Originally Posted By: DanielinTheLions
While most of the reviews I read were for 2008 I skimmed through reviews for 2007, 2006, 2009 and saw many similar postings. Anybody here seen similar problems with a caravan/town & country. If so how serious was the problem? Was it as easy fix?
I used to help moderate the Chrysler minivan fan club forum, and used to own a 2003 and 2007 van myself. I will give you my honest assessment of the vehicles based on my ownership and moderatorship at that forum.
In general, the vans are very good. The 4th generation ran from 2001-2007 and the 5th generation runs from 2008 to current. For the most part, the transmission issues have been fixed and the engines are good. There are a lot of reports of electrical and suspension problems. My main fear with these vans is I have witnessed a number of issues that persist between generations that don't seem to get fixed. So although the new ones have zoomy engines and nicer interiors, has the stuff under the skin really been fixed? Stabilizer bar links and bushings are very common problems on these, as are tie rod ends. This persisted from the 3rd generation through to the current generation. Why? Why can't they get a handle on that problem? There are many reports of rust in specific areas on these, particularly the hood and the liftgate. The main vehicle structure seems to be generally resistant to rust, but the hood and liftgate seem to be more prone.
We loved our '07 Town & Country, until the problems seemed to arise. I was doing stabilizer bar bushings myself, about every 5-10k miles. It was too much hassle to take it to the dealer to have that fixed, so I just resigned myself to it. The stabilizer bar bushing bracket uses just ONE bolt per side. There's a little "hook" on the bracket where a second bolt would be. Consensus on the forum is this is the primary reason for the repeated bushing failures. Why couldn't Dodge have added a second bolt? Stuff like this is frustrating.
Ours needed a number of things that it shouldn't have needed so early in its life, and many were indeed electrical-related. Both rear ABS sensors needed replacing. One was under warranty, and the other was not. The one that needed replacing under warranty also failed again out of warranty, so it had a total of three replacement rear ABS sensors. The alternator was replaced twice, so it had a total of three alternators on it. The A/C compressor was replaced once, so it had a total of two. But it still wasn't right when we traded it (noisy). The serpentine belt tensioner was replaced at least once, maybe twice. The powertrain harness was replaced, but that was due to the OEM Mopar battery having or developing a pinhole leak that corroded the cable end off the harness. Why couldn't Chrysler just put a replacement cable end on it? No, they had to put a $1,200 powertrain harness on it (under warranty). Oddly, all the extra gizmos worked on our van. The power liftgate, the power sliding doors, the rear seat video, the in-dash navigation...all of this stuff worked. But the fundamentals fell apart (alternator, A/C, suspension, etc). That was the real frustrating part.
It also had to have a few TSBs done at the dealer, for transmission programming and one for a replacement power steering hose.
Our '03 Grand Caravan was somewhat better. It needed replacement stabilizer bar bushings and links only twice in the 40k miles that we owned it. It also needed a replacement water pump and a replacement power steering pump. The water pump was done under the 7/70 powertrain warranty; the power steering pump was on us. It also had to have a recall or two done, for a power steering hose problem.
When the 2008s first came out, there were many problems with the power sliding doors. They'd either get out of alignment or not work completely. Many new 2008 owners on the forum, who traded 3rd or 4th generation vans on a new 5th gen van, were disappointed in the quality of the new vans. The interior was a Tupperware clearance sale, extremely low-rent. Brakes were also a sticking point, pardon the pun. They were incredibly dirty (dusty) and had very short life. Chrysler released a revised brake design and that is covered under a TSB. They will fix it if still under warranty; the repair is on you if it's out of warranty.
To their credit, Chrysler really worked on the van and the newer ones are reportedly very good. They ride better, the handle much better, they drive better, and the interior quality is beyond comparison. This happened at, if I recall correctly, the 2011 model year. I wouldn't hesitate (much) on a brand new one, but I honestly would look very carefully at a 2008 or 2009 for signs of the very common issues with those. Vet an early 5th gen very thoroughly before purchase. You're probably safer with a later 4th generation van. The 2005+ models have Sto-N-Go, and that is quite handy. Most of them are reliable. They drive okay and ride like boulevard cruisers, which is appropriate for how they're often used.
