While replacing rear brake drums in my garage, it became necessary to jack the vehicle to raise the rear left side and remove the rear left wheel. I broke the lug nuts loose while the vehicle was on the ground, then, using the jack supplied with the vehicle, I followed the procedure outlined in the owner's manual to position the jack in the recommended location toward the left rear at the identified jacking location. I raised the vehicle just enough to remove the wheel. As I was spinning the lug nuts off, the car fell off the jack. This occurred because rust had compromised the structural metal at the jacking location and the weight, while the car was being raised, crushed the weakened steel. Fortunately, I was not too close and was not caught under the wheel or other body part. Upon close inspection it became apparent that the structure of the car, at the recommended jacking location, had been severely compromised by rust. The extent of the rust damage was not obvious until the car fell off the jack. At that point the paint which had been hiding the damage had fallen off as the structural steel under it collapsed under the weight of the car. There is also a rubber pad that contributed to concealment of the structural damage since it covered most of the damaged area surrounding the stud used to properly locate the top of the jack. I believe this to be a serious safety issue that has the potential to cause injury to anyone who follows the procedure outlined in Chrysler's owner's manual.

- Burnsville, MN, USA

During an inspection of our van it was noted that the drivers side strut tower is rusting through. After looking into this issue on line I noticed many cases with exactly the same problem. I am trying to determine if there is any recourse to get this condition repaired. Also I am trying to determine if there is some type of warning before this condition fails resulting in an accident.

- Belding, MI, USA

1999 Dodge Caravan, shock tower rust, this is not just cosmetic rust, this is serious structural problem where the suspension can fail by breaking up through the shock tower and collapse the from end of the vehicle. This is a defect by Chrysler and they should pay for the repair. I have two Dodge Caravan and both have the same shock tower rust problems. Even the Dodge dealers keep many repair kits in stock because of the large demand. As the Dodge carvans get older, there will be an increased number of failures and possible safety issues. The vehicles are only 10 years old, and have this type of problem is just wrong.

- Prior Lake, MN, USA

1999 Dodge Caravan. Strut towers rusted out not only the cap but the whole tire on the driver side. If this should fail it could be disastrous. I just noticed this a week or so ago.

- Hope, RI, USA

Vehicle shock towers rusting away. Failure occurs in most of these vehicles. Vehicle is rendered unsafe and could cause bodily harm to occupants if catastrophic failure occurs.

- Pinckney, MI, USA

The contact owns a 1999 Dodge Caravan. The contact stated that the body of the vehicle was separating from the strut mounts. He feels that the strut mounts will detach soon and cause the vehicle to crash. The current and failure mileages were 155,000. Updated 06/08/09 updated 06/09/09.

- Arlington, TN, USA

While trying to get into the van, driver fell down against a metal strip that was flat against vehicle due to no support (no step to be used / handle to grab). Vehicle was a rental.

- West Palm Beach, FL, USA