Right outer tie rod end broke completely away and right wheel pivoted nearly perpendicular to left wheel. Only traveling 5 mph at time of incident. A higher normal speed could have resulted in dammage or injury or fatality. Car has only 34,400 miles and has been well maintained. Repair was made by replacing both right tie rod end{broken} and left tie rod end badly worn and alignment. These tie rod ends are non lubricatable. It is highly unusual for this specific problem to occur in a vehicle with such low mileage and that has never been operated in adverse conditions that would contribute to such a failure. Two acquaintances of mine have had front axles break on newer Chrysler minivans. Could there be a common supplier of front end parts providing defective metals or common engineering flaws? Chrysler representative was totally unsympathetic to my problem/complaint.

- Strongsville, OH, USA