What 773 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Chrysler Town And Country

SLIGHTLY BEFORE 9,000 MILES I STARTED NOTICING A SLIGHT SHIMMY OF THE STEERING WHEEL WHEN THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED WHEN DRIVING OVER 50MPH. THIS CONDITION DID NOT OCCUR CONSISTENTLY, BUT WAS SPORADIC. AS TIME HAS PAST, THIS CONDITION HAS BECOME MUCH MORE FREQUENT, THE STEERING WHEEL SHIMMY HAS BECOME MUCH MORE SEVERE, AND IS NOW OCCURRING AT SPEEDS AS LOW AS 35MPH. I HAVE OWNED CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTRY VANS OVER THE PAST 16 YEARS (TRADING UP EVERY 2 YEARS) AND CAN TESTIFY THAT THEIR BRAKES HAVE BEEN A CONSISTENT WEAKNESS (TYPICALLY WARPED DISCS). MY PREVIOUS 2009 CHRYSLER T&C EVEN HAD A RECALL FOR THEIR BRAKES. HOWEVER, THIS SEVERE STEERING WHEEL SHIMMY THING IS SOMETHING THAT I HAVE NEVER SEEN IN THE PAST AND I AM AFRAID THAT IT IS APPROACHING A VIOLENT SITUATION THAT MAY CAUSE LOSS OF CONTROL. THE MILEAGE ON THE VEHICLE IS FAR TOO LOW FOR A BRAKE WEAR ISSUE. FURTHERMORE, A WARPED DISC WOULD BE NOTICEABLE WHEN BREAKING AT ALL SPEEDS. I AM ABOUT TO GO TO MY DEALER WITH THIS, BUT AM CHECKING THE INTERNET TO SEE IF THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE AND IF THERE ARE ANY EXISTING RECALLS. THESE OBSERVATIONS ARE MADE FROM MY 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AS A MECHANICAL ENGINEER AND FORMER HEAD OF PRODUCT RELIABILITY AT MOTOROLA. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10478904

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTRY TOURING. THE CONTACT WAS TRAVELING 55 MPH WHEN THE BRAKES WERE DEPRESSED AND THE VEHICLE STARTED TO SHAKE. THE VEHICLE ALSO FAILED TO STOP PROPERLY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 4,600.

NHTSA ODI 10468397

I STARTED OUR 2011 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY, STEPPED ON THE PARKING BRAKE PEDAL TO RELEASE THE BRAKE. WHEN I GOT TO 65 M.P.H. THE HOOD STARTED SHAKING. I REALIZED THAT WHEN I RELEASED THE PARKING BRAKE THAT MY TOE MUST HAVE TRIPPED THE HOOD RELEASE LEVER. THIS IS A SAFETY DESIGN FLAW IN THAT THE HOOD RELEASE LEVER SHOULD NOT BE LOCATED DIRECTLY ABOVE THE PARKING BRAKE PEDAL. I CALLED THE CHRYSLER CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CENTER AT 800-247-9753 TO REPORT THIS PROBLEM 7-6-2012. THE REFERENCE NUMBER IS [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ODI 10464465

THE 2011 TOWN AND COUNTRY (AND DODGE CARAVAN) BE DRIVEN WITH THE EMERGENCY BRAKE ENGAGED WITHOUT THE DRIVER BEING AWARE. A RED WARNING LIGHT "BRAKE" LIGHTS UP WHEN THE VEHICLE IS PUT IN MOTION AND THE BRAKE IS ENGAGED, HOWEVER THERE IS NO AUDIBLE WARNING. THIS LIGHT IS INTENDED TO WARN THE DRIVER OF THE SITUATION, BUT IT IS NOT VISIBLE TO MANY DRIVERS (INCLUDING MY SPOUSE) BASED ON POSSIBLE STEERING WHEEL / SEATING POSITION COMBINATIONS. IT IS HIGHLY PROBABLE THAT DRIVERS CAN AND ARE DRIVING WITH THE EMERGENCY BRAKE ENGAGED (WHICH BASICALLY APPLIES THE REAR BRAKES) WHICH LEADS TO RAPID WEAR AND CRACKING DUE TO THE FRICTIONAL HEAT. THE BIGGER RISK, HOWEVER, IS THE FACT THAT IN AN EMERGENCY STOPPING SITUATION, OVERHEATED BRAKES ARE INEFFECTIVE, LEADING TO LONGER STOPPING DISTANCES, WHICH CAN LEAD TO INCREASED CHANCE OF INJURIES AND EVEN DEATHS. AS AN AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEER MYSELF, THIS IS A MAJOR DESIGN FLAW THAT COULD EASILY BE CORRECTED BY ADDING AN AUDIBLE CHIME (WHICH IS USED ALREADY USED FOR SEATBELT WARNINGS AND TURN-SIGNAL WARNINGS), OR LIMITING THE VEHICLES SPEED, IN ORDER TO MAKE THE DANGEROUS SITUATION OBVIOUS TO A DRIVER UNABLE TO SEE THE WARNING LIGHT. I HAD TO REPLACE THE REAR BRAKES ON MY WIFE'S MINIVAN RECENTLY DUE TO THIS SITUATION. FORTUNATELY IT ONLY COST ME MONEY AND NOT MY WIFE'S OR MY KIDS' LIFE! *TR

NHTSA ODI 10447276