2016 CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTRY Complaints

My van will sporadically lose power and stall while driving down the road. I have to put in back in park to restart the van to continue on down the road. It's been scary driving with my 3 kids in the van. I'm afraid the stalling out is going to cause me to get into a collision. I had it in a shop recently and they told me that it was related to a recall S44 or 16V461000, but they didn't have a tech who could do the repair to the transmission. But another shop says that my van doesn't have any recalls even though my van falls within all the parameters of the known safety recall.

Owner was driving car and noticed high pitch whir at low speed upon entering the highway, had the radio been on then this noise would not have been noticed. Driver was able to exit the highway. Upon reaching a stoplight the vehicle revved up to 60mph then down to zero. When barely compressing the gas this occurred again. Owner quickly turned off and on vehicle hoping to reset whatever was happening. Upon restarting and barely pressing gas the vehicle lurched forward with high rpm. Driver was in high traffic area at height of rush hour, but was able to cross 4 lanes of traffic to a side street. Car was towed to dealership where it was confirmed that the transmission pump had failed and metal shards had gone through the transmission causing full replacement to be needed. No warning lights went off on vehicle and vehicle had been serviced regularly with no warning of failure. Loss of control of vehicle in heavy traffic was unexpected and dangerous. Vehicle had 49,787 miles at time of failure.

The transmission pump failed suddenly, resulting in severe slippage in the transmission and loss of motive power for the vehicle. The vehicle struggled to stay up to road speeds on the highway until I could get it parked in a safe place to get my family out of the vehicle. Later on that day, I tried to take the vehicle around the block, to which it barely would make it back to it's starting point it was slipping so badly. A local Chrysler dealer has diagnosed the transmission is bad specifically citing a bad pump in the transmission. There were no warning lamps or indicators alerting us to this problem, just the sudden failure of the transmission putting me and my family in an unsafe situation. This vehicle meets all the criteria of a Chrysler Town and Country listed on Recall 16v-461 (S44 within FCA's nomenclature). The build date of our van falls squarely within the build date window listed in the recall. Recall states 7/31/15 through 4/18/2016 build dates are affected--our van states Build date of 11/15 on the door jamb. However, after contacting multiple dealerships and Chrysler themselves, they claim our van is not a part of this recall as the VIN number is not associated with the recall. I don't understand. The recall calls out the failure of the transmission oil pump, and that is the exact part that has failed on our van causing an unsafe sudden failure of the transmission in our van. I think it is a failure on FCA's part to not associate all the vehicles with this recall that in reality should be associated with this recall. This is wrong.

On my 2016 Town & Country, the check engine light went on. The repair facility said the code is PO740 (transmission torque converter circuit). Another repair facility says the transmission needs to be replaced. The vehicle has only 61,XXX miles.

The contact owns a 2016 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated while shifting into reverse, the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that she continuously moved the gear shifter from park to reverse(R) and drive(D) until the vehicle responded after shifting into drive(D). The contact was able to drive the vehicle however, the vehicle would not exceed 20 MPH. The contact engaged the hazards lights and continued driving. The contact stated that upon pulling into her driveway, the check engine warning light illuminated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the dealer needed to diagnose the vehicle before they could cover the repair under NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V461000 (Power Train). The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact followed up with the manufacturer; however, the manufacturer informed the contact that they could not assist and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 102,283.

During idle, or driving under various conditions, vehicle will randomly "shut down". This can happen driving through a corner or on the interstate at 70mph. Once it shuts down, you lose braking and steering assist. Still have headlight and accessory power. Car will start right back up either putting it in neutral and turning the key, or coming to a stop and putting it in park. Doesn't hesitate to crank, appears to have fuel pressure and spark. There is no correlation to this issue with driving conditions. Sometimes will happen multiple times in a day, sometimes wont happen for a week. Research suggests that this is a very common issue across many years of vehicles that have used the 3.6L Pentastar engine, however no TSB's or recalls have been issue for the 2016 T&C exhibiting this issue.

The contact owns a 2016 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, she heard an abnormal noise near the floor of the vehicle. The contact then stated that while the vehicle was idling at a stop, she depressed the accelerator pedal; however, RPM’s increased rapidly but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact was able to coast the vehicle off the road. The check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The contact referenced the NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V461000 (Power Train). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

The driver side rear sliding door is stuck in a closed and locked position. All attempts to open or unlock it using fobs, interior buttons, or manual force have failed. Others with this same issue seem to attribute it to a known lock actuator issue. Inability to exit the vehicle is a safety concern. I have not yet seen a mechanic for it. There were and continue to be no warnings/symptoms/indications that the vehicle computer system recognizes the problem. Prior to this, both sliding doors have occasionally 'glitched' by repeatedly closing automatically, unbidden - also a safety issue if children are caught or injured by the unexpected action.

The contact owns a 2015 Chrysler Town and Country. The contact stated that while his wife was attempting to reverse the vehicle, the vehicle failed to perform as needed. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The driver was able to drive the vehicle to her destination even though the reverse was inoperable. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was informed that the transmission solenoid needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but continued to experience the failure. The contact took the vehicle back to the independent mechanic eight months later and was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 89,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Chrysler Town and Country Van. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she heard an abnormal noise under the hood of the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact then stated that when shifted into reverse or drive, the transmission intermittently failed to shift to the intended gear. The contact stated that she turned off and restarted the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 109,000. The VIN was unavailable.