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Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan 2005+

1446 messages,  Last post on May 15, 2013 at 8:51 AM

You are in the Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan Forum.

What is this discussion about? Chrysler Town and Country, Dodge Grand Caravan, Van

Messages Page 88 of 146

#865 of 1446 LOVIN my 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan~~~ by alpena

Aug 08, 2005 (11:30 am)

which I bought just 2 weeks ago. It has EVERYTHING I wanted, a sunroof, power doors, CD/Cassette, tons of rooms, a great color (inferno red), it handles so nice. The ONLY thing I can't get usd to is the steering wheel, it seems to be a bit off balance, the bottom hole does not line up in dead center, is this right? Otherwise, I know I made the right choice.

#866 of 1446 Thoughts!! by fish8

Aug 09, 2005 (5:28 am)

So , I brought my wife's van to the dealer yesterday and they provided a Limited Loaner. I pull out of the dealer and think....wow...this things feels much peppier than out Touring Minivan. Do you all think it could be because our van only has 3500 miles on it and this loaner van has over 10K? Does our van need to be broken in more. I'm not sure, but there seems to be a difference in acceleration between the 2.
 
Also, The lady that drove us to the rental office (dealer rental office) asked what was wrong with our van. I told her about the start up noise and she said a couple of the rental vans had the same problem. They were in for service for the same noise!!! I expect a call this am.....

#867 of 1446 Which engine should I go for? by fizzyhair

Aug 09, 2005 (12:34 pm)

Should I pony up the extra dollars for the 3.8L, or should I stick with the 3.3L? I don't do any towing, but I don't want to strain the engine. Is the 3.8L quieter? Any thoughts?

#868 of 1446 Update - New 05 recent impressions by boesman1

Aug 10, 2005 (5:46 am)

I took my new T&C on a road trip this past weekend ...just some thoughts to share
 
First off, the bright light controls do not give you the ability to "flash" the brights...a must have for slightly aggressive drivers such as myself that need to give a reminder to the slow poke who stays in the left lane.
 
Next, the steering wheel controls for the cruise should be illuminated - being that this is primarily my wifes car I will never get used to the exact functions of the various buttons. Although I will say that the audio controls on the back side of the steering wheel are great, real good idea with those
 
Next, wiper controls...all around bad thinking here, the washer button, no quick wipe feature...absolutely horrible design...my toyota truck has a seperate arm on the r/s of the steering wheel for all these features
 
Next, the window controls on the drivers door....where is the illumination - the micro light for the drivers window only is too dark and forget about trying to find the vent buttons...geez buzzing along at 70 - 80 at night and trying to find buttons on the steering wheel and door - an accident waiting to happen
 
Overall...there is lots of room for improvment on the T&C...I am having second thoughts and thinking I should have given more consideration to the Sienna.

#869 of 1446 Your Thoughts by fish8

Aug 10, 2005 (6:35 am)

Well, I talked to my dealer about the noise at startup and he said the power steering fluid was a little low. They topped it off and started the van this am and the noise was gone. I am not sure I believe them, but will find out this afternoon when I pick the van up.
 
Do you all think this is possible and why would the noise only be presentwhen the engine is cold and it goes away when warm?

#870 of 1446 Re: Your Thoughts [fish8] by badgerfan

Aug 10, 2005 (12:21 pm)

Replying to: fish8 (Aug 10, 2005 6:35 am)
The PS fluid expands some when it warms up, so it could be that the system was marginally low when cold but when the fluid warmed up it was full enough so the noise went away. Just a guess on my part. Maybe it wasn't filled full enough from day 1.

#871 of 1446 Re: Your Thoughts [badgerfan] by fish8

Aug 11, 2005 (4:03 am)

Replying to: badgerfan (Aug 10, 2005 12:21 pm)
Thanks for the response. I think your (and dealers) assessment is correct. They topped off the PS fluid and the noise seems to be gone. I'm sort of pissed at myself because I am ANAL about checking the fluids and tire pressure in my cars and not sure how this got by.
 
When I got to the dealership yesterday I asked why the fluid was low in the first place. He said it might of been low from the factory. Ia sked shouldn't that of been caught at the dealer and just looked at me like I was accusing him of something.....which I was I guess

#872 of 1446 Re: Update - New 05 recent impressions [boesman1] by 1997montez34

Aug 12, 2005 (6:44 am)

Replying to: boesman1 (Aug 10, 2005 5:46 am)
Re: Flashing brights. Pull the control back but not far enough to make it click. This will flash the brights. I do it all the time.
 
Fully illuminated controls would definitely be nice but you get used to it very quickly and now I have no problem using the cruise at night.

#873 of 1446 Re: Thoughts!! [fish8] by belaircarguy

Aug 12, 2005 (7:26 am)

Replying to: fish8 (Aug 09, 2005 5:28 am)
We have owned a 2005 Limited for a little over 1 year (Purchased May 2004). The van now has about 18,000 miles. My wife drives this car daily, and I only drive it occasionally. I believe that both the gas mileage and acceleration have increased after about 10,000 mile break in period. I have been told that since this engine is a cast iron block, break in periods are not uncommon vs. some of the newer engine configurations, such as aluminum blocks. Don't know if that is true, but in our case it was correct. Give you van some time and mileage.

#874 of 1446 Re: Thoughts!! [belaircarguy] by arts

Aug 12, 2005 (10:41 am)

Replying to: belaircarguy (Aug 12, 2005 7:26 am)
FYI - almost all aluminum block engines have iron cylinder liners. Therefor the breakin period in regard to aluminum block engines is no different than iron block engines.

Messages Page 88 of 146

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