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

The contact owned a 2013 Chrysler Town & Country. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 MPH he started to smell an odor of something burning in the vehicle cabin. The contact stated that he parked at his residence and the burning smell was much stronger on the outside. The contact opened the hood and smelled the burning odor but saw no smoke. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact entered his residence and then noticed that a fire had started on the passenger side of the vehicle in the engine compartment. The fire department was called and extinguished the fire with water. The police were also on the scene. A fire report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot and later the contact's insurance provider declared the vehicle a total loss. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

NHTSA ODI 11466466

The contact owned a  2013 Chrysler Town & Country. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, his wife alerted him that there was smoke coming from underneath the hood. The contact was able to drive to his residence and safely exited the vehicle with his wife and their four children. No injuries were sustained and no medical attention was received. No police or fire department reports were filed. The contact opened the hood and saw that it had caught fire. The contact was able to extinguish the fire with a fire extinguisher. The vehicle remained at the contact's residence and was not yet deemed totaled by the insurance company. The dealer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. Prior to the failure, the contact stated that there was smoke coming from underneath the hood. The vehicle then stalled and was not able to restart immediately. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that there was fluid leaking from the oil filter housing. The failure mileage was 156,058.

NHTSA ODI 11465719

My vehicle will shut down randomly. If I am driving down the highway ot will turn off. If I am at a stoplight it will turn off. It seems this might be in the ignition switch. Sometimes it will start back up with no problem, and other times it will start and turn off immediately. When this happens I lose my breaks due to the van shutting down. If scares me when I have to cross multiple lanes of traffic with the other lanes traveling 65 mph. If I approach railroad crossings as well. To help answer the following question - this happens frequently. Multiple times week while driving.

NHTSA ODI 11461983

Vehicle shuts off during travel. Randomly happens. Mechanics says there is no know issues.

NHTSA ODI 11461311

The contact owns a 2013 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated that occasionally while driving at various speeds or while the vehicle was idling, the engine would shake with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to several independent mechanics on multiple occasions to have the coils, spark plugs, oil pan and other vehicle parts replaced; however, the failure persisted. An independent mechanic eventually discovered that there were engine misfires in cylinders #2, #4, #6; the contact was then informed of a service bulletin that the mechanic related to the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the service bulletin and informed him that his vehicle was not covered under warranty. The contact then called the dealer and made an appointment for a diagnostic test. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 89,000.

NHTSA ODI 11459886

Door locks emit a loud, annoying "buzzer sound" when locking. The locking mechanism was inspected by a repair company. The cost to repair was more expensive than we cared to pay.

NHTSA ODI 11458806

I’ve recently purchased this vehicle used, it had 117,000 miles when purchased. Twice in the month I have had it has it stalled out at high speeds on the interstate. Lost all power, no power steering, would not crank over. No warning lights of any potential issues prior to either instances. Not showing a check engine light after either. This could have been deadly for myself, my children. And any other driver on the road as we lost the ability to control the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11458580

Used key fob to open rear liftgate in order to put packages in , liftgate opened like normal I bent in to place packages inside and the liftgate came backdown and hit my head and then went back up a few inches and came back down again hitting my head again before I had a chance to move out of the way. I had to go to the hospital, I had head and neck pain ,to get checked out and was told I wad whiplash.

NHTSA ODI 11456444

The contact owns a 2013 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH and approaching a stop sign while depressing the brake pedal the vehicle failed to stop. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated she began to forcefully depress on the brake pedal and was able to stop and park the vehicle. The contact was able to continue driving the vehicle. The contact stated she continued to experience the failure. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact stated she continued to experience the failure. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.

NHTSA ODI 11456096

The contact owns a 2013 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle started rough idling. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with a cylinder #4 misfire. The mechanic replaced the spark plugs, coils, and fuel injector; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the Extended Warranty X56. The failure mileage was approximately 127,000.

NHTSA ODI 11449911

The car will not start when cold. We did replace the battery and a few other parts. But it can not be diagnosed. My girls and I were stranded in the cold, far from home due to the issue. When it gets nice out than the van starts. I think sometimes should be done, due to family kids, and handicap need accessible vans.

NHTSA ODI 11450053

The issue is the fuel pump relay which is internal to the total intigrated power modual or tipm. The van wouldn’t start.

NHTSA ODI 11448913

Both power sliding doors are malfunctioning. The will not close when using the remote on the key fob or the buttons inside the cabin. There is also no visual (lights) or sound signal alerting us to the failure of the door operation. The door remained open after passengers exiting the vehicle while in public parking lots and at our residence. Intermittently the power sliding doors stop working at all and do not open all the way and get stuck half way opened causing a safety hazard for my family members.

NHTSA ODI 11447203

The drivers side sliding door of my 2013 Chrysler Town & Country will not open. It is stuck closed. Mechanic says it is a faulty actuator and will require a $700 repair, for one door. An online search revealed that many other consumers are experiencing this same problem. I'd like to hold Chrysler responsible for this repair. I'm concerned that, in an emergency, my children may not be able to get out of the car. And, if the left door is faulty, how long before the part in the right-side door goes out, too? I do not want to be responsible for $1400 to repair faulty manufacturer parts. Please advise!

NHTSA ODI 11443793

Our van just stops running when driving. This causes the power steering and brakes to stop working, no warning at all anything is happening. This has happened several times in the last three days. I coasted to side of road once. I almost rear-ended and was almost rear-ended in same incident today due to sudden shut off. I fear for my life and family safety. I have a son who travels in a wheelchair in the vehicle and our only transportation. My son cannot go to school now as he has no transportation to get there since this is his wheelchair van. He cannot ride in a regular vehicle, he must ride in his powerchair due to mobility and specialized seating. Two weeks ago, vehicle acted like we didn't have traction and wheels locked up. That has happened several times. Then two days before the stop running started the traction control light came on but it was perfectly normal driving situations. Light turned off after car was turned off and hasn't come back on. No warning lights or other alerts have come on in van. Very costly, TIPM system was replaced November 2020 due to issues with vehicle power issues on not starting fully and loosing power.

NHTSA ODI 11442838

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? While driving the entire engine and system shut off. All powered functions ceased and i was left to pull over with no power steering, the brakes didn't respond as well, signals weren't working either. Once pulled over I was able to restart the car with no issue, but the vehicle has continued to randomly lose all power, it seems to occur more frequently when when braking or slowing down. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? It was put at great risk as the car could have lost control and i was at limited capacity to correct with no engine power or other powered functions. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No warning.

NHTSA ODI 11439982

Integrated fuel pump relay went out and horn started sounding and wouldn't turn off. Fuel pump relay won't work and horn relay won't turn off.

NHTSA ODI 11439623

The passenger front seat head rest deployed on its own. It looks like a plastic pin inside the headrest broke and popped open by itself!!!! This is very dangerous. I should not have to pay for this dangerous manufacture defect!!! The vehicle was never in a accident!!!!

NHTSA ODI 11437026

While I was driving, the head rest popped apart making an extremely loud noise and hitting me in the back of the head with a great amount of force. I thought I had been rear ended it was so hard. I’m in pain and lucky I had just pulled off the highway because I would have wrecked. Chrysler needs to do something about this. It was bad. Consumer had sore head and neck injuries. Case number [XXX] from Chrysler. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).”

NHTSA ODI 11433389

Over a year ago, we began to have a problem in which the vehicle would, on occasion, not start. The “check engine” light would come on, along with another icon that looked like a lightning bolt between two inverted parentheses. Sometimes it started up on the first try, other times it would take a few attempts, and sometimes it would not start at all. Then a new wrinkle emerged: the van conked out on us a few times while on the road -- once while merging onto a highway. We now had a serious (and potentially dangerous) problem on our hands. We had the fuel pump replaced, but the problem persisted. I took the van to our local Chrysler dealership to have them figure it out. They replaced the throttle body and cleaned the fuel injectors and fuel system. I drove the car home without incident, but the following morning, I tried to start it, and the same old situation emerged — the engine cranked but never turned over. I then had it towed back to the dealer for another round of diagnostics. I mentioned that I had seen on the Internet about a possible faulty Totally Integrated Power Module (TIPM), an issue in various Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram products. Later they called saying the battery was the problem (even though they earlier reported that the battery was okay), and had nothing to do with the TIPM. For about a week, the van is started up without a hitch, but then same old hesitating-before-starting situation reared its ugly head, albeit briefly. It is only a matter of time before it stalls out again in traffic. These vehicles should be recalled and the TIPM needs to be replaced.

NHTSA ODI 11432664

My Chrysler Town and Country has serious electrical issues. It started with the radio shutting off and restarting by itself, which is not a serious issue at all. But yesterday, at a red light, the radio shut off and so did the car. The engine stopped working, the accelerator pedal would not respond. It was terrifying. Thankfully we were at a red light, but if this were to happen on a busy highway, or even just on a regular street with traffic, it could be a life threatening situation. From what I have researched online, this is a common problem with Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge cars. Legal action has been taken and class action lawsuits were filed to address this matter. The Center for Auto Safety (CAS) asked this very own NHTSA to open an investigation into faulty TIPM, which seem to be the problem that causes these cars to very dangerously completely shut off even while driving, causing drivers to lose control of the steering and of the brakes. The CAS estimated 7 million Chrysler vehicles have power issues related to the TIPM. One month after receiving a class action lawsuit, Chrysler issued a recall for 189.000 Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee with bad TIPMS. 189.000. Out of SEVEN MILLION. This is absurd. It seems as if Chrysler is waiting for someone to be killed due to this issue so they can take it seriously and actually issue the recall to all the cars that have this problem, not a tiny fraction of them and not only because it is directly related to a lawsuit. Unfortunately, despite multiple claims throughout the years that not only this is a common problem with Chrysler, but that the corporation is well aware of it and negligently refuses to address the issues, the NHTSA rejected the CAS petition to investigate this problem. Proof is definitely not amiss, as a quick internet research will produce thousands upon thousands of reports of the same problem on the same car. This needs to be a recall URGENTLY, and not only after someone dies.

NHTSA ODI 11431548

The contact owns 2013 Chrysler Town & Country. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact managed to coast the vehicle to the shoulder of the roadway and turn the ignition switch to the off position and waited for approximately 20 minutes before restarting the vehicle and the vehicle resumed normal functionality. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the issue. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure recurred. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The mechanic was unable to retrieve a fault code. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 114,200.

NHTSA ODI 11430480

The rear passenger sliding door lock actuator has failed. There is a loud buzzing noise when the door unlocks. I was told eventually the lock will fail entirely which is a huge safety risk. There would be the potential for someone to steal the car or worse.

NHTSA ODI 11428890

Passenger side headrest airbag deployed into back of passenger’s head while the vehicle was moving at a slow rate of speed, approximately 25 mph on school/residential street.

NHTSA ODI 11428263

Passenger seat headrest blew open while driving to work today. No accident involved. Just bam! Looks like the plastic pieces holding a pin in place gave out.

NHTSA ODI 11427207