What 679 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Chrysler Town And Country

I found the headrest exploded on the driver side when I got in the car in the morning. Apparently, this is common as I found it on the Internet while looking for a solution. Looks like a plastic part inside the headrest broke. AHR system inadvertently activated it seems. I’m glad I wasn’t in the car and it didn’t hit my head.

NHTSA ODI 11742667

The vehicle will be started and running and shut off. Driving down the road and all of the electrical shuts off, stops running and no gages work. You have to put the vehicle in N and restart. This is extremely dangerous as you never know when it will happen. driving down the interstate at 80mph or driving when you can't just pull over to get started again. Failure in the ignition is what we think. There is an active recall but not for our VIN 2013 Chrysler Town & Country vehicles may stall or shut off while driving due to a known recall regarding a faulty Wireless Ignition Node (WIN) module, which can allow the key to move from the "run" to "accessory" or "off" position.

NHTSA ODI 11731121

While driving at highway speed, 65mph, the 2013 Town and Country shut down. The dash instruments and all internal lighting shut off, the radio shut off and the blower fan for heat shut off. I lost the ability to steer and brake (power steering went out) but managed to maneuver the vehicle to the right lane. The car would not respond to any acceleration attempt. I tried turning the key while coasting down the highway, the vehicle did not restart. I then put the vehicle into neutral and tried turning the key and it did not restart. I then turned the key to the off position and then tried to restart and it successfully started. My dash instruments illuminated, the radio and heat blower came back on and I was able to regain control of the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11713826

The Battery died and would not recharge. I checked the van. No lights were left on; no warning notifications. I replaced the battery. I had the seat behind the driver seat stowed because I had surgery on my left foot and needed to haul my knee cart with me. I no longer needed it so I raised the seat and found it had melted/burnt in several spots on the seat back. I was mortified! My van is a 2013 but is in great shape and only has 46,937 miles on it. It was parked in my garage and could have caused a house fire killing all occupants. I contacted Chrysler. They won't assist in the repair or replacement stating it hadn't been recalled and was no longer in warranty. Insurance denied the claim due to it being a part malfunction. Please let others know that the seat heater & wiring harness are defective!! I feel Chrysler should accept the responsibility pay for the repairs due to defective parts. Had this fire continued, they would be facing a much larger lawsuit such as wrongful death, etc.

NHTSA ODI 11696582

The van has stopped running on the highway without warning 3 times creating a very serious problem,had to be towed to get home,dealer could find nothing wrong.

NHTSA ODI 11687619

The contact owns a 2013 Chrysler Town And Country. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 55 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The driver was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to restart. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the ignition switch. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V373000 (Electrical System, Air Bags); but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 98,000.

NHTSA ODI 11681653

The driver side headrest airbag deployed. No one was hurt, this was a replacement recall part from December 2023. This was supposed to be safe, what if I was driving my family and friends around and this happened? We don’t feel safe. I left a message with the dealer and am waiting to hear back. No one has inspected it this time yet. No warning signs.

NHTSA ODI 11678603

The contact owns a 2013 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated that while stopped, the child sitting in the second row hugged his sibling, who was sitting in the front seat, and the front passenger’s seat headrest deployed. The contact was unable to push the headrest back down. The headrest struck the child on the face; however, no injuries were sustained. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed that an unknown plastic item had detached from the head restraint. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 132,168.

NHTSA ODI 11656421

Transmission codes but not having transmission issues even verified by shop and couldn't find issue. Then out of no where transmission revved hard on its own causing it to almost red line.

NHTSA ODI 11654842

I experienced a no start situation. The vehicle would crank but not start. I did some research on the internet and found other Dodge/Chrysler vehicles with the same problem. I noticed they all had a similar, if not the same TIPM fusebox. The remedy was the same. You can put a bypass jumper wire on the fuse and the car will start. The problem is a fuel relay failure that is soldered to a circuit board inside the TIPM. There are after- market remedies. I don’t know if these remedies protect in the event of a crash, severed fuel line, and fire. Some Dodge/Chrysler models have a recall on this issue. This recall should be extended to my vehicle and many more. This is not my vehicle. I do some of the service of this vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11653035

The contact owns a 2013 Chrysler Town & Country. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start as intended. The contact stated that after several attempts, the vehicle started; however, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was started, and the contact turned the vehicle off. The contact became aware that the fuel pump had continued running. The contact, who was a licensed independent mechanic, diagnosed the vehicle with TIPM failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V813000 (Electrical system); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 136,000.

NHTSA ODI 11647579

Intergrated power control module is throwing error even after being fixed by Firestone automotive. Car is randomly Turing off while driving down the road. Issues startin.

NHTSA ODI 11642541

The rear drivers side sliding door no longer functions. The issue began when the door would intermittently make a buzzing sound but would not open or close. Shortly after, the door continued the first issue but also began pulsating when it actually would open. Around the same time these issues began, the door started opening by itself while driving. Though i have not had any accidents yet, several near misses have occurred due to the confusion and stress that this generates. The opening while driving issue occurs most often when on the highway. The primary passengers in the rear are children so there is heightened risk based on their very appropriate age based reaction of panic. The door is also no longer opening electronically from the key fob nor from the front seat buttons.

NHTSA ODI 11633488

TIPM recall

NHTSA ODI 11632891

The contact owns a 2013 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle lost automotive power. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to safely park on the side of the road, where the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the failure was linked to the TIPM. The contact was informed that the TIPM needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11631515

The contact owns a 2013 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that the vehicle hesitated with an engine misfire. The vehicle was taken to independent mechanic and was diagnosed with cylinder #4 misfire. The spark plug and ignition coil was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the dealer declined to repair the vehicle under TSB: 09-002-14 (Cylinder leakage). The dealer referred the contact to Chrysler Customer Care for assistance. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 171,955.

NHTSA ODI 11624975

The contact owns a 2013 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. Additionally, the vehicle lost power steering functionality and the vehicle became difficult to steer. The contact stated that the failure occurred while driving uphill on a very narrow street. The contact was able to shift the vehicle into park, while using both feet to depress the brake pedal. The vehicle was stopped, and the contact turned off the vehicle. The contact stated that her four-year-old granddaughter was a passenger in the vehicle and the situation was very scary. The contact waited for several minutes, before restarting the vehicle. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The contact stated that the failure had occurred several times and the vehicle had been taken to an independent mechanic several times; however, the failure was not duplicated. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 99,000.

NHTSA ODI 11617483

The contact owns a 2013 Chrysler Town & Country. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the "Accessory On" light illuminated, and the starter made an abnormal grinding sound. The contact stated that several attempts were needed to start the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure occurred several times per week and several times during the same day. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 144,000.

NHTSA ODI 11616345

* My Van loses unexpected power while driving. With this happening, I am afraid to drive on the highway due to the risk of causing an accident if it loses power. Local street driving, I am afraid that someone will rear end me if it loses power. Once it lose power making a right turn onto another street. Fortunately, there were no other cars coming toward me. I was able to re-start the Van and drove on. The Van is a hazard for myself and others. * Do not know exactly what component or system failed or malfunctioned. * Have had 2 diagnostics done. One at the Dealer and one at an independent car repair shop. Neither one found anything. *Occasionally, the Lighting Bolt symbol will show. *Alternator has been replaced. TPMS sensor changed out. TIPM sensor changed out.

NHTSA ODI 11608849

The contact owns a 2013 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was examined by an independent mechanic, and it was determined that the WIN Module was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 120,000.

NHTSA ODI 11607607

The contact owns a 2013 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the wiring harness underneath the seat had fractured, which could cause the air bags not to deploy during a crash. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure; however, no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

NHTSA ODI 11603032

I was enjoying holiday driving with family in my 2013 Chrysler Town & Country Limited when suddenly a very loud pop was heard, with a forceful strike to the back of my head being felt. Alarmed & dazed for a moment, it was observed that my driver’s side active headrest had just exploded forward striking me on the back of my head. Once off the highway and stopped, I discovered that the active headrest had actually come apart. From the damage inside the exposed headrest, this catastrophic failure seemed to be mechanical in nature with root cause thought to be STRESS FATIGUE for the plastic casement. In other words, this active headrest did not just randomly “go off” from an errant SRS command or an electronically manipulated trigger short. I observed the headrest’s metal latch pin to still be in the locked or reset position. Instead, the plastic assembly holding two (2) heavy coil springs ruptured unprovoked. When this happened, the front part of the headrest assembly rapidly propelled forward. Though the 2010-2016 Chrysler Town & Country active headrests are an integral part of the air bag or Supplemental Restraint System, THIS particular failure was NOT due to a SRS Control nor electrical malfunction. Rather, the plastic retainer struts surrounding the metal latch pin failed. Being that my head and neck were static in position with a small amount of clearance from the front face of the headrest, the propulsion of the headrest forward caused quite a sharp smack to the back of my head. This led to some residual neck strain for the balance of the day. I have not experienced any repercussions since that day of the incident, but I do believe this to be a SAFETY ISSUE for others who may be more age OR physically compromised. I’ve found through MOPAR tech forum and dealership research that the 2010 - 2016 active headrest FAILURE is NOT rare, but more and more COMMON to the Chrysler make. Please advise. Thank you so much.

NHTSA ODI 11602682

Today, we experienced, for the FOURTH time, a complete stall while driving. Accelerator would not work at all. Van died while driving approx 25 mph. We just had the entire fuel pump & fuel pump relay completely replaced. We have replaced both of these twice now, in less than 3 years. Same problem keeps happening. Mechanic agrees, that the core problem lies within a failure of the TIPM system. It's an electrical problem causing the fuel pump to fail while driving. This is extremely dangerous. It happened to us previously, while we were on the interstate driving approx 65 mph, and it almost caused us to crash the vehicle. Another problem to also note, is this same problem has caused the A/C unit to stop working. Blows out hot air, but will not produce cold air. A/C was completely replaced. Still not working. Mechanic says yet again, it's a failure of electrical sources due to the TIPM module. This should be an immediate recall from Chrysler, for 2013 Town N Country Minivan. Over 200 logged complaints of the exact same problem. They manufactured a broken TIPM module in these make & model vehicles. Now, my husband is stranded 200 miles from home, on the side of the road, and it's 98 degrees out. This is 4th time, weve experienced a total power failure. So it doesn't matter if you replace the fuel pump, it will still DIE. We are having this POS towed to our local mechanic, AGAIN. Its available for inspection. Problems have been confirmed by an independent servicer. Check engine remains on. Someone is going to die, if Chrysler doesn't issue an recall for this ongoing problem. The interior power is still on,and engine will turn over, will not start.

NHTSA ODI 11599870

UNKNOWN. Inexplicably, the driver's headrest had deployed (see photos). I noticed it while opening the vehicle's driver door in a parking lot. The vehicle was not parked near any other vehicle. I brought the minivan to the closest Chrysler dealer. For more history please see text that immediately follows from my original 3/2024 communication to you. Original 3/24 Request #1488564 Case/Reference [XXX] The case concerns a driver’s headrest that deployed in 2022. On [XXX], 2022 I brought my 2013 Chrysler Town & Country mini-van to Schumacher Chrysler of Delray Beach, FL. After 2 days (on [XXX]) the service advisor informed me that their parts department didn’t have a matching headrest in stock and they would have to order one. At that time the vehicle had 68,530 miles. I followed up monthly, then bi-monthly, then quarterly until October 2023. At that point (XXX) I called your office where it was assigned case [XXX]. Your office told me to call Stellantis, which I did the next day. It became their case [XXX]. They told me that they’d contact the dealer, Schumacher, and I’d hear from the dealer “soon." I never did and I finally called Stellantis on [XXX] as followup; 4 1/2 months is a long time for “soon." Stellantis claimed they tried calling me in December 3 times. I never received any such calls or phone messages (and in checking caller id on my phone — which I basically never erase — had no record of any phone calls from either Stellantis or Schumacher. You’d think someone would have the courtesy to leave a message.) Stellantis told me yesterday that I needed to start-over; make the 25 mile round-trip drive to Schumacher (the closest Chrysler dealership) to “diagnose” the problem. What is there to “diagnose” on a deployed headrest that they, Schumacher, already saw and diagnosed? I am requesting that you, NHTSA, take this matter “under your wing." INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11590638

The passenger side rear sliding door will not lock and it periodically opens on its own. There is no warning or reason for this occurrence. It has happened multiple times and seems to be happening more often as time goes on. The vehicle has not been professionally inspected.

NHTSA ODI 11589838