/vibration and/or lining life complaints." but has not issued a recall even if this is a major safety issue. Chrysler customer service did not refund the expense for pads and rotors replacement stating that brakes are a wear component and wear out in different ways. An internet search shows that this is a major problem of this vehicle and many customers have filed complaints: http://www.edmunds.com/chrysler/townandcountry/2008/consumerreview.html , http://www.fixya.com/cars/t2122925-early_wear_front_brakes_rotors_2008_town , etc. According to many customers, pads and rotors have to be replaced in this van every 15,000 miles to ensure the safety of the occupants.

Filed Nov 9, 2009 · Brakes · 21,897 miles · AZ

7/31/09 - 21,897 vehicle miles - brakes began squeaking - dealer rep. Recommended we wash any brake dust out of the wheels to see if that resolved the problem. 8/5/09 - brought the vehicle back to the dealer as this did not resolve the problem. It was squeaking and making a crunching sound when braking, like metal to metal. Believe it was unsafe to drive - had the vehicle towed to the dealer. Vehicle had 22,009 miles. We were told the front brake pads were at 26.97 and minimum specs are 26.4. The dealer replaced the front brake pads and front rotors were turned. We were told the rotors did not need replacing at that time. 8/25/09 - we were still experiencing a pulsation when braking. Took the vehicle to our personal mechanic. They replaced and resurfaced the front rotors that were warped. The brakes felt better but we still noticed an unusual shuddering and heard a deep creaking sound at the tail end while braking. Our personal mechanic advised the rear pads needed replacing and the rear rotors had 45% wear. Fearing we would have to replace the rear rotors in the near future, we opted to save labor charges later and have both the rear pads and rotors replaced. The brakes are performing wonderfully now and are very smooth. We feel they are safe. We are concerned though that we will have to replace pads and rotors every 20,000 miles and believe this is unsafe and unreasonable. We have owned many chrysler & dodge vehicles in the past and specifically bought this based on our past positive experiences with these vehicles. I am the principal driver of the vehicle and have never had this problem with any vehicles I have owned in the past. My driving conditions and style have not changed either.