The vehicle caught on fire with my [XXX] and me inside. Its currently located at a tow yard and Chrysler has not inspected the vehicle yet. I have a report from the fire department stating the fire was hotter on the left drive side which directly lines up with the current recall of the drivers side door switch. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
2012 Chrysler Town and Country: fire, smoke or burning smell
12 of the 634 complaints about the 2012 Chrysler Town and Country describe fire, smoke or burning smell.
- owner complaints
- 12
- of this car's complaints
- 2%
- typical mileage
- 80,000
- recalls
- 1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall and 40 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below
Fire, smoke or burning smell by model year
What owners say
The contact owns a 2012 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked unattended, he detected smoke from the vehicle, which caught fire in the rear electrical compartment. The fire department extinguished the fire. There were no reported injuries, air bag deployment or police report filed. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified about the failure. The approximate failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.
The contact owns a 2012 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the A/C was blowing out hot air. The contact stated that smoke began emanating from the engine compartment and the vehicle started smoking and it caught fire. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road where the hood was opened and the fire was out by a passenger. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine and engine cooling system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the issue but stated that the parts to complete the repair have been discontinued. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated while driving 45-60 MPH, the rear passenger side sliding door started smoking and caught on fire. There was an unknown warning light illuminated. The contact immediately veered to the side of the road and assisted his four children out of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle burned significantly down to the metal frame. The contact was able to extinguish the fire with the assistance of the fire department. The contact was unsure whether a fire department report was filed. The contact stated that two of his children were occupying the second-row seats while the other two were occupying the third-row seats. The contact stated that his son, who was sitting close to the rear passenger sliding door, sustained soot on his face. The contact sustained a sore throat, cough, chest pain, and breathing issues. Both the contact nor his son did not seek medical assistance. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Door caught fire while driving, smoke everywhere, smoke coming from under hood.
Driver door caught fire after recalled window switch while driving. Luckily, a friend behind me had a fire extinguisher so the fire was contained to the driver door
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 chrysler town and country. The contact stated that the vehicle lane departure system, navigational system, and the rear back up camera failed. A few weeks later, the contact noticed smoke coming from the rear passenger side tail light. The vehicle was taken to kimberly car city (625 w kimberly road, davenport, ia 52806, (563) 391-8300) where it was diagnosed that the rear bumper, modules, and wiring harness caught fire due to water exposure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. A chrysler engineer inspected the vehicle and concluded that the failure was not due to a manufacturer defect. The manufacturer provided case number: cair31876429. The failure mileage was 83,000.
While driving I started to smell something burning and began to pull over. Suddenly I saw smoke coming out from the driver side door panel. Immediately I shut the van off and rushed to get my children out of the van. Later my husband began to investigate and found that the window switch and harness it plugs into was completely melted. We googled what had happened and found that there is a recall regarding this problem and our van falls under the recall but I have never received a recall notice. The recall code is p25 rear window vent switch.
Responded to a vehicle fire and found this vehicle wit fire and heat damage to the driver's door area. The driver had been driving the vehicle when she stated there were flames coming from the door of her vehicle. The heat damage was mostly in the area of the interior door handle. Owner and driver of the vehicle stated the window buttons had been working intermittently. Fire marshal warminster township *tt
In october 2014 (approx. Mileage of 40k) the blind spot monitoring system stopped working. Did some research and determined I had a bad radar sensor but they cost $900 each so we turned off the blind spot monitoring system. February 2016 (mileage of 53k) the backup camera and bumper sensors quite working and we noticed a hot wire smell. Pulled out the driver's side blind spot monitoring sensor and found it badly corroded and the sensor separating at the seams also found fuse blown. Replaced the fuse with the bad sensor disconnected and put a new fuse in. Camera came back on for about ten seconds before going black again when fuse blew again. Had smoke coming out of passenger side rear blind spot sensor area. Found the wires melted on the connector and I had to snuff the wires out with water and cut the sensor cable to get the hot components out of the vehicle to prevent a fire. I then removed the passenger side sensor, terminated the loose wires with wire nuts and put a new fuse it. Camera and bumper sensors are working fine now but blind spot monitoring is not functional due to the two bad sensors. I see two issues, first the blind spot sensors which are sold as safety features failed at 3 years of use not just one sensor but both indicating it is a poorly engineered part not a defective part. Secondly is the fusing size or wiring correct for this circuit. As the fuse should blow before wires start to melt. To buy a new wiring harness and the two sensors will cost $1700 and the sensor will fail again in 3 years if no modifications are made to the sensor. Internet searches show many complaints about sensor failure and complaints entered in nhsta database.
Rear brakes have been replaced multiple times. 5 sets of pads, new caliper at 35000 miles and new rotors. Even after replacing everything but one rear caliper it still sticks and has a burning smell with all new parts on driver side. Brakes on this van are absolute garbage and chrysler needs a recall on these brakes and parts.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 chrysler town and country. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that both fog light lens and attached wiring were burned. There were no visible flames. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 44,000. Updated 8/29/2017
Service bulletins that may apply
- Connector kit Before ordering this connector repair kit 68018957A$, check it in the Mopar Connector Repair...
- No Start Intermittently, Vehicle Requires Multiple Keyless Push To Start Attempts To Start Vehicle,...
- No Start Intermittently, Vehicle Requires Multiple Keyless Push To Start Attempts To Start Vehicle
- Speed Control Operates Intermittently
- Res / rha / reb
- Return: Wiring Assy
- Inspect and Return: Solenoid Module
- 1NT30XDVAC
Related recalls
Electrical system
- What is wrong
- Chrysler Group, LLC (Chrysler) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Chrysler Town and Country and Dodge Grand Caravan vehicles manufactured August 25, 2010, through October 31, 2013. The affected vehicles may experience overheating of the vent window switch in the driver's door armrest.
- Risk
- An overheated switch may result in a vehicle fire.
- Remedy
- Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the vent window switch with a newer version, free of charge. The owner notification letter was issued and the remedy campaign launched on on December 31, 2014. Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at 1‑800‑853‑1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is P25.
Recall number 14V234000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2012 Chrysler Town and Country fire or smoke
Is fire, smoke or burning smell a common problem on the 2012 Chrysler Town and Country?
12 of 634 owner complaints about the 2012 Chrysler Town and Country (2%) mention fire, smoke or burning smell. The model year with the most reports is 1996.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2012 Chrysler Town and Country?
There is 1 recall and 40 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2012 Chrysler Town and Country
Stalling 75Fuel pump 40Won't start 32Check engine light 30Key fob 18Loss of power 16Door locks 13Misfire 12Power steering loss 12Headlights 10Wipers 10Backup camera 9Jerking 9Overheating 8Airbag light 7Warning lights 7Adaptive cruise 6Battery drain 6Engine failure 6ABS 5Knocking 5Steering lock-up 5
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