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Vans & Minivans Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan Chrysler Town & Country power steering problems
64 messages, Last post on Nov 25, 2009 at 11:49 AM
You are in the Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan Forum. Your Host is Karens
| My '06 T & C just turned 30k miles this month. Power steering fluid started leaking back in July. I added fluid and got it in for service in August. Had several other small items to fix as well, including electrical issues (They kept it 4 days and only fixed 2 of the six items on the list). They put dye in the power steering to trace the leak but i am a one vehicle family of 5 household and couldn't get the van back until yesterday. Now the dealership is telling me i used the wrong power steering fluid (STP Power Steering and stop leak) and that they are going to charge me $129.00 to flush it and if the pump is damaged I will have to pay for it. They informed me that the leak is in the power steering rack and they would fix that. Does this sound correct? or am I paying for something I shouldn't have to? I am not happy with this vehicle at all but can't afford to get out of it yet...It has had nothing but problems from the start...unfortunately they have all been somewhat different problems... | |
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Unfortunately, you must have told the dealership service guys what you used for power steering fluid to top it off, mistake #1. NEVER tell the service dept anything. Your answer to all questions should be: "I was out of town when it happened and the dealership there took care of it so I could get home." This answer will almost always put you in a position of no responsibility for any problems with wrong fluids. The STP P/S fluid most likely did not hurt the pump or rack. If they told you the rack was leaking it was either a hose connection or the rack seal, left, right or both. I would recommend getting a second opinion from another service center that is close by if you think for even one second you are being scammed. You probably aren't though, due to the fact it's still under warranty and the cost of repairing the leak is covered. $129.00 to flush the system and refill is about right for a Chrysler dealership service department and you should have it done, if not by them then by a reputable service center. Do yourself a favor, in the future read your owners manual cover to cover and familiarize yourself with the vehicle and it's systems, and always use the recommended fluids listed in it. Good luck and Safe Driving 
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We have an '05 Town & Country, and like many people on this board, have Power Steering issues. We have the same symptoms: low fluid, whining noise, difficulty steering, etc. Yesterday, a Chrysler dealer checked it out for us, and told us it's an $800 repair, due to a bad Power Steering Rack. Based on what i'm seeing at this board, this is not an uncommon problem, and has anyone heard of a potential recall on this? Also, does anyone know the part number for this? I'd like to find it outside of the dealer markups....
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Replying to: hmackenzie (Dec 20, 2007 7:46 am) I am absolutely dumbfounded that a rack & pinion steering unit would go up this soon. I just bought this vehicle from my father in law and recently sold a Jeep Cherokee that was no longer practical with several kids. Lesson learned from Cherokee and Town & Country: Chrysler can build a model for 30 years or 3 but they're inclined to screw it up either way. |
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Replying to: vdubdoctor (Nov 30, 2007 9:39 pm)  
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I just paid $780 to have the rack replaced in my 2006 Town & Country, with 55,000 miles. In addition I paid $105 for power steering fluid service and $99 for a front end alignment. . The service manager told me there are 1300 racks on order with Chrysler right now and they are changing several per week. I was amazed because if the problem is this severe I feel there should be a recall. I have owned at least one Chrysler minivan since 1984 and never had this problem before. Is it as widespread as the dealer indicated. Symptoms were a high whining noise that increase with acceleration. Some occasional steering issues that felt like a soft tire. I am interested in hearing if others have had this same problem.
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We're having the same issues with our 2006 T&C...whinning noise coming from the steering console. Just started about a week ago, we thought with the extreme cold temperatures it must be the PS fluid "gelling" up inside, but after reading these posts, I made an appointment for tomorrow morning to have it looked at. We are just hitting the 33k mark, so of course, things will inevitably go wrong with it. They think it's "just a belt" but will check it out, I will defintely make mention the "rack" issues and see what thier assessment is. Another issue we've been having, and Chrysler doesn't seem to be able to duplicate the noise(this has been ongoing since about 22k miles) the speedometer control panel seems to rattle, randomly when we have an immediate increase in acceleration. I also notice it happens frequently since it is cold. Anyone out there experiencing this problem? |
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Replying to: dougf1 (Jan 23, 2008 6:42 pm)
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Replying to: dckydoo (Feb 08, 2008 7:56 pm)
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Replying to: dougf1 (Jan 23, 2008 6:42 pm) |
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