This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler Town & Country. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for routine maintenance and it was discovered that rocks had gotten in between the brake pads and rotors. As a result, the brake pads disintegrated and made deep grooves in the rotors. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The contact was awaiting to hear back from the manufacturer. The VIN was not available at the time of the complaint and the failure mileage was unknown. The approximate current mileage was 23,423.
We took our 2008 Town & Country in for a regular maintenance visit at the local Chrysler dealership. We were told that the brakes all need to be replaced due to normal wear & tear and that with this particular model the brakes go every 12,000-20,000 miles, and that this will be a recurring problem for the life of the van. Our van has less than 18,000 miles on it, and is a lease that we are thinking of turning in November. When we leased the brand new van, we felt confident that issues such as brakes going during the lease period would not be a concern (knowing that we only were able to use 31,500 total miles over the 3 yr lease.) I feel that based on the exorbitant amount of consumer complaints about this exact issue with this year & model of van that there should be a recall issued to owners of this van. There do not seem to be similar problems with the 2007 & 2009 models. It is unfair to 2008 buyers to have to 'deal' with this problem for the life of the van. Clearly, the life expectancy of brakes on a brand new van should exceed 18,000 miles by at least double, if not triple or quadruple that mileage.
We took our van into the dealership for our routine oil change. They did a 27 point inspection and said everything looked great. Yesterday the brakes started grinding so we took it in this morning... the rotors and brakes all have to replaced. This is an occurring problem with this van. The tie between the oil change and the brakes was less than the time we needed to go back for another oil change. The van is a Chrysler Town and country. Our van has 37,000 miles on it. There is no reason that brakes should go out this early in a car!
We have a 2008 Chrysler Town and country minivan. The brake pads are already shot. Reading through edmonds.com shows this is an amazingly common problem. Apparently there are 1000S upon 1000S of other owners similarly affected by these junk components. We literally have owned this vehicle for only 17 months and have to replace the brakes, on what is still a brand new car.
Brakes on 2008 Chrysler Town and country worn at 20,000 miles. The dealer informed me this is normal wear and tear but I have had several vehicles that the brakes have lasted more than 40,000 miles. I now need new pads at 20,000 miles and possibly new rotors.
- Saint Robert , MS, USA
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A 2008 Chrysler T&C touring (top of the line) has had premature brake wear. After 17,000 miles the brakes are down to less then 5 % of useful life, according to many internet posts this has been a recurring problem for many owners. The current repair is estimated to be around $400 us. The fear is that this failure will re-occur since the brakes seem to be undersized fro the vehicle weight and size. The Chrysler dealer is unwilling to fix this under warranty.
2008 Chrysler Town and country brakes. I called about brakes before factory warranty, I was told warranty did not cover brakes. Had front rotors and brakes repaired. Two weeks later back brakes and rotors replaced. Two weeks later, brakes started squealing again.
Brakes and rotors had to be replaced at 18K miles. The garage who replaced it showed it to my husband and told him they were cheap parts. Two tires had to be replaced as well at the same mileage. Tires put on by Chrysler are yokohama tires and are junk! I can also feel a movement under my drivers side car mat in the floor when I stop at a stop sign and make a left turn, something moves underneath as I am turning the steering wheel, I need to contact dealer for this to see what the problem is.
After taking my family on a 3,000 + mile trip to Florida and back to Michigan through the mountains, I took my 2008 Chrysler Town and country mini-van into meade Dodge in grosse pointe, mi in for an oil change, tire rotation and warranty work to address issues that arose with the air conditioning and automatic sliding door during the trip. During the 23 point inspection that the dealership performs with the oil change, the service rep contacted me about a known frequent issue with pre-mature wear of the rotors and breaking pads on the Town and country mini-vans. The service representative mentioned it being a known problem that they see frequently on these vehicles and that Chrysler authorized the work being completed with a $100 consumer co-pay to have the work completed. My concern is that the public or owners of the vans were not notified. I took a long trip with my family in the vehicle that contained parts with a known defect that could have resulted in an accident if the breaking system failed. My van currently has approximately 21,000 miles on it. I want to make your department aware that this may be an issue affecting all new Town and country vans sold. In discussing this incident with a co-worker, he mentioned a similar issue with his 1998 Town and country van.
2008 Chrysler T&C brake issues: I had the brakes replaced at 23,000 miles and now at 30,000 the brakes are squeaking again. I was told by the dealer that it is normal wear and tear. My other vehicle has 130,000 mile and the brakes have only been replaced once. I have read many complaints about this and I am nervous to have my family drive in the vehicle. I have read about the calipers locking up as well, this could cause a very dangerous situation on the highway as well as defeat the ABS feature. This needs to be investigated by NHTSA if Chrysler is failing to recognize and correct the issue.
2008 T&C touring with 16,000 miles on it. Front brakes shot due to caliper failure. Dealer fixed under warranty. Dealer replaced calipers, rotors, pads and any other damaged component. Noticed a noise from back brakes a week later. Took back to dealer and they turned the back rotors. Hope they last more than 16,000 miles this time.
Saturday, Feb. 13th I noticed a small squeaking in my front brakes. Sunday, Feb 14th, there started a grinding noise that would come and go. Took it to the shop this morning and was informed @ 28,000 miles my vehicle needed new rotors and brake pads. I had them replaced at cost but I did voice my displeasure, made a complaint with the company. I am not sure if the parts are available but I had the work done Feb. 15, 2010 @ 9:00 am. Problem is not with dealership but with the fact that after doing some research that this is a common problem and the car company is not willing to resolve this issue. There is a known tsb out there about the wear of the rotors (05-006-08).
2008 Chrysler Town and country needs new brakes and rotors at 24K miles. Was told it was normal wear and tear, but after researching online, I have found this is a major problem with this year's model. People are being told brakes are getting an average of 12K miles - outrageous.
I bought a brand new 2008 Chrysler Town and country van in Nov 2008. After about a year, Dec 2009 my van started shaking badly during braking. It had 17,050 mi (mostly highway miles). I brought the van into a Chrysler dealership for inspection. They told me the brakes were 100% shot and I needed a complete brake replacement (rotors, pads, flush, etc.) which cost me $650. I called Chrysler complaining that brakes on a new vehicle should not wear out on a vehicle with less than 17K miles (especially the rear brakes). Chrysler told me this was normal but would look into it. After a month I've not heard back. I've owned a 1992 and 1999 Chrysler vans and never had these brake problems. The front brakes on my older vans lasted over 35K miles and the rear lasted over 50K miles. My neighbor owns a 2006 Town & Country and has had only 2 brake jobs in 80K miles. Apparently he brake design did not change much from the 2007 model however the 2008 gained a lot of weight (new model) which contributed to the premature brake failure. Minimally, Chrysler should have notified me of the premature brake failures but never did. I've checked safety complaints on your ODI website and saw 85 complaints for brakes on the 2008 T&C. I also checked complaints for earlier years and only saw only a very few brake complaints. I've checked the internet and found hundreds upon hundreds of complaints related to brake problems on the 08 T&C. so here's my summary: 1) I never expected the brakes to go at such low mileage so if I needed to do an emergency stop I probably would have had an accident. 2) apparently there was a design flaw but Chrysler refuses to admit it 3) Chrysler is silently reimbursing owners who file the loudest complaints. ODI: You have all these brake complaints for the 08 T&C so how is it that Toyota is getting bashed for their brakes but Chrysler continues to produce their vans with defective brakes"????"
I had to have the brakes and rotors changed on my T & C at 28,000 miles. Within 24 hours of the initial brake noise, the brakes were making a grinding noise. When the mechanic looked the brake pads disintegrated in his hand. The rotors had a groove in them so they had to be replaced. I have now been told that brakes and rotors on this model will need to be changes every 15 to 20K miles. Obviously this not an acceptable length on time for the pads must less the rotors to last.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- White Bear Lake, MN, USA