2007 Chrysler Town And Country

DURING A LOW-SPEED LOCAL TRIP (LESS THAN 2 MILES, 45 MPH MAX) ACRID SMOKE STARTS COMING OUT FRONT A/C VENTS. STOP, TURN OFF IGNITION. AFTER MERELY DESCRIBING THE PROBLEM TO AN EXPERIENCED MECHANIC, HE SAYS HE KNOWS WHAT THE CAUSE IS AND PROVES IT BY REMOVING THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT TO REVEAL A FRIED WIRE AND NEARBY HEAT-DAMAGED PARTS. HE ADDS THAT MANY CHRYSLER-BUILT (ALSO GM-BUILT) VEHICLES HAD CAUGHT FIRE BECAUSE OF THIS VERY REASON. THE A/C BLOWER MOTOR HAD STARTED DRAWING TOO MUCH ELECTRICAL CURRENT (REASON UNKNOWN*) WHICH CAUSED ITS WIRE TO GET HOT ENOUGH TO BURN ITS OWN INSULATION PLUS MELT NEARBY PLASTIC PARTS. THE WIRE IS, OBVIOUSLY, UNDERSIZED FOR A NOMINAL OVERLOAD. (*THE BLOWER WAS STILL BLOWING AS IT ALWAYS HAD, AND HAD NEVER BLOWN ITS FUSE.) AS AN ELECTRONICS TECHNICIAN WITH 39 YEARS' EXPERIENCE IN ENGINEERING, I FIND THE USE OF WIRING TOO SMALL IN GAGE TO SAFELY HANDLE THE FULL LOAD RATING OF ITS BRANCH CIRCUIT (AS DETERMINED, IN THIS CASE, BY THE BLOWER FUSE AMPERAGE) TO BE APPALLING. THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE PROTECTS US IN OUR HOMES FROM SUCH DANGEROUS ELECTRICAL DESIGN, WHY ISN'T THERE A CODE TO PROTECT US IN OUR HIGHWAY VEHICLES AS WELL? WHAT OTHER UNDERSIZED WIRES IN MY CAR ARE WAITING TO SET IT ON FIRE? WHAT SUCH WIRING IN OTHER MAKES AND/OR MODELS? YOUTUBE PROVIDES GRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN A CAR BURNS, EVEN WHEN NO CRASH HAS OCCURRED. *TR

2007 CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTRY. CONSUMER STATES WHEN IGNITION IS TURNED ON DASH DISPLAY NOTIFICATIONS STAY ON *TGW THE CONSUMER STATED WHEN SHE TURNED ON THE IGNITION, NONE OF THE INSTRUMENT GAUGES WORKED ON THE DASHBOARD. ALSO, THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT AND ABS LIGHT REMAINED ON. THE DASH DISPLAY, COMPUTER AND TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE WERE REPLACED. HOWEVER, THE PROBLEM CONTINUED. *JB

SLIDER DOORS ON MY MINIVAN WILL NOT OPEN AND CLOSE COMPLETELY ELECTRICALLY. CHRYSLER HAS ADMITTED THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH A SHORT IN THE WIRING HARNESS BY RECALLING CERTAIN VEHICLES. ON MY CAR THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THE DOOR CANNOT BE OPENED MANUALLY OR ELECTRICALLY FROM INSIDE THE CAR. THERE HAVE BEEN SOME CARS THAT STARTED ON FIRE. WHY DOESN'T CHRYSLER ADMIT THEY HAVE A BIG PROBLEM FOR MANY YEARS AND RECALL THESE VEHICLES AND CORRECT THE PROBLEM BEFORE THEY HAVE A SEVERE PROBLEM.

VAN HAS AN AUTOMATIC REAR HATCH DOOR THAT CLOSES UP AND DOWN. THE KEY FOB HAS A BUTTON THAT MUST BE PUSHED TWICE TO CLOSE OR OPEN THE REAR HATCH. THERE HAVE BEEN FOUR INCIDENTS WHERE THE DOOR HAS CLOSED ON ITS OWN. ONE OF THESE INCIDENTS WAS VERIFIED BY A FAMILY MEMBER WHO WAS USING THE VEHICLE AND HAD NOT PUSHED THE BUTTONS AND THE DOOR JUST CAME DOWN ON THEM. IN TWO OF THE INCIDENTS AN ELDERLY PERSON WAS HURT AND HAD TO GO TO THE DOCTOR AND IN ONE CASE THE HOSPITAL.

THREE INCIDENTS OF THE SAME HAPPENING. LAST INCIDENT WHILE DRIVING AT 70MPH ON INTERSTATE, THE MOTOR SHUT OFF, THE SPEEDOMETER REGISTERED "0" AND THE GAS GAUGE REGISTERED "0". I WAS FORCED TO MAKE MY WAY CAUTIOUSLY TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD. AFTER CALMING DOWN FROM THE FRIGHT, I WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE CARE AND RESUME THE TRIP. THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED AT 45MPH ON CITY STREET AND THE NEXT TIME WHILE PULLING INTO A PARKING LOT. VERY DANGEROUS. MAY HAVE BEEN REAR ENDED AS THE CAR SLOWED DOWN DRASTICALLY. *TR

I WAS DRIVING AT INTERSTATE SPEED, 70 MPH, AND THE CAR SHUT ITSELF OFF--LOST ALL POWER. I WAS FORCED TO CAREFULLY CHANGE LANES, AND EASE MY WAY TO THE SHOULDER. THE ODOMETER READ 0 MPH AND THE GAS GAUGE READ EMPTY. THIS WAS UNSAFE AS I COULD HAVE BEEN REAR-ENDED OR SIDE SWIPED. THIS WAS THE THIRD OCCURRENCE. THE MILEAGE IS 40,500. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH, THE AIRBAG LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD, MOMENTS LATER, SHE NOTICED THAT THE ENTIRE DASHBOARD STOPPED FUNCTIONING. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED BY THE DEALER AND THERE WERE NO PRIOR WARNINGS. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 54000. UPDATED 11/23/09. *LJ THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE HAS NO BRAKE LIGHTS WHEN STOPPING, EXCEPT THE TAILGATE LIGHT. ALSO, THE BLINKERS AND HAZARD LIGHTS ARE INOPERATIVE. UPDATED 11/24/09

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE HAS A REAR PARKING ASSIST WARNING MECHANISM THAT BEEPS WHEN REVERSING WITHIN ONE FOOT OF AN OBJECT. THE DEALER STATED THAT THEY COULD NOT REPAIR THE MECHANISM AND REFERRED HIM TO THE MANUFACTURER. DAIMLER CHRYSLER STATED THAT THE MECHANISM WAS WORKING ACCORDING TO SPECIFICATIONS. THE CONTACT FELT THAT THE MECHANISM DID NOT PROVIDE ADEQUATE WARNING. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE LESS THAN 24,000.