Faults:

I have a 1993 Caravan.

Lately the belt has been slipping off the tensioner and shredding, the transmission just got rebuilt, and the fuel pump went out all in one week.

Not to mention the recall on the ABS power booster brake system and the fuel rail, which none of the dealers want to fix under the recall.

I also have a 97 Town and Country where everytime it is wet, the belt falls off. Also, you cannot use the turn signals because the windshield wipers will go off and turn off for quite awhile even after messing with it. Must have a short in the column.

I am in the market to get rid of both vehicles and get a Ford. No wonder my father always chose Ford over GM.

General Comments:

Right now I cannot think of anything positive, other than the older cars are easier to fix yourself.

Faults:

At 56,000 miles, water pump and tensioner went out. spent $475.

At 62,000 miles, heater core was replaced. $375

At 68,000 miles, front driver side axle replaced. Spent $160.

Also at 68,000 factory radio went out.

At 70,000 cam-shaft oil seals replaced due to oil leaks. Spent $150.

At 80,000 the air conditioning quit working. the mechanic asked $650 dollars to fix it. so, I never done it.

At 98,000 miles the transmission lost its reverse and a couple hundred miles later its forward.

Spent $1,600 to rebuild it.

At 128,000 again, the transmission started making a whining noise; along with the passenger side front axle rolling bumpy.

I end up given it away (for free) at 128,000 miles.

General Comments:

Comfortable ridding. Powerful, fuel saver engine and roomy interior.

Faulty transmissions.

As vehicle gets older, interior plastic panels become loose, making horrible rattling noises.

Too expensive to maintain and repair.

Faults:

Bad Transmission/Faulty seat belt.

General Comments:

Only driven 400 miles since I bought it and already changed 2 CV joints, now I think the transmission has gone. Made a loud pop noise, would not move forward or backward. Now you can turn off then restart and it may move a little ways for you before you are stuck again.

Sometimes cannot get the seat belt to even latch, and sometimes cannot get back out of it when it does. Makes me concerned for my children's safety when I take them strapped in their seat belts. Already concerned about something going terribly wrong in heavy traffic, and now this. If Chrysler was (is) aware of these dangerous problems, there has to be something that can be done about it. Is there any type of action that people can get together and bring against them so they have to buy them back or compensate everyone to get them off the road? I know that mine is used, but I bought this vehicle in good faith that my family would be safe. This is ridiculous and obviously a problem that they should have taken care of by now. Feel free to contact me at nic_odell@earthlink.net.

Faults:

Honestly, it seems everything.

Transmission, all parts. Leaking, limping, sensors, grinding, bumping, crunching. Expensive to fix every time. I had it go out on me twice, for different reasons, so it was not under warranty. Both at 151-152 K miles. Each time at $1100.

All these fixes I did myself in the heat of Texas summers glaring off the driveway.

Speed sensor, 151k, $40.

EATX relay sensor, 152k, $40.

Knock sensor, 152k, $40.

Oxygen sensor, 151k, $40.

Coil pack at 157k $80.

Brake pads at 152k. $20.

Calipers. $40.

Solenoid pack at 152k. $190.

ECM computer at 157K. $200.

A/C always has leaked.

Water pump at 156k. $28.

Temp sensor at 153k. $20.

Alternator at 156k. $139 (very hard fix that took off my fingernail; you had to loosen the muffler pipe and bring the alternator out from under the darn thing).

Belt tensioner at 156k. $53.

Battery at 156k (happens). $59.

Battery terminals at 156k. $5.

Serpentine belt at 156k. $20.

Heater core hose $15. VERY HARD FIX. I needed the hands the size of a 5 year old.

Spark plugs $15 (BACK ones hard to fix.. Just horrible)

PCM computer flash at 153k. $90.

Thermostat at 152k. $5 (30 minute fix).

General Comments:

This van was a nightmare from the beginning.

We did buy it used, and it seemed to run great when I test drove it. I am very mechanically skilled, and knew that of course any used car would need repairs (especially at 150k miles), but boy was I in for a surprise.

I have done everything to this van. In no way could I type every single repair I have done to it, because I would be sitting here for the rest of the day. There were problems from power windows, door locks, crazy sensors, electrical problems, steering column problems, and all types of things I don't have the time to get into detail about.

The parts for this van were expensive. Nothing in comparison to my Chevy Caprice.

My wife and I bought this van while she was pregnant with our second child. We had the dream of having something that we could rely on just to get around the local small town we lived in. This van caused horrendous problems to us.

We do not have a lot of money. That's why I always chose to fix it. The parts were outrageous, and the fixes were very hard, since the engine actually sits sideways.

The transmission is notorious for being a flop. Even the 2005 models have problems, and Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge (same van called "Caravan or Voyager or Town and Country").

These vans "suck" so bad, that there is even a website help forum http://www.allpar.com/forums/ that has a minivan section with over 8,000 posts on it. These things are breaking down everywhere, and a message forum like that is just proof.

After all of my numerous fixes (I haven't listed even 1/8th of them), the van is in my driveway unable to start.

The trouble with these minivans is that they are money pits, and create a sense of not knowing what to do about them. Because after you spend $190 on a solenoid pack, fix the brakes, and numerous sensors, everything else starts breaking. But then you sit here knowing you already have so much money in it, and don't want to get rid of it because you don't want to lose your money. So you decide to go ahead and fix the next thing that is broken - and it never stops breaking.

We home school, don't have money, and Chrysler has damaged our family severely.

My advice for everybody who sees this is: Never for ANY reason buy one of these pieces of junk. Even if it is new, you will see in numerous places where they have failed on people. I'm a reasonable guy, not much of a critic, and do not complain much - But this thing was so horrible, that I had to say something.

I know more about Chrysler vans now, that I could be hired as a mechanic at a dealer. I know what a Clutch Volume index from a TCM computer is (part of the transmission read of clutch indexes). Normal home mechanics, are not supposed to know about junk like that. I just wanted to do spark plugs, occasional reasonable mechanical repairs - etc.

It's just too much. Men, your wives will sit stranded, and so will you if you are with them in these vans. I've known people stranded in 2005 models even. No reliability at all.

Please everybody do yourself a favor and run like these vans were the red death disease. In 5 years, I've driven it 7,000 miles. That's it. Half of this was in limp mode stuck in 2nd gear.

Next week, I'm finally going to watch the tow truck take it away to the junkyard. I wouldn't be surprised, though I'm a nice guy, if naturally my middle finger will stand point up to it as it leaves my driveway.