2003 Chrysler Town & Country Electrical System Problems

While driving the van in town it completely shut off. I was driving straight at 35 mph. It would not restart and had to be towed to service garage. When it shut off the first time all of the dash warning lights came on for a second then shut off. The garage said the ignition switch had to be replaced and the main computer. Then the Chrysler dealership had to flash the computer. They said they did and I drove the van 20 miles at 55 mph and it shut off again. No codes were shown when tested. I was able to get it started again after 20 minutes of sitting and tried to drive it again and it kept shutting off while driving 65 mph on the interstate. After several shut offs and finally getting it restarted I was able to get the van to a safe place to have it towed. Now it sits in my driveway because I am afraid to try and drive it again and get into a wreck when it shuts off because there is no warning at all. It just shuts off like someone turns off the key. This is a big safety issue and I am amazed it has not been addressed. I have seen a lot of people posting about their exact same issue with this van.

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THE AIRBAG ON THE PASSENGER SIDE BLEW UP. ON ROBIN HOOD RD WHEN CAR WAS ALMOST STOPPED FOR A TRAFFIC LIGHT ON BUENA VISTA RD. WHEN THE AIRBAG BLEW UP WITH MY DAUGHTER-IN-LAW IN THAT SEAT. CALLING CHRYSLER THEY SAID THERE WAS NO RECALL ON IT AND THEY WOULD DO NOTHING BECAUSE OF THE AGE OF THE CAR. A MONTH EARLIER I SPENT $2000 ON REPAIRS ON THIS CAR AND NOW IT IS USELESS. STARTING THE CAR IT SMELLS LIKE IT'S GOING TO CATCH ON FIRE. THE CAR WAS IN MOTION AND ALMOST AT A COMPLETE STOP FOR A TRAFFIC LIGHT WHEN THE AIRBAG EXPLODED WHICH WAS VERY SCARY. WHEN I FIRST CALLED CHRYSLER THEY ASK THE LOCATION OF THE CAR AND LED ME TO BELIEVE SOMEONE FROM CHRYSLER WOULD EXAMINE THE THE VAN AND THEN A WEEK LATER CALLING I FOUND OUT THEY WERE DENYING ANYTHING BECAUSE OF THE AGE OF THE CAR. I AM A SENIOR CITIZEN AND THIS ISN'T FAIR AS I HAVE KEPT UP REPAIRS ON THE CAR AND IT'S OBVIOUS THAT THERE ARE NO DENTS OR THAT HAS NOT BEEN IN ANY TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTRY. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND WOULD NOT RESTART. THE BATTERY HAD TO BE JUMPED IN ORDER FOR THE VEHICLE TO RESTART. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED ON A DAILY BASIS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE VEHICLE NEEDED A BATTERY AND ALTERNATOR. THE BATTERY AND ALTERNATOR WERE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 115,000.

SOMETIMES THE TAILGATE AFTER OPENING WILL IMMEDIATELY CLOSE AND THERE IS NO WAY TO STOP IT. THEN IT WON'T STAY OPEN. THE LEFT SIDE SLIDING DOOR DOESN'T OPEN WITH REMOTE AND THE REMOTE LOCK/UNLOCK DOESN'T WORK. I HAVE TALKED TO SEVERAL PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THEIR VEHICLE (SAME YEAR). SOMEONE COULD GET CRUSHED BY THIS.

FIRST THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS WENT DOWN TO O I WAS GOING 65 MILE PER HOUR WHEN THE LIGHTS ON THE DASHBORAD SAID 0 AS IF I DIDNOT HAVE GAS IN THE CAR IT SAID I WAS GOING 0 MILES PER HOUR WHEN IN FACT I WAS GOING 65 WITH THREE CHILDREN AND TOO ADULT IN THE CAR ALL OF A SUTTIN THE CAR STARTS OPERATING AGAIN THIS WENT ON FOR SEVERIAL MILES I WAS AFRAID FOR MY LIFE AS WELL AS THE PEOPLE WHO WAS IN THE CAR AT THE TIME A FINALLY GOT HOME AND THEN THE CAR WENT DEAD. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTRY. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE THE MECHANIC ADVISED THAT THE WIRING HARNESS CAUGHT ON FIRE AND WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 150,000.

AIR BAG LIGHT STAYS ON. *TR

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILURE: ALL GAUGES, SPEEDOMETER, FUEL, BATTERY, TEMP, RPM FAILED TO WORK, WINDSHIELD WIPERS, TURN SIGNALS, HEADLIGHT CONTROL ABILITY FAILED TO WORK. HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING ALSO FAILED TO WORK. VEHICLE WOULD START OR REMAIN RUNNING, MIRRORS, RADIO, STEERING, PEDAL ELECTRICAL CONTINUED FUNCTION. HEADLIGHTS / TAILLIGHTS CAME ON AUTOMATICALLY - NO ABILITY TO TURN OFF, EXCEPT WITH IGNITION SWITCH. REPAIRED BY DISCONNECTING BATTERY FOR FIVE MINUTES, RESET SYSTEM ALL FUNCTIONS RESTORED TO NORMAL. SAFETY ISSUE: LOSS OF WINDSHIELD WIPERS / BRAKE LIGHTS / UNKNOWN IF AIRBAGS SYSTEM AFFECTED. *TR

CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY, 2003 103,000 MILES ELECTRICAL PROBLEM SYMPTOMS 1. BATTERY LIGHT COMES ON INTERMITTENTLY, SEVERAL TIMES AN HOUR. 2. DIGITAL DISPLAYS ON DASH BOARD FLICKER AND THEN STEADY FOLLOWED BY: 3. SPEEDOMETER AND TACHOMETER NEEDLES JUMP. 4. SOUND ONLY, ON RADIO DROPS OUT FOR 1-2 SECONDS, EVERY COUPLE OF MINUTES. 5. FUEL LEVEL ALARM GOES OFF AND FALSE LOW LEVEL INDICATED. 6. VEHICLE PERIODICALLY WON'T START, BUT AFTER SECOND TRY STARTS NORMALLY. 7. SPEEDOMETER NEEDLE PEGS AGAINST BACK OF STOP PIN, ALL ELSE RETURNS TO NORMAL OPERATION. 8. ACCELERATION IS SLOW TO RESPOND, LAGS ABOUT A SECOND. 9. PERIODICALLY MISSES AND TRIES TO STALL AT HIGHWAY SPEED, DURING ACCELERATION. 10. ABS AND BRAKE LIGHT FREQUENTLY ILLUMINATE. RECENTLY HAD REAR BRAKES REBUILT, AND COMPLETE REPLACEMENT OF FRONT BRAKE SYSTEM AT 90,000 MILES. 11. CYCLE RESTARTS WHEN USING TURN SIGNALS, TURNING ON HEADLIGHTS OR A/C. 12. ABLE TO RESET INSTRUMENT CLUSTER BUY HOLDING IN TRIP MILEAGE RESET AFTER SHUTDOWN, BUT PROBLEM RECURS. SAME PROBLEM NOW 1 YEAR OLD. NO TECHNICIAN CAN FIGURE IT OUT. REMAINS IN THIS CONDITION FOR DAYS OR WEEKS, THEN EVERYTHING RETURNS TO NORMAL OPERATION. SOMETIMES IT IS NORMAL FOR A FEW DAYS THEN THE CYCLE RESTARTS. IT ALWAYS FOLLOWS THE SAME ORDER OF EVENTS. *TR

2003 CHRYSLER TOWN&COUNTRY RANDOMLY STALLS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS CAUSING LOSS OF CONTROL . BROUGHT THE VAN TO SEVERAL MECHANICS WHO CAN NOT FIND MECHANICAL PROBLEM SAY IT IS IN ELECTRICAL HARNESS, NOW VAN IS NOT WORTHY OF DRIVING IS THIS THE JUNK MOPAR IS SELLING TO THE PUBLIC FOR TOP DOLLAR. OR IS IT JUST ANOTHER AMERICAN MADE CLUNKER. *TR

INSTRUMENT CLUSTER CIRCUIT BOARD FAULTY, CAUSES CLUSTER FAILURE, ENGINE CUT-OUTS AND ELECTRICAL ISSUES THROUGHOUT CAR MODULES. POSSIBLE FIRE DUE TO FAULTY SOLDER JOINTS ON CIRCUIT BOARD, WIRING OVERHEATING. MULTIPLE PARTIES HAVE BEEN REPORTING THIS ISSUE FOR YEARS, SEE EDMUNDS.COM. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTRY. THE CONTACT STARTED THE IGNITION AND ATTEMPTED TO ACTIVATE THE HEADLIGHTS; HOWEVER, THE HEADLIGHTS WOULD NOT OPERATE. IN ADDITION, THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AND ENTIRE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILED TO FUNCTION PROPERLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO LOCATE THE PROBLEM. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE THE FRONT CONTROL MODULE, BODY CONTROL MODULE AND LIGHT SWITCH MODULE WERE REPLACED. THE REPAIR CORRECTED THE ELECTRICAL PROBLEM AND THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO OPERATE NORMALLY. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 89,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTRY. AS THE CONTACT WAS PLACING HER CHILD INTO A RESTRAINT SYSTEM, THE PASSENGER SIDE SLIDING DOOR (EQUIPPED WITH THE SAFETY LOCK MECHANISM) FAILED TO RECOGNIZE THAT A PASSENGER WAS IN BETWEEN THE DOOR. AS A RESULT, THE DOOR SLAMMED ONTO THE CONTACT'S ARM. SHE SUFFERED MODERATE DAMAGE TO HER UPPER ARM, INCLUDING A BROKEN BLOOD VESSEL. SECONDLY, SHE NOTICED THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE SLIDING DOOR WOULD SPORADICALLY OPEN, EVEN WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION. SHE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER, BUT THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT IS IN THE PROCESS OF NOTIFYING THE MANUFACTURER. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 100,000.

ELECTRICAL ISSUE WITH MULTIPLE ITEMS LIKE, WIPERS, DOOR LOCKS, WINDOWS, AUTOMATIC DOORS, DOME LIGHTS, DASH LIGHTS ETC... VEHICLE HAS HAD SEVERAL ISSUES WITH INTERMITTENT ELECTRICAL SHORTS AT DIFFERENT TIMES. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALER ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS AND SPENT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS BUT THE PROBLEM KEEPS RETURNING AND NEVER GETS FIXED. NO MY PASSENGER WINDOW WILL NOT WORK AND THE PASSENGER DOOR BUTTON ON THE SIDE POST DOESN'T WORK. *TR

STARTED VEHICLE, AND HEADLIGHTS AND TAILLIGHTS BEGAN FLASHING. HEADLIGHT SWITCH DID NOT AFFECT THIS. TURNING OFF IGNITION DID NOT STOP PROBLEM. ONLY DISCONNECTING BATTERY STOPPED FLASHING. THIS WOULD BE AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION IF DRIVER WAS MOVING AT NIGHT. THIS NEEDS TO BE A RECALL, AS MANY SIMILAR PROBLEMS EXIST AND CHRYSLER KNOW ABOUT HEM, SEE TOPIX.COM. *TR

A FEW MONTHS AFTER PURCHASING OUR 2003 TOWN AND COUNTRY WE NOTICED THAT THE SPEAKERS WOULD NOT WORK WHENEVER IT RAINED. WE TOOK THE CAR IN SEVERAL TIMES AND REPORTED THIS PROBLEM AND THEY TOLD US THAT THEY COULD NOT FIND THE PROBLEM AND TO BRING THE VAN BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP AS SOON AS WE HEAR THE SPEAKERS GO OUT. IT SOUNDS LIKE A REASONABLE REQUEST BUT WE CAN'T TAKE THE VAN BACK TO THEM AS SOON AS IT RAINS WE NEED TO BE AVAILABLE TO A BACK UP VEHICLE AND WE WOULD STILL HAVE TO BRING IT BACK FOR AN APPOINTMENT. IT IS A YEAR LATER AND WE ARE STILL DRIVING WITH A VEHICLE THAT HAS SPEAKERS THAT GO OUT EVERY SINGLE TIME IT RAINS. WE WERE TOLD THAT THIS PROBLEM IS COVERED UNDER THE ELECTRICAL WARRANTY WHICH IS WONDERFUL BUT WE NEED THIS ITEM TO BE REPAIRED THE SOUND IS VERY DISTRACTING AND CAN HAPPEN AT ANY MOMENT DURING A DOWNPOUR AND CAN STARTLE YOU AS YOU TRY TO FOCUS ON THE ROAD. *TR

HAD A TIRE BLOW OUT ON FRONT DRIVERS SIDE. THE BLOWN TIRE RIPPED OUT THE BODY WIRING HARNESS AND THE INTEGRATED POWER MODULE OF THE VEHICLE CAUSING ULTIMATE POWER FAILURE. THE WIRES WERE SHREDDED AND WRAPPED AROUND THE RIM. WE STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW BY CHRYSLER ALLOWING THE WIRING HARNESS OF THE VEHICLE TO BE PLACED DIRECTLY OVER THE WHEEL WELL. THIS CAUSE FAILURE OF THE BRAKE SYSTEM, AND TOTAL LOSS OF ALL POWER TO THE VEHICLE. *TR

CAR ENGINE SHUTDOWN IN TRAFFIC BUT WOULD RESTART. ENGINE SHUTDOWN AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND JUMP STARTED WITHOUT TURNING KEY. PLASTIC WIRE INSULATION BURNING SMELL NOTED WHEN RETURNED TO DRIVEWAY. VEHICLE DELIVERED TO DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIR. TECH REPORT VERIFIED BROKEN AND CORRODED WIRE IN WIRING HARNESS: "UPON INSPECTION FOUND FAULT CODE P1389 NO ASD RELAY OUTPUT VOLTAGE AT PCM & P1388 = AUTO SHUTDOWN RELAY CONTROL CIRCUIT. REMOVED D PCM WIRE HARNESS AND FOUND ASD OUTPUT FROM PCM BEING LOST. TRACED BN/WT WIRE FROM PCM CONNECTOR TO IPM. FOUND WIRE CUT AND FULL OF CORROSION. CUT OUT BAD SECTION OF WIRE AND SPLICED NEW SECTION IN. REINSTALLED ALL COMPONENTS ARE VERIFIED REPAIRS. VEHICLE IS PERFORMING AS DESIGNED." *TR

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS THE INSTRUMENT PANEL GAUGES INTERMITTENTLY ILLUMINATED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS SEEN BY A DEALER FOR INSPECTION. A DIAGNOSTIC TEST WAS PERFORMED WHICH DID NOT PRODUCE A FAILURE CODE. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. *AK