1st Nov 2006, 15:14

I, too, own a '96 Town and Country. My windshield wipers are possessed. All the little things that nickel and dime you to death. Door lock switches, cover falls off radio, door locks on sliding doors, the list goes on. Replaced A/C condenser and both evaporators. After reading about the tranny, I am really worried now. Don't tell me it's because of it's age, I have a Ford F150 with twice the mileage and replaced only the engine due to a connecting rod that broke, and an Explorer with the same mileage that I have only replaced a clutch. First and last Chrysler for me!

10th Nov 2006, 16:32

Hello. I also have a 1998 Town & Country; although I do not have possessed windshield wipers, the controls for the AC and the blower and the rear wiper blink all the time, so you can never tell in which mode they are. I could live with that and the misfiring. But now I can not drive it because it won’t go on reverse. I was thinking on spending the money and keep the van, but if I have to rebuild the train and just wait for the next thing on the list to go bad. I just do not think is worth it.

Does the transmission have to be rebuild completely when just the reverse goes bad? How did your transmission problem started?

Thanks.

12th Nov 2006, 13:09

I have a T&C 1996 LXI with 280,000 plus miles - have driven virtually every mile (bought it new) Have replaced the serpentine belt nine times. The rear sliding doors have not locked in about 200,00 miles (although they try every time!) BUT on the whole, I have had very good service from this van. I am going tomorrow to see how much $$$ it costs to fix the bad front wheel bearings. The engine runs great. The body still looks good and I would buy another just like it IF I thought another would be as reliable.

2nd May 2007, 15:44

I too have had many of the same problems the previous posts are talking about. It makes driving my '97 T&C LXi AWD an odyssey on occasion to say the least.

Is the BCM located on the interior driver side of the dash behind/above the fuse panel? Does it have to be "reprogrammed" by the dealer, if replaced with a different one acquired through means other than the dealer?

As for the flashing wiper/AC lights; there is a quick fix that an acquaintance passed onto me that will do away with that annoying flashing. It's called the 'actuator calibration/diagnostics and cool-down test'. All told, you should be able to do this in 2-3 minutes of time, and it's completely simple. You must do the following, and if this is too hard to understand, you might be able to locate the info at http://www.alldatapro.com

http://autorepair.about.com/library/a/1i/bl667i.htm

Give it a shot, and let me or us know if it was successful.

Have a good one, and by the way, no AWD after '04 due to the 'stow-n-go' seating... that sucks.

3rd Jun 2007, 09:30

I have a 1999 T & C problem with starting. The fan motor, lights, horn, wiper, door locks are all turning on as soon as I hook up the new battery. I left it on for a few seconds then it blew the fuseable link cable going to the generator.

I checked the starter and it's turning fine when I hot wired it. starter relay is fine.

Does anyone have this problem and what is the fix for this. Please advice. Thanks.

20th Jul 2007, 11:39

I also have the 1996 Town and Country. I am currently having a starter problem as well, and I'll post later as to what the issue is once I fix it. It's on it's 4th transmission. My brother bought it new and replaced 3. When it needed it's 4th, he gave it to me. I took it to Aamco and for $3000 had them put their lifetime warranty transmission in. That's when I find out that all of the internal parts are made out of plastic and the clutch is made out of pressed paper. Aamco upgrades the lifetime tranny with metal parts and a kevlar clutch. It's performed fine now for 4 years - even tows a heavy boat! If only Chrylser built the tranny right in the first place. Other than tranny, this thing has performed fine. It's had the normal little things of course, but they all do.

27th Jul 2007, 16:42

Yep, it was the starter. Just went out with no warning whatsoever. A relatively cheap fix - $132 installed.

At 190,000 miles, I budget about $600 every four months for maintenance. Things needed now - timing chain, CV boots, instake manifold gasket, brake master cylinder, and a new axle. I'll keep at my $600 every four months and work through everything. As long as the motor lasts and the rebuilt transmission hold together, I plan to keep running this thig forever as its the most comfortable mini-van on the market bar none!

29th Jul 2007, 09:22

I have a 1997 Town & Country, and I have wiper problems each time it rains.. I have to turn the on/off/on/off contineously to get wiper service... I am thinking it is an electrical short.. I am also sure, many other vans of this make and model have the problem.. Has anyone else online experienced this? Trying to avoid paying someone to troubleshoot and do a repair and replace adventure at my expense..

4th Aug 2007, 20:29

I've owned my '96 T+C LXi since new. and the leaky transmission just bugs me because it's a big ticket item to fix. I have not had any problems since it's been out of warranty. It has less than 80,000 miles on it, mostly around my suburban town, with a thousand mile trip or two each summer. It's in good cosmetic shape, and since the kids that have been raise in it now need to get to college, I need to hang on for a few years more. If I can keep it running for less than $1,0000 a year, I should. It's replacement would be something small and zippy for around town.

6th Aug 2007, 20:12

I have a 96 T&C with 130K. It's my second Chrysler Minivan and I must admit that, save the transmission, these vans aren't bad. Transmission just went out on it and its kind of my fault because I DID NOT put the correct fluid, Type 7176, and it eventually quit, just like all the threads I've read stated. I do have a question if anyone could help. I want to replace the transmission on my 96 with one out of a 97 Dodge Grand Caravan. I've heard that although it will bolt up, it won't work because in 97 Chrysler introduced a new slip control feature that the 96 model didn't have. I would like to know before I waste LOTS of time (and money)