The serpentine belt comes off every time I go thru water. I can not drive the van anytime it rains or the roads are wet! my daughter in law has the same van and the same problem! once the belt comes off I loose all power, steering, brakes. Putting me and any passengers in danger!

- Ladoga, IN, USA

My 2000 Chrysler Grand Voyager (3.0L engine) has repeated issue with losing its power steering belt in wet conditions (driving through puddles as shallow as 2 inches). This makes the vehicle become difficult to control. Since this happened to me twice in one week (and I had just had the system inspected and a new belt put on before it happened the 2nd time) I contacted several local dealers and asked if they were aware of and had a solution for this issue. One dealer told me "stay out of puddles." All the dealers I contacted said this was a "very common issue with the model" and that they did not have any fix for the issue. I searched online and discovered that a large number of vans from the late 90S share this design issue. I also found some aftermarket products that may fix the issue. I feel strongly that the manufacturer should find a solution and provide this solution at their dealers before this issue causes further breakdowns and accidents. It is likely that many accidents have already resulted from a loss of power steering related to this issue, but may not have been linked to this issue because: Speeds tend to be lower in wet conditions - especially when going through puddles. If colliding with fixed object often driver wouldn't report it to avoid ticket & insurance premium hikes. Also, if the accident is reported they may blame the collision or belt wear as the cause for the steering loss.

- Dallas, TX, USA

I have a 2000 Plymouth Grand Voyager...it was raining and all of a sudden while making a turn, the steering wheel locked up...I had my children in that car and it was very scary. Thank goodness I was able to turn it enough to pull into a walgreens, but I had to have it towed and get the serpentine belt replaced. This was awful!

- Nashville, TN, USA

On two occasions the serpentine belt slipped off their pulleys while driving, which left my car without power steering, brakes, cooling, A/C, or alternator. I had to stop and have the car towed in. Dealer could not provide a preventative repair to keep the belt from slipping off again. Finally, gates had a kit in Feb. 2007 that I had installed that is supposed to cure this problem. This is an epidemic problem for this vehicle.

- Hazelwood, MO, USA

While driving in a parking lot between 5-10 mph vehicle lost all steering capability due to a bolt, which held the pulley in place, was never tightened at the assembly plant. Unsecured bolt damaged the crankshaft. Vehicle currently at dealer.

- Frankford, IL, USA