2001 Chrysler Town and Country LXi 3.8 from Germany

Summary:

Best vehicle I've ever owned

Faults:

It seems the front rotors and pads need replaced every 120,00 miles but I attribute that mostly to the higher autobahn speeds (90+ MPH) the van incurs here. Probably outside the design specs for normal driving for a US psec vehicle.

General Comments:

This van has been a complete joy - and it's worked very, very hard while here. It was bought new locally. It is a US spec vehicle even though we are living in Germany. We have driven it to the farthest corners of Europe. Other than a burned spark plug wire that came out of its mooring post and got fried on the block shortly after we got the van we've had almost no trouble with it. It will move along fine at autobahn speeds - even with a full load. Mileage is acceptable for 90+ MPH and comfort can't be better. This is our 4th van - all Chrysler products - and has been our best by far. It's been as good or better than any other vehicle we've ever had - and we've had plenty, including Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Volswagen, Buick, Cadillac, and Chevrolet.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 26th April, 2004

2001 Chrysler Town and Country EX from North America

Summary:

I doubt I'd buy another Chrysler

Faults:

Our first problem with this this Town and Country was its battery failed at two years, about two years before one would have expected such a failure.

Then last month (10/03) the evaporator for the air conditioner leaked away its coolant and had to be replaced. There was no damage found on the evaporator, except that it had begun to leak from a seam. that was a $750 repair.

Yesterday (11/30/03) neither of our keys would turn in the ignition switch. An AAA locksmith fiddled with it enough to get it running, and we didn't turn it off until we had it parked at a Chrysler dealer's service area. We were told the tumbler had to be replaced and the new one ground to fit our existing keys -- that's $280 worth of repairs (repair site is in central North Carolina USA).

Our old 1995 Nissan Quest was still going strong at 160,000 miles when we traded it in, because we feared it might become unreliable. The odd thing is, we're now using our second car, a 1991 Lexus 250LS with 123,000 miles on it, as the reliable car in the family -- it gets us to and from the shop so we can get the Town and Country serviced.

Our real concern is that the T&C may become more of a repair hog than we're prepared to own. I'd hate to trade in a car that should just be in its prime!

General Comments:

On the positive side, the T&C is a joy to drive, it has enough power to cruise well, and it can carry a load without really losing its handling.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 1st December, 2003

17th Aug 2004, 11:14

We have the same model... and had the same starter problem five times before it was repaired. We had to be towed each time. It has been problem-free for one year... we paid for none of the repairs as it was under warranty. Yesterday, the entire transmission went out... tow number 6...and $3,000. We are trading for a Toyota van as soon as we can!

2001 Chrysler Town and Country LX 3.8 from North America

Summary:

A very unreliable luxury van

Faults:

We bought this van new in November 2000. The car burns about 1 quart of oil every 1500 miles. It started burning oil at about 20,000 miles. The dealer measured the oil every 500 miles and told us that 1 quart of oil every 1000 miles is normal. The garage always has this burned oil smell after we drive the car in.

Other problems we have had are: air conditioner turns on by itself while driving, back door fails to open often, driver window would not go up specially in hot weather,

An oil leak at the base of the filter adapter, right rear door opened by itself once, front brakes started vibrating early on due to rotor uneven wear, annoying noise out of the steering column that started at about 7,000 miles.

We have spent money getting car rentals while the car is at the dealer because car rental is not covered after 1 year for most of repairs including some that are covered by the warranty. Other than the excessive oil consumption and the steering column noise the dealer has been able to fixed the problems.

Now we have ~27,000 miles in the car and we are getting 14.5 miles per gallon in the city and 20.9 in the freeway. We also can notice the loss of power more likely related to the oil consumption.

General Comments:

Besides all the reliability problems, this car drives great.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 6th February, 2003

10th Jul 2003, 08:14

What is causing the steering noise? How can they say it is normal to burn 1 quart of oil every 1000 miles??? Why won't they repair it??

3rd Nov 2019, 13:21

Regarding the oil burning issue, my 3.8 T&C had that problem too. My mechanic told me a little secret, that the valve guide seals were to blame and his trick was to add a couple of ounces of brake fluid to the engine oil to make the guide seals swell a bit. I tried that and it worked like magic. Right now it doesn't burn a drop!