9th Jan 2010, 20:31
I am sad... my 96 Town and Country was hit by an uninsured driver a couple months ago. I have had it since 2003 and loved this van to death. I replaced the tranny twice recently; paid 1585 a couple of months before that person ruined my van. I would say that we used our van for everything, camping, road trips, work commute etc. Take care of your van and be patient with them, they're worth all the time and money (family memories). The best part is that it fits all of us comfortably.
17th Feb 2010, 18:01
I have a 1998 Town & Country Lxi. I have the demon possessed windshield wipers... they go off for no reason! I have resorted to pulling the fuse out if it's not raining, so that I don't have to listen to the horrible sound of them scraping across the dry windshield.
Will replacing the multi-function blinker switch work? I think I read that in a post a few pages ago.
Other than that, I love my van.
5th May 2010, 17:39
I am an owner of a 1998 Chrysler T&C. My wife and I bought it last year from a dealer off Craigslist, who found it at a local auction with 133,000 miles.
I did not have the van checked out, but it seemed to run great, other than the A/C lights flashing.
Sad to say that after purchasing the van with cash, I did not even make it home, which was only 5 miles away, before the tranny went out. So I had it towed to a local transmission shop, who told me it needed an overhaul, which was gonna cost about $2500. We could not afford it, so we let it sit for a whole year until an income tax return this year.
After having the tranny rebuilt, oil changed and brakes and rotors done, it's been running great.
Now at 137,000 miles, everything is starting to go haywire. The cooling fans continued to run, then quit running altogether, causing overheating. Going to replace the relay and thermostat, hopefully that works. This forum has been very helpful to me.
25th Sep 2011, 08:25
Hello, it seems that your fan control resistor is defective. They usually corrode due to the high operating temperature, and sometimes melt the connector. It's a very cheap part, $15 I think from the Autozone or any other car parts dealer (except Chrysler!!!) and is located under the hood, passenger side above near the strut well. It's rectangular and is held in place by 2 side metal spring clips; relatively easy to get to. Good luck.
26th Jan 2012, 16:29
I had the same problem with the rear wiper on a 1996 Town and Country. On the front panel, where the rear wiper switch is, take a look at the connectors going to the switch; mine was burned. I took the switch out and replaced the burned cable, and soldered the one cable to the switch pin... working fine since then. That was about two years now.
13th Apr 2012, 11:09
I bought my 1996 T&C LXI used in 2006. I have had two trannys put in it, the tranny clutch twice, and I am having the same problem as before, it gets hot and slips into low. So now I find out that the model of that tranny is defective, and you get 1 good one out of 6. Anyhow, now I have to replace the electronic transfer unit to the tranny. Another $500.00. But I still like my van. I had to remove the fuse to the horn because it blows randomly, and the windshield wipers are equally as sensitive.
18th Jun 2012, 15:45
On the 1996 T&C they came with internal diagnostics. If you turn the key to the on position (without starting the van) 3 times, the "service engine soon" light will start a series of flashes that represent different fault codes.. You can find a list of what the fault codes mean. Hope this at least gives you a place to start.
10th Jul 2012, 13:45
I disagree, the Dodge and Chrysler vans have been the best vehicles I've owned.
I still have a 1989 Caravan with a 2.2, and over 300,000 thousand miles. And a 1996 Town and Country with a 3.8 engine, with close to 300,000 miles.
I do agree some repairs need to be taken care of, but that is simply wear and tear. The cost depends on how you take care of it.
For example, the PCM does not run 1,100 dollars; you can buy a very good one for under 300 dollars at AutoZone, and not need to replace the coil pack to receive a one year, no hassle warranty from them.
So again, the cost of repairs is really up to the individual and how you take care of your vehicle.
I will continue to trust Chrysler and Dodge.
7th Jan 2010, 10:15
Try to have your timing chain checked, I came across this problem before, the timing gears are worn out, causing the chain to become too slack and jump a degree or so. If it jumps too much, it will damage the valves and you will end up also doing a cylinder head valve job. Good luck.