Defect Alert: Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Caravan Rotor Issues
We are receiving a large number of calls to the 1-800-LEMON-LAW hotline pertaining to brake and rotors problems with Dodge Caravan, Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country vehicles. While dealers sometimes say that brakes are normal wear and tear items, we are finding rotors and pads that need to be replaced every 5,000-10,000 miles, and that is certainly not the norm.
If you are experiencing grinding brakes, trouble stopping or your brake pedal pushes to the ground, continue going back to an authorized Dodge or Chrysler dealership to have the problem addressed. Make sure you hold on to every repair invoice. And if you are back in the shop repeated times, regardless of whether you are paying for the repairs, contact a Lemon Law attorney to discuss your rights under state and/or federal law. You could be entitled to free legal representation under the fee-shifting provisions of your state’s Lemon Law. You can find a list of Lemon Law attorneys throughout the country by clicking here.
Pennsylvania and New Jersey consumers can learn more about their state’s lemon laws on our PA Lemon Law and NJ Lemon Law question pages.
March 12th, 2012 at 1:56 pm
2008 Chrysler Town and Country Mini-Van Brake problems.
We now have to replace the front brakes including rotors and pads for the 3rd time and ther rear brakes for the second time with only 62000 miles on the car.
Each time we have been told that the rotors can not be cut even though they have never been cut. I find this very unusual.
The first time the front brakes needed replacement was at about 24,000 miles. Chysler has a recall or service bulletin at the time and refunded part of the cost.
Now I am being told by the Chrysler dealer that I need to pay $850 for front and rear brake replacement including rotors again.
March 17th, 2012 at 7:40 pm
2008 Dodge Caravan.
Front and rears replaced at 20,000 kms!! INSANE!!! Rears got so hot you could not touch the rim. Brakes should be a recall as they do not last at all. If this wasnt an issue then why are most of us owners having brake issues so early on in the life of this vehicle????? JUST IS NOT RIGHT!!!
March 29th, 2012 at 8:25 pm
2007 Dodge Grand Caravan
I have 31,700 miles on my van. In June 2010 (24,000 miles) I had to have new front brakes and rotors put on, in December 2011 I had to have new rear brakes but on….now just last week I had to put new front brakes AGAIN got only a little over 7,000 miles out of them and had to have the rotors machined. Don’t know if anyone else is having this problem – I heep getting what I call a clunk and the dealer called a click in the front drivers wheel – turned out have to replace the axel – Are you kidding me, this van is not even 5 years old with extremely LOW miles….
April 14th, 2012 at 3:20 pm
2009 Chrysler Town & Country with 24,000 miles. Back brakes ran in excess of 600 degrees F. and the vehicle was undriveable for any extended length of time. Shame on you Chrysler; this situation is unacceptable
April 17th, 2012 at 3:45 pm
2010 Chrysler Town and Country left over (purchased 02/2011) with 14,000 miles on it today – replaced front rotors today and they tell me they need to replace the rears as well – but want to charge me $500+. This is ridiculous………Chrysler clearly knows there is a problem – they issued an automatic extended warranty on the front braking system – so all I have to pay is a deductible – I AGREE – SHAME ON YOU CHRYSLER……..I was so proud to have purchased an American made car – but am so ashamed that the product we are putting out is so CHEAP it doesn’t even last 15,000 miles……..SHAME ON YOU!
April 18th, 2012 at 9:35 am
Just very frustrated with this whole braking problem with my 2009 Chrysler Town and Country. I’m about to replace my pads and rotors for about the 4th time in only 54,000 miles. Has anyone received any satisfaction from anyone at Chrysler or any other organization?
April 23rd, 2012 at 3:55 pm
We have handled numerous brake claims regarding these vehicles.
April 25th, 2012 at 11:25 am
I just purchased a 2011 Chrysler Town and Country with 80 miles on it and we had to replace the rotors and break pads. It was obviously covered, but while my wife was sitting at the service department there were two other minivan owners getting them replaced as well. Both have said it has been a reoccuring problem for them. the only explination we got from the service department was that it must have been a bad batch. I am sorry but this is BS….there has got to be a better explination than this.
May 7th, 2012 at 3:26 pm
Got a used, 70 K miles, 2009 Grand Caravan that had replaced rotors and pads, and it is still giving problems. Hot RF wheel and vibrations.
May 8th, 2012 at 4:47 pm
I have a 2009 Chrysler Town and Country with 57,000 miles on it and had to change the front breaks rotors and pads three times and going on its 4th time, I took it to the service department at Chrysler and said that the pads and rotors are from Auto Zone and are cheap and no good Quality; the Auto Zone part store said that there the top of the line pads and rotors and that the Chrysler service department are BS… You SHAME ON YOU CHRYSLER !!!!!!!Plus I had to replace the Fuel Pump$600.00 +$225.00 labor,Heater Hose $125.00 I did the labor, Air Conditioning High pressure Hose $325.00 and the front Wheel Bearing that I bought and put on my self $ ??? SHAME SHAME SHAME!!!!!!!
May 11th, 2012 at 6:25 pm
I own 3 2008’s and 1 2011…….similar brake problems on every one.
The 10 month old 2011 with 17000 miles had one caliper seize last week, the other this week, both calipers replaced, but before I could get home the first one seized again…….wheel so hot you can’t touch it. Now they tell me they need parts which are backordered with absolutely no ETA on parts…….could be a week or a month. This is a business vehicle which is now out of service. This happened once on one of the 2008’s………at that time dealership told me that New England region had over 450 sets of calipers on backorder. Time for a class action lawsuit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 13th, 2012 at 9:51 am
I just replace the rear rotors on our 2009 Town & Country with less than 11,000 miles…….Only drive the car for golf trips and to the Outer Banks with our Labs. Stopped going to local Chrysler garage……No satisfaction from them.
May 15th, 2012 at 10:05 pm
I own a 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan in February I had replaced the masyer cylinder all brake lines rotars pads emergency brake and pedal and calibers. In the middle of March my brakes began to slip sometimes Limmer they didnt want to stop. On Friday I wad on.my way to work and the pedal went to the floor. The abs light kettle coming on too. Well they said they cant find anything wrong with them and they are working now. After investigating I found out that this is a common provlem with this van. I believe with this it is a danger to our lives and others. They need to dip something about this problem!!!
May 22nd, 2012 at 11:45 am
David: if this becomes a repetitive issue on the 2011 model, please call us at 1 800 LEMON LAW.
May 27th, 2012 at 7:13 pm
I bought our van in 2008 new. Now have 67k mile and this will be the 5th set of front pads 2nd set of rotors. Had the front pass wheel bearing go out at 45k and had to go to corporate to get it honored. The rear pads have been replaced twice so far and the rear caliper seized at around 30k.
Now tires are another problem this will be the 3rd set.
never buying another Chrysler product again.
May 30th, 2012 at 6:32 pm
Had our 2010 T&C in today – had an awful loud whistling noise in the rear – my husband said the dealer told him at the last oil change that the rear brakes were bad. My reply was “BS” – I have a 2005 Sebring that just got its first set of front and rear brakes at 105,000 miles. I could see maybe dirt in the rear brakes – I’ve had that happen before. They replaced the rear pads and rotor – no resurfacing of the rotors – replacement – what is that with less than 39,000 miles??? So I have written to Chrysler – I will post the BS they probably come back with. I’ve had Chryslers for over 50 years and before that my Dad had only Chrysler products – I know my cars (better than my husband) and so I know this is not normal. But try finding a technical service bulletin on this problem – you won’t – and I’d never expect to find a recall. After reading all these posts there is something very wrong. I guess someone will have to be killed or injured with brakes that fail because they had no more money to keep replacing them every 20,000 to 40,000 miles (or even sooner as I’ve read). I’ve taken Chrysler to court before so I’m not afraid to do it again – but that was with a 1977 Volare and we should all remember what a piece of crap that was. I love my 2005 Sebring – not a bit of a problem with it – but if this expensive van ends up costing us $500 constantly for brakes/rotors, we may be dumping it. Forget an extended warranty – it doesn’t cover any of this as I’m sure you all know. But isn’t it refreshing to hear the ads from competitors telling us that even brake pads are covered? And we can’t even get Chrysler to admit there is a problem on their vans?????
June 4th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
Our 2008 Grand Caravan with 47,000 miles has been in the shop at least 3 times for brake issues and many other issues too numerous to count. Must pay another $850 tomorrow to get car back from dealer. I’ll make sure that I get the service records.
June 5th, 2012 at 11:53 am
Charles: What other problems was the vehicle in the shop for?
June 5th, 2012 at 12:53 pm
Sliding Door electronic lock problem June 2012
Rear Brakes June 2012, 47 K miles, June 2012
cost was $998
Although much of the following work was covered, the list of problems is still impressive:
Restraint Control Module (recall) march 2012
Throttle light, July 2012
AC not working July 2011
ABS Light and Clock spring Jan., 2011
Exhaust leak Jan. 2011
Washer and Ambient Sensors, June 2010
Front Pads, Rotors; June 2009; 13 K miles
Rear Pads, Calipers; Sept., 2009; 16k miles
AC not working; June 2009
Shift Assembly; Oct. 2008
June 6th, 2012 at 12:31 pm
I have a Dodge 2008 Caravan. It has under 33,000 miles on it. I’ve already replaced the back pads and rotors. I now have to replace the master cyclinder for the brakes and there is a wait of about a week for the part. Has anyone else had this problem? All of the dealer parts and after market parts are not available for a week, which leads me to believe this is a bigger problem in these vehicles.
Other issues have been the air conditioning, which just died a month ago. Plus needed all four times last month too.
I’m shocked that I am having so much trouble with this van, especially with my low mileage.
June 6th, 2012 at 12:50 pm
Charles: It is an impressive list. You may have a claim based on the extensive warranty history.
June 6th, 2012 at 7:15 pm
Follow up to brake problems on 2011 Grand Caravan. Dodge says parts on order, but due to a nation wide backlog parts won’t be available until August!!!!!!!!! Brakes are overheating badly and other mechanics tell me that this must certainly be damaging wheel bearings as the wheels become red hot. Nice to drive a new van and have people flagging you down to tell you that your wheels are smoking and on the verge of catching fire. This is a business vehicle so Dodge tells me that I have the highest priority………..AUGUST!!!!! Either the parts are coming from another galaxy or this problem is of enormous proportions.
June 6th, 2012 at 7:23 pm
i have a 2008 town and country – bought it as certified pre-owned with 43k miles. had it less than 3 months when i was on a 2400 mile round trip with my three young children and was on the interstate and my van would not brake. took to authorized chrysler dealership – they replaced a brake line and speed sensor. less than 3 months later i started to hear a loud whistle coming from the back left side. took it to dealership and they replaced the front wheel bearings (per the recall) and told me i needed new brakes. i knew something sounded wrong considering i had only put 6k miles on the van. i had my neighbor change the brake pads and the back left brake caliper was seized and that brake pad was metal to metal. the other 3 pads had 90% life remaining. WE NEED A CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINST CHRYSLER!!!
June 7th, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Wendy: Rather than a class action, you should look into filing an individual claim. Reach out to a lemon law lawyer in your area (find the listings here: https://www.lemonlaw.com/lemon-law-firm.html) and see if they can help you ASAP.
June 7th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
David: I would like to know where you are from. I think you may want to find a lemon lawyer in your state–visit https://www.lemonlaw.com/lemon-law-firm.html. You may have enough ammunition to file a claim.
June 11th, 2012 at 1:30 am
My husband just purchased a new 2012 Chrysler T&C for my birthday. He bought it on May 24th, so it’s barely 2 weeks old. I was so happy when he brought it home, but as soon as I drove it, I was so disappointed. I notice it is very sluggish at times, especially after pressing on the gas after I’m stopped. I have to put my foot way down into the gas pedal to get it moving, and then the engine is super loud, like a truck. That’s just the first thing we noticed. A couple days later, my husband calls me out to look at what he called poor workmanship. The black trim that is around the top of the driver’s side door, is buckled up and wrinkly. The rubber seal connected to it is gaping open, and the other seal looks faded and worn. He pointed out how perfect it SHOULD look, when we compared it to the passenger door frame trim. He took it to the dealership, they ordered the part, and admitted it was a factory defect. Last week, all the power sliding doors and back hatch opened by themselves. Also, I had the 3rd row bench stowed into the floor. The left side won’t even lock into place when you stow it. So anyway, when I lifted the seating back up again, water started leaking under the left seat, and when I started shaking the seat, a puddle of water dispersed in the trunk. Now the side of the left seat is wet! If that isn’t enough, starting about 3 days ago, I’ve noticed that when I come to a stop, I feel a light shuddering towards the rear of the van. Now this concerned me…For one, I’m very easy on the brakes. And the shuddering is getting worse. But in my head I’m thinking, if the rear brakes are bad, how on earth could that happen??? This is a brand new van, 2 WKS. old, only 500 miles on it!! Today, while parked, waiting for my sister, i noticed a light vibration, when idled. And another cosmetic factory defect I noticed, the very day we bought it…there’s also a light vertical marking under the paint, on the outside of the left passenger sliding door. Well, the other day I called Chrysler. They took note of the problems, but basically told me to go back to the dealership. They said they opened a case for me, but imagine my surprise when I called Chrysler back that night, only to find my case had been closed!! Why?? Because they said I was told in the call to work with the dealership. Well, I called the dealership. I complained, and explained to them that I didn’t want it fixed, I wanted a different model. They agreed, so we went on Thursday, I picked out a new vehicle, they get on the phone and locate my replacement. We wait, and wait…hours pass, they come in with paperwork, and THAT’S when they dropped the bomb on us. My new replacement would cost $44,000 because they were only going to give us $22,000 for this one, and we’d just paid them almost $33,000 for it!! Insane!! So I am back to square one….I don’t even want this poor excuse of a van. Why bother fixing it if I don’t even want it. Yet, who would buy it like this?? Plus, no one is going to buy our used vehicle, for the price of a new one. And no dealer will give us back what we paid for it. So either way we’re screwed. I guess we’ll HAVE to fix it, and keep records of everything. I am just heartsick about the whole thing, I mean….You don’t expect this from a brand new vehicle. It just isn’t right. 🙁
June 12th, 2012 at 8:04 pm
Hello it really bugs me that all these folks including myself have spent hundreds sometimes thousands of dollars on these piece of junk vans. I have a 2008 that has been in the shop for , bearings , the DVD system crapped out (thank god that was under warranty) , the key was getting stuck had to replace the ingnition, the automatic light switch broke replaced that, the a/c and heat vents broke, the power doors completely suck they have been adjusted or as Chrysler kept saying the software had to be updated ( they still act up from time to time) and finally the phenomenal breaks they put on these vans. We bought the van with 18,000 miles and we had to replace the front rotors and pads then at 40,000 the rear rotors and pads were replaced, then ofcourse the rear lh caliper froze and had to be replaced then at 50,000 the rotors and pads on the front had to be replaced again. And guess what it’s going into the shop Friday again because the pedal is pulsating more than likely due to warped rotors. What the hell kind of company is Chrysler? How can they continue to keep selling inferior parts to consumers. I can tell you this I will never ever buy a Chrysler product again in my life! Also the 2012 JD Powers reliability chart had Chrylser, Dodge, Ram, and Jeep as the last 4 worst manufactures. Tell everybody you know not to buy any product from these manufacturers.
June 15th, 2012 at 2:58 pm
I currently own 2009 T&C with 57,000 Miles. Since I have owned this car i have…
-replaced front brakes/rotors 4 times
-replaced rear brakes
-rear brake pad clips missing/broken – had to replace
-replaced anti rattle clip and caliper bolts
-my left side door was warped and was rubbing on the car – door had to be fixed and car repair
-replaced door roller due to clicking noise
-replaced radio because it would not turn on
-the whole dash goes black – they replaced Internal clusters
-trans pan was leaking
-will be replacing the front wheel bearings next Tuesday
This doesn’t even include the two recalls!
June 27th, 2012 at 12:40 pm
We bought our Chrysler T and C in 2008. We have rePlaced the front breaks 3 times and the rear brakes 5 times. And now they are squeaking again. We just got it back from the shop 2 weeks ago. There is obviously a problem. Is the Lemon Law appropriate in this situation? We were told by our dealership that it is our fault because we didn’t have our calipers cleaned every couple of months. Really? We don’t know what to do.
June 27th, 2012 at 3:19 pm
I purchased a 2010 dodge caravan in April of 2010 with 19 miles on it. In August with only aprox 7300 miles I had the rear rotors replaced, because they were too bad to turn. I also complained about the sliding doors rubbing fenders. In October with 11000 miles I placed the van back in shop for doors rubbing fender and rear rotors. At this they turned the rotors and buffed out fenders. In December brake calipers were sticking so they put a adapter on the calipers that was supposed to keep the brakes from sticking. In May with 19000 miles I had the van in shop for front brakes and rotors (recall). While in shop they checked the rear and found rear rotors were bad again, at my cost of 300.00. Had the car inspected with only 2,000 miles on the New rear rotors and found they have hotspots on them already. I am going to call!!
June 28th, 2012 at 12:28 am
Yep, add me to the list of UNhappy Dodge GC owners. I bought a 2009 model in August of 2010, with 40,000 miles on it. I now have 73,000 in it. When I bought it, I complained about the “square tires” on it, so they did something to it before we picked it up…and it was alot better but still not completely right. A friend of ours had a Chrysler TC, and hers had the same vibration, and even though I thought it couldn’t be right, I accepted the van with the repairs theey had made to get us INto the van and OFF their lot. Now, after having to dump $800 (which we didn’t really have) into replacing something in the ignition, the engine light came on again! Now we have to replace tires, rotors, and brakes – for starters! There could be MORE! I’m so fed up with it, I’d love to drive it up someone’s – well…you have the idea. I’m taking active steps to get rid of this vehicle! Shoulda kept my ugly old Ford Windstar – I had 188,000 miles on it, and it still ran well, and SMOOTH too! Thanks for letting me vent…
June 29th, 2012 at 6:19 am
Bought new 2011 T & C 19 months ago. Front brakes replaced at 20,000 miles (factory recall). However, extremely upset that rear brakes AND rotors replaced at 25,000 at my cost.
July 1st, 2012 at 11:15 am
I have a 2007 Town & Country. I purchased it in 2008, as a certified used car. Van had 38,000 miles, it now has 84,000. Since purchasing, I have had to replace front & back brakes twice. My front rotors have been turned already and now just 7,000 miles from last change, rotors need to be replaced. Also, brakes are metal to metal again. Chrysler has a problem with braking system. What can be done to force them to acknowledge problem.
July 2nd, 2012 at 3:48 pm
The miles may be an issue, but you could be entitled to replacement under a parts warranty. It is certainly something to look into.
July 2nd, 2012 at 3:50 pm
Ronald: Give us a call at 1 800 LEMON LAW to discuss your situation and how we may be able to help.
July 2nd, 2012 at 3:51 pm
Tiffany: Did you have to pay out of pocket every time or were any covered under warranty?
July 2nd, 2012 at 6:30 pm
Hello Lemon Law,
I already have a claim in with you guys, and already had it inspected. The mechanic suggested i have the rear rotors replaced again before the 12,000 miles are up. He said there are already hotspots on the rear. You guys are very helpful and I recommend anyone with the same problems do the same and call you guys. Thanks for your help!
July 3rd, 2012 at 12:22 am
This is Linda. I posted further up, about the 2012 we purchased last month, and the defect around the door trim, and other problems.
Well, my husband took the van in, to replace the buckled and warped trim. Yesterday, it was the first time I went out to look at it. Even after being fixed, it looks horrible! The rubber pieces are gapping away from the door. The faded rubber is still there; it wasn’t replaced. There is still buckling where the new trim meets the rubber on both doors. On the passenger door, the rubber trim at the top of this door is very faded, and has even ripped!! And the plastic coverings attached, that meets the door, have huge gaps. They are falling away from the doors; you can even move this plastic away from the doors, it is so cheap. This week will be the 2nd time to get this cheap junk parts repaired. My back brakes are vibrating worse than ever, and there’s a whining noise, and clicking sound under the hood, with a cold start up. It idles rough. So when we take this in, to get the door trim fixed yet AGAIN, we have all these other issues to address. All covered by warranty, thank God!! From the moment we got it, it did NOT feel like a brand new van. It’s just not right! How can a 2012 have so many rubber piece door trims, to look so worn, faded, and ugly? Dealer admits factory defects! I call it diminished value! It’s not fair to get a new vehicle, made so poorly, that drives so badly. If I’d seen the vehicle and drove it before my husband brought it home, I wouldn’t have bought it. Chrysler is using cheap parts to manufacture their vehicles. I called Chrysler right after we got it. They knew I wasn’t happy. They closed my claim the SAME day I filed, stating I would resolve this myself, with the dealer. You can bet after fixing this door frame TWICE, and all the other problems, I’ll be calling Chrysler again! From what I’ve researched, my rear brakes/rotors are bad, the whining could be wheel bearing noise, alternator bearing, engine, or drivetrain noise. I’ll come back with an update, after getting it serviced. If anyone wants to see pictures of the defect in the door trim and surrounding rubber, email me. You really wouldn’t believe how terrible it looks until you see it. Lindalang2011@me.com Good luck to all of us.
July 3rd, 2012 at 9:17 am
I had a 2001 and 2006 Grand Caravan with all the same problems noted above. Should have learned a lesson. I now have a 2011 Dodge Journey with 12.5K miles. Front brake rotors warped. $540 to replace. However, I did upgrade to ceramic pads (a lesson learned from the vans) which did last much longer. You’d think Chrysler would be embarrassed into correcting this trend. Brakes are not new technology. How can you screw that up?
July 4th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
I bought a used 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan in May 2012 with 70 K miles. They had replaced pads and rotors a few times (had service papers). I had a hot RFront whell and the seller had me take it to a shop to be checked out. NO PROBLEM said that mechanic (he works on a Dodge fleet).
So I wait for more problems to appear.
And I am living on Social Security, which may soon be cut to shreds.
Jim E
July 5th, 2012 at 1:34 pm
Just brought my 2011 Town and Country to a dealer in NY to have it services under warranty for a back end grinding noise when brakes are compressed. The dealership determined the rear brakes and rotors needed replacement because they were defective. Only 8,000 miles on the van. Scary.
July 6th, 2012 at 11:36 pm
I purchased a 2011 T&C approximately 10 months ago (with about 80 miles on it) and while driving it tonight with around 15k miles on it I heard a loud scraping noise over the sound of the radio. I immediately pulled over to investigate and found that my driver’s side rear rotor was severely scored in the middle of the rotor. Being that I haven’t got the time between now and the morning to take it to Chrysler (as I have to use it in the morning) I went to my auto parts store and purchased new rotors and pads. Got the thing apart and discovered the lovely rear brake caliper requires a special tool. I will have to hope that someone carries the tool that I need locally without having to order it in.
This is not the first problem though that have encountered. At about 2-3 months old I had to have the electronic door lock on the driver’s door repaired as it kept multiple-cycling whenever you tried to unlock/lock it. Sometimes it would manage to stay in the unlock position, most times I found myself having to reach in and manually open it. This was fixed under warranty.
This is not a good track record so far. This is the first NEW vehicle that I have purchased and I am not inclined to buy another one anytime soon. I’d rather have a broke in, well-maintained used car than a broken down, new one ANY day. I live in NY and would love to know how to handle this.
July 10th, 2012 at 6:20 pm
Same problem here. The entire car shakes wildly every time we brake. I just replaced the pads and rotors for both the front and the rear at 32k and only are at 38k now. I bought the car with 23k on it so I have to assume that they had been replaced before I bought the car because it was fine when I bought it but started shaking soon after we bought it. This problem is absolutely crazy and no Chrysler does not care to do anything about it. Even if they replaced everything for free and we got a suit against them to have this done that only helps so much. Are they going to agree to replace them every 5k for the life of the car??? We didn’t buy the car from them so will they give us something else? Certainly don’t think so. My only option is to sell the stupid thing and never buy a Chrysler again.
July 14th, 2012 at 9:14 pm
Purchased a 2011 T&C in Feb 2011. Just replaced the front rotors and pads at 20,000 miles. I paid a $100 deductible for the extended warranty Chrysler put on the front rotors and pads. I feel the rear rotors are out of round and I can see myself having them replaced very soon. Unacceptable. After reading all of these posts, I agree with #11 David and #23 Wendy, time for a class action lawsuit.
July 20th, 2012 at 6:04 pm
Purchased a 2010 T&C in Feb 2011. Went on a trip to the mountains two weeks ago with 19,500 miles on the van and the same problem. Wheel shaking, brakes pulsating, extremely bad.
Took to dealer today and they told me all four rotors were warped and needed turned for $556 dollar–not replaced turned!
I got on-line and found this blog and inquired about the extended front break warranty as the van now has 23,000 miles after the trip. Dealer said they forgot to check it!
Leaving next week for a trip to the mountains and they said it was safe to do so and will replace front rotors and pads upon return as part of extended warranty.
Won’t do nothing for the back ones which are warped also. Do we have any options? How do I contact Chrysler to complain?
Going to argue with them Monday about replacing the front parts before we leave.
Had a 2005 T&C and never had an issue. This one was in the a week after purchase due to the wipers, lights and instrument panel flashing. Took it in (3) times before they got it right.
Just had the rear hatch motor replaced as it went out and the driverside rear door serviced today.
Have never owned a foreign vehicle, but may trade this for a Sienna if they don’t make it right!
July 26th, 2012 at 5:05 pm
Kenny: Look into your rights. Visit https://www.lemonlaw.com/lemon-law-firm.html to find an attorney in your state.
July 27th, 2012 at 9:12 pm
We purchased a new 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan in Delaware in July of 2010. At 9,500 miles the vehicle had so much vibration and shaking when braking that the dealer resurfaced the front rotors. At 14,600 miles, the same vibration and shaking when braking was back and the front rotors had to be replaced. This was done so under the front brake recall. At 15,400 miles the front rotors had to be replaced again due to the return of the same issues. The dealer blamed the short rotor life (800 miles) on faulty parts. At this point, I was questioning the dealer’s capabilities. The van now has 21,000 miles on it and it is doing the same thing again. We have contacted Chrysler and are in the process of having it looked at again next week by the same dealer. This was the first Chrysler product we ever purchased. We are not so sure we would buy one again. We did not know the vehicle would require brake work at every oil change. Even though we have only paid the $50.00 deductible at the 14K repair, the whole process is getting a little annoying and frustrating.
July 30th, 2012 at 1:26 pm
John: Please call us at 1800 LEMON LAW. We will be glad to discuss your situation and how we can help.
July 30th, 2012 at 9:00 pm
Mr Everhart:
I had the exact same thing happen to me #30 above. 2010 dodge caravan. I am at 22000 miles and the rear brakes are vibrating again. Is there anyone else seeing rub marks on there rear fender wells? I thought it was from someone hitting my van with their doors but its not, it is caused by the door panels are too big and the doors arent adjusted enough.
July 31st, 2012 at 3:49 pm
I live in Canada so not sure if you can help….but my 2010 DGC has has the breaks and rotors replaced 4 times in one year……once after only 2 mths. Chrysler blames the mechanic the mechanic blames the van for being prone to break issues…..
August 2nd, 2012 at 1:33 pm
I have a 2010 Chrysler T & C and ever since I have had it I have had to replace rotors/brakes every 5/6 months and am glad to know that I am not the only one with this problem! What can we do?
August 2nd, 2012 at 4:12 pm
Brandy: Please fill out our Get Rid of Your Lemon form at https://www.lemonlaw.com/rid.html.
August 2nd, 2012 at 8:00 pm
See #47 above. After three front brake jobs over the past year, the diagnosis at yesterday’s visit to the local Dodge dealer was warped rear rotors. Again, this 2010 Dodge Caravan has 21,000 miles on it. A customer care rep from Detroit was involved and proved helpful, but based on the amount of work done to date, I’m pretty certain the vehicle will be back in for brakes in the coming months. They were not able to fix the vehicle yesterday because the rear rotors are on backorder (hmmm, I wonder why), and they are keeping the van hoping to have it back to me within five days. By declaring the vehicle VOR (vehicle off road) they were able to expedite the rotors to this dealer. So in the meantime, the customer care representative from Detroit secured us a rental 2012 Chrysler Town and Country from Enterprise Rent a Car. It has 15,500 miles on it and guess what……rumbling and shaking in the vehicle when applying the brakes. During my visit to the dealer I offered to purchase a new T&C if the dealer could package the price of the new vehicle and or trade-in allowance on my 2010 in a way to keep my payments equivalent. They graciously offered me $1,900 BELOW Kelly Blue Book for my 2010, and offered $2,500 off MSRP of the new T&C. If you can’t sense the sarcasm, I felt Chrysler and this dealer basically said “sorry about your luck sucker.” Honda came up with a better deal than this for an Odyssey. It will be my first foreign car ever.
August 3rd, 2012 at 7:34 am
John: Please visit https://www.lemonlaw.com/lemon-law-firm.html to find a lemon law firm in your state who can help.
August 5th, 2012 at 11:01 pm
Bought a 2010 Town and Country Touring Limited back in April 2011 and i have taken it to the dealer about 10 times already. I am always having issues with the brakes, the car starts shaking and vibrating everytime you apply the slightest pressure. The dealer keeps saying its fixed but it never is. I have horrible gas mileage on this car. I am currently at 12.4 MPG. And the passenger automatic window doesn’t work properly. For the window to go up you must press down on the window button. You can open the window down with the button on the passenger side, only the drivers side can operate the window properly.
August 8th, 2012 at 3:49 pm
Peter: Please visit https://www.lemonlaw.com/lemon-law-firm.html to find an attorney in your state.
August 13th, 2012 at 6:21 pm
We purchased our 2010 used in 2011, and earlier this year we had terrible problems with the fron brakes. Since I have over 36,000 miles on it they would not honor the recall without a $100 deductible. I thought I would be smart and do my own work. Bought new front rotors and ceramic pads, checked the calipers, greased the pins, and bled the brakes. Within 1 week the shaking started again. Took it to my local mechanic and the rotors were blue from the heat. They have no idea why this is happening. I replaced the rotors again and the problem is still there. Heading to the dealer this weekend to see if I can either get the problem resolved or I will have to start looking for a replacement. This is not a safe vehicle for my wife to drive.
August 14th, 2012 at 10:21 pm
Hello Again…..#30 from above. I will be putting my 2010 dodge caravan in shop again with 24,000 miles for rear rotors and rattle noise in rear. I am sick of this, I honestly think chrysler is a joke. 7300,11000,19000, and now 24000. What is it going to take to get this problem fixed? I am not sure these people care about the safety of their customers.
August 15th, 2012 at 9:17 am
I have a 2010 Dodge Caravan that I bought brand new 12/2010. I loved it at first. I’ve had to take it to the dealership twice for issues. While taking it in for a whistle on the drivers side window, they discovered some other issues with the rear of the van. I took it in again for a routine oil change and tire rotation and they found again something else wrong with it where it would idle high. I am now at 28K miles and was told I have to have front and rear breaks, the van is hesitating at take off from a stopped position and it sounds like crap when you start is up. Really 28K miles? That is unheard of and not ok. I will be trying to trade this van in as soon as I can for something foreign. I live in the MOTOR CITY and thought the make of an Amercian made vehicle would be better here right!!!!
August 15th, 2012 at 11:19 am
Front and rear brake pads and rotors replaced on 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan Crew with less than 15K miles on it. Rears not covered under warranty. If I have to change brakes every 15K miles, I am going to puke.
August 18th, 2012 at 8:50 am
I have owned my 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan since February, bought it brand new. It now has 7,300 miles on it and have had squeaky and grinding brakes for about a month. My husband is at dealer now where they have told him it could either be a defect or normal wear and tear…seriously at 7300 miles it’s normal wear and tear??? Thank God I found this and will be on top of these repairs.
August 19th, 2012 at 10:00 am
This is troy from post 57 above. I took our van in and they are claiming that my brake problems are due to contaminated brake fluid so now I need to replace all four brake calipers, all rubber hoses, master cylinder, front rotors and front brake pads for $2300.00. Yikes!
August 21st, 2012 at 9:19 am
I have a 2010 T&C with 19,500 miles on it. Tomorrow will be the 4th time it goes into the shop for brakes. It has also been in to have the rear shocks replaced and a recall of ‘squeeky doors’. I have just opened a claim with Chrysler, insterested to see what (if anything) they are willing to do for me.
August 22nd, 2012 at 2:08 pm
Sadly, knowing that you are not represented and have limited knowledge of the law, the manufacturer will take advantage of you and offer you much less than you are entitled to. I suggest you reach out to an attorney.
August 22nd, 2012 at 3:03 pm
I am so suprised at what I am reading. we have a 2010 Dodge Caravan, and my car is shaking when it stops… Being told by a friend who just had the same issue with the same car that, it is a defect with these models to have rotors and brakes go. i only have 20,000 miles seriously already. There must be something we can do?????
August 31st, 2012 at 8:33 pm
I have a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan.. Bought in 2009, 2 months after purches I had to replace the brakes and the calipers on the rear… Two months later, same thing!!! They said it was a bad batch of calipers and did t charge for the 2nd set, but a year later…. You guessed it, replaced AGAIN! I won’t be too upset if it was just brakes, but the calipers are not something I can replace myself and are very expensive. Now, the radiator smells hot after driving for 10 or more miles and nobody can tell me what’s wrong. There is no leak and it’s not getti g hot, but something is definitely not right. I’m very disappointed in my van and the company for not listening to the complaints from their consumers. So much for American made!!
August 31st, 2012 at 8:37 pm
Peter #55…. My right read window has the same exact problem. Only goes down when u lift up (actually the roll up motion) and then it can only be put up if the driver rolls it up!!
September 2nd, 2012 at 3:22 pm
I own a 2009 Chrysler Town & Country and have had to replace rotors on the front brakes 3 times now since last August. I can already feel that they have started to wear down again. The brakes often make a high pitch squeak when you stop too. Terrible system and faulty design with Chrysler that they won’t own up to according to my mechanic. I complained with Chrysler, but they didn’t do anything becuase they said I need to use mopar parts. My mechanic said that all of us owners need to file a complaint with the NHTSA and they can force a recall if enough of us make complaints. Here is their website: https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchSafetyIssues There are already a lot of complaints filed, but not enough yet so if you haven’t gone out there please do.
September 2nd, 2012 at 7:46 pm
Coop again from #44 above. Just took a trip up the Northeast Extension of the PA Turnpike. Rear brakes vibrate while braking, transmission cannot find the proper gear on the slightest of inclines and to top it all off, my air conditioner stopped working. It started hissing and no longer blows cold air. My 2011 T&C only has 22,400 miles and all of these problems. What a piece of junk. It will be back in the dealer this week for the A/C and rear brakes. Oh yeah, and the interior sliding door panels are scuffing the rear quarter panels. HELP!!!
September 5th, 2012 at 10:06 am
I have a 2011 Dodge Caravan. Never again will I purchase a Dodge!!! I bought this van brand new. I have had it in the shop multiple times because when I shift from one gear to the other on occasion it will Jump real hard. Everytime they say that they can’t find anything wrong with the transmission. Then I am having the same brake issue. Put it in the shop because when you run 65 and hit the brakes the sterring wheel shakes real hard. Was told that my rotors are warped but under warranty with a 100.00 deductible. Was also told have to bring it back to have it fixed because there is such a huge problem with the rotors that they are on back order. So if there is a huge problem why isn’t this a recall???? Why do i have to pay a deductible to get a problem fixed that everyone is having. And to top it off when I’m driving 65 and the wind is blowing I get a whistle! Will never buy another Dodge!!!
September 5th, 2012 at 11:23 am
@Tina: Please talk to a lemon law attorney in your state. Check out https://www.lemonlaw.com/lemon-law-firm.html.
September 5th, 2012 at 11:25 am
Coop: Please call 1800 LEMON LAW to see if we can help you.
September 7th, 2012 at 9:15 pm
I purchased a 2012 Chrysler T&C two months ago. It is currently at the dealership having new turn signals installed in the mirrors due to them holding water. Got a call today that all 4 rotors are bad on the van and they are replacing them! Really??? This van has 1400 miles on it. Not to mention, the sliding door was sticking and had to be fixed as well, and the sunshade thats built in on the passenger side started falling apart and had to as well be replaced! Want to talk about feeling ripped off?! 32,000 dollars for a brand new van that has issues
Already!
September 14th, 2012 at 4:10 pm
2008 T&C which was our new retiree LEASE Car that I had to purchase out of the program in 2010 when the Chrysler Company had it’s financial problems. (so it’s only had the same driver since MILE 1.)
These leases were given to employees and retirees to put them on the road for Public relations purposes.
WELL, here is the PR….they suck! The T&C has been nothing but a drain in enormous amount of repairs since I had bought it out of the Corporate program.
ONLY 25,000 miles in the first 4 years but I had to go thru new tires after the original 4 tires lasted only 14-20K miles.
FRont brakes twice.
FULL COMPLETE BACK BRAKES (Everything was done at my expense)
Air conditioning now broken for 3rd time.
Ignition module (??????) blew out and needed to be replaced after the van’s entire electrical system froze up and I had to tow it in.
The keyless entry/starter went bad and had to be replaced and they had never even given me a 2nd unit.
I am fed up with it.
25k miles and I have had to pay thousands of dollars in repairs for a van that has been used lightly.
Dealership here in Allentown, PA is just screwing the customers on this crap.
It’s absolutely ridiculous how parts blow out so quickly and they claim NO warranty coverage.
September 17th, 2012 at 4:38 am
We bought a brand new 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan in 2009. Had the brakes and rotors replaced at about 14k miles. The dealer said the brakes are not covered after 12k miles. Now, with 28k miles on it, when i hit the brakes, not even really hard, there is a lot of steering wheel shake. I live in Germany, so regularly drive 75-80 mph, and braking can be harder. Brake pads from a German dealer are about $400 and another $150 for the rotors. We haven’t even discussed the maintenance costs yet. If the brakes are not covered by the warranty anymore, am i going to be penalized for purchasing the parts online and changing them myself, or having the auto repair shop on the military installation change them for me? I don’t recall our 2000 German version, the Chrysler Grand Voyager, having these problems with the brakes. However, the transmission did go after 9 years. I can’t recall the mileage at the time, though. My 2002 PT Cruiser seemed to have more than it’s share of repair shop time also. That’s gone though. The only Chrysler product left is the Grand Voyager. Will try to unload it next year and get myself a nice Mazda or VW. After seeing all the posts here, i guess 14k miles between brake changes is actually pretty good.
September 19th, 2012 at 11:45 pm
Don’t bother with the VW van (unless they are using a different design in Europe) as it IS a Chrysler van… Just look under the hood, it clearly states on the tag that it is a Chrysler made vehicle. Sad but true, I found this out when I was looking at them and thought about getting the VW. Same accoutrements, same price tag, same everything except the badges have been changed.
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:58 pm
I purchased a new 2010 Chrysler Town and Country in July 2010 from David Ellis Chrysler Jeep. they told me there had been no complaints with any of the major operating systems or electrical systems with this model. At 10,000 miles the car began to shudder severely at 30 miles per hour. It got worse and became impossible to drive. David Ellis told me that this was due to city driving in Los Angeles. I went ahead and replaced all the brakes and rooters at 18,000 and replaced them on my own with top of the line parts. I saved the old rooters because I knew this was going to be a problem. At 22,000 the problem happened again and I again took the car to the dealer and they informed me that there was a warranty on the front brakes only and that I had to pay 100$ to have the front brakes replaced again. Then, at 36,000 the problem happened again and and again I paid $100 for new rooters. The dealer would not allow me to keep the parts either time stating that Chrysler wanted them back. Now the car is 40,000 miles and its happening AGAIN and this time the front and rear brakes need to be replaced and guess what, no warranty and Chrysler said they will do nothing to rectify the situation. The dealer says they can’t do anything either. in addition, there have been continual starter problems. The batter/starter gave out at 20,000 miles which is scary and had to be replaced. Now again after the warrants, the starter is acting up AGAIN. I’ll take any advise.
October 7th, 2012 at 5:18 pm
We have a 2011 Town and Country van with 32,000 miles on it. At 26,000 miles we had to get new brakes,rotors and brake pads. We were told that it was normal wear and tear. Thankfully we didn’t have to pay but only $100 dollars to get them “fixed”. 2 months later the steering wheel started shaking when a brake. Took it in and they said the front rotors are warped! We also brought it in when we first got it for the seal on the back window and also recently for the steering wheel making a loud noise when we turn the wheel. They said they fixed all of those problems but now the brakes shake when i brake and the steering wheel is doing the same noise! This will be the 6th time we had to take it in for brake issues if we take it back it! We are contacting the lemon law attorney and Chrysler! We’ve had an open case with them for almost a year!
October 10th, 2012 at 11:17 am
Check out our list of lemon law firms at https://www.lemonlaw.com/lemon-law-firm.html
October 10th, 2012 at 12:30 pm
After being shafted by Chrysler over the brakes on our 2011 T&C, I went to have my oil changed by my regular mechanic. What does that matter you say? This…. I had them look at the brakes which were overheating on a regular basis on the rear-end (again), what we found was that due to the tolerances being so close between the pads and the cage that holds them in place the they were not moving back away from the rotor once you release the brake pedal. So, what we did was this, we took the pads off and took them to a bench grinder and gently removed enough material from ends of the pads until they moved freely within the cage. It has been several hundred miles since that time and there has been no recurrence of the issue. If you have to have your brakes done, or re-done, have the mechanic check that out and see if it doesn’t resolve your overheating/warping problems. Hope this helps.
October 15th, 2012 at 7:16 am
My wife and I purchased a 2010 Grand Caravan SXT from a car leasing/rental company with about 44,000 miles. We noticed a whistle coming from the dashboard at highway speeds (well, faster than posted). The vehicle has been shaking for a few months and I am going to replace the front rotors and pads today. Based on the comments here, I’ll purchase the premium brand and keep an eye on their performance (and this website). I wish I found this site before buying the car.
October 15th, 2012 at 7:06 pm
I have a 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan, purchased brand new with a wheelchair conversion lowered floor. I have 20,000 miles on it and just picked it up from the dealership repair. I also have the letter from Chrysler stating extended warranty time on the brakes (front).
I get the call telling me that the pads & rotors, which they did not have in stock and would have to order as they were bad, also the rear brakes pads & rotors needed to be changed as well, they had those parts but it would cost me $456.65!! Not under warranty. What is that about? Cover the front but not the back, then I read all these letters of complaint. Very, very disappointed in Chrysler, I should have bought the Honda Odessy, so much for buying American.
October 17th, 2012 at 7:53 pm
2010 town and country has 56k miles & rear brakes are worn and a left rear rotor has to be replaced. That’s American cars for ya!
October 19th, 2012 at 6:31 pm
2010 Town and Country with 50,000 miles has had rotors replaced twice already and even the new ones grind when used. The shop that did the brake job tells my wife that the noise is normal …..B.S.!!!
October 26th, 2012 at 1:20 pm
Hey LemonLaw,
So, we recently bought a 2010 Chrysler Town & Country Touring, within two days of us taking it home we had horrible breaking problems and got to the point that vehicle would not stop.
Being irate, we took it back to the place we bought it from and “talked” them into replacing all pads and rotors.
No we’re about 3k miles into the brand new pads and rotors and they are already starting to show the same symptoms that caused problems in the other ones: Shaking when applying the breaks and increased stopping distance.
I’m kind of flabbergasted that this is such a huge problem and wish I would have found this before buying it…UGH…What’s a guy to do?!
October 27th, 2012 at 7:12 am
2010 Town and Country Breaks started shaking @ 10k. Brought to dealer #1 and they wanted to charge me $600. Dealer #2 covered under warranty but it still cost me $100. The Breaks still shake. WTF
October 29th, 2012 at 9:24 pm
Back to the shop. Take the service advisor for test drive so he can verify the problem.
November 16th, 2012 at 2:23 pm
2009 Dodge Caravan. Replaced Brakes 2 x, Front driver & passenger door locks don’t work (repair is $700), had to have air conditioning fixed. Horrible car. I WILL NEVER PURCHASE A DODGE/CHRYSLER AGAIN. SHAME ON YOUR CHRYSLER. I’m baffled nothing is done about this. How can a car 3 years old have this many problems?
November 20th, 2012 at 5:55 am
The break problems are the calipers are defective. The pistons are freezing and causing the issue. I had the front breaks needing to be replaced at 25,000 on 2008 T&C. The Chrysler dealer said “rotors had to be replaced because Chryslers are cheap crap and can not be ground” Wow what a way to sell your product. They wanted over $600. I shopped around and went to Midas. They replaced all four break pads, ground the front and did a caliper service (cheaper than Chryslers quote). At 35000 the back break was smoking and hot. Took it back to Midas the tech said he had never seen this but the piston was frozen out on the caliper. I took it the another Chrysler dealer (immediatly since that would be under warranty) who said no it was Midas’ break pad. Per the tech “never go to Midas they don’t know what they are doing”. New rear breaks and rotors for me. Fast forward:Two more replacements later, the rear breaks and front breaks caught fire. Guess what?!? The problem was the calipers with frozen pistons (gee isn’t that what Midas said? 2 years ago) I have an extended warranty that paid for the calipers but the new rotors and breaks and front end alignment were on me. If we had replaced the calipers at 35000 or even 25000 I would be in a much better place and maybe if Chrysler listened there would be thousands more happy Chrysler customers then new customers for other car companies. PS the transmission went out is this van too at 40,000, a bearing shattered. I am currently in the shop for ETC and ESP lights flashing and power loss. I won’t list the other issues this van has had but I think I have been in the waiting room longer that some employees have worked there.
November 20th, 2012 at 11:23 am
We have a 2009 Dodge Journey (purchased new) and we have had to replace the brakes four times. Also, car is now inoperable due to a heater hose problem. Dealership and Dodge have both stated that the part is on back order and have no idea whatsoever when the part will be available. We can’t purchase it anywhere else, either. So we have a car we make payments on just collecting dust in our driveway.
November 20th, 2012 at 5:14 pm
Monica–You may be entitled to recourse. Please call us at 1-800 LEMON LAW.
November 29th, 2012 at 9:30 am
I bought a used 2011 Caravan in April and the rear driver side brake pad was so warn down it was metal on metal. The mechanic said the brake pad seized in the slider. The Dodge dealer said that the pads need to have the pad sliders greased every 6 months. I have never had to grease brake sliders in any other vehicle other than on the initial brake pad change. If you look at their caliper system, you will see why the pads seize. They fill with road dirt and grime mixed with the rust from the brake pads. Worst design ever, Dodge engineers should be ashamed!
December 2nd, 2012 at 8:17 pm
2009 Dodge Caravan- Replaced breaks twice already. Now the anti lock breaks are kicking on when just driving normally on dry roads. They are making a grinding sound and only stop when the ESP BAS light comes on. Also, the auto door unlock works *most of the time*, the radio has shorted out. Frustrating, to say the least!
December 5th, 2012 at 5:34 pm
My Nerves our shot,July 2011 purchase brand new 2011 T&C stow and go also loaded ,and we took a trip and notice it was jerking, The Gps went dark and the Van stalled like it was going to die. So when return home we made app. took back in Aug. 3 weeks after purchase. and was told couldn;t locate problems but did alignment . also explain some minor issues we notice like the seals around the windows was wrinkle and not in tract, and wonder why there were white check marks around the mirrors,doors, and notice had a chip of paint on hood, we were told dab little black paint on marks and for us to buy $10 paint touch up. but they did fixed the rubber seals to windows, then a few months later we took a trip to Ky and the Van really went Hay wire . it jerked .stop. Gps went off.windshields wipers came on in off. when we arrive to my daughter drive way. the Van jerks so bad almost hit her car. now i am very up set. I call main Chrysler Co. and made a complaint about my safety. So took it to one of their dealers in Ky. and was told couldn’t do nothing till engine light comes on. So we had to stay longer visit cause I was worry for our safety ,But 2 days later engine light came on and went back to dealer, Told us major motor problem ,will take 3 weeks for parts and fixed, and to rent a car from them. I got very up set called main office and was told they will loan us a car and the Van will be ready in three days, . alright good news .picked up the Van and was ready to head back to Fl. Van still had same problem ,so I Left Van in Ky and my son brought it down and flew back home, it did the same to him. took it back where we purchase with all paper work and kept it over night and stat found no problem, I call main Office and told them very upset but will not take it no where but around town cause it does the same thing. Now 22,000 miles later I notice leak under van and was due for free oil change. so i took it to dealer made my list. change oil. check leak under van. and noted Van still Jerks. That same evening called me told me Van was ready. they repair seal leak now in tranmission, and change free oil but was going to cost me $300.00 because they said I told them to change fluid and flush it out, which I never said. also they refuse to give me the Van unless i paid them. I left the Van and had to go next day to take Civil car bond and a Sheriff to get the Van back. This is a safety issue not alone but major problems. I am going to fight this all the way
December 7th, 2012 at 2:35 pm
I have owned several Dodge/Chrysler vehicles through the years — 3 of them being mini vans — a 1997 Grand Caravan SE and 2003 Grand Caravan ES and a 2007 Town and Country LX — I have had to replace rotors on the front every – 30000 miles on all 3 of them I have owned and about every 100,000 on the rear – I have fount the semi metallic pads to be your best bet — the asbestos/Ceramic and metallic dont work well with the vans – only the semi metallic — The common denominator in all the vans are that the rotors are undersized as well as the pads for the weight of the vehicle.. Both my 85 – 89 and 95 Lebarons and my 1999 Dodge Ram and my 2003 PT Cruiser I have never had brake issues like the mini vans do.
December 11th, 2012 at 10:27 am
I have a 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan. It is the first new vehile I purchased. Never again will I purchase a Dodge!!! I have had it in the shop multiple times because when it shifts from one gear to the other it shifts hard and on occasion it will actually jump really hard into gear. They adjusted something and it was hard to detect for maybe a month. Then it started to shift hard again. Whenever someone rides in my vehicle. They tell me I better get it to the shop. It sounds really bad. I am having issues with the brakes also. I took in at about 10,000 miles and asked them to look at brakes. They said they were okay. At 14,000 I told them again that my brakes were spongy and making a grinding noise. So, they replaced the front brakes at 14,000 miles. I called in and told them the brakes were squealling and still making that noise. They said new brakes can make noise like that. The brakes are still making noise and getting worst. I’m at 20,000 miles and they said I need back brakes and rotors. It’s also shifting into gear real hard. I spoke to manager of service department because I have never had to replace brakes at 20,000 miles on any vehile I owned. I don’t think I should have to pay for any of this, especially since I purchased the extented 100,000 mile warranty. Robin just called me and they can cut the rotars back, but I should just get a new rotors. She said they would split it with me 50/50. My cost would be approxiately $207.00 and I’m sure that’s before tax. And just like #70 Tina, when I’m driving 55-65mph and it’s windy I get a whistle from the dash board also! I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER DODGE!!!
December 13th, 2012 at 2:26 pm
I am saying good bye to this crazy madness that I had to endure from the moment we got our 2010 T & C. Three years (to be exact.. 2 years and 9 months) of replacing the front twice and back once.. and plus other constant problems with so expensive service charges, we are trading in and getting a new Sienna. We thought it would be better now to get a decent trade (less than half the price we paid) in and stop having stressful bills and issues every time we come back from a lovely road trips we take every summer.. crazy.. I will never buy a Chrylser nor Dodge products… Never! BTW, I did send a letter to Chrysler Canada after I got my front brakes and rotors replaced at about 16 months for shaking… They did send me a check but it seems like this problem is an annual thing… VERY UPSETTING!
December 24th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
I purchased in May 11 a 2011 T&C top of the line 40,000 plus. Have nothing but problems ever since. I went to trade it in bc of the problems and the big wig of this Dealership said he would only give me 16,000 for it???? WTH?? He knows all the problems Ive had. 6 weeks in the shop to fix the passenger seat belt light!! Transmission went out and they replaced it, The front brakes went out twice, new rotors and pads, paid 100.00 for the first set and the 2nd I told them now way its only been 8,000 miles! I’ve needed since 22,000 miles for bake brakes and rotors, they said 350.00?? OMG The doors come open in the middle of the night even after its locked, or one time we went to Costco and apparently one of the doors came back open bc when we came back out the door was closed but when we opened it, my van was flooded from the storm that just passed over. Mirrors light up while I’m driving down the hwy and theres nothing there, back up doesnt work, I almost killed an old lady, she hit my car for me to stop, no back up beeps. The doors are whats worst, they open and close, open and close, and I havent even touched anything. My kids have got trapped in the doors so many times!! As their climbing out the doors just shut and I got to jerk the door over and over to make it stop. Not safe at all.
December 24th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
PPPSSSSS
I forgot my headlights when they are on auto they go crazyyyyy!! I was behind this guy and he was doing 40 in a 45mph zone and my lights kept flashing high beams on him, I didnt know how to make it stop but he slams on the brakes and we ride the next 2 miles doing 20!! It wasnt my fault. I almsot pulled over, I didnt want him to think I was after him. Then my driver seat creaksssss real bad, I took it in and they said theres nothing they could do about it. So every turn and corner, you hear screachhhh, like grandma in a rocking chair. So disturbing!!
December 28th, 2012 at 1:36 pm
Christine: Time to look into your rights. Find a lemon law firm by clicking here https://www.lemonlaw.com/lemon-law-firm.html
December 28th, 2012 at 4:07 pm
Someone really needs to start a class action sute against chrysler. At least to get them to initiate a recall. I had the same issues with the breaks on my 2007 Caravan. I have already gone through 3 sets of breaks & rotors in 96K kilmoteres. This is un heard of. This is the first vehicle i have had to chg breaks this many times. My driving doesn’t change. Just the vehicle.There is something very wrong here and someone will get hurt or killed because chrysler doesn’t have the balls to do something about it. I will never buy another chrysler vehicle again!!! Its just not worth it anymore to buy chrysler …even if the price is better. trust me…i have owned many different cars and will never ever buy chrysler again. Its a shame because i would love to give business to domestic mkt but they suck….they really do. Just not worth the risk finacially and safety.
December 28th, 2012 at 4:20 pm
Have you ever noticed that most Caravans and TC’s of this generation have more brake dust on the rear wheels than on the front? I first noticed this on my wife’s van, and I thought the emergency (parking) brake was adjusted too tightly. So, I looked for an adjustment on the pedal. Couldn’t find one. Must be further down the line, I thought. So, I peeled back the carpet and followed the cable until it went outside, then followed it under the vehicle until it split to the two rear wheels. I still haven’t found an adjustment point. If I’m overlooking something, someone please tell me. I think this is the cause of most people’s rear brake problems. The too-tight cable causes the rear brakes to drag and overheat, causing excessive brake dust, scored and warped rotors. We have had very good luck with our 2010 T&C and we like the way it drives. I don’t drive it much,the wife does, but on a recent trip during the holidays, I noticed a shudder when braking at highway speeds. Classic warped rotor symptom. I inspected all four wheels (spun them by hand while elevated on jack stands) and determined that the left rear was warped. Removed rotor (very easy, the engineering impressed me here) and paid the local machine shop twelve dollars to re-surface it. Problem solved. I sanded the glazed surface of the original pads and reinstalled them.
December 31st, 2012 at 12:04 pm
Hi, I have purchased 2008 T&C with 65000 miles on it. When I realized that my steering wheel is tilted 5 degrees to left in order to drive straight I called dealer to report the issue. I have B2B warranty and dealer told me it covers everything. But when I said it might be alignment dealer said warranty doesn’t cover it because it’s tear and wear usage. So I went to car service, did alignment and service guy told me that brake caliper on right wheel doesn’t release. On Monday I have appointment to see dealer service and will se what they will say… Can’t wait.
January 3rd, 2013 at 1:19 pm
Well I own a 2009 T&C and am going on my third brake job with on only 23000 miles on it and rotors are warped again. Dealer I bought it from of course wants to charge me to fix it again after they just charged me for same problem 7 months ago. Chrysler definately needs to address this engineering flaw. Obviously the rotors are too light for this heavy vehicle.
January 14th, 2013 at 6:46 am
Not surprised. I use a 2012 gc for work(my company vehicle) at 18,000 km (10000 miles) my brake pads and rotors and a caliper lf, were changed out under warranty. No co pay in Canada. Then ten thousand kilometers later I find the dealer used moly slip as slider lube in all calipers. So I went
To an independent napa shop new pads only as no rotors were available… Now at 48000 km I just had another set of pads and new rotors put on as my rear calipers seized up and I towed the van to shop. Friday I get a new
Company vehicle this time a U. S.A built Honda Odyssey. Not a caravan.
$390 for pads the first time, $1100 this weekend for pads and rotors and calipers. Dodge put better brakes on your cars, before u kill us all.
January 14th, 2013 at 7:05 pm
Own a 2011 T&C Van. At 12,000 miles had to get front rotors replaced. At 10,000 miles computer went out in car. At 18,000 transmission failed and while fixing that they are saying we now need new front rotors again AND new back ones, which we have to pay for. We drove the car off the lot with 18 miles on it!!! This is horrible. We will never buy a Chrysler again and are terrified at what else may break on it!!!
January 14th, 2013 at 7:07 pm
Followup…the doors also open when they feel like it. Have had three occasions when we came outside and the side door was wide open. Ahhhh.
January 15th, 2013 at 9:28 am
Melissa: I am hoping you can file a claim. Please contact a lemon law lawyer in your state to discuss: https://www.lemonlaw.com/lemon-law-firm.html
January 15th, 2013 at 9:44 am
I think we all should file suit! Only have 22 on my GC now, do not look forward to more repair bills!
January 15th, 2013 at 10:12 am
Sherry: Visit https://www.lemonlaw.com/lemon-law-firm.html to find a lawyer in your state
January 15th, 2013 at 11:13 am
Melissa O, regarding the doors. I had a problem with the passenger side door “re-opening” also in my 2010 Caravan. The brake and rotor issue was a much bigger deal to me, so I didn’t focus too much on the door problem. If you look at the plastic interior trim piece on the vehicle (not the door, but the inside frame of the vehicle) you may see a spot where the door bracket is actually rubbing a groove into the plastic trim piece, as was the case with mine. This was causing the door to reopen because the sensor was picking up resistance. I took a mallet and beat the heck out of this trim piece where it was rubbing (because I was so mad at this van) until it lowered the trim piece so the door would not catch on it again. After I did that, the door worked fine. Because of having to replace the front brakes and rotors three times and the rear brakes once, I traded the van in with ONLY 26,000 miles on it for a Toyota Sienna. The Chrysler vans should not even be in the same class as this Toyota. The Toyota doesn’t shimmy, shake, rattle, pulsate, the doors stay closed, the transmission doesn’t bang into gear, the wind noise is minimal (not loud like to Caravan), and just feels like a much higher quality of a vehicle. I have three small children and could no longer sleep at night knowing they were going to be driven around in the type of vehicle I described above. What a shame. I refused (until two weeks ago) to turn my back on American automobiles, but if Chrysler cannot build a better product of the vehicle they invented, shame on them. I could only hope that Lee Iacocco himself reads these posts. These vans carry with them a trade in value of only 50% of the original purchase price two years later. And this 50% value is also what a Chrysler dealer offered me on trade. I am glad to be done with my Chrysler experience.
January 17th, 2013 at 9:27 pm
Chrysler was paying for some these repairs and especially my brakes until today. They even paid for one fo payments on the van and a pair of tires due to all my issues. This list is high level, but serious enough for me to warn people about Chrysler!!
I maintained the vehicle, but I have had failures left and right, and two 5 star dealerships and Corporate Chrysler could never fix the brake problems. Now they treat me like a 3rd class consumer. No wonder folks are going to Foreign vehicles, the Amercan’s cannot even take care of their own!
1/17/2012 101,000 Front brake rotor(s) and pads(s) replaced
Rear brake rotor(s) and pad(s) replaced
12/13/2012 97,432 Maintenance inspection completed
Alignment performed
10/23/2012 95,292 Maintenance inspection completed
Powertrain checked
Oil and filter changed
Tire(s) replaced
07/31/2012 90,669 Maintenance inspection completed
Recommended maintenance performed
Front brake pads replaced
Rear brake pads replaced
Rotor(s) replaced
Heater core replaced
05/23/2012 87,107 Maintenance inspection completed
Steering gear replaced
Stabilizer bar links replaced
Recommended maintenance performed
Front wiper blades/refills replaced
Alignment performed
Tires rotated
04/13/2012 83,651 Maintenance inspection completed
Recommended maintenance performed
01/20/2012 78,994 Maintenance inspection completed
Recommended maintenance performed
Torque converter replaced
Automatic transmission cooler flushed
Power steering fluid flushed/changed
Brake fluid flushed/changed
Throttle body cleaned/serviced
Air filter checked
10/15/2011 74,213 Maintenance inspection completed
Oil and filter changed
09/15/2011 72,033 Maintenance inspection completed
08/17/2011 70,000 Recommended maintenance performed
06/15/2011 65,777 Maintenance inspection completed
Recommended maintenance performed
Front wheel bearing(s)/hub(s) replaced
06/10/2011 64,933 Vehicle serviced
06/07/2011 64,171 Recommended maintenance performed
03/30/2011 59,427 Maintenance inspection completed
09/29/2010 50,719 Recommended maintenance performed
Maintenance inspection completed
Front brake rotor(s) replaced
Rear brake rotor(s) replaced
08/25/2010 50,203 Maintenance inspection completed
06/30/2010 47,298 Oil and filter changed
Maintenance inspection completed
Fuel system cleaned/serviced
A/C hose replaced
04/14/2010 42,489 Rotor(s) replaced
Front brake pads replaced
Maintenance inspection completed
A/C hose replaced
A/C refrigerant recharged
Recommended maintenance performed
01/07/2010 36,543 Front brake pads replaced
Rotor(s) replaced
Maintenance inspection completed
Engine/powertrain computer/module checked
08/28/2009 30,372 Brakes replaced
Oil and filter changed
Air filter checked
Maintenance inspection completed
06/15/2009 26,096 Oil and filter changed
Maintenance inspection completed
03/31/2009 21,499 A/C refrigerant recharged
A/C hose/line seals replaced
Maintenance inspection completed
03/06/2009 20,943 Oil and filter changed
Steering/suspension checked
Maintenance inspection completed
10/16/2008 13,499 Brakes checked
Maintenance inspection completed
Oil and filter changed
Air filter checked
Air filter replaced
ABS system checked
Rear brake rotor(s) resurfaced
07/23/2008 8,635 Drivability/performance checked
Exhaust system checked
Oil and filter changed
Steering/suspension checked
06/16/2008 6,423 Oil and filter changed
Steering/suspension checked
Maintenance inspection completed
03/27/2008 Oil and filter changed
January 23rd, 2013 at 10:10 pm
Chryslers and VWs are some of the most problematic vehicles on the planet. I’ve owned both brands, and know from experience that these vehicles have many issues in assembly, engineering and general quality of materials. I had a 1996 Plymouth Voyager mini van (purchased new) that had brake issues very early on. The rear drums were extremely prone to warping, as well as the front rotors under normal driving conditions. I will NEVER own another late model Chrysler product or VW EVER again! It appears that Chrysler under Fiat’s ownership still has troublesome vehicles. Chrysler transmissions are a major sore spot. GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda and even Hyundai are much better choices than any Chrysler or VW product.
January 30th, 2013 at 1:18 pm
On Oct. 13 2012 “Van popping out of gear” My husband was driving our 2012 Town and Country with 9,000 miles. I was in the passenger seat and we had four nine-year old boys buckled into the back seats playing their video games. My husband pulled into a gas station. He put the car into park and I exit the vehicle to put gas in the vehicle. We have the push button start, so when I left the vehicle with the key still in my purse, the alert that notifies you that the key has left vehicle went off and my husband pushed the buttons to shut off the car. He proceeded to put gas into the van and joined me in the store where we were waiting on pizzas that we had ordered. We had a short conversation with the clerks that our pizza would be ready in 10 mins.
I exited the store approximately 8 minutes after entering to see our vehicle backing and turning away from the pump. My husband was still in the store. At this point, I could see that that no one was in the driver’s seat. The T&C moved approximately 40-50 yards away in a half-circle and backed into the bumper of a semi that was filling the gas tanks.
I ran to the driver’s side of the car, opened the door, checked to make sure all of the kids were still OK, and then noticed that the gear shifter was not in a gear. It was between park and reverse. I moved it into park. We then inspected the damage.
How does a car that had been placed into park and had remained parked for at least 10 minutes come out of gear and roll away? Did we not shut it off? If it was in fact not all the way off, how come the steering column was locked? Does it really matter if it’s shut off or not, because you can’t switch gears unless you have your foot on the brake? We tried to put the gear shifter back into the same position that I found it in and we have not been able to get it to stay there, it immediately pops into park. How ever you play the situation out it shouldn’t of done what it did. Too many safety variables that should of prevented this from happening.
My husband reported the incident to Chrysler. They had an investigation and inspected the vehicle. The inspector found no indication of a manufacturing defect that caused or contributed to the incident. We received a letter two weeks later indicating their results. No other dialog. The car popped out of gear, that happened. For peace of mind we leave the parking park on every time while parked. Not impressed with Chrysler’s approach and their lack of follow up on this matter. Do not feel safe in our New Chrysler.
January 31st, 2013 at 12:09 pm
we bought our new 2008 dodge grand caravan in late nov 2007. We have not only replaced pads about every 8 months we also have to replace rotors. yesterday we were just told the back break pads need to be replaced again and that our anti lock break moduler was bad. i am sick of this. we’ve spent $5,000 plus on breaks. my vehicle is NEVER safe.. this van is literally taking every last penny we have. we have no savings thanks to dodge. saddest part, this was my 3rd grand caravan in a row. first two were perfect, we have been replacing breaks and rotors since the 08 was about 6 months old. my husband has an 08 nitro that he uses for works with over 20k more miles then our van. replaced rotors once.. after buying 6 dodges with 5 of them being brand new over the last 10 years i will never put my trust in their vehicles again.
February 7th, 2013 at 10:37 pm
My vehicle is a 2010 dodge caravan, i’ve had to go to the dealer twice for rotors and pad troubles. I’m working on a third time and my vehicle only has 28,000 miles..
February 8th, 2013 at 3:55 pm
My husband and I purchased a 2012 VW Routan 18 months ago. From what I understand, these vehicles we’re manufactured by Chrysler. In addition to all the small problems this car has given us (irregular oil changes, lights going out, tire pressure warnings when there is no problem) we’ve already had to replace the front brakes (VW honored the warranty because this was a “known problem” they’d been having). Now, I was just told that we have to replace the rear brake pads and rotors, at only 18,500 miles! I’m sorry, but this is absolutely ridiculous. My husband drives a 2003 Nissan XTerra with just over 100,000 miles and we’ve replaced the brakes once. I’ve never had this problem with any of the other cars I’ve driven, so I will not accept the customer service agent’s response of, “you may have poor driving habits” as a reason for this problem.
February 17th, 2013 at 9:33 am
We have 78,000 km and have had our Brakes done 3 times , it is totally sad, and can’t understand in this day and age, we would not be making things better quality. We have a 2008 and since purchasing it, have spend almost 3000 and we just got told again , that the rear calipers need to be replaced. We are going to get in touch with Chrysler as we feel this is unacceptable for a van, that we thought was going to be safe for our FAMILY. Chrysler needs to step up and repair these vehicles..
February 20th, 2013 at 4:44 pm
You are all being told stories. I worked at a Chrysler dealer and I know how the service people tell stories to cover them. Make sure you keep all receipts and stick to your guns. They know there is a problem and its the cheaper materials that the brakes are made of. They need to step up to the plate and make it right. But anymore companies are more about profit margin than customer satisfaction. And yes sometimes there are people who don’t know how to use their brakes properly but sorry not this many people. They make you feel like you don’t know what you are talking about. Good Luck to all of you.
February 22nd, 2013 at 10:23 am
Glad to hear I’m not the only one experiencing premature failure of the rear brakes/rotors on my 2011 Town & Country. After over an hour on the phone with Chrysler’s “Customer Care” (a total joke), I was told what I experienced was completely normal … I’ve decided not to accept this answer and continue to fight for a recall to have Chrysler own up to their defective product before someone is seriously injured or killed by faulty brakes. I was told that filing a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was the only way to force Chrysler to deal with this issue. Filing a complaint with NHTSA takes only a few minutes and can be submitted online or over the phone- Monday-Friday 8am to 8pm 800-424-9153. Many recalls, such as the recent Toyota incidents involving unintended acceleration, were initiated by concerned owners who took the time to contact the NHTSA. If they receive enough complaints, maybe these issues will finally be addressed instead of being swept under the rug leaving us with hefty repair bills.
February 27th, 2013 at 11:51 pm
Same problem as everyone else. Unfortunately there is not a clear answer as to which manufacturer can provide sturdy enough rotors and pads to negate the poor engineering of Chryslercorp. 103,000 miles on my 2008 and have had more than 4 pad/rotor changes.
March 4th, 2013 at 5:13 pm
2011 Caravan T&C. 13,000 miles, REAR rotors warped. Apparently the ‘Chrysler $50 deductible special’ only covers the front rotors.
March 18th, 2013 at 12:01 pm
We just purchased a used 2006 Town and Country from the dealer. There is a constant hissing noise from the front dash and brake grinding which the brakes were just replaced. They continue to say there is nothing wrong with it. Any ideas on what it may be. It happens pretty much after about the third time the car is started throughout the day. Then it stays consistant. I’m scared I bought a lemon:(
March 24th, 2013 at 6:16 pm
Same problem here – gas mileage is crap because the rear calipers needed to be replaced even though they were replaced last year about this time.
Rear wheel is hot enough to make the tire pressure go up … I feel like a NASCAR driver when I can see that my rear tire was up almost 10#’s over the other 3!!!
Now I find out that I needed to replace the caliper and the bracket with different pads because there is a problem that Chrysler changed the bracket design.
I need to replace the other side rear caliper as well I guess.
March 28th, 2013 at 7:40 pm
To those with the rear brakes overheating, please read my post at location #80, I have not had any problems since I performed this, just make sure you have a mechanic look at this and verify that it will work for you. I am more than happy to answer any detail questions in regard to that post.
April 3rd, 2013 at 9:12 am
We have purchased a Dogde Grand Caravan 2011 a year ago, now 14 000 kms and the right rear brake was overheating and squeaking, I brought it to the dealership yesterday and they changed the rear pads (under warranty) but they charged me 129.99$ + taxes (In Quebec we pay a lot of taxes) to do a preventive maintenance of the whole break system, I just hope I wont have to change the pads every 14 000kms and pay 129.99$ + tx for preventive break maintenance every year. I previously owned 2 Toyotas and never had any issues, my confidence is shaken.
April 3rd, 2013 at 9:55 am
Dear Dan,
If the issue were that easy to solve I think Chrysler would have applied that patch nationwide.
April 5th, 2013 at 9:08 pm
Etienne,
Regardless of what you think, I haven’t had ANY problems with my brakes since I did that and it has been about 12,000 miles since I last touched them (about 27,000 miles total). So if you’re not willing to see a real mechanic (instead of the Chrysler cronies) then it is your loss. Sorry you can’t see what everyone else here has said because it is quite clear to me that they simply want our money and could care less about service after the sale. Sales tax on a WARRANTY repair???? Bah!!!! I would have threatened to contact the attorney general (or whatever the Canadian equivalent is) to begins preceding against them for ripping off their customers. Sorry if I sound bitter but Chrysler’s customer base is really irritated at them for their lack of concern about this really prevalent problem.
April 10th, 2013 at 9:19 am
I am #96 also! They did end up paying for new rotors on my brakes last time. Let me recap, I had in shop for the transmission twice. I had front and rear brakes and rotors put on. The last work was done at 20, 000 miles. I had to have new tires put on the van at 23, 000. Miles. I took the van back to chrysler at 25, 000 miles with brake issues again and a load creeking when I make turns. They put front and rear brakes on again as well as front and rear rotors. I also needed a rear caliper. As well as a front axil. They recommended a brake flush and a steering flush which cost me$355. I just cried and cried that day. This is first time in my life I purchased a new vehicle. I was excited, I spent $24, 000. I so regrete buying this vehicle. I wanted to buy american!!! Now I wish I would have bought the kia mini van. Actually at this point I wish I would have bought anything else!! I’ve purchased used vehicles my whole life and never had problems like this. I BOUGHT A LEMON!!!!!! I thought this would be the ladt vehicle I purchased for12 to 15 years!! But im sure this vehicle will be in a junkyard way before that. I dont have a lot of money, I cant just go buy anther vehicle. I guess im just screwed by chrysler!! I feel like standing in front of dealership with a sign that says we sell lemons.
April 25th, 2013 at 7:05 am
Same thing with my parents 2009 Town and country, 80,000 miles and on it’s 3rd replacement set of front brakes and rotors, the first were done by the dealer and the last set was done by me less than a year ago and it’s doign it again. My dad used to take care of all the car service and he passed away. No I’m trying to explain to my 72 year old mom why the brakes are pulsating again when I just recently replaced the parts…The brakes on this thing are pissing me off…
May 3rd, 2013 at 8:49 am
Hello All,
I just wanted to chime in here on the Town and Country brake issue that I finally resolved with my van. I live in Germany and I brought my brand new T&C van with me (care of the military). As most everyone knows there is nothing but Autobahn driving here in Europe and if you’re driving slower than 80 mph you’ll probably get run over by somebody behind you rather quickly, the vehicles here do not have speed limiters on them like U.S. vehicles do.
So, in less than 5000 miles my brakes were basically useless after several hard braking stops on the Autobahn. The local Chrysler dealer here offered to fix them for about $1500, replacing all the rotors and pads.
Being a auto mechanic in my youth I thought there must be a better and more permanent solution instead of becoming best-friends with the repair shop every 5000 miles. I looked around and noticed the most of the European cars driving here have a different rotor than the what comes standard on vehicles purchased in the U.S., remember there is a speed limit in the U.S. on the highways and it is cheaper for the manufacturers to put on the “basic” brake hardware.
Without taking the repair offer from the dealer I went home and I ordered new rotors and pads from a website for my T&C van, you can find them available from many websites like Amazon, Ebay, etc. Do a google search and you will find many suggested site.
Now the key here was that I ordered rotors that are both slotted and vented, my experience told me that the material of the factory rotors and/or the smaller of the rotors was not up to par for stopping the weight of the van, It’s wasn’t rocket science to figure this out after looking at what remained of my original rotors and pads, they died from excessive heating/friction.
I also ordered ceramic brake pads instead of the standard/stock pads.
Here are my results. I now have 71000 on the van and I’ve only had to replace the front brake pads (ceramic again) just one time again, I still have my 1st rear replacement ceramic pads on the rear and I imagine I will will over 100,000 before I have to replace them again. What I also gained was an obvious much shorter stopping distance during hard braking and repeated hard braking was no problem with no brake fade.
I have several friends here that have also done the same to their vans and they swear by the difference and the need to no longer continually replace their brake hardware on their vans also.
So order up yourself 4 “slotted and vented” rotors and also purchase ceramic brake pads, you can have them installed by someone you trust that has the correct tools to compress the rear caliper (it turns as it retracts in) and kiss the dealer repair visits goodbye for a very long time. You get what you pay for so don’t go to cheap on the parts.
Hope this helps, I’ve seen many reviews about this and thought it was about time that I share what I did 3 years ago to fix it.
May 4th, 2013 at 3:22 pm
Have a 2009 Grand Caravan, and just finished putting a new set of rotors and pads on it. At 80,0000 miles, its the sixth set of rear brakes. Have replaced pads once on the front. Dealer installed new calipers one year ago, along with pads and rotors. It has has OWN brakes 3 times on the rear, and 3 by me. Now, I just replace the rear with the cheapest parts I can buy knowing they will only last 1 year and about 12K miles. I notice that on the rear pads the inner one is down to metal while the outer has about 70% left. Also notice that the outer pad wear is not even. This is my fifth Chrysler van, and my last…
May 4th, 2013 at 3:25 pm
Sorry, my auto correct is amok. It’s had 3 sets of OEM brakes on the rear, and 3 aftermarket. Either way, they will need replacing in a year. This is a problem I have never had on my previous 4 Chrysler vans…
May 4th, 2013 at 5:44 pm
2012 Dodge Caravan. Steering wheel shook when braking hard, back left wheel getting very hot. Found the rear pads really tight in the guides as there was corrosion under the antirattle clips and corrosion and brake dust buildup around the brake pads where the ride in the the antirattle clip. The front rotors were just warped so I had to replace both. Dealer I called said that it is a common problem to have the pads sieze up on the back of the caravan.
May 8th, 2013 at 9:40 am
Re post #131 Kevin B. Hi Kevin. We have a 2008 Caravan SXT with the tow package and in spite of all of the previous comments we like it a lot. It has been satisfactory for the most part. However the brakes have presented a problem and reading all of the above I like you do not want to throw good money after bad. The milage is not high at this point 45,000km. but had complete brake overall at $700…front rotors and rear machining I think and pads. I did not think that the front rotors were involved and thought that the bad vibrations were coming from the rear, drivers side rear to be exact. Looking at the disc from the outside, the wear seemed different to the other brakes. I thought that the caliper slides may have been siezed so that only the inside pad was applying force to the rotor and thus distorting it. Anyway after only 5,000 further km. it is as bad as ever and even after having the repair done there was a small vibration but it was a lot better. I thought that it might go away but no.
Anyway, I was also thinking of better quality brake parts and would be interested if you could quote the make of the parts that you used. I have been looking at the slotted and vented ones also. Can’t put up with the situation any longer. Don’t feel safe. Regards.
May 9th, 2013 at 7:56 am
Diane says we have owned 10 chr dodge or Ply vans since 1987. The only 1 that had a problem was the 2008 chr t-c which was the brakes. I took the parts along with the bill and chr refunded my money. We just bought a2013 dodge grand and traded in a 2005 grand with 209,000 miles and the only thing we did to the 2005 was change the oil tires and brakes. We did no other repairs and we never changed the trans oil. Needless to say if you do every thing the dealer wants you to do you will have another 5000.00 in the car. All we do is drive a lot and change the oil every 3000 miles. Every one of or cars had over 100000 miles and the 2008 Chr which we still has 95000 miles.
May 9th, 2013 at 6:49 pm
I have a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland with 26,000 km. The brakes are pulsating already. The dealer wanted $1,000 to replace them. I love this vehicle but I will run these rotors for a while and find some after market replacements. Hell, even if I buy Brembo rotors and have them installed it will be about the same price but much better quality.
May 16th, 2013 at 12:49 pm
Ref Post # 135 Rupert.
Hi Rupert, interesting that so many people are inquiring about this issue and I am glad to help out. You ask about the parts (Rotors and pads) I used in my Post #131. Since I live in Germany and use USPS to get mail on base I was limited to vendors that would mail to my base. I looked around the internet and finally called R1Concepts and talked to a technician and after describing my problem to him I bought what he recommended. I bought all 4 rotors and ceramic pads from them mailed 1st class to me and the total cost was $300. I could have bought more expensive but settled for the $300 as an experiment to test them out, I am completely satisfied with what I received from them. You may want to call them yourself and speak with them about what you need since you tow, I tow also but very seldom a light trailer and it stops just fine with no problems.
I installed everything myself, it is very easy to do, the rotors just slide off but you may need to give them a rap or two with a hammer as they get oxodized and stuck to the hub, you may also have a large flathead screw to remove first that goes through the outboard face side of the rotor and into the hub depending on your model, this screw just keeps the rotors from falling off the hub in the factory on the assembly line before they finish bolting the whole assembly to the van, you can throw it away after you remove it
You might want to check if you need a special tool to compress the rear caliper pistons as they turn in like a screw while compressing because the rear calipers may also be your parking brake, mine are on my 2009 model. I bought the special tool off Ebay for $50.00 but you can probably find it any most parts store, it’s not a complicated tool at all, very simple, it turns and compresses the caliper piston at the same time in one easy motion.
You can look at their website here where I bought and see what they are currently offering for rotors and pads: https://www.r1concepts.com/
Since I bought them I have noticed there are many more sellers of slotted/vented rotors and you may want to do a Google search to get an idea of what the prices are today for your application needs. Whatever you do I would highly recommend that you always get the ceramic pads regardless, all replacement rotors today should be able to handle ceramic pads unless you buy really cheap rotors.
Good luck, holler back if you need any more information. Kevin
June 6th, 2013 at 1:32 pm
I bought a new 2010 Town and Country Touring Plus van in February 2011. Chrysler sent me a letter several months later indicating that this van was experiencing unusual brake wear and that if I had problems to take the van to a dealer for repair. owner cost was $100 for repair of front brakes only and was mileage based. My brakes failed at 16000 miles and I took the vehicle in and paid $100 and the dealer said the problem was over. At 31000 miles the brakes started to grind and fail again. This time it was the rear brakes and the front brakes. End of the road for me. Got rid of this van and will never buy another Chrysler product in this lifetime. For purposes of compariion, I drove a 2004 Chevy Avalanche for 124,000 miles and never touched the brakes.
June 7th, 2013 at 8:00 pm
Replacing rear brakes for the third time. I am having them done one at a time now because it’s too expensive to keep doing all of them like you are supposed to. Wheel bearings are bad as well. I don’t feel safe in this 2008 Chrysler Town and Country. WILL NOT BUY AGAIN. Too bad because it could be such a nice vehicle. Such a stupid thing to lose loyal customers over.
June 10th, 2013 at 4:31 pm
Reading all of these comments is making me sick. I purchased a used 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan April 2012. Took it back within a week because I heard grinding when I backed up and then applied brakes. Last week I took van to Midas, was quoted $1425 to replace both front rotors as they can’t be turned, and was told both front calipers are seizing up. Now reading all of these comments, I am very disheartened as I don’t have funds to be doing this every year, nor to replace this van as it is my only transporation. I saw something about a recall? How do I find out about that?
June 15th, 2013 at 10:38 pm
four sets of brakes in four years!!!! last time they put new brakes on, it took a month and they started squeaking, I brought it in, they said the brakes were fine. Now three months later I have no more pads, just metal on metal and I’m going to once again have to pay for new brakes.
I don’t think Chysler understands that most people that drive these vans have children that they want to keep safe in a safe vehicle, not one that has “dodgy” brakes.
June 15th, 2013 at 11:27 pm
I had a similar problem with my 08 Grand Caravan. The Front Brakes had to be replaced too early and the rear drums overheated. I ended up trading it in while I could still recover some value.
June 15th, 2013 at 11:31 pm
08 Grand Caravan. I also had a problem with water in the sliding door and premature AC hose failure besides the front and rear brake disasters.
June 16th, 2013 at 12:35 pm
So I have a 2010 Caravan bought new – I just had the 2nd set of rear rotors/pads (funny how the letter refers to the front) replaced with only 23,300 miles on the van. I drive on the flat on open country roads I would hate to think what would happen if I were in hill country. With cars/trucks/vans relying on new computerized systems for safety, etc. it makes me wonder if Chrysler should be allowed to manufacture vehicles since they can’t even get a simple braking system correct makes you wonder what else they screwed up.
June 17th, 2013 at 12:03 pm
Coop again from #44 & #69 above. It has been a while since I last posted but the problems continue. I now have 33,300 miles on my 2011 T&C. It is almost out of warranty. I had the a/c fixed last September and it just crapped out again. I scheduled a visit to the Chrysler shop for tomorrow. I had the rear hatch supports replaced under warranty a few months ago and I have had a recall performed for poor transmission shifting in ECON mode. I feel fortunate (and surprised) that I have not had to replace my brake pads and rotors yet for a second time. After the a/c is fixed, I am selling this piece of junk before the warranty expires. I will NEVER buy another Chrysler product again.
June 18th, 2013 at 5:44 pm
We have a 2010 VW Routan. If you don’t already know, the Routan is/was manufactured alongside the Chrysler and Dodge minivans at Windsor Assembly. Essentially, it’s a T&C with a VW badge. And low and behold, we are having the exact same issues as described above. I bought my wife the van, brand new, in Summer of 2010. We have replaced the brakes 3 times in the front, and 2 times in the rear (van now has about 70,000 miles on it) and now I have to replace the rear pads and rotors for the third time, as it’s metal on metal. This is unbelievable. I have never owned a vehicle that has this many issues when it comes to brakes. I had a Chevrolet Venture and the brakes on that lasted forever. I know this post is not going to accomplish anything, but I figure I’d put my 2 cents in and add yet another post about these faulty vehicles.
June 19th, 2013 at 1:48 pm
I live in Cole Harbour, N.S, Canada I’ve owned my 08 caravan for 2 1/2 years, bought it second hand with 25000 kms on it, it now has 80000 kms on it now and Ive replaced a rear wheel bearing and my brakes 3 times, premature wear on 1 pad not both and now they’re squeaking so bad that I have to gear down just to slow down and cut down on the squealing rear brakes, from new the front brakes grind when I stop, Ive replaced rears twice and fronts once, but I’m so fed up I’m ready to blow it up, also I have a 4 year old special needs daughter who my pregnant wife drives to daycare and herself to work in this crap, I’d trade it in if I could right now but my wifre is now on maternity so less money, I’m a guy who prides myself in the looks and preformance of my vehicles but I hate this van, make other think ur lazy and don’t take care of your posessions, DODGE SUCKS ASS IMO!!!
June 20th, 2013 at 7:21 pm
I contacted Chrysler complaint dept. in Detroit. Their answer to me about changing brake parts so often was “Make sure you by brake parts from a parts store that gives a life time warranty”. Last Chrysler product I’ll ever buy. Which is really sad ’cause I love the Challenger.
June 25th, 2013 at 12:31 pm
Does this apply if the car was bought used from the dealer? I mean my car is in the shop now for the third time in a year and a half for breaks! This is outrageous as I have three children and brakes are expensive and a safety issue! It’s a 2005 dodge grand caravan
June 26th, 2013 at 11:15 am
@Upset: While used cars are sometimes covered under the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, you have to be in under the manufacturers warranty to receive recourse under that law.
June 26th, 2013 at 11:27 am
@Rick: It appears you certainly have a claim under State or Federal law. Find a lemon law lawyer in your state by clicking here: https://www.lemonlaw.com/lemon-law-firm.html
June 26th, 2013 at 12:43 pm
Why don’t all you Chrysler and Dodge van owners change your rotors to aftermarket slotted and vented type and use ceramic brake pads? That’s the first thing I do on all my vans. My last full (4) set on my 2009 Town and Country van lasted 70k miles and cost me $300 in parts from the local auto parts store. I drive the Autobahn daily here in Europe at far higher speeds than you do in the states and I need to brake quite hard occasionally while driving above 100 mph. My original factory brakes didn’t last 2 thousand miles after I took delivery of the U.S spec van. Far cheaper than constantly returning for replacement standard brakes.
July 1st, 2013 at 12:04 pm
Purchased 2011 Dodge Caravanbrand new~never any issues until now. In fact, love the van…although my next car will be a two seater (lol). Took van in for inspection this past Friday and it failed for rear brakes and rotors; “EXTREMELY low rear brakes and rotors”. The van has 22,805 miles. I couldn’t stay at the dealership on Friday for them to repair them and glad I didn’t after reading all of this. They are charging me almost $400 not including tax and the inspection fee to get repaired. I was surprised because it was rear brakes and rotors..usually front go first since it is front wheel drive and that I never heard a squeak from the rear while driving or parking. I guess there is no sound indicator that the brake pads are getting low like my other vehicles have had that would have red flagged me to get them checked sooner before having to have the rotors replaced; bigger expense. I have a call in now to the dealership to find out what they can do. I don’t believe that it is common wear and more so a defect in the brake systems of these vans according to all that I have read.
July 2nd, 2013 at 2:16 pm
Purchased 2010 Dodge Caravan in november 2010. In 2012, I replaced both rare brake pads with 20000 km, (yes for sure it is not miles). Last weekend, the right side rare brake had big trouble that without release and without dashboard notice. The rotor was red when I found the smoke evaporated for the tire. Until now, my Caravan mileage is 29100 km. BTW, when I cool the rotor down on the road side, a gentleman stopped by and give me some help. He mentioned that his 2007 Dodge Caravan had the same problem before.
July 2nd, 2013 at 3:54 pm
I have a year old 2012 Chrysler Town and country and was surprised to hear that after 28,000 miles my rear breaks were squeaking. I called NTB and they stated that I probably didn’t need new break pads because of the mileage. When they assessed my vehicle not only did I need break pads, but rotors as well (almost $500 in work). I called Meineke to receive an estimate and they were also shocked and told me to bring my car in. I received the same results. Then, I called Chrysler angry and confused. They gave me a case number and told me to have my car assessed by a Chrysler dealership. Chrysler assessed it the same way. I need new rotors and new break pads. THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!!!!
July 2nd, 2013 at 6:21 pm
Me again. 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan – has different brake issues every year in June for the past 3 years. This time it was the rotors. Another $226.
July 2nd, 2013 at 7:50 pm
Bought my 08 T&C brand new after adopting 3 children. I am now on my 4th set of brakes and rotors. It makes me sick that they can do this stuff to us and get away with it. I want to sell it but I would not be able to sleep selling someone else these problems. I WILL NEVER BUY ANYTHING CHRYSLER MAKES AGAIN……….
July 4th, 2013 at 6:16 pm
We own a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan that we bought new in 2008. The vehicle has 47k miles on it and has already had 3 sets of rotors and pads put on it, and is ready for more brake work again. What we noticed is that the breaks seem to work fine in city driving, but when trying to brake on a hill or a mountain grade, the brakes shudder so bad you can SEE the steering wheel shake. Multiple trips to multiple dealers have not resolved the problem. We have been told multiple times that the brake rotors are warping due to excessive heat. We have had the rotors replace, as well as turned. The last set of rotors and pads were top of the line NAPA Ceramic pads and NAPA Premium rotors, and still the shuddering continues when applying the brakes on a down hill grade. This is not a commercial vehicle, nor is the van overloaded. I firmly believe that the brake system is too small and not designed to stop a vehicle as large as a Dodge Grand Caravan. This system might do o.k. on a Plymouth Neon, but not a Grand Caravan
July 11th, 2013 at 2:11 pm
It is very sickening to see T&C owners suffering with this brake thing. At the time I got rid of my 2010 T&C Touring van at the end of May 2013, I had already had a front brake job at 17000 miles and the back brakes and front brakes both needed replacing at 31000 miles. With warranty ending, I did a cost analysis and figured I could no longer afford to deal with this vehicle. Took the depreciation hit and got out. Even with $2000 negative equity, I was able to buy a new Hyundai Santa Fe Sport with a 5 year warranty. This is one way to escape these vans. Take the hit and get out. You will still be ahead in the long run.
July 12th, 2013 at 8:13 am
We own a 2010 Chrysler town and country looks like we are having the same problems with brakes everyone else is. Replaced the rears 3 times and every time we take a trip the rear brakes hang up and get hot have to pull over and let them cool and jam them on a few times to get them to release so tired of fighting this problem think i will just get rid of this peace of crap and go to a different brand of vehicle.
July 17th, 2013 at 9:07 am
Well, it isn’t just Chrysler T&C, I bought a 2010 Sebring LTD new and it only has 17,000 miles on it. The brake light started coming on immediately, when it was under warranty, and I brought it back to the dealership. I was told there was nothing wrong with the brakes and that they didn’t know why the light kept coming on. Now at 17K miles, they have begun squealing. Based on what you have said here, I’m worried about taking it back to the dealership in case they put bad brakes on again. What are your thoughts?
July 17th, 2013 at 12:39 pm
Chalk me up as another unluck GC owner. Replaced brakes twice over a year. Dealer is useless … shrugs his shoulders and say’s he sees several GCs each day with this problem. Acts like “what am I supposed to do about it”. Useless.
Luckily I bought a 3rd party warranty covers 7 years or 100k miles. Cost me $3000 and doesn’t cover brakes but will cover all the other crap that will go wrong (already covered a $800 A/C repair).
July 19th, 2013 at 1:51 pm
This is Rick Norwood from #159 above. I have learned a number of things that might be of interest here. First, if you can feel/see the shuddering in the steering wheel when the brakes are applied, it usually means your Front rotors are warped. Conversely, if you can feel the shuddering in the seat or any place other than the steering wheel, it is usually the rear brakes.
I have been advised that a little component of the brake system called a Proportioning Valve could play a huge role in the problem. When the brakes are applied, a large percentage of the brake fluid is proportioned to the front brakes, while a much smaller amount is sent to the rear brakes ( I have been told it is a 90/10 split, but I’m not sure of the exact ratio) this is normal on almost all vehicles, and is why your front brakes normally wear out sooner than the rear brakes. If this Proportioning Valve is defective, and too much brake fluid is sent to the front and not enough to the rear, the front pads and rotors will warp/wear out much too soon from the excessive heat, because the rear brakes aren’t doing their job.
I have also been told by a Dealership Service Advisor that from approximately 2007 – 2010 Chrysler used garbage pads and rotors on the Caravan, Grand Caravan and the T&C, and finally corrected their mistake around 2011 – 2012. This may be true, but even aftermarket pads and rotors have not corrected my issues.
July 21st, 2013 at 11:08 am
I am so disgusted esp. after reading all these comments!! I have a 2011 Town and Country mini van. I just need my front breaks and rotors replaced. When I contacted Buhler Dealership Service dept. in Hazlet, NJ. I told them the van shudders when breaking on the highway. They told me u probably need ur rotors resurfaced and break pads!! I said I only have 21,000 miles on it and when I turned my Lexus in at 36,00o miles I did not need this. His reply was honey this is not a Lexus!!! I am so discourages after seeing all the problems. I will never buy another American car again!! Does anyone know what Chrysler is doing about this issue?????
July 23rd, 2013 at 3:08 pm
Dawn I will answer your problem with the real answer They do not care.
July 23rd, 2013 at 10:51 pm
Reply to #166 above. Chrysler sent a letter to 2010 T&C owners in 2011 which provided for some warranty coverage on brakes failing before 36000 miles. However, this was a sicko deal since it only provided for failure of the front brakes and I had to pay $100 when my front brakes failed early. Then the rear brakes and front brakes both failed at 31000 miles and there was no help for me so I got rid of my van. You may want to call Chrysler to confirm this. The 2011 models may not be covered at all.
July 24th, 2013 at 11:07 am
I am so disgusted… I have a 2012 Chrysler Grand Caravan with only 20k miles on it… I already need new brakes and rotars…This is completely NUTS!!! I am a stay at home mom and do the occasional trips and kids to school and groceries and such. I have never had to replace these kind of parts on any other vehicle I have owned over the years until miles were pretty high…I called the dealership and was told it was probably due to the way I drive….I am a soccer mom with 4 kids…. I am not doing a whole lot of interstate driving where I would be driving at high speeds…
July 24th, 2013 at 11:08 am
opps. correction to #168…..Its a Dodge Grand Caravan….
August 1st, 2013 at 6:44 pm
Tammy, I too was disgusted at how many Service Advisors and Mechanics accused my wife (the primary driver of this vehicle) of having bad driving habits, riding the brakes etc. However, I have been told by a number of very experienced and trusted mechanics that “stop and go” city driving is actually harder on any braking system than hi-speed interstate driving. I am sure this is certainly debatable, but there are far too many entries on this blog. Bottom line, the brake system is too small for the weight of this vehicle. GM and Ford Minivans are built on truck chasis’s while Dodge and Chrysler are on passenger car chasis’s.
August 3rd, 2013 at 2:59 pm
follow up to comment #169….I was told when I took my van in that they will be replacing the Control Arms, (which are on back order) may take a few weeks to come in. They will replace my brake pads and turn my rotars. In the meantime, they say my vehicle is safe for me to drive. I certainly hope so, as I have very precious cargo that ride in my van. We will see what happens from here.
August 11th, 2013 at 12:56 pm
I have a 2008 T&C Limited with 60,000 miles. I have replaced the front and rear brakes and rotors 6 times already. The latest issue was the left rear rotor heating up badly and creating a loud howling noise. Just replaced the caliper (along with a full brake replacement). Rotor is still heating up but not as bad. The brakes on this vehicle are a joke. It is too bad, I love this van for everything else. Just so troubling to have such an important safety component so blatantly defective in design and ignored by Chrysler.
August 14th, 2013 at 12:54 pm
I have 2012 grand caravan….calipers at 14,000 and rotors at 16,000. Not happy!!!!!!!!
Ran into someone else with same problems on their van.
If I keep having issues, gonna put big sign on car. Always had Caravans and no issues before this.
August 18th, 2013 at 9:47 pm
2009 VW Routan (aka, Chrysler T & C) 57k miles front and rear twice replaced. Any class actions brewing with Routan owners???
August 19th, 2013 at 3:52 pm
@Tommy: No class actions now, but if you are still under a VW warranty and end up going back repeatedly, you should look into federal warranty laws.
August 20th, 2013 at 10:40 am
I have a 2011 DC. I had my van in for service around 30,000kms and asked if they could check the back breaks because they were squeeling. I have had alot of vehicals in my time but have never had to even change pads before on back brakes. The mechanic at the dodge dealer said rotars and pads need to be replaced and it isnt covered under warranty, cost $800 (roughly). I did the replacement myself, cleaned and greased sliders and low and behold 24,000kms later it had to be done again!!!! I have replaced the back pads and rotars 4 times since I have purchased this van. I have only replaced the front once (at 120,000kms) I have never had a vehical have the back brakes go before the front nevermind a 4:1 ratio!!!
Jamie
August 22nd, 2013 at 10:21 am
Wow, I’m laughing at the amount of people with the same problem as me. Astounding.
2012 dodge van. One step down from the rt model, but fully loaded.
I’m sitting in the dealership shop having coffee while my 40k km not miles, kilometers, van is in for brakes for second time in 2 months. Vehicle shakes when on brakes, vibrates the entire van. Yesterday, wife had an emergency light flash on and the digital display said brake failure and they went spongy.
Last time they said it was rear calipers seized due to normal wear, I was due anyways but should not have seized. Wonder if this is normal wear still.
Brakes are essential to safety and I need to trust this vehicle to be safe for my family. I’m thinking my trust may go to a new manufacturer.
August 28th, 2013 at 9:31 am
2010 Chrysler T&C with 26,000 mi. was making an intermittent howling noise. Took to my local dealer and was told rear calipers had seized. Needs new rear rotors and pads. Repair cost was $500 dollars and told warranty for brakes is 12 mos./12,000 miles. Emailed and called Chrysler and they won’t budge on covering cost. My argument is that a warrantied part failed causing premature wear to the brake pads and rotors. Therefore they should be covered. Never heard of a vehicle needing new brakes at such low miles. I am not a mailman or a cab driver. This is my first and last Chrysler manufactured vehicle.
August 28th, 2013 at 2:06 pm
Response to #179.
I got rid of my 2010 T&C in May of this year with 31,000 miles on it. At that time, I had already replaced the front brakes at 14,000 miles ( Chrysler had sent out a letter and I paid $100 to the dealer) but when I got rid of the van, it needed both front and rear brakes and rotors replaced. Cost to me would have been around $800. I did the math and took a $2000 negative equity hit and bought a new CUV. Allowing for the cost of the brakes replacement on the van , new tires, and improved gas mileage over the van (16 mpg van vs 21 mpg CUV), I am now ahead of the game. Suggest you do the same analysis. There is no way you can keep going in your van and come out ahead.
September 2nd, 2013 at 10:06 pm
2010 town country lease with 27k miles. Brakes went full brake job and rotors. Out total 375.00. One spare key fob has stopped working doors grind.
Front brakes need to be repaired our cost under recall 100.00
September 12th, 2013 at 8:31 am
Have posted here earlier about my 2009 GC. Been all through replacing the rear brakes 6 times now. Just hit 90k miles. I’ve read here, and seen myself, about the issue of the rear pads fitting too tight in the slots of the caliper brackets. I’ve done the last couple rear rotor/pad rebuilds myself, and have had to pry the pads from the grooves with a big screwdriver. This is not normal. Every car I have ever worked on disc brakes on, the pads float freely in the holders. I am going to take the rear calipers back off and grind down the tabs a little on the pads till they fit easily into the grooves. The pads have to be able to release back from the rotors when pressure is released. I think this may be a big part of the problem.
Also, the rear discs use the screw in type caliper pistons due to the parking brake. Could these be of bad design and not release properly? How do these work for normal braking? How do they rotate back in on their own when the brakes peddle is released? With an automatic transmission, you seldom if ever use the parking brake. Mine have never been used in 4 years. Could the rear screw type calipers be replaced with non screw type, and just lose the parking brake?
I want to keep my ’09 as long as I can because it has the lifetime powertrain warranty…..
September 17th, 2013 at 10:53 am
I have a 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan bought it new in May of 2012. about tow months after I bought it I had to put in shop because of bad vibration when brakes applied. Dealership said all rotors need to be replaced. Still under warranty. Now here it is September 2013 and once again my van is in shop needed rotors turned. Brake pads are fine but rotors are not. I also have several other issues with the van that may never be resolved with out heavy cost to me. I am paying a lot of money for a piece of JUNK. I HATE MY NEW VAN. Wish I never bought it.
September 17th, 2013 at 12:04 pm
@Linda: It’s time to look into your lemon law rights. make sure you are holding on to all of your service repair invoices, even for those repairs that you out of pocket. Visit https://www.lemonlaw.com/rid.html if you would like to submit your info to 1 800 LEMON LAW for review.
September 27th, 2013 at 8:13 pm
I have bought a 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan brand new.
Now it is approaching its 3rd year, and milage is around 29k.
I have repaired the brake pad and machine the rotors 3 times, for both front and back. Total cost is around 1000 USD so far. Seems I have to bring the car to Dealer every 9month now. This is driving me crazy.
September 30th, 2013 at 10:28 am
2011 T & C, same hear load squweeking sound, car with less than 12K miles being told Caliper locked up “covered” but needs new pads and rotors….Not Covered and the rotors are too far gone to be cut, the car was brought in a month ago with the same complaint and they said they could not find anything wrong with it….
Help, theyu want $400 to fix and need to order parts.
October 22nd, 2013 at 10:47 pm
Very Important Info for Town & Country/Grand Caravan Owners for Front brakes …. if you are going through front brakes more often than rears ,(like 3 times in the front before the rears need changing) it is probably that the rear brakes aren’t fully engaging properly , i went through Numerous front brakes and was even ridiculed by the mechanic who services the company vans by telling me to change my driving habits and stop driving like an Idiot ,when I’m actually a normal driver . Well after about 7 front brake jobs and 2 days before the front rotors would shake erratically I changed mechanics .i was granted permission to go to my friend who is a Professional mechanic and uses Mechanic Blogs and expensive Scan Tools to Diagnose automobiles properly , Long be hold I was right …… the PROBLEM is in the ABS system !!!!! Air gets trapped in the lines but just enough for the brakes to work less in the rear with no ABS light and no Brake light shown
The Procedure
1) connect a Scan tool to the OBD 2 connector and search ABS brake bleed
2) follow the scan tool instructions , the computer starts pulsing the brake pedal by activating the ABS pump , after several pumps it will tell you the exact calipers to bleed while it activates the pump for each to evacuate the Air from the system and exact lines its needs to
after this procedure the Van STOPS PERFECT!!!!!! don’t be fooled into replacing Front brakes over and over when a simple Computer Bleed of the ABS system will save your Wallet!!!!
By the way Most mechanics have no clue of this , I researched Brake issues on Blogs and Web sites and different mechanics , Finally I it took the Right guy to see the Obvious and took 15 Minutes to do the procedure
Good Luck to all searching for a Cure of Chrysler brake issues
November 26th, 2013 at 2:35 am
Have a 2013 Grand Caravan. All brakes and rotors worn by 20,000 kms. Now the wheels are hot again! Stupid ****ing Chrysler. Never again!
December 10th, 2013 at 1:05 pm
My boss bought this dodge minivan t&c last summer, brand new, we put 23.000 miles and the brakes and pads , rotors are gone!!!! It’s a new car!
$1,200 to replace it, brakes extremely hot. two people drive this van all the time…
TheCompany blame ME, saying it’s my fault! Results the way I drive the brakes got burn! Bullshit! I have been driving all my live, I had different cars and bikes, and never, never I had this brakes problem, only with this Dodge van t&c……. I blame Chysler !
December 10th, 2013 at 1:11 pm
Last complain I mention DODGE van, typing mistake ! I mean to say CHRYSLER , we have A Chrysler town and country 2011
December 18th, 2013 at 9:37 am
I have a 2010 town and country, 380,000km, bought used in 2011. Yesterday while I am on highway the tire pressure light went on. So I got off the highway and found that one wheel was very hot. It turned out that the rear right calliper stopped working so the rear left compensated and got overheated. The dealer suggested to replace rear braking pads, rotors and rear right calliper, and they admitted the braking design problem, so they offer to install an adapter. And they also said that I have to service my brakes every year to avoid the braking pad and rotor sticking together.
I owned a 2003 Buick century. Now at 130,000km, I have only replaced its brake pads twice. And I never need to service it’s brakes.
December 28th, 2013 at 7:36 pm
My son is having the same break problems as you guys. He has done the rear breaks 2X in 60k miles. Being that the replacement parts where not Chrysler I have to believe it is an ABS problem.(I am a retired mechanic). You all need to get together and go to the feds or a class action lawyer. The ABS and or master cylinder has the ability to hold pressure in the break line and keep the breaks applied. Just a thought.
December 29th, 2013 at 9:21 pm
I like many others here have an ’08 town & country with brake issues, but I finally fixed the brake problem! Like the Mitsubishi Montero sports, these minivans have an issue with the brake rotors that are really too small for the vehicle. Being a maintenance mechanic, I talked to other technicians, and figured out a better alternative. I put drilled and slotted performance brake rotors (yes they ARE available for minivans) and a set of Bendix global semi metallic pads and used a little ultra high temp grease on the tabs on the pads and just replaced the pads after 3 years of intense Atlanta city driving. The rotors were about 160.00, and the pads were about 30.00 and lasted 3 years. The factory brake rotors are really too small and the driver has no choice but to use the brake pedal a little harder than they should. Chrysler had to do it that way to help shave weight anywhere they could to get better gas milage is my professional guess. With this kind of design, the rotors are going to get nearly red hot to stop the vehicle, thus changing the temper on the brake rotors, thusly causing warpage and accelerated rotor wear, and pad wear. Switching to a brake rotor that is slotted and cross drilled, and a harder pad material compensates for the higher wear. No complaints from the wife! Happy wife, happy life!
January 10th, 2014 at 8:48 pm
Reading about all the brake problems with Dodge Caravan. I have replaced mine three times in 80,000. Son-in-law thinks the slider pins are sticking holding the brake pad against the rotor and not releasing all the way. Seems like Chrysler should be able to figure out how to fix this! Otherwise I won’t be buying another Dodge Caravan (which I love) too bad for Dodge……….
January 22nd, 2014 at 1:29 pm
#196 Linda, I took my 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan back to the dealership with brake and rotar problems at 19k miles. They did replace the brakes, resurfaced the rotars and replaced the slider pins. Apparently that was an automatic fix in their database but NOT a full blown recall. They are only fixing if someone brings it in with the problem.
February 25th, 2014 at 6:34 pm
I have a 2007 dodge caravan. The dam thing has been on park for more months than I’ve gotten to drive it. (5 driveable months out of the 3 years I’ve owned it) first it was the alternator, then the serpentine belt ripped right off, the the transmission gasket then the brakes. 71k when I bought it 3 years ago, 77k on it now. The dealership has treated me like a second class citizen and told me, “if I pay to tow it to them, they’ll give me a 20% discount to fix it.” I’m done with it. I will never buy another dodge/chrysler vehicle again. Buyer beware. Cheap to purchase but always paying to repair.
March 3rd, 2014 at 5:18 pm
I too have a Dodge Grand Caravan, Crew model, and am on my third set of pads and rotors at only 65,000 miles. I have never, ever had to touch any brakes on any vehicle I’ve ever owned at less than 70,000 miles! This is absolutely ridiculous!!! I’ve sent countless emails and complaints to various companies and websites, with NO RESPONSE!!!!!!! I’m seriously considering purchasing another minivan, but I’m not a big fan of anything else that is out there. I only wish Ford had stepped back into the minivan market.
March 22nd, 2014 at 5:53 pm
We purchased our 2008 Dodge caravan new with a lifetime warranty. At around 14k the rear brakes seized & needed both new calipers, rotors & pads. A few thousand miles later, the front had the same issue. By the time we reached 30k we had been in the shop for the same brake issues 6 times. A few of those times they even tried to have me pay for pads & rotors. I found that contacting Dodge directly helped as they called the Dodge dealer & took care of the repairs. The last break failure we were on vacation in another state when the rear brakes locked up on me, forced me off of the road with smoke bellowing from the rear of the car. That breakdown cost us a lot of money as we had to pay for the rental. I really didn’t want to argue with Dodge at that point & just wanted to get our destination.
After going back & forth for a while they reimbursed us for the rental a few weeks later. They even tried to tell us to return the rental the day the van was repaired but being that it was 300+ miles away we kept it until the weekend so we could actually pick up the van & drop off the rental where we picked it up. What a nightmare this has been for us.
48k mark, the rears went out again & they told me new everything & I was responsible for pads & rotors for a total of $450. So done with this. I took the van home, took the rear tires off & saw the rear calipers were indeed frozen but the pads & rotors were in great shape. I changed the rear calipers & lines only. So far @ 63k no rear brake issues. One of the front calipers has locked up & I will replace it myself.
Luckily, this is our third vehicle so we have 2 others that we can rely on.
April 6th, 2014 at 8:17 pm
I have a 2008 that has 97, 000 km and have replaced front pads and rotars three times and back pads and rotars twice. Also have replaced both front and back calipers, front wheel barrings, have had oil leaking problems causing engine to overheat and smoke. Recalls done amd now transmission fluid is leaking on to oil pan. This is sad to say but I will definitely be purchasing a foreign vehicle again (never had one issue with either of my altimas (only replaced brakes once on one of them). So eextremely dissapointed with this vehicle and actually afraid everytime I drive it, for fear that something els will brake 🙁
April 14th, 2014 at 2:27 pm
We have a 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan. Have replaced front rotors and pads and prior to vacationing in July 2013. Almost went off mountainside in Yellowstone National Park as brakes had a complete failure. We were lucky enough to be able to pull off at a lookout site as brake petal failed and blue smoke was billowing out of front brakes. A man who witnessed the event said he could smell us coming. Front brakes continued to smoke for a half hour. Spent several hundred dollars for a tow down the mountain. Mechanic said brakes were fine- rotars looked like new. We were told to down shift the remainder of vacation. Barely made it home as brakes gave way and we literally coasted off exits to home.
April 19th, 2014 at 9:51 am
The problem is bad calipers… They seize and essentially lock up the tires. Driving with with bad calipers is like driving with your foot on the brake. This destroys the pads and rotors as well as creating a great deal of heat which leads to further problems. We have had to replace both the front and rear calipers on our 08… I’m holding onto the invoices in the hopes that Dodge will eventually recall these substandard parts.
May 3rd, 2014 at 8:53 am
Hi, own a 2011 T&C Touring L. We keep having issues with rear brakes. Replaced them on apx. 8/3/13. Dealership was great, while doing the job they saw that the caliper was causing problems and also replaced them while it was still under warranty.
Over the winter heard the occasional grinding first thing in the morning (had lots of snow/ice/etc, so hubby figured it was just maybe a bit of rust from sitting outside over night). early April, started hearing squeek. Figure fronts finally needed changing. While waiting to get return calls from dealership, we started noticing a horrid smell from the rear brakes you could smell when you opened the drivers door. Also, the wheel well was putting off massive heat (singe your arm hair if you got too close).
Went to dealership. Has been a horrible experience with them, and have now spent about $500 to repair this problem and the damage caused by it. Even though the brakes are covered under warranty and we have an extended warranty from the dealership.
According to one dealership Chrysler created a replacement adapter because this was a “known problem” and the replacement adapter should prevent them from freezing/locking. Dealership forced consumer to pay to put the new adapter on, as well as pay for the cost of the adapter on both rear brakes.
May 7th, 2014 at 2:16 am
Wow, I’m relieved to read that so many others have experienced the same brake issues! It’s awful and so unfortunate but glad to know that I’m not the only one, the dealership was making me feel like this issue was in my head and that it’s “normal” to have to replace smoking hot burning brakes every couple of years!! This is not acceptable to me! I drive my children in this car!! And now I’m stuck paying my car loan for this unsafe vehicle! Mine is a 2008 grand caravan sxt, However I bought it from my local Chrysler dodge dealership in 2010 with 416 miles on it, in 2012 I had to do a full rotor, pad & caliper replacement and now two years later at 28292 miles a 2nd full rotor, pad and caliper replacement both times due to smoking hot burning brakes!! NOT normal wear & tear!! I am so outraged and feel that I’ve been conned, I feel used, broken and now stuck with a death trap of a car! My husband, so upset, posted a bad review on the dealers FB page, so bad that it got the owners attention. I had no idea what my husband posted until the owner called me personally to apologize!! He said he’s going to try and help me, we’ll see… There are no lemon law lawyers in my area but I will however be filing a complaint with my State Consumer Protection Unit. I don’t want to have to pay for this defect again! I will be doing what I can to get rid of this vehicle and take my losses. It just makes me so upset to think of the trust I had when purchasing this car and now that’s blown! Never buying dodge again.
May 8th, 2014 at 1:50 pm
Believe me it’s not in your head… I’ve had the same problem with my 2011 Town & Country. After over an hour on the phone with Chrysler’s “Customer Care” (a total joke), I was told what I experienced was completely normal … I’ve decided not to accept this answer and continue to fight for a recall to have Chrysler own up to their defective product before someone is seriously injured or killed by faulty brakes. I was told that filing a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was the only way to force Chrysler to deal with this issue. Filing a complaint with NHTSA takes only a few minutes and can be submitted online or over the phone- Monday-Friday 8am to 8pm 800-424-9153. Many recalls, such as the recent Toyota incidents involving unintended acceleration, were initiated by concerned owners who took the time to contact the NHTSA. If they receive enough complaints, maybe these issues will finally be addressed instead of being swept under the rug leaving us with hefty repair bills
May 19th, 2014 at 7:44 am
I came looking to see if there were others dealing with same issue and, well, it has been a revelatory experience. I bought a 2008 Grand Caravan in 2011 and I have all but given up on the dealer. The transmission went last year, but was covered under extended warranty, so thank goodness there, but the roadside service was crap and we fell back on our insurance to have it towed. The plastic y-connector for the heater hose cracked (apparently common) and was told not covered and that it was going to cost about $450 parts and labor if the dealer fixed it. Really? I went to the hardware store, got a metal t-connector and then to the parts store and got a foot length of heater hose and fixed the damned think myself for $10 in parts and a 1/2 hour of my time. And the brakes. Oh my God, the brakes. To replace the front was $495. Did that. Then told I needed the back done. This by the dealer who said that brakes were new when bought (and now I know why!). Another $400. Was told that the brakes were being ridden too hard and that probably caused them to warp. My wife drives this van with the kids. She grew up in OR driving up and down a mountain working part time at Crater Lake NP year round; she knows how to drive better than you and me put together. BS, I said, and replaced myself. They need replacing again it seems, but this time I will get the ceramic rotors (maybe) as the extended warranty is about to expire in August, so we will looking to replace anyway. Have on only averaged about 6000-7000mi/yr, but I intend to drive the hell out of it this summer. This was our third Dodge van (same scenario-buy used 3yrs old, keep 3 yrs, trade in). Will not be getting another Dodge/Chrysler. Had consider a Routan (I drive a Jetta and have owned three VW’s), but not after reading this. Maybe I’ll become Amish and get a horse and buggy. Good grief!!!
May 20th, 2014 at 10:17 pm
Dodge Grand Caravan 2012; Noticed about 3 months ago that the rear rotors were becoming so hot that you could melt a stick of butter by just holding it near after driving (30 minutes non-intense driving). One time the rotors were even smoking after. I have already replaced both rear rotors/brakes TWICE and just bought the car (used) in Dec 2012. I do not do any distance driving, and most is not city.
I brought the car to a mechanic who recommended a complete caliper/rotor/pad replacement at around $600. Seemed like a generic fix. I declined, as I can do this with a free weekend, and had no guarantee of fixing the problem looking at other reported issues.
The rotors continue to get hot (usually not both at the same time, but rather one more than the other each time), and am afraid to drive any farther than the 30 min commute to work. I have read so many stories of the same issue occurring to Dodge/Chrysler owners, and ones going all the way back to 2008 models. I can’t fathom how this would still be an issue in a 2012 model, and that nothing has been done to help the consumer and correct the mistake. Even the DEALERSHIP MECHANIC told me that the rotors are too small to handle the heat.
I have nightmares of the day that it gets so hot that something in the assembly or tire goes and sends my family of 4 and 2 unborn children into oncoming traffic.
May 21st, 2014 at 11:55 am
2010 Dodge Grand Caravan- 60k miles- was shuddering while driving and having trouble both braking, as well as getting going again after braking. My husband took a look at the brakes and discovered that pins were missing from the front calipers. Do pins just fall out of calipers as part of normal wear/tear? I don’t think this should be the case at all and wish they’d put out a recall. I have also filed a complaint via NHTSA website.
June 5th, 2014 at 5:58 pm
It’s also a common problem on the 2012 model Grand Caravan and Town & Country. It may even be a common problem on the 2013’s and 2014’s.
June 12th, 2014 at 5:02 pm
Post 98 and 99 are mine 2011 Town and Country Touring….somehow I stumbled back on this site today and was reading all the post and came across mine…I didn’t remember writing it back then and as I was reading I kept thinking, so did mine, yep, so did mine too, and looked up and its MY POSTS….Great… SINCE THEN… it has been back in so many times its crazyyyyy and its getting worse….I had to have the back brakes completely redone. All of it, the whole thing, about 600 but we got it done at Meineke and they also did something else to my front brakes because it was making noises AGAIN…since then I haven’t had any problems YET….DOORS, I am so tired of getting slammed in those damn doors, it HURTS! It doesn’t stop on contact, it keeps shutting. When I first complained I was told it was because my drive way was up hill. Costco is FLAT. THEY STILL SHUT ON ME.
Other things that I have mentioned during visits for all these problems I was told that they never heard of such things i.e…..my chair still squeals when you just get in, they said they never heard the noise butttt you say you drove my car and it wasn’t shifting hard. Somebodys lying!! Yes it shifts so hard from any gear to any gear. It sounds like you’ve dropped your engine that’s how hard it hits. Side driver window, light stays lit! Fixed it, now lights up when there is nothing there…I don’t use the back ac or heater anymore (was my daycare company van) BUT about every couple of weeks the ac/or heater comes on and blows hard and loud. Takes forever for AC to kick in, its only 88. Going down hwy and all lights and doors come on and unlock….Freaks the crap out of ya, swerved twice thinking someone was getting in. TIRE SENSORS….one day they work, the next day they don’t….6/10/14 got it out of shop and they said they had to replace BOTH FOBS (one was just replaced in Oct ’13) because the keys were “sticking” ok whatever… they claim that’s why my doors keep opening, why my car was starting from the inside of my house and no one had the keys but me, was told that’s why my back gate was open all nite cause the button was stuck and all the doors unlock by themselves when you walk away is because the buttons was “STUCK”…….6/12/14 EVERYTHING IS BROKE AGAIN……tire sensors, doors opening and shutting, doors unlocking, wind sheid wipers come on with nothing on the windshelid. AGAINNNNN…. There is so much more and I have it all written up by them….BUT PLEASE READ THIS…..MY van as of 6/12/14 STILL will turn on with out the keys/FOBS!! I just stuck my finger in the hole and stepped on brake and it drives, no keys!! Downfall, you cant turn it off with out a FOB!! I brought it to the dealerships attention and was told, just don’t stick your finger in there??!!! wth?? SO JUST PUTTING IT OUT THERE, U DONT NEED A KEY FOR MY VAN!! HELP YOURSELF!! PLEASE! 😉 how I found out is because all my electrical is going crazy and I just said lets see and it did!!
June 20th, 2014 at 6:00 am
2009 Dodge Grand Caravan, 71000km, fourth time in for brake work, twice for front and rear pads and rotors at almost $1000.00 each time.
No the service manager tells me to have brakes serviced each time I have an oil change.
Why should Chrysler fix the issue when they can get an extra $95.00 per oil change, what a load of crap!
June 20th, 2014 at 10:24 pm
Currently GM and Ford have been recalling a lot of cars. We had problems start with our brakes fairly early on, 20,000 some miles. With as many people seem to be complaining of this problem what do we need to do to force Chrysler into a recall? Any ideas?
June 22nd, 2014 at 9:45 am
My first post about brake problems with my 2010 Chrysler Town and Country van was made to this site back in early 2013 when I got my first brakes replaced on my van at 14000 miles. In May of 2013 I made an economic decision to get rid of my van once I estimated the future cost of repairs, cost of poor fuel economy with the old 4.0 Liter V6 engine, etc. I immediately bit the bullet and bought a new CUV and am now so happy that I can hardly stop laughing everytime I get a notice of a new post from this site. There are so many quality CUVs out there now such that a minivan such as this makes no sense to own or purchase. The only way to win is to take the path that I took. Cheaper insurance, much better gas mileage, about the same amount of interior passenger space, excellent 5 year warranty, etc. We are too smart to let Chrysler continue to beat up on us with a vehicle like this!!!
June 26th, 2014 at 3:27 pm
2011 Dodge Grand Caravan left rear brakes locked up at 110km/hr or 65 to 70 mph tends to cause vehicle to lurch hard into oncoming traffic and scares the hell out of you. Luckily I have had some racing experience and
pulled back over before traffic got any closer. The right front brake pads and rotor and wheel could not be touched as it was overheated.
The same overheated rear brake could not be touched either and worst it was locked up.
Lucky I had a blade screwdriver to pry the brake pads apart on both front and rear brakes.
I ask you, what would have happened to a mother with her children who does not have the skills to handle a situation like this??? This is a super family van and Chrysler has sold millions of them. Having experienced one sideways skidddd into on coming traffic I checked the brakes on the left rear side and found they were metal to metal and locked up. I really like my van and so went on the internet to see if this was a re:occuring problem and what I found were a huge number of people having the same problem. So, I checked further that Caravan owners were changing front and rear brake pads,rotors and calipers 2 and 3 times in under on an average mileage of 90,000 miles if not sooner.
Sounds like from what I am hearing is that the rotors are too lite weight
and the calipers are too small and the brake pads are of the wrong material. Ok all you experts, how close am I to the truth????
This is what I have been able to understand from 212 complaints I have been going through.
My dealer is telling me that they will replace brake pads and put in some kind of a caliper hanging clip modification that I have not seen yet. What about the overheated bearings???
They are telling me that they may not warranty the damaged rotor, but I explained to them that the damage to the rotor was due to the failure of the caliper and brake pad. Well we will see what they do for my family (safety) type van????
Does anyone know if the brakes on the 2014 Caravans been been updated and modified with heavier calipers,brake pads and rotors to give us a set of reliable and safe brakes????
Thanks for your time.
June 28th, 2014 at 7:38 am
We have the 2013 T/C. The rear brakes are hot on one side (drivers) and after a cool down period and another hours drive- then the other side is overheated… Weeks later, both rears are OVERHEATED. I think it is a computer related problem for the traction control system…
The dealership tells me that if there is NO MESSAGE on the dash system- then there is no problem…. Just a cover up , get real Chrysler!
June 30th, 2014 at 10:12 am
I have a 2012 Chrysler T&C with 28,000 miles. Under braking the the brakes pulsate and vibrate. So the dealer tells me I have to replace the brakes and rotors for almost a $1000. Chrysler should make good for this.
June 30th, 2014 at 10:16 am
2011 Grand Caravan grinding and other noise coming from rear brakes only 23000 miles on it and the brakes are really hot.
July 3rd, 2014 at 7:09 am
2010 town and country with 20,000 miles dealer says needs new rotors and pads this is nuts is there no recourse ?
July 3rd, 2014 at 11:44 pm
98, 99, 211 are all mine. UPDATE 2011 T&C June 23 I took my van in to get repaired AGAIN, this time they said it should only take about an hour and half to two hours so I waited. In the meantime the 800# Landon had told me that he had escalated my van to a replacement status, that day while waiting for my van I called to verify what was the status and was told my new case Mgr Lisa that was no longer an option. She was going to call the dealership where I was and talk to the Sales mgr. I said while I’m here let me talk to him. I went out there and he was on the phone. Craig, a salesman came up to me and I explained that I needed to talk to the SM and he kept asking why and I finally told him. He said he could help by speeding things up by trading in the car and took me out to a 200. It was blue and he said it was TOP of the Line. It had material interior and leather trim with the S symbol. He said there was nothing else that could be added to this. As I got in, I put my hand inside the console and Craig sat down next to me and put his hand in and grabbed mine and caressed it. I immediately grabbed mine back out and just disregarded it. Started talking about the interior and buttons. He said you’re going to remember my name tonight when you wake up, do you remember my name, and I thought to myself I don’t think you told you me your name so I said out loud you didn’t tell me your name and he said my name is Craig and I said oh. Then I started talking about something else on the car and we then were talking about the Gps and different buttons and then he said go ahead and drive it. So I drove off the lot, as we were driving down the street, questions were being asked, like was I married and then he asked, Can I ask you a personal question and I was like yea I guesssss???? and he said What color was your ex husband. And I told him. As we drove on back to the office he showed me the some more on the dashboard and we pulled up. We walked back in and he asked me to come back to his office. He pulled out my chair and I sat down and he bent over to pull some papers out of a filing cabinet. As he was bent over he said, not facing me, when you wake up in the middle of the night tonight you’re gonna remember my name Craig huh…….and I just smacked my lips (sarcastically) and rolled my eyes and looked out the other way. About seconds later he says it again and as he is saying it he comes up with these papers in his hands and puts them on the table. I asked what was this and he said credit check…I said NO….there is no credit check, I am wanting to speak to him about a replacement because its been going on 3 years with the same exact problems and more than 8 weeks of car rentals for the same issues over and over. I finally got in and went over a few major issues, such as doors rolling back shut, SM says there is a safety on it so that doesn’t happen, I told him it does and he says no….ok, next, 4 MAJOR BRAKE jobs by 50,000 miles and he said that is very COMMON for 50,000 miles on a 2011. LOL YES YOU ARE CORRECT SIR, IT IS COMMON, ON YOUR VEHICHLES ONLY.
OK, so I wasn’t getting anywhere, everything he had something smart to say. So I go back outside privately and call back the 800# and spoke to mgr Lisa. I tell Lisa what I just experienced and I don’t think she can get anywhere with this SM because he was very stubborn and even though I have proof that every time I got to come back and get fixed again, he has a smart comment. I also told her about Craig. I ALSO told her NOT to make a big deal about it. I said he is OLD SCHOOL. Old guy….I’m not shaken up about it, im just letting you know how unprofessional it is here. After I get off the phone with her, some men from my neighborhood arrive and are waiting for their friend to make a purchase so I stayed outside and talked to them and it was like 95 degrees and at this time I have been here for about 80 mins. All of a sudden the Service Mgr comes out and looks at me and looks around and goes back in. I knew in my heart something just happened. I walked back in and went to the counter. A call came over the speaker from 800# and the Service Mgr very loudly yells send it to my office. And they call for someone from the service area in and tells him to come in and close the door. The guy behind the counter tells me its about my car, my heart sank. He said its nothing but an approval and I said ok. I walked back outside and my friends were gone. I started to make a phone call to my mom and the Service Mgr bolts thru the door and says SO YOU WANT TO TAKE YOUR CAR SOMEWHERE ELSE AND GET IT SERVICED?? and before I could explain yes about TRADING it in, NOT fixed, he gave me my keys, BANGED ON THE DOOR AND THE DOOR FLEW OPEN AND MY VAN WAS RIGHT THERE RUNNING AND A GUY IN IT AND HE YELLS PULL IT OUT, he says TAKE IT, WE’RE NOT FIXING IT, GET OFF MY LOT, CRAIG WOULD NEVER DO THAT, IVE KNOWN HIM FOR 20 YEARS!!! Now its been over an hour and half. ITS NOT fixed again.
So it was almost 5pm, I drove down the street balling!!!! I had to pull over and I called the 800# and asked Lisa WHYYY would you do that while I was there. She says she didn’t know I was there. I JUST TOLD YOU I WAS HERE AND I WAS GOING TO TALK TO THE SALES MANAGER.
I drove to a lawyer and the lawyer sent me to the police department. I went there and waited for county to show up. I said that I just wanted a report that the reason I was thrown off the lot was because of this incident. I am not pressing charges against him. P.O. says he is not rushing down there to arrest him and when he gets time to investigate he would, but it would be the next time hes on day shift. No problem for me.
Now lets fast forward two long back and forth emails, phone calls and voice mail weeks and we arrive to yesterday. Yesterday I was now assigned to a town that’s 45 mins away. (mind you its not fixed) 15.00 round trip in gas. I get there at my apt. 3pm and they were NOT aware of anything at all. Knowing that was going to happen I bring my last paperwork with me and I was up against 3 new guys. I was told every problem I had were things that just happen. OR like my back up sensors that beep ( I PAID 43,000 JUNE 2011 TOP OF THE LINE) , they sometimes beep and MOST of the time do not, 3 years!! its worse now than ever. I was told by Bob that budded in and didn’t even know what van I had, that my van did NOT COME WITH THAT OPTION. REALLY??? SINCE WHEN? My paperwork says it does! I took down all these notes, names and all. This went of for 30 mins and then I was told by Brad that I needed to leave my van. I said yes I know, that’s suppose to be already taken care of. He had nothing.
330pm I am on the phone in the parking lot calling leaving msgs 800#. No one answers or calls back. I drive all the way back home. At 6pm I finally get another case mgr Beca. I spend 50 mins on the phone with her catching her up on 3 years as fast as I can. After 58 mins we finally have it set that today by 2pm Adrienne my case worker would have my rental all set up and ready for me to drop off my van. AT 251pm I get a VM saying that the new store doesn’t want to help me due to what happened at their sister store and here are your 3 new options to take your car in and have a diagnosis? WTH?? Can they do that? And you think these next 3 stores didn’t get word yet?? The first one is on the SAME STREET. The 2nd one is 40 miles away, the 3rd one is in ANOTHER STATE AND ANOHER AREA CODE 200 MILES AWAY IN A BROKE VAN.
I called at 301 and left msg saying I was very upset and this was not acceptable at all. Call me back asap.
At 4pm her vm was changed saying she has left till Tuesday. so I called back and talked to the operator. I asked her to read me the last notes. The last notes state the customer is very upset. She is getting a lawyer and she hung up.
I thanked her and asked to be transferred to her vm again. I left another msg. I did not hang up on you. I have no issues with my phone at all at anytime today. I did not say I was getting a lawyer. You have in your notes that I am very upset, but yet you choose to leave me in this current situation till Tuesday. If One store sent a memo to a store 30 miles away, you don’t think the 5 mile one didn’t get one, or the one 10 more from that one, or the next one 20 more from that one. Im a banned from all over.
When I got home, I had an email from Adrienne stamped 3pm. It stated that the new store X didn’t want to ASSIST ME WITH REPLACING MY VEHICLE ??????????????????????????????
I can not take it anymore. I am so sorry I said anything to the 800#. This is the very reason why sexual abuse in the work place and other places goes unreported. Because we end up on the losing end. I am not looking for anything but to get my car fixed after 3 years. Why would I want another car from Chrysler? Whyyy??? Where would I take it get fixed, oil changes, recalls?? All because of this. This has caused so much disruption in my family. Now my family is all worried about their cars. Our name is not common.
I know this is not the site for suggestions. but I just want everyone to be aware of what’s going on. If I would have known that a caressed hand and 3-4 remember my names in the middle of the night when u wake up, I would of just stomached it and came home and told my parents and slept it off. It wasn’t even a big deal. He gets to keep his job and his car, while I had to lose my job because we did not know what was fixed orrrr UNFIXED after 90 mins!!
I’ve caught them in so many lies. I have everything documented. I have all my paperwork. I have emails, vms, written, saved, person to person, everything to back me up.
I am so tired!!!!!!!!!!!! im a worn out mentalllyyyyy!!
July 5th, 2014 at 4:57 pm
Thank God I own a 2006 T & C minivan. 175,000 miles- bought it at 108,000 much of them highway. Runs great. Almost no problems except typical maint. tires, brakes, tierods. Did need a radiator, coolant fan relay, door lock actuator, just now an alternator and you have to click off turn signal manually on one side. The alternator needed a special tool as the crappy engineers left no room to get a regular tool in there. It was $330 for a freind to do. He had to fabricate a tool to make it work. $162 in labor. Used to do them myself. I am also dissapointed that it’s rusting and bubbling under the doors and body/frame all the way back to the wheelwells. Shoulda lasted a few more years without rust but thank God nothing like what you all are going thru with the newer models. Seems like their building junk with the newer ones and I feel sorry for you all. I’m gonna get mine painted and ride it untill the wheels fall off and then I’ll pay the extra money for a Toyota or Honda minivan. (I use it to haul equipment now and then.) A couple of mechanics told me that the Japanese cars are easier to work on with the mechanic in mind so you don’t have to take it to a dealer for everything. Sad but true I guess. Oh well, most are American made now anyways- and obviously much better. They created their own demise, along with the unions. Good luck all.
July 9th, 2014 at 1:23 pm
I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this or not but obviously Chrysler knew there was a problem because if you look at the new grand caravans and town and countries the brakes are bigger than on previous years . I had a 2010 grand caravan and had the same issues as everyone else with the brakes , I traded it in on a 2014 grand caravan and so far ( knock on wood ) it’s been an excellent vehicle.
July 9th, 2014 at 1:42 pm
I too am a victim of buying a 2010 Town and Country. I purchased it in November of 2010. I definitely won’t be buying another Chrysler or Dodge minivan in the future. Yeah I received that extended warranty for the front break pads and rotors, too. My rear breaks started making noises around the mid 20,000 mile range. They also started grinding in the rear when I was backing up in the mid 20,000 mile range. I called the dealer service department and they said it was just dust collecting on the brakes. The symptoms kept getting worse so I took the van into the dealership around 35,000 miles and the van needed new rear brakes including the rotors. That set me back around 400 or 500 dollars. So much for the dust on breaks theory they passed off on to me earlier. It was in fact a “BREAKING BAD” experience instead. Looking at all the rest of these same complaints I guess I need to buy a new van before the brakes go bad again. Looks to me like Chrysler values its bottom line more than it values repeat customers or their customers in general.
Hey, how many of you have the engine light come on frequently on your Town and Country or Dodge minivan’s dash board? If you check these codes 0445 and 0446 on line it says that the gas cap is loose, which is exactly what the Chrysler dealership said it was. Guys, I have a masters degree and I can assure you that it does not take a genius to screw a gas cap on tight. So are we all incompetent at screwing on our gas caps or are the gas caps defective. (Those gas caps are probably made in a foreign country, the land of lead in children’s toys.) My engine light problem is happening more frequently as time passes. A site for those computer codes has more complaints about the engine light in relation to a loose gas cap than the number of complaints on this site. The loose gas cap complaints go all the way back to 2003 on that site. Way to go Chrysler you let us down again. How about doing the right thing Chrysler and fix the breaks free of charge as well as fie the engine light issue in regards to the loose gas cap.
Does anybody know a company that makes a great van that works correctly and whose components do not prematurely wear out of fail? Hmmm, maybe KIA. The KIA van I bought was nice. That 2004 year Kia was the first year of the mini van curved roof design. What do you all think of Kia’s minivan?
July 10th, 2014 at 8:38 am
Just a note , I dealt with unique Chrysler in Burlington Ontario and they’ve been excellent with me and my parents ( who also have a 2014 grand caravan ) and my mother inlaw ( again 2014 grand caravan ) . They covered my brakes on the 2010 under warranty even though they were out of warranty for me too .
July 14th, 2014 at 11:34 pm
looks like I’m going to try and trade my 2011 in on a 2014 and see what they give me for my 2011 which is still under manufacturers warranty.
I also bought the 3 yr extended warranty which they tell me is transferable to a newer grand caravan.
Well lets see what is going to happen????
July 15th, 2014 at 9:36 am
Just spent $950 on new brakes/rotors/etc. About the 3rd time now? 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan.
July 28th, 2014 at 2:25 pm
Bought my 2009 Chrylser town and country with 1900 miles on it from the dealer. What a joke, this first 13k miles I had it in there complaining about the squealing, grinding, hot smelly rear rims. They said they didnt see any thing wrong. Then magically they saw the rear rotors metal on metal and blued. The calipers were locked up and the front rotors needed resurfaced and pads twice. Now the noise has been ongoing for months but alas they see again past the 12k 12 months warranty that the front rotors have a rust hill trashing my front pads and the rear rotors need replaced again the calipers are locked up. Of course the pretty chrome rims have never been pretty since I picked it up they look like a chimney stack!
August 4th, 2014 at 10:10 pm
Purchased a Brad new 2014 c&t sport this Saturday. With less than 100 miles on it it started to shake when braking. Very disappointing. It is already back at the shop for a rebuild. After seeing this forum I would wish I could Call off the deal. By the way can I? I did not pay for it yet…
August 15th, 2014 at 1:17 pm
I have an 08 t&c I have owned it for just over a year I am now replacing a third rear caliper and have also replaced wheel barrens for three wheels as well. I am seeing this being a common issue that I feel Chrysler needs to address for safety reasons and customers as a whole.
August 21st, 2014 at 1:51 pm
@Kristian: In most cases, you cannot call off a deal.
August 22nd, 2014 at 7:14 am
I own a fully loaded 2009 T&C and have 87K miles on it. My first set of brakes and rotors needed replacement around 5K since I drive the autobahn daily in excess of 80mph here in Europe. I brought the van brand new with me when I was transferred to Germany. It was obvious that braking heat was the issue so I replaced the rotors with the drilled/slotted type available from many different vendors online, the brakes pads I replaced with ceramic pads. I replaced the brakes myself and made sure all the pins, slides, and caliper contact spots were lightly lubricated with copper-moly grease, I also ground down just a tiny bit each “ear” on each brake pads to ensure they could not bind in the channels with dirt or dust These rotors and brakes have lasted over 80k and still work perfectly. The calipers fail due to the high heat, I have never had this problem. The “stealership” is in the business to make money, go somewhere else.
August 27th, 2014 at 11:01 am
After reading this I’m afraid I’m having the same problem. I just bought a Town and Country S 2014 less than a month ago. I didn’t noticed the problem until I drove it on the parkway.
When driving morethan 40miles an hour and hitting the brake the steering wheel vibrates.
Hoping this is not a lemon thing. I still haven’t sent it to service I’m waiting for my next day off. Probably this weekend.
August 27th, 2014 at 11:44 pm
2012 Dodge Grand Caravan Crew
Squeaky brake pedal. Put brake fluid in, stopped for a while. Squeaking is back again.
September 2nd, 2014 at 11:43 am
Just an update on my previous post dated August 27th, 2014 at 11:01 am.
I took the minivan to the the dealership this weekend and they replaced both front rotors and brake pads. So far everything seems to be working will see for the next days.
September 5th, 2014 at 3:06 pm
Ive had nothing but bad experience with Dodge brakes. Our 2012 required new rear rotors at 20k kms. I was told that the slides need to be lubricated yearly, we had owned it for just over a year at the time. We are at 45k kms and I am about to do it again even with the extra maintainence the rear rotors are warped and scored. I purchased a set of aftermarket brakes which have worked for me before on a previous Dodge. However, I believe without the updated caliper brackets this will happen again, regardless of how good the parts are. I believe the part number is 68192437AA ADAPTER-DISC BRAKE. This part is not covered under warranty but should allow the pads to retract from the rotor…which is the cause of the overheating and warping. Really surprised they got away with not recalling this design flaw.
September 9th, 2014 at 4:17 pm
Well since I last wrote here, I investigated the idea of trading my 2011
Dodge Grand Caravan in on a 2014 with larger calipers and rotors on the front wheels, But, found out that the 3 year extended warranty was not transferable to the new 2014 I wanted to buy!
I have 54K km on my 2011 which cost roughly $27,454 dollars at the time of purchase and was told they needed $12,000 plus handling fees and GST
for a new 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan and my 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan for trade in, with a $3000 3 year extended warranty that was not transferable, so I loose big time.
Well I decided to keep my money and van and see what happens with the brake problems and what Chrysler of Canada and the USA will do for us? They replaced my rear rotors,calipers,and pads under warranty, but charged me $547 and change, to change front rotors and flush all break fluid in the system. I did not see any info on my bill as to if the new slider clips were installed. They did not change my break pads as they said they were only 50 % worn and would be ok for now.
I have since called down to Toronto “head office of Chrysler CANADA” and asked for warranty on the replacement of the front warped rotors due to over heating and a direct cause (mechanical) from the left rear
calipers locking up as the Left rear and Right front braking system is tied together when operated (a new design option of late) and also the brake fluid being flushed plus labor all due to the Left rear brakes Mechanically locked up at 110 klm per hr. on the highway.
We were lucky ( no accident ) but had to pry the brake pads away from the rotors both (right front and left rear) and let them cool down before we could drive again.
Quite an experience. I will watch these brakes very carefully now and in the near future.
Having read all these complaints I was told what percentage of this problem compared to all the Vans sold in North America, and that it was a very small percentage.
But, I did mention that these were only the complaints that were registered on this site and on the internet?
What about the people who don’t complain and can’t complain as they are not on the internet???
Well my friends told me welcome to the real world of business!!!
The one thing I can say is that the Chrysler Dodge people at my sales store were very helpful and responded politely and did their very best to assist me with my brake problem except it should have ALL been done under warranty. Lets see what the future brings?
Moe here in Canada
September 25th, 2014 at 10:10 am
2012 Grand Caravan 34000 kms. 4 rotors gone, need to be replaced.will cost me aover 10000.0 for parts & labour. not very pleased about this for a 2 year old van.
September 25th, 2014 at 1:02 pm
I own a 2011 Caravan. At 10 000km it needed the front rotors replaced under warranty. Now at 36 000km they tell me both front rotors need replacing and both rear breaks are metal on metal explaining the burning smell and wheel cover being hot to the touch. The quote me 750$ Canadian to fix. I refused, made a fuss about it and the Service Director “finds” a bulletin of sorts that FULLY GUARANTEES ALL BREAK WORK ON 2011 Caravans with 16″ tires due to Didge having built them with undersized something or other. He says Dodge will continue to replace all break work through 2016. You would think we would have gotten a recall notice and that the problem would be fixed pernanently and not simply when needed.
October 3rd, 2014 at 6:32 am
Ok so its a recall on 2011 Caravans with 16″ wheels because when they manufactured them they put rotors that were too small on the rear wheels. Dodge will not change the rotors for larger ones but simply do all brake work free of charge untill 2016. The very next morning after they replaced tge rear rotors and pads and front rotors the rear drivers side apparently seized and the thing was hot and smoking. I had thought that thst was the smell of the oils burning off after the brake job and gave it a day. Three days or so later I’m on the service road going about 50kmh when my rear passenger brake seize and people flag me down because my wheel is smoking. I bring it in to Dodge and they show me thst BOTH REAR CALIPERS WERE SEIZED….so they replace Both calipers free of charge…..I’ll let you all know if it lasts the week.
October 5th, 2014 at 1:11 pm
I have a 2009 T&C that we bought 4 years ago. We have had to replace the rear brakes 3 times in 4 years and now we are being told the calipers, which were replaced 10,000 miles ago are shot again and need to be replaced. Not to mention we have had some other crazy things happen with the van in the past 4 years that have needed pricey repairs. Has anyone found an option to fix the problem with the rear brakes that is affordable? I can’t keep paying $900 every 14 months for brakes! I thought calipers normally last the life of a vehicle! So frustrating!
October 10th, 2014 at 12:22 pm
To cke07
Read post # 229 for the solution to your continously replacing brakes issue. I can’t make it any simpler. I just passed 90k miles and still no issues.
October 11th, 2014 at 4:40 pm
We have a 2010 Town & Country –we have had brakes worked on , rotors turned —-more brake work–brake pads and shoes —rotors replaced 2 weeks ago and right now it is in shop again after having it towed because the brakes failed completely —Our extended warranty covered none of this —-How much longer until someone gets killed .
October 27th, 2014 at 8:37 am
My previous post was #233…I recently contacted Chrysler customer support where they requested I bring my 2012 back into the shop for diagnosis/repair, the rep said they would back me up. So I brought the van in, informed them of the new brake part (number is 68192437AA ADAPTER-DISC BRAKE) …picked it up later that day. Bill was about $600, but they did not charge me for the new brake parts($230). I then called customer service back, she told me to send in all my receipts which totalled $1075….I received a cheque for $900 a week later.
Happy camper again
October 28th, 2014 at 10:25 am
I am the original owner of a 2011 Town and Country with under 21000 miles. Warranty expired on September 3, 2014. Car was maintained regularly at the dealership. Back in July I brought it to the dealer because I was hearing a “metal on metal” squeak coming from the rear wheel. They said they took it apart and found nothing wrong with it. Less than 2000 miles later, we are now hearing a heavy grinding sound coming from the same wheel and we are afraid to drive it. I am bringing it to the dealer this week and I will keep you posted on whether they cover it or charge me since it is two months past the warranty period.
November 3rd, 2014 at 1:45 pm
Same issue 2009 t&C 75,000 miles. 5 front bakes & rotors 1st 45,000 miles. Problem, the pads when installed are extremely tight and do not move freely. The solution, the tabs (top and bottom) on the pads are a little long (even after market). They need to be filed down a hair so that they move in an out freely when in place. Since I did that I am getting 20,000+ miles before another brake job.
November 7th, 2014 at 11:56 pm
Know this is about the DC, but first, let me say, ANY and every time you have a problem, call the MANUFACTURER, get a case number, and ask for an investigator. Follow up with a letter, and record all calls (legal if you are part of conversation. We bought a 2004 Dodge Durango for our son, but took it back because wouldn’t run if it rained. Tried to go back to where we bought it, but they were closed and long gone. Took it to an independent shop. Wasn’t raining, and they could find nothing wrong. We stopped driving it if chance of rain. On June 7, 2014, I was in the right hand lane driving about 50 miles per hour (under limit.) I thought I had a flat, the steering jerked. When I tried to move off the road, steering locked up. Put on brake, and car spun out of control. Last thing I remember is fighting the steering. Witness saw, said car spun several times–hit my head on driver’s side window, which thankfully knocked me out as car then rolled down an embankment on left side. Trooper said it rolled 2-3 times. I was the only thing left in car–thank God for seat belts. Was towed to sho but they said really not repairable as top crushed. I really couldn’t do anything for 2 weeks. Finally asked if they’d take it for scrap to cover storage. Had just dropped collision as planned to get a new car. Took me 3 months of reading similar complaints to think to call Dodge. Just got letter that said sorry, since their investigator couldn’t look at car, no recourse. Know I’m lucky to be alive, but we lost a car, and tons of things “walked off. Guy who towed it put it in a fiełd with no protection, and wild animals destroyed and defacated on the few things that we might have salvaged. We will NEVER buy a Dodge again! People need to know problems need to be reported to the MANUFCTURE–insurance, if you have it, isn’t good enough. As several people have stated on Caravan and Durango, someone is going to die. Heard EMT say he didn’t ‘t know how I survived. Force must have been tremendous. My closed purse was found completely empty under the driver’s door, where the car finally landed. I had on my seatbelt, but was between the door and the seat. According to Dodge, I should have called them immediately! Who knew?
November 8th, 2014 at 5:14 pm
I already successfully used the Lemon Law law firm in regards to my lemon 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT, due to the rear sliding doors which close on children, cut their legs, etc.
I rarely if ever use this 5000 hunk of garbage, except to drive it to the mechanic. Can someone recommend the best aftermarket parts for the front brakes/rotors?
The dealer claims the car is out of warranty for the brakes service bulletin after 36 months. I have 43,000 miles and the front brakes, rotors need to be replaced again.
The same problem occurs with the rear brakes, so I’m sure I’ll be replacing them again at my next oil change.
From what I have read here, use semi metallic brakes. Then use slotted rotors? Any recommendations would help as Lemon Law won’t be able to help on this issue since the car is now 5+ years old.
November 10th, 2014 at 5:35 pm
I doubt the dealer will give you any satisfaction, with the brake issue. I replaced my rear brakes and rotors last year, at 20,000 miles and have to replace the front brakes and rotors once again at 43000 miles. When it comes to these issues document it, save receipts and contact Kimmel and Silverman sooner rather than later. Their successful settlement made owning a lemon with poor defective designs a little easier. As far as the brakes themselves go, slotted grooved rotors to keep the heat down help as an upgrade. If you have 17 inch wheels you can upgrade to the heavy duty brake system, rotors, calipers from a 2013 as a retrofit for front or rear brakes for added safety.
November 17th, 2014 at 1:07 pm
Mt 2008 T/C has 120,000 miles. So far I have had front and rear brakes and rotors $650. Front and rear brakes again $198. Rear brakes again (I did the job) $68. Now I need brakes all around again. Never again an American made car. Bring on a Jap car. They run better ,cost less to repair. I have a roar in the front end except when the wheels turn right or left. The overhead console light quit on the drivers side. Now they tell me I have to buy the WHOLE console light for $250 plus labor. The plastic light indicator cover on the on the passenger mirror came off in a car wash. They want to replace the whole rightside remote mirror for $300 plus labor. You can’t buy the plastic snap on thingy! The right side back seat will not fold up, it just make a sound like a motor running. Now the engine pulsates between 35-50 mph. It just keeps on coming!!!! Sorry Chrysler you made a sorry product and WILL NOT stand behind it. I’ve been in for the recalls and the dealer knows nothing about them.
November 19th, 2014 at 9:47 am
I am the original owner of a 2010 Town & Country with 70,000 miles on it. I have replaced front rotors and pads three times. The first time was under a Chrysler recall. The rear rotors and pads have been replaced twice. The last time I replaced the front brakes I purchased Bosch rotors and pads. The mechanic who did the brake job told me that Chrysler knows about brake problem and that original equipment is undersized for the weight of vehicle. I have also had trouble with tires wearing out long before they should. This too is because the tires recommended by Chrysler are not capable of supporting the weight of the vehicle. This is the second, and last Chrysler product that I will ever own. Shame on me for buying American.
December 2nd, 2014 at 5:11 pm
We brought the T/C brand new in 2011.
From day 1 the car had issues. always sluggish and I was scared to death to be standing on an incline. Van would roll back minute foot left break. Dealer claimed no mechanical issue but had “heard” about others with this issue. I will be digging through all my repair receipts but the latest is crazy. Rear break totally shot after 40K miles. (only a commuter car; never drive more than 100 miles one way, once a year). two weeks later front brakes pads, rotor and calipers replaced, 800 bucks! I should mention, I am meticulous with regular maintenance. Never late for oil change or inspection. Always paid extra for dealer checks. I have every pretty little report i was given. We stopped using dealer when repairs on 2006 PT Cruiser Limited were never ending. Wish I could ditch Van and PT!
December 2nd, 2014 at 5:12 pm
We brought the car brand new.
From day 1 the car had issues. always sluggish and I was scared to death to be standing on an incline. Van would roll back minute foot left break. Dealer claimed no mechanical issue but had “heard” about others with this issue. I will be digging through all my repair receipts but the latest is crazy. Rear break totally shot after 40K miles. (only a commuter car; never drive more than 100 miles one way, once a year). two weeks later front brakes pads, rotor and calipers replaced, 800 bucks! I should mention, I am meticulous with regular maintenance. Never late for oil change or inspection. Always paid extra for dealer checks. I have every pretty little report i was given. We stopped using dealer when repairs on 2006 PT Cruiser Limited were never ending. Wish I could ditch Van and PT!
December 16th, 2014 at 2:13 pm
worst vehicle we have ever owned. Had to replace all brakes and rotors with 10,000 miles on the vehicle. went through too many sets of front brake calipers and pads and rotors to keep track of. fought and argued and fought some more to make sure that we paid the very minimum even though it should have been covered under the manufacturer’s warranty. how a major car company like Dodge Chrysler is not held responsible for all these problems is mind boggling. I will never, I repeat never buy another dodge or Chrysler vehicle.
December 23rd, 2014 at 4:53 pm
I just submitted a complaint to NHTSA about this for our 2010 Town and Country with only 25k miles on it. Total BS
https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/index.xhtml
“Vehicle was brought it to original dealership for a “winter maintenance” special. Dealership called claiming that both rear brakes and rotors needed to be replaced due to excessive wear yet the vehicle only has 25k miles on it. This is extremely premature wear for a vehicle in my opinion. I do not understand how a vehicle can destroy both its brake pad AND rotor unless there is a design defect or known sub-par parts.”
January 13th, 2015 at 8:59 am
2012 Dodge Caravan – bought brand new – 2nd time in 6 months that rear brakes need complete change – calipers, roters and pads and now front brakes as well. Vehicle only has 60,000 KMS – already had to put over 2,000$ in it – piece of **** – not covered under warranty – looking to trade it in for a different make.
January 21st, 2015 at 5:11 am
I bought a used 2000 dodge caravan 2 years ago. Who ever owned it before did absolutely nothing to it. My cruise control had gone out last year. Thought it was a fuse, until I did some research and found out the clockspring was a recall, so I went ahead and replaced it. I have been doing other repairs and doing some more research, I found out the fuel filter has a recall and some other recalls. With all that, I feel this dealership sold me a lemon. The brake light was flickering here and there, but went away for awhile and then eventually stayed on. Turned out just needed fluid. I had recently had a baby and he was about 2 weeks old when I went to this dealership. I needed a vehicle and the guy made a good point about the minivan, because of the baby. I don’t feel like they took any time to inspect the van and shouldn’t they be aware of recalls when selling used vehicles? I will be replacing the fuel filter, because it says it can result in a fire.
January 21st, 2015 at 5:13 am
Also, forgot to mention. I too have replaced the brakes and will be replacing them again. From the recent noise, sounds like my drums need a replacing too.
January 28th, 2015 at 5:58 pm
Just replace everything on my parents 2011 dodge grand caravan and they have very low mileage
January 28th, 2015 at 6:01 pm
Also on top of my parent my wife has a 2006 dodge caravan and have redone her brakes 4 times and she has only 75,000. Never buying another dodge ever. My wifes van was brand new when we bought it and first total brake job was at 25,000 miles
March 21st, 2015 at 8:07 am
2008 purchased new Dodge Grand Caravan SXT
57K miles currently, going on 4th set of rotors and brake pads and 3rd set of tires. Dealer on first failure of brakes said not covered under warranty at roughly 15K miles claiming pitted rotors the issue. I spoke with a salesman in the dealership a couple years later who was a mechanic in the place at one time. His comment to me was Chrysler used cheaper parts as a cost savings when they ran into financial difficulties during the period this van was made.
I am looking for larger caliper and brake pad sets as I have been told the size is too small for this vehicle. This will be my last Chrysler product, I purchased 8 new vehicles from them to date.
March 23rd, 2015 at 10:48 pm
I have an 08 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT with 98,000 miles on it. Love this van, but ABSOLUTLY HATE the braking system on it!! Bought it used in 2011 with around 34,000 miles on it at that time. I have replaced the brake pads (front and rear) 3 times and replaced the rotors (front and rear) 2 times! WTF!! Don’t understand why!! Doesn’t make any sence!! I have been driving down the highway and out of nowhere one caliper will start sticking! Wheel so hot, can’t touch it!! Smoking and burning pads!! Pull over and let it cool down, good to go for a while. Then out of nowhere, another side caliper will stick n have to pull over! This last brake repair included pads (both sides-front and rear) and extra cost since not included with the pads (clips for the pads and slider pin rubber boots)!!! Was very excited that this would fix the problem but was very short lived to only make it 10 miles down the road and guess what?? Smoke and burning brake pads! Called the mechanic, said to bring it back. So I did and by the time I got back to his shop was cooled down and not stuck anymore??? ABSOLUTLY SHAME ON YOU CHRYSLER!!!!!! VERY CHEAP AND FAULTY SYSTEM!!!! Also had an automatic door cable bracket break and only way to fix it is replace the whole bottom track. Can’t buy the little plastic cable piece. The whole track at $600++ !!
April 9th, 2015 at 1:58 pm
Hi,Posts 159 and 164 are mine. Here I am again. With slightly over 60K miles, my 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan is ready for its 5th set of rotors (turned or replaced). The last set we put on were the Top-of-the-Line NAPA Ceramic Rotors and Pads, thinking that if I got away from OEM, perhaps my problem would be finally corrected. It didn’t take more than aprroximately 6 months for these to start up with the same issue. They lasted approximately 2 1/2 years but they are now shuddering worse that all of the OEM Junk that was on the vehicle to start with. Plain and simple, the Brake system is too small for the weight of this vehicle. I just order a Full set of Drilled and Slotted Rotors, and will have a complete Break Job done when they arrive. This latest plan will cost me over $600 by the time I’m done. I will post back with the results.
April 9th, 2015 at 2:13 pm
Here is a little more info that I learned while researching the Drilled/Slotted Rotors. According to multple Websites, the Rotors don’t actually Warp. What happens is, the rotors get very very hot when you apply the brakes at High Speeds, Down Hill stops, Heavy Loads etc. Then when you do come to a stop and hold the brake pedal down the high heat melts the pads and transfers brake pad material into the rotor, forming what they call Cementite. The Cementite hardens and creates a hot spot with raised material and you have now created a non-uniform surface on the Rotor (similar to a Warped Rotor) that results in vibration or shuddering. Having the Rotors Turned or Machined smooth again may or may not remove all of the Cementite, and if not, the whole process starts over again. I was advised to “Take my foot off of the brake after a high speed stop” to avoid this problem, but who can drive like that, and why should we have to?
April 11th, 2015 at 9:42 am
Here is a little more food for thought regarding Brakes and Brake Systems.
My 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT 4.0L V6 has an advertised Curb Weight of 4514 lbs. or approximately 2¼ tons. The diameter of the Front Brake Rotor is 11.9 inches with a thickness of 1.1 inches.
The 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 (V8 Hemi Engine) has and advertised Curb weight of 4170 Lbs. or just over 2 tons. The diameter of the Front Brake Rotor is 14.2 inches with a thickness of 1.26 inches.
The 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 Pick Up 2WD 3.7L V6 with 8ft. Bed has and advertised Curb weight of 4544 Lbs. or just over 2 ¼ tons. The diameter of the Front Brake Rotor is 13.22 inches with a thickness of 1.1 inches.
The Curb weight of my 2008 Grand Caravan is 344 Lbs. Heavier than the 2008 Challenger SRT8 and only 30 Lbs. lighter than the Ram Pick-Up Truck.
All three vehicle weights are nearly identical, but the Grand Caravan has over Two inches Less Rotor diameter and .160 less Rotor thickness than the Challenger, and 1.3 inches less diameter than the Ram Pick-up to absorb and dissipate the heat.
As a side note, the front brakes on almost every vehicle do the majority of the work. In addition, all Specifications shown are from various websites and are approximate.
So in short, The Chrysler engineers put a Much, Much Smaller Brake Rotors on a vehicle that weighs between 344 Lbs. heavier to 30 Lbs. Lighter than similar vehicles. No wonder our Brake systems are failing!
April 17th, 2015 at 12:47 pm
See post 260. I had the new Drilled and Slotted Brake Rotors installed yesterday, 4/16/2015, with new Akebono pads all the way around. The total cost was $785 for all Parts (Rotors and Pads) Labor, shipping and tax. The Van has 62k miles. I hope this works. If you have had experience with Drilled/Slotted Rotors, I’d love to hear from you.
April 20th, 2015 at 8:28 pm
Hey guys, Same problem here, 2012 grand caravan and went for first rear brake job at 8000miles (1year ownership). Now after 2 years and another 8000 miles, second brake job is up. Wonderful.
I suggest everyone logon to carcomplaints.com and post a complaint for EVERY single problem/job/fix. This way it is out there. If we get thousands of us doing it, a RECALL WILL HAPPEN.
April 23rd, 2015 at 3:46 pm
I would like to pose a question to dodge and t.c owners, everyone seems to think that too small of rotors is the greatest problem. but why would this cause them to heat up when driving on the hiway as many owners have said, this shouldn’t be a problem unless the brakes are applied a lot. I have 17 inch wheels on my caravan with 53000kilometers and so far so good
May 1st, 2015 at 10:02 pm
I had my mechanic replace rotors and pads today. The rotors were too small… and these were OEM rotors. I always had a feeling… for two years now, that the brakes had something wrong with them but of course I passed it off as “all in my mind.” Now today my mechanic was just bowled over when he saw the problem. So much so that he took pictures and emailed them to me. And I have the parts too. So if anyone is wondering… its true… the factory rotors were too small. Pursuing this with Dodge.
May 9th, 2015 at 11:42 am
Am in the cust service waiting area…waiting for the installation of the 3rd set of brake pads on my 08 Caravan. Plan on talking to the service dept guy about going halves on the cost. I know that’s a pipe dream. Will be letting the salesman we purchased the van from that this will hopefully be my last van to purchase from Dodge. Due to having to have an inside wheelchair lift, this van has been ideal….except for its ridiculous brake issues!
May 13th, 2015 at 2:20 pm
Needed a van to transport my elderly parents as they no longer drive (90&87). Went with the Dodge Grand Caravan as they have the stow-away seats to carry my wife and my sporting equipment (had a Ford Ranger maxi-cab with box cover before). Needed the room and love the convenience.
Purchased van in early 2011 new. September ’11 had the rear brakes replaced under warranty at 7813 miles.
Fronts replaced under warranty in May of ’12 at 14363 miles.
Year later had both front and rears replaced at 28354 miles… warranty on front, my wallet for the rears.
August ’14 new rears at 42551 miles…my wallet.
October ’14 new fronts at 45063…my wallet
This month, May ’15. At 52600, the driver side rear is heavily scored only on the outside. All the other rotors look/feel OK. Dealer says the caliper may be frozen. Wants to replaced entire set…again.
Replacing all the Chrysler/Dodge van brake assemblies must be a money maker for the company…
Even if given a new Chrysler product including the Viper or Hellcat, I’d sell it pretty quickly if this is the way the company wants to treat it’s customers.
May 30th, 2015 at 10:36 am
problem is with malfunctioning calipers causing premature wear, calipers are under warranty so let the fix that for free. Every normal vehicle calipers are good for 200K miles !, I replaced already twice in my 75k miles chrysler.
May 30th, 2015 at 2:51 pm
2011 Chrysler T&C, 28, 250 miles, needed new rear brake pads and rotors, total bill $307. Called Chrysler Consumer Line and was told that brakes are part of general maintenance. I have 3 other Chrysler products and I mentioned it, to no avail or interest. I have owned half a dozen Studebakers (I’m an old guy!) and not one of them needed brake replacement until 40-50,000 miles, and those were drum brakes! Given all the comments I’ve read here, I think Chrysler would be wise to offer some assistance. This may well be my last MOPAR.
In the past, my brand new 2002 Dodge Ram with painted standard wheels was found to have peeling paint (on all wheels) in about a year after purchase. Chrysler would do NOTHING! I had a 2006 PT Cruiser with wheel bearing failure at 22,000 miles. The dealer had a relative working within Chrysler and I was given a half-price deal on that repair. It just seems so foolish that Chrysler does not stand behind their products especially in these low mileage situations.
Come on Sergio, get your people on the ball!
June 6th, 2015 at 4:57 pm
Last spring I bought a 2011 Town and Country used from a local dealer. This spring after driving it 4,500 miles it has begun to make a repeated noise upon braking at highway speeds. If all you do is in town driving you never hear this sound. I think it is coming from the brakes alone, but there is no pedal vibration or any other vibration in the vehicle itself. I am a disabled veteran, my wife is also disabled and this is about the only vehicle we can use for our needs. I am guessing but literally thousands of other people who have to transport wheelchairs/powered scooters or wheelchairs are in this same position. It cost me all I had to purchase this van, and this is the only problem we’ve had with it. If this is an engineering problem because of production cost considerations there should be some recall on all these vans to install improved brakes that can take normal wear and tear. This situation is inexcusable. People rely on the brakes in a vehicle to literally save their lives and if these braking systems are not able to last even one third of the useable lifetime of the vehicle, then Chrysler Corporation is selling an unsafe vehicle, and in that case the Consumer Protection Agency should be called in to assess this problem. My wife and I are over 60, so if we get killed by these defective brakes we will have at least lived a long lifetime, but if people who have children to transport end up losing their lives or permanently handicapped because Chrysler cared more about company profits than the safety of their customers, well they deserve to be put out of business. You pay upwards of $40,000.00 for one of these vehicles new, a person should expect it to be safe and for it not to eat parts that cost thousands of dollars to replace in the 3 to 5 years most people keep a car nowdays.
This is an inexcusable situation, and Chrysler should be called upon to correct it now before it costs their customers dearly, not only in a monetary sense, but in terms of life and limb lost due to under-engineered braking systems – one of the most important systems in a vehicle.
June 9th, 2015 at 1:36 pm
pads rotors replaced on 10/28/2009 at 19,992mi. On 1/6/2011 at 35570mi, approx. on 3/2014 at 46,000mi, and for the forth time pads, rotors and calipers at 55,000mi. Can we call this a lemon?
June 12th, 2015 at 3:31 pm
We bought a used, but like new 2012 Dodge Caravan in October of 2012, so we’ve had it about 2 1/2 years. It had 19,000 miles on it and we’ve put appx 30,000 on it. Neither my wife or I drive fast or slam on the brakes, brake hard, etc., yet we’ve now replaced the brakes/rotors 2 times, and the brakes are again making a funny noise.. They were last replaced about 3 months ago.. Very obviously these are cheap brakes that are not intended to last.. How can Chrysler/Dodge go cheap on just about the most important feature on a vehicle? We’ve asked why these brakes cannot be replaced with better brakes but have been told they need to replace them with the same ones or they won’t fit. This is nuts! The grand caravans have a lot of really great features, but good grief.. If you can’t trust your brakes, what good are all the other features?? This needs to be addressed and taken care of by this company ASAP!!!
June 17th, 2015 at 2:01 pm
I have a 2007 Dodge caravan that I put about 20,000 miles per year on and have to replace the front pads/rotors once a year. Back ones last a bit longer, maybe once every 18 months
June 22nd, 2015 at 12:52 am
This is a another episode in the ongoing saga of outsourcing manufactured parts for the American assembly line with inferior parts made in China and Mexico with almost zero quality control and testing, and using metals that have been recycled but not skimmed and cleaned up before pouring into part molds. With entire factories under threat of termination if the product isn’t put out faster and faster and faster so some investor gets a bigger payout on dividends or so the board of directors, cfo, ceo can exercise free stock options for obscene bonuses every year. Massive class action law suits will kill their stock prices and just might make a few people wake up, if they are lucky enough to realize the bottom line isn’t the dollar. It’s peoples lives that count, and quality will always keep people coming back to spend more money. The mentality of short term profits will destroy a business, a state, a country, and finally the world as we know it.
June 24th, 2015 at 12:51 pm
Regarding post #260 and #263: Rick….After turning or replacing rotors every 6 months or so on our 2008 Dodge Caravan (and of course, banging our heads against the wall with Chrysler over this issue), I finally ordered a set of slotted/vented rotors and installed them (along with ceramic brake pads) myself. Our brake problems vanished completely and the van went almost two years without having to have any brake service done. I recently just installed a second set of the same rotors and brake pads. I’m no engineer, but I believe the brakes are just too small for the van, heat up too quickly, and can’t cool off fast enough, which causes a lot of problems.
I hope your experience with the vented/slotted rotors turns out as well as ours.
June 26th, 2015 at 2:22 pm
Bought a new 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan, just replaced the rotors and pads in the spring at around 35,000km (21,700 miles). Now I’m back again (June 26 2015) replacing them at 56,000km (34,700 miles). This is just negligence at this point.
July 17th, 2015 at 1:18 pm
I have 57,000 miles on my 2009 Chrysler town and country minivan,the front brake pads have been changed 3 times,front rotors have been replaced twice with the high end price rotors….the rear break pads are now on their third set and the second set of rotors **
Reading all the simuliar complaints,I would say “CHRYSLER YOU HAVE A PROBLEM”….and finish with you for GOOD !!
July 18th, 2015 at 8:50 am
2011 T&C – Vehicle has less than 42,000 miles (vehicle is used for trips – rarely for daily commute) and this is the 2nd time i have had the rotors machined. I have tried to contact Chrysler and they tell me it is “wear and tear.” Chrysler needs to admit they have a problem and fix the brakes correctly. Is anyone interested in filing a class action suit against Chrysler or do we have to wait until lives are lost due to accidents?
July 26th, 2015 at 4:04 pm
2007 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.8L. Rotors, pads, changed 4 times in the last 5 years. It is always about $400 each time. I have always hated the brakes on this American made piece of crap as they don’t easily stop the vehicle. Today, backing out of my drive way I touched the brake peddle, it was has hard as a rock and would not stop the van. Fortunately, I took it out of gear and used the emergency brake to get stopped. No clue the problem, as this is a new issue. In 1990 I purchased a new Voyager mini van for my growing family. Worst vehicle I have every owned, monthly repairs for something after the first 15 months. The local Plymouth dealership staff knew me on a first name basis. 17 years later, in 2007 I purchased the Dodge Grand Caravan, because of the Stow-and-Go feature hoping something with Chrysler had changed . Well, here I am again, driving a truly American made piece of crap. I will never again spend any resource on Chrysler. Up yours Mr. Lee Iacocca, I will drive a Yugo before I put any money into a Chrysler anything.
August 1st, 2015 at 5:59 pm
2011 Dodge Caliber, same problem with brakes….screeching like metal on metal at 18,000 miles. After numerous trips to Dodge dealership, brake mechanic said it was poor design with brake shoe and drums having lip that collects dust. Tried “screech proof” pads, and that didn’t work either. This car is going to cause an accident, as other drivers swerve when they hear that awful screech my car makes. Any solution out there??
August 3rd, 2015 at 9:45 pm
have a 2010 town and country 42k miles going for 2nd set of pads and rotors here (they lasted 13k miles) , only i am going to use auto zone pads and rotors at least they are warranteed for 3 yrs on the rotors (high end ones), and i work for a chrysler dealer , how sad is that . I think they got offended when i said ill go elsewhere , but why would i want to buy mopar when I am only going to get 13k miles from them? my other van i drive daily is a 2002 caravan 210,000 miles , I trust that better than the new one .
August 26th, 2015 at 12:38 pm
2013 Dodge Grand Caravan with 27K on it and needs front and rear pads and rotors. Metal on metal with no indication isn’t what I’d expect.
October 8th, 2015 at 8:58 pm
Chrysler quietly on 2014 models, enlarged the brakes on the Minivans another 1″. They don’t want to admit they designed brakes that were too small for this vehicle on ALL prior year models. Might turn into a recall right! My 2011 has had a set of brakes put on every 7-10K miles until 100K when I got pissed off and put on PowerStop slotted and cross-drilled Brakes and pads instead of Advanced Auto, NAPA, and Autozone’s best versions that warped like factory ones did. 300>00 gets you all 4 wheels and pads. Now, only when wheel bearing went, have I needed to get another set of pads and rotors since putting on Powerstops. And I have 160K on it now. I have had 14K worth of work done on my Minivan in service! Luckily I bought Max Care warranty! But have learned that there are many “Underdesigned parts” in this vehicle!
October 13th, 2015 at 8:14 pm
2008 Town and Country Touring Model. Had brake pads and rotors changed today. Changed the left rear caliper(the right side is ok. Even with a new left caliper, the right side caliper is overheating the pads and disc to the point of smoking and red hot.
Absolute junk. Unbelievable. Guess I have to keep opening my poor wallet.
October 22nd, 2015 at 8:53 pm
2015 Town and Country touring purchased 9/19/15. 1400 miles and already had to have rotors sorted out and transission reprogrammed. Interested to see what goes wrong next!
November 10th, 2015 at 2:30 pm
new brakes at 50,000 km. Could have got them done earier.Didn’t think I needed them already
December 19th, 2015 at 10:03 pm
2008 Dodge Caravan, We have replaced brake pads, rotors, calipers, and front tires since purchasing this minivan which we actually love. But in the past two years we have had the brakes and front tires twice and now need to be done again. How about a big why, and what can be done to solve this issue?
January 13th, 2016 at 6:05 pm
first time I have seen this website…. got a 2010 dodge caravan..have replaced front rotors and pads 7 times and rear 2 times as compared to other vehicles I have only replaced pads at around 70,000 miles….never buy another dodge or Chrysler…thanks for your sounding board….btw now have over 90,000 on this present one….sick over buying it for the brakes have been a mess…
January 26th, 2016 at 8:05 pm
If I were to list here the horrific history I have had with our 2008 Dodge Not So Grand Caravan SXT 25th Mistake, er, I mean, Anniversary Edition, I would use all of this website’s, my pc’s. and the servers’ along the way’s memory. Possessed sliding doors, electrical ghosts in the machine, brakes fiasco, literal hell dealing with Chrysler and its “we don’t really care about you ever really getting a” Resolution Team, you name it.
My question is this, however…please respond if you know the answer. Upon delivery, there were white check marks or x’s, in like a grease pencil, in many places of the van’s frame and body. To me it would look like an inspection was done, but I have never seen that before in a new vehicle. Many of the problems we have had with this van all have been on its passenger side, especially with the doors and frame. All of this makes me wonder if this vehicle was damaged during transport or on the lot, and then “repaired” and inspected, and then sold as new, but I can’t seem to find proof of that. Does anyone know if the white marks are normal for a new car, or if, perhaps, that is a tell-tale sign the van was somehow refurbished or repaired prior to its sale as new?
February 8th, 2016 at 3:43 pm
I have a 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan which I purchased Jan 2014. It has been a good van except for that I replaced the pads & rotors at 41K miles for $600 and they are squeaking again at 60K miles about a year and a half later. I’ve had other After reading this board it does seem to be a design issue that the brakes are too small for the vehicle. No but no car is perfect, some people need to accept the fact that this is a low priced van $10K less new than other brands.
February 16th, 2016 at 9:23 am
I have a 2012 grand Caravan. We have owned it for 18 months. It had 42000 miles when we purchased it and now has 62000 miles. Within 2 months the front breaks litterally fell apart causing us to have to replace the break pads and rotors. About 6 months after that our rear rotors (not break pads shockingly) had to be replaced because of a “hot spot” Then in November our front calipers seized up causing us to need new calipers, break pads and rotors and then in January the calipers seized up again (thankfully still fully warrantied). I do not trust the breaks in this vehicle anymore. I have 3 children under 5 and needed a safe way to get them from point a to point b. They have no explination for us as to why this keeps happening but I’m known as the break lady and everytime I walk in the dealerships door the service people sigh.
March 10th, 2016 at 3:35 pm
Posts 159, 164, 170, 261, 262, and 63 are mine, Thanks Rick from post 276. It has almost been a full year since we installed Drilled/Slotted Rotors and pads all the way around. I am happy to report that the problem has gone away. Absolutely no brake issues in the past year. I strongly recommend that anyone with similar Disk warping problems go to Drilled/Slotted rotors.
May 14th, 2016 at 2:29 pm
We need change brake and disk within 6months .
May 21st, 2016 at 12:41 pm
We bought a used 2008 T&C. Front brakes keep getting so ridiculously hot. Replaced everything just over a week ago and they are once again getting crazy hot. Love the van but hate this break issue. And we aren’t fortunate enough to be able to fix the problem everytime we turn around. Thought we were getting a good family vehicle. I was terribly wrong
June 1st, 2016 at 9:08 am
Okay I wish been read all the comment before I bought Chrysler 2010 after three months at April 2016. the problems start first with left side door cable under the door been stack then we can open the door second I change the front pad brake and rotor third start had noisy in rear brake then I change the caliper with rotor and pads the car just had 63.ooo mils.
June 17th, 2016 at 2:31 pm
Yep… Same problem here as everyone else. 2004 Dodge Caravan that has consistently had break issues. FIVE times, after the shop has fixed them to the factory specs, the breaks have gotten so hot while driving that they started smoking and nearly locked up. We’ve even tried different shops just to make sure we weren’t dealing inept mechanics. Some of the shops redid the work for free. In two instances, the calipers needed to be replaced due to damage from the heat, which the shop did not comp us for. We basically have to have front and rear break service performed less than every 10,000 miles, and then we have to be very vigilant in the first few days to ensure that nothing feels off and may result in another overheating. We’ve staggered the front and rear service, so we only have to do one or the other each year. Barely drive the minivan anymore, and I’m go VERY light on the breaks, opting instead to let it slow down on its own whenever possible. If it wasn’t completely paid off otherwise, I’d get something new, but it’s a good workhouse.
Still… this thing should have clearly been recalled given the vast amount of complaints.
August 10th, 2016 at 7:15 pm
Hello I have a 2009 Grand Caravan. Whell my experience with this vehicle has generally been positive. I know others are having problems. I have roughly 111,000 miles on mine. I had to replace my original front pads at roughly 70,000 miles. I’ve had to replace the rear every 40,000 it seems. Had the right rear stick on me since I changed the last set of pads, fried the pads on that side. So I am researching possible causes. I feel part of the problem is the ESP program which as I understand it is suppose to apply the brake on the side of the vehicle that maybe slipping to help maintain control. Every other vehicles I have owned the fronts generally make 40 to 50,000 before needing replaced, rears were usually almost double before changing. I always replace the rotors as turning them generally is not an option as there is very little you can safely take off of them, and then they heat up and warp quicker. I do my own brake service. I have seen brakes stick, if the inside of the flexible hose collapses, brake fluid can be forced to the caliper, but can not return keeping the pad in contact with the rotor. This is what I changed with the last job, no sticking issue so far. Just before changing the pads on the rear, the brake pedal started to go down almost all the way before building good pressure, and getting good feel of braking good. My experience makes me think of the master cylinder primarily. but if I pump the pedal and get a good solid feel of resistance on the pedal it stays that way until the pedal is released for a bit then it back to what it was. Maintain steady pressure on the pedal after pumping up, produces no fad on pressure and resistance. I would think that a bad master cylinder would fade under this circumstance also, bad seals generally don’t display intermittent results. If I figure this out I will post my findings, and hopefully that will help others
September 24th, 2016 at 12:13 am
Seizing bearing hubs are often misdiagnosed as a seizing caliper… The extra heat generated while breaking in new brakes cause the dry seizing up of the problematic OEM wheel bearing hubs, as I experienced with 2010 Grand Caravan SXT 4.0. You can tell by how dry and stiff they are to rotate by hand. They free up once cooled down, but soon develop noise and free-play.
November 18th, 2016 at 10:35 pm
I purchased a new 2013 dodge grand caravan at the end of 2012 and so far I’ve had 5 sets of brakes front and rears put on and they will come on themselves and unfortunately I live in Ontario Canada and we do not have a lemon law here we have to just grin and bear it and now one will buy it . Such a pain and I have talked to a lot of people with the same problems.
January 6th, 2017 at 6:49 pm
2011 Caravan with 66K miles and have had 7 sets of pads, 5 sets of rotors, and have rebuilt each corner 4 times; completely new calipers and everything. pads and rotors last around 6-10K miles average. Chrysler denies any knowledge of similar problems except that, when we took the van into the dealer after we were metal to metal at just 15K miles, they told us that Chrysler was, in fact, aware of the problem, and the fix was that we could bring the van in every 15K miles to have the caliper pins cleaned and greased, AT OUR EXPENSE. Not a chance. I will not pay them 1 penny. Instead, I have spent hundreds and hundreds replacing these parts because they won’t even make it to the 15K interval. Luckily I have the skills and a place to do it so all I have had to pay for are the parts. As soon as this piece of junk is paid for, it’s either getting traded in on a non domestic brand or I will replace the entire brake system from the master cylinder to the lines to the calipers, rotors and pads with a system from Brembo or other reputable manufacturer. (GM is the only domestic brand that hasn’t let me down yet but only because I haven’t owned one yet.) I would consider a GM product but we shall see. What a let down this vehicle has been. Chrysler had a chance to win us over but blew it on this one. Sorry Chrysler. You can keep your Pacifica. If you had treated us right and owned up to your poor engineering and defective brake system on the Caravan, we would have been loyal. Instead, you insult our intelligence and offer no real solution. It’s hard to believe that, in 2016-2017, these manufacturers still haven’t figured it out when it comes to how to treat the customer. SMH
March 16th, 2017 at 1:47 pm
keep your Radio off .. my brake problems got better … bugs in the system might be able to pump your brakes up
April 26th, 2017 at 9:38 pm
2013 Grand Caravan SXT with 17″ wheels. Have packed on 190,000 km mostly highway and have only today had to replace rear pads and rotors. Front brakes are fine for at least 50K km says technician. My 2008 had brake jobs all around every 60K km.
May 14th, 2017 at 12:15 am
We have a 2010 Grand Caravan which is having some serious brake problems that we cannot figure out. It sounds very similar to the issues mentioned except that we haven’t had recurring problems. We recently had rotors and pads changed (about 2 months ago). Now the right rear caliper is freezing up so we replaced the calipers on the rear brakes. Didn’t help one bit. We also had to replace the pads because this issue created excessive wear on the pads. It makes a clunk when braking and I sometimes wonder if it’s even going to stop. Looking at the master cylinder tomorrow hoping that will solve the problem but I’m not holding my breath. (Especially after reading all these posts) Any suggestions would be appreciated.
May 31st, 2017 at 9:28 pm
i purchase a 2014 town and country at 17k miles. now im at 91k just drop my car off. 5 times now for trani issues. and hadone time engine problems. im scared waiting for the day my warranty expires. i got a called that they decided to rebuilt the transmission. im shock. after all why fix something that keep braking… just replace it brand new trani. and thats it. last week i had my engine REBUILT. to many issues and running out of time. i dont know. i use this car to take my wife and 3 KIDs. hard rough time. idont think anyone can help but hopefully its not like that.
June 15th, 2017 at 7:10 am
2013 town and country….. brakes…. 43,000 miles… wheel vibrates when apply brakes. warped rotors front. inspected backs,inside pads completely gone,rotors warped,cause back calipers not releaseing, new pads rotors front back.. checked on new calipers,,,,,, no one has,dealers out,napa can get in from new englad,2 days…… if there is no problem from chrsyler why do they not have any?? this is a safety issue for sure……am now waiting to try and find calipers…. this is junk for sure
October 22nd, 2017 at 5:15 pm
2007 Grand Caravan bought new with lifetime warrantee. Replaced rotors once and already warped. Very light driving.
After ten years, only 35,000 miles. Brakes were worn to the bone. replaced brakes and IMMEDIATELY both front brakes were burning. Smoke coming from right front. This is intermittent. I stop the car, take the wheel off, and everything is fine. Engine running or off, cannot duplicate. Drive a while and everything is OK. It seems to take about 20 minutes of driving and front brakes won’t release, overheating the discs. They are already starting to warp again. Interesting, NO pulling to the side when this is occurring, even though the right is clearly grabbing more than the left. I am surprised that I am finding no sign in web searches that this has yet been resolved.
October 23rd, 2017 at 11:32 pm
I have a 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan, I have been dodge 15 + times for my van, It started having brake issues before 12,000-mile mark we bought it with only 90 miles. We have had so many issues off burning up brake pad and the heat warping the rotors, I have installed cross drilled rotors and it still burned them up and finally in 2011, while in Kentucky after my wife blew up on the Dodge dealership in Clarksville, Tn they rebuilt 3 of the calipers and replaced one of them the same problem keeps happening and the breaks not releasing is tanking our gas mileage. I have just replaced the front calipers and rotors and one of the rear calipers and pads all the way around. Are you kidding me really
November 17th, 2017 at 6:15 pm
2010 Dodge grand caravan, bought used with the lie “We’ve done all the maintenance on this vehicle.” After finding after market parts on it realized that was a con. However, for almost 4 years now every 3-6 months I’ve had to put brakes on this van. I live in hills and took it to some crap mechanics so I thought maybe that was it. Started going to a trustworthy mechanic, 6 months later new brakes. Weird but maybe it’s just this vehicle has issues on hills right? Brakes were replaced over the last 2 days, while driving my van the tire started to smoke. My brake pads caught fire the day after they were put on the vehicle. It’s not hot outside, 40F ~4 C, I was going threw hills. Lemon law doesn’t apply in my state due to a 3 year rule.
July 6th, 2018 at 1:39 pm
It has been over 3 years since We went to Drilled/Slotted Rotors and I am happy to report that this has completely eliminated my Brake Problems. I have not had to have ANY Brake work done to this vehicle at all in over three years since the Drilled Slotted Rotors were installed. I had the Brakes inspected and was told the pads and rotors were still in great shape and needed nothing. If you are having repeated rotor issues, get rid of the OEM rotors and go with Drilled/Slotted Rotors.
September 14th, 2018 at 6:39 pm
Hello all,
I have had Dodges for many moons. I have had issues with Brakes, head gaskets, electrical……and they don’t make good on these issues. They are not the only ones, Ford, GM and the foreign companies do the same. These forums hurt their bottom line and they/it should. Back up your product or go belly up. Why did we bail them all out. Clean house and make a better mouse trap. Sorry for rambling, but I was getting at maybe we can get Dodge for falsely claiming gas mileage on there stickers Think about the loss with dragging brakes. Is there a law firm out there willing to go with that one? I’m up for a class action suit.
July 1st, 2019 at 8:39 pm
2009 town and country, can’t count how many times I have replaced rotors and pads,
At least 10-12 times, currently 100,000 miles.
Why has there not been a recall??
I will never buy an American car again…
And when they need a bailout, we should tell them to go fk themselves. !!!
September 15th, 2019 at 12:11 pm
Have not had not had trouble with front brakes on 2008 GC but rear brakes have been no end of trouble since 10000KM after being a new vehicle…resulting in several discs and pads and caliper brackets and calipers and many dealership visits. Have just spent $1,500 on renewing everything again…will be the last time…60,000KM now.
This time vibration was not a problem but stopping distance seemed to be longer to me, with harder pedal pressure required. Brakes were bled and told that stopping distance is satisfactory. Anyway after allowing for ‘wearing in’ I am still not overly happy with it.
When it comes to brake design all companies seem to have the same one piston and twin sliders as the GC…except for much more expensive vehicles with dual piston calipers. However design has other aspects and design of the ‘individual’ brake components might be a subject for review here. Component size and fixation …weather disc brakes are appropriate on ‘rear’ wheels at all; in view of the openness to road muck and winter weather. Our previous Grand Caravan prior to this one had drum brakes on the rear, which worked fine the whole time we had it.
October 17th, 2019 at 6:55 pm
I own a 2007 T&C that I purchased “off the showroom floor.” It now has 118000 miles and I do all my own maintenance. So far I have replaced the following parts: one set of front brake pads, one muffler, one battery, one power steering pump. Under warranty the dealer replaced one drive axle and the cruise control servo ( which made no difference but stopped my complaining about it). Of course I have changed the oil and filter every 4000 miles, kept the engine tuned up, changed the transmission filter and fluid, but neglected to change the antifreeze. I have replaced two light bulbs and one set of tires. This week the brakes went out. I replaced the left rear brake line and hose. I could not bleed the rear brakes, which may explain the original rear shoes hardly showing any wear. Unfortunately the unit body is rusting away, and Chrysler isn’t making the 2007’s any more. PS-it was on sale for $15995.
September 19th, 2020 at 3:10 pm
I bought a new 2016 Dodge Caravan in Sept 2016. Last year when the van had 27,000 miles on it, I had to replace the rear pads and rotors. I just took my van in for this year’s inspection, and, again the pads and rotors need to be replaced. The mileage I have now is 32,000. Has anyone been able to get any resolution with this problem that Dodge continues to have? I talked to someone at Berlin City and they said they would replace the brakes but I’d have to pay the labor. I am waiting to hear back from them about the entire issue. I did not know at the time I called them that this was a Dodge problem. Of course, they aren’t going to tell you things like that when you buy the car. I don’t care to be paying 400.00 every year for new rear breaks. The front breaks are fine. The guy I talked to tried to tell me it’s because my car sits on gravel or maybe I don’t drive it enough. Something is surely wrong with what Dodge is doing. I have never had this problem before.