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Vans & Minivans Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan 2008 Chrysler T&C & Dodge Caravan brake life expectancy!
83 messages, Last post on Nov 19, 2009 at 11:16 PM
You are in the Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan Forum. Your Host is Karens
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We have a 2008 Town  Country van with 18,000 and are in our 60's and do not travel a lot. My husband heard a scraping like from the brakes, so he took it in and low and behold there were no brakes left, it was metal on metal and cost us $400.00 for a leased car. I think that everyone who has had bake problems and had to put money out, should start a Class Action suit against Chrysler. We have driven nothing but Chrysler for 35 years, gues what NO MORE. Chrysler can go uner. 
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We had to replace both the front and rear brake pads and rotors on our 2008 Chrysler Town & Country van at only 22,000 miles. I have never had to replace brake pads and rotors at such a low mileage on any vehicle I have owned. I have been driving 35 years, have owned many vehicles and am not driving any differently than I have driven in the past. We spent $40K for this vehicle and have just spent $910.00 to replace the pads/rotors. I am furious! I will be calling Chrysler Customer Service to see if any relief will be given and if not, will file a complaint with the NHTSA ODI (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Defects Investigation.) If enough people report, maybe something will be done to assist the entire group. While you are there you can read some similar complaints that have already been filed. Below is info. I copied from their website: How to report a safety Complaint Select how you would like to report your complaint. See below for information regarding this form. • ONLINE: Select the "Begin Form" button to the right. • BY PHONE: Call the Hotline, Monday-Friday 8am to 8pm at (888) 327-4236 , TTY: (800) 424-9153. ________________________________________ Who we are We are The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), an office within the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). ODI conducts defect investigations and administers safety recalls to support the NHTSA's mission to improve safety on our Nation's roadways. Why your complaint is important Your complaint information will be entered into NHTSA-ODI's vehicle owner's complaint database and used with other complaints to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists. • If a safety-related defect exists in a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment, the manufacturer must provide a remendy at no cost to the owner. Your complaint is the first step in the process. • We do not have to receive a specific number of complaints before we look into a problem. We gather all available information on a problem. Your complaint is important to us. How Your complaint is Handled • Government engineers analyze the problem. If warranted, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) will open an investigation to determine if a safety defect trend existis. Some of these investigations result in safety recalls. • While you may or may not be contacted by a NHTSA-ODI investigator to clarify the information submitted, all reports are reviewed and analyzed for potential defects trends. Filling out this form Types of safety complaints There are four types of safety complaints you can report. • Vehicles: All motor vehicles -- cars, heavy trucks, RV's, motorcycles, emergency vehicles, buses, etc. • Tires: All types of tires -- requires you to submit your vehicle information as well. • Equipment: Non-original equipment -- replacement oil filters, wipers, RV accessories, lights, floor jacks, etc. • Child Restraint: All types of child restraints --infant seats, booster seats, convertibles, etc. Time needed to complete The average time to complete the minimum requirements of this form is eight to ten minutes. It is advised you gather the necessary information for your complaint type before completing the complaint form. Information needed Below is a list of items you will need for each type of Complaint. Select the "+" button for the type to see what information you will need. Vehicles • Model Year • Make • Model • Component* • Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) (Optional, but very important) Found on registration or insurance card. * Component -- Part or system of concern Tires • Tire information needed o Tire Brand o Tire Line o Tire Size, (e.g., P275/75R16 89H) o Component* o DOT Number (Tire Identification Number) (Optional, but very important) • Vehicle information needed o Model Year o Make o Model o Component* o Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) (Optional, but very important) Found on registration or insurance card. * Component -- Part or system of concern Equipment • Make • Model • Component * * Component -- Part or system of concern Child Restraints • Make • Model Number • Type (only appears with some makes) • Date of Manufacture • Component* * Component -- Part or system of concern Consumer We Value Your Privacy • Name • Address • Phone Number Send your suggestions or comments to webmaster nhtsa.dot.gov
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We just had to purchase new brake pads for our 2008 T&C at 17,000 miles. Unheard of! Ridiculous! The Chrysler service rep told the "unofficial" story of how the new pads are the 3rd re-designed brake pads for this van, due to complaints/problems. Why hasn't there been a recall? Why weren't my brakes free if the 2nd design was faulty and so many other T&C owners were coming in EARLY to have their brakes replaced on so low mileage??? We just purchased this Chrysler after owning 2 Toyota Siennas w/o any problems. Years prior, we had a horrible experience owning a Chrysler minivan and stayed away for years but were tempted back w/the 2008. Ha! Lesson learned. Can't trust Chrysler products to last or trust the Chrysler company to stand behind their product. They're always dodging responsibility....... We will definitely be using the advice from above poster to register our complaint with the government office (see #31). THIS NEEDS TO BE AN OFFICIAL RECALL!!! Heck, our brakes are squeaking already. Back brakes? Rotars? Sheesh - better keep the wallet open. It is a Chrysler, after all...... |
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Replying to: pschultheis (Sep 13, 2009 10:57 am) Although the brakes wore out sooner than they should have I am scratching my head wondering why the service cost was so high to have them replaced. Did you get an estimate from at least one other shop, like Midas or some independent service center? You do not have to have the work done at a high price dealership since this is not part of the warranty. I'm not a mechanic but I've replaced pads and rotors on many of my cars. It's not that hard to do and it takes about two hours for me with hand tools and my car on jack stands in the garage. I don't have all the fancy lifts and air tools, etc. I would guess the parts cost for new rotors and pads would run around $200. It would be even less if the rotors just had to be resurfaced (turned) and not replaced. You can usually have that done to them the first time or two when the pads are replaced and there's still plenty of thickness on the rotors. Did all 4 wheels have to be replaced? Usually the fronts go out more quickly than the rears. Anyway, I'm not suggesting that everyone should do their own brake pad replacing if they are not comfortable with taking on such a task. However, to anyone else who did a search for a similar problem they are having and found this thread I highly recommend getting a second or third opinion at an independent shop, especially since this repair is not covered under the warranty. $900 to have brakes replaced is WAY too high. Here's a solution to the problem that another owner came up with: Chrysler Brake Problems
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Replying to: tedebear (Sep 20, 2009 7:54 am)
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Replying to: pschultheis (Sep 20, 2009 7:30 pm)  I'm sorry for the headaches you've had with this. As a former Chrysler employee I took pride in what I did for them and I tried to help any owners out who needed it. Ironically, I worked as an electrician at the St. Louis minivan plant until they moved everything to Canada last year. |
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Replying to: pschultheis (Sep 13, 2009 10:57 am) |
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Replying to: janetmfx (Sep 28, 2009 10:10 am) FYI - I wrote a letter to the dealer we bought the van from asking for reimbursement for our costs and the owner called us right away. We have a meeting with him Wednesday, October 7th and hope to have some good news to post here. Keep your fingers crossed. |
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Replying to: pschultheis (Oct 01, 2009 7:34 pm)
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| We also had brakes replaced on our 2008 Town and Country with only 19000 miles and were also given the runaround about it being normal wear and tear. I called Chrysler who basically told me tough crap, they were not going to do anything about it. I also talked to the "Sales Manager" who threw me out of his office. . I heard the service man on the phone with another customer who also had to put new brakes on with 23,000 miles on her car, and he was telling her the same thing,it is normal wear and tear. How are they getting away with this? I have also filed a complaint with NHTSA ODI. | |
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