1996-2016 Chrysler Town & Country Problems & Issues

The 62TE 6-speed automatic transmission experiences solenoid pack failures causing hard shifting, slipping, limp mode (stuck in 3rd gear), and complete transmission failure. The solenoid pack contains 6 shift solenoids, 1 line-pressure solenoid, a temperature sensor, and 5 pressure switches. Most frequent in 2012 and 2014 models.

The 41TE (A604 Ultradrive) four-speed automatic used behind the 3.3L and 3.8L V6 in 1996-2007 Town & Country vans is the single most-reported failure on the nameplate. Clutch material and worn friction debris circulate in the fluid, plug the small feed passages in the valve body and pump, and starve the planetary gearsets of lubrication. The result is a burned front/rear clutch pack or a shattered planetary carrier. Owners commonly report the failure preceded by a stuttering or repeated 1-2 shift, delayed forward/reverse engagement with a double bump, and limp-in (second gear only). Aggravating factors documented on the owner forums include use of generic ATF instead of Chrysler ATF+4, a missed 30k-mile fluid service, and a weak/AC-ripple-producing alternator or a bad output shaft speed sensor signal confusing the TCM. This is the 4-speed unit and is a separate story from the later 62TE 6-speed used from 2007 on.

FCA recalled 2015-2016 Town & Country vans because the transmission oil pump inside the 62TE six-speed can seize. When the pump seizes the transmission loses hydraulic line pressure instantly and the vehicle loses motive power while being driven, which is why NHTSA treated it as a crash risk rather than a durability complaint. This is a mechanical pump defect and is distinct from the well-known 62TE solenoid pack/valve body electrical faults - a seized pump is not fixed by a solenoid pack and leaves the van dead on the road rather than in limp-in.

FCA issued two 2013 campaigns against the Occupant Restraint Control module on 2013 Town & Country vans. Under NHTSA 13V-283 (vans built 10 May 2012 through 7 June 2013), incorrect ORC software could cause the side airbags and curtains on the wrong side of the vehicle to deploy in a side impact, leaving the occupants at the actual point of impact unprotected. Under NHTSA 13V-291 (vans built 11-12 June 2013), incorrect ORC software could cause the airbags to deploy improperly or not at all. One campaign was remedied by reflashing the module; the other required physically replacing the ORC. This is a calibration/module defect specific to those build windows and is unrelated to the separate water-intrusion ORC problem on older vans.

The front impact sensors on 2005-2006 vans were built with brass bushings that corrode, particularly in road-salt states. The corrosion cracks the sensor housing and lets water in, which kills the sensor. A failed front sensor sets the airbag lamp and can prevent the front airbags from deploying in a frontal crash. NHTSA covered it twice: an initial 2007 campaign (2005 models) that replaced sensors with more corrosion-resistant units in the salt-belt states and offered a lifetime warranty on the front crash sensors elsewhere, then a 2010 campaign covering 2005-2006 vans in the salt-belt states whose sensors crack under environmental exposure. Because the remedy was partly conditional on state of registration, plenty of vans in the field still carry the original sensors.

On 2008 vans the HVAC evaporator condensate can escape at the drain grommet and run onto the Occupant Restraint Control (ORC) module mounted below it. The wet module corrodes and can set the airbag warning lamp, and in the worst documented cases can command an inadvertent airbag and/or seat belt pretensioner deployment with no crash. NHTSA handled it in two stages: an initial recall to replace the leaking grommet, then a second recall to replace ORC modules that had already been soaked. This is a body-water-intrusion defect, not a crash-sensor fault, and it is separate from the ignition/WIN module story on the same model years.

The TIPM central fuse/relay box controls nearly all vehicle electrical functions. Internal relays, especially the fuel pump relay, fail due to solder joint cracking from thermal cycling. Causes random activation of lights, wipers, horn, sliding doors losing power, battery drain, and no-start conditions. Class-action lawsuit filed. Most severe in 2008 and 2010-2011 model years.

FCA recalled roughly 645,000 (U.S.) 2010-2014 Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan vans built 25 August 2010 through 31 October 2013 because the vent window switch in the driver's door armrest can overheat. The switch can overheat if liquid moisture gets into it, and an overheated switch can melt, char the armrest and start a fire in the door panel without warning. Owners typically notice a hot or discolored switch, a melted-plastic smell in the cabin, or a vent window that stops working before anything worse happens.

The ignition switch inside the Wireless Ignition Node (WIN) fails, preventing the vehicle from starting or causing intermittent no-start conditions. The WIN contains the ignition switch, reads the transponder in the key fob (FOBIK) for the immobilizer, and communicates with the PCM. Failure causes 'no bus' communication errors. On 2008-2010 vans built through June 17, 2010, a worn switch can also let the key slip out of Run and shut the engine off while driving (NHTSA recalls 11V-139 and 14V-373).

The 3.6L Pentastar carries its oil filter, oil cooler and both oil and coolant passages in one molded plastic housing that sits in the valley of the V under the intake manifold. Heat cycling makes the plastic brittle and the integral seals flatten, so the housing cracks or weeps. Because the assembly carries coolant as well as oil, a failure can present as an external oil leak down the back of the block, an external coolant leak, or - in the worst case - internal oil/coolant mixing that turns the coolant reservoir milky. Owners often first see it as oil dripping onto the exhaust and a burning smell, and the location under the intake makes it look like a rear main seal leak. Over-torquing the plastic oil filter cap during oil changes is a documented accelerant. This is a Pentastar-specific part and does not apply to the 3.3L/3.8L vans.

Early-build 3.6L Pentastar V6 engines suffer accelerated valve guide and valve seat wear on the LEFT (driver's side) cylinder head, producing a persistent misfire on one of the left-bank cylinders and an illuminated MIL. It is frequently accompanied by the 'Pentastar tick.' The defect is specific to the left head - the right head is not affected - and to early Pentastar production, which is why FCA issued a warranty extension rather than a recall. Owners on the Chrysler minivan forums report repeat failures where a replacement head was installed with the same early casting. Some owners with matching symptoms and matching engine build dates were told their VIN falls outside the extension, which produced a class-action claim covering 3.6L vehicles excluded from the extension.

The pushrod 3.3L and 3.8L V6s develop a well-known cluster of external oil leaks as the gaskets harden. The rear (firewall-side) valve cover gasket is the classic one: oil runs down the back of the block and onto the exhaust, producing a burning-oil smell with no obvious puddle. The other repeat offenders documented by minivan-forum owners, in rough order, are the oil pressure sending unit, the oil cooler-to-filter-adapter seal, the filter adapter-to-block gasket, the crankshaft/harmonic balancer seal and the rear main. Because several of these drip onto the same area, owners frequently replace the wrong one first. This is a 3.3/3.8 pushrod-engine pattern and does not describe the later 3.6L Pentastar, whose leak comes from the plastic oil cooler housing instead.

Owner reports for these vans point to two separate cooling problems. The first is a water pump leak. Coolant drips from a small hole on the back of the pump, on the passenger side just behind the front wheel. That hole is a vent behind the pump's internal seal, so coolant coming out of it means the seal has failed. Owners report having to keep topping up coolant. The second is the radiator fans not switching on. The engine then overheats in slow traffic or at idle, the A/C cools poorly when the van is not moving, and the engine computer may store code P1491 (radiator fan relay circuit). The fan problem can be the relay, its wiring or fuse, the coolant temperature sensor, or the fan motors themselves. Shops sometimes replace the thermostat during a water pump job. If the engine keeps overheating, the head gasket can be damaged, so stop driving when the gauge climbs.

The 3.6L Pentastar's water pump is a recognized wear item on 2011-2016 vans. The internal shaft seal fails first and coolant escapes from the weep hole at the front of the pump; if it is ignored the bearing follows and the pump can shed its drive, producing rapid overheating. Owners report the leak between roughly 80,000 and 120,000 miles. A very common misdiagnosis on these vans is a leaking plastic thermostat housing, which drips into the same area and looks identical from above - replacing the pump without checking the housing leaves the van still leaking. Note this is the Pentastar pump; the 3.3L/3.8L vans have an entirely different cooling-system failure pattern.

Power sliding doors fail to open or close automatically, open partially and stop, or operate intermittently. The drive cable, motor, and lock actuator are common failure points. Insulation wear in wiring harness causes shorts. Chrysler issued a campaign for harness chafing on 2008-2009 builds (NHTSA recall 10V-235). A 2021 class-action lawsuit over sliding-door lock actuators named 2013-2016 models, but its settlement covers only later Dodge Grand Caravans, not the Town & Country. Chrysler did extend the lock-actuator warranty to 15 years/150,000 miles for vans built May 1, 2015 through January 9, 2017.

Two related liftgate failures dominate owner reports on the 2008-2016 vans. First, the gas struts lose their charge - the seals wear and the gas escapes, so the liftgate will not stay up and drops on whoever is loading the van; this is strongly temperature-sensitive and owners report it appearing first on cold mornings. Second, on power-liftgate vans the liftgate control module itself fails, leaving the gate dead to the key fob and dash switch or reversing part-way through a cycle. On a power gate a weak strut also makes the module think it has hit an obstruction, so the gate reverses and beeps - which sends owners chasing electrical faults when the actual cause is a mechanical strut. FCA also recalled a small March-2012 build window for a defective right-side liftgate pinch sensor (NHTSA 12V-191) that could let the gate close on a limb.

The plastic-geared HVAC door actuators behind the dash strip their teeth and lose position, which is why so many of these vans blow hot on one side and cold on the other, or lose recirculation entirely. The classic tell is a repetitive clicking or grinding tick from behind the dash that changes when the temperature setting is changed. Because the van has separate driver, passenger and (on tri-zone vans) rear actuators plus mode and recirculation actuators, the same symptom points to several different motors. FCA also addressed a related right-side blend door condition with HVAC software update TSB 24-006-15 and, for vans built January 13, 2014 to May 25, 2015, the X64 warranty extension (TSB 24-005-16), where the fix begins with updating the HVAC controller software and recalibrating the right blend door actuator before replacing it.

The Stow 'n Go system uses a plastic pull-ring latch in the floor panel ahead of each second-row seat; the ring tugs a cable that releases the heavy floor bin lid so the seat can fold in. The rings sit where every passenger steps and are pulled hard to lift a heavy lid, so they crack and break off - forum owners describe it as near-universal on high-mileage vans, with at least one broken ring on almost every example. Separately, the seat's own release cable stretches, unclips or snaps at the crimp, which leaves the second-row seat locked upright or, worse, stuck part-way down and unable to latch back into the floor strikers. A seat that is not latched to the floor is a restraint problem, not just an inconvenience.