general problems of the 2008 Chrysler Aspen

There is a known issue where the transfer case motor will erratically fail causing multiple safety issues. The car is awd with a 2 speed 4wd selector. The motor can shift into neutral on its own disabling the gear selectors park function ( it is used when towing the vehicle and disconnects the transmission from the drive train). It happened to me in a parking lot and fortunately it was on level ground or the car could have rolled away when I went into a store. I only discovered what had happened after I started the car and could not get it into forward or reverse. I turned the engine off and put the gear selector in park, got out and I was able to move the car by pushing, after a google search indicated it might be in neutral. I found a procedure online to remove the transfer case from neutral and it worked. There is a tiny hidden button on the 4wd selector panel to put the vehicle in neutral for towing and an extremely faint indicator light that come on when it is in towing neutral. The motor has intermittently started shifting in to 4wd and 4wd low on its own and then back to awd. Again this is a known issue as there are literally hundreds of reports of people having to replace the motor. Also if the 4wd shifts into low at highway speeds it will cause catastrophic transmission failure and loss of vehicle control. Also reports of the system going into towing neutral at highway speeds causing potentially dangerous situations. Again this is not the shift lever neutral but the 4wd transfer case disengaging the entire drivetrain. I have had it shift into 4wd low (which locks all the differentials together and is only for off-road or snow) which made it extremely had to steer because of the lack of the differentials. Moving the selector switch did return the transmission to awd and I was forced to park the car. It returned to normal after turning the car off and restarting it. This is a very common issue on Chrysler/Dodge vehicle with 4wd options and needs addressing.

My 2008 Aspen was built during the same time as the 2009 model year that had the faulty pinion nuts/shaft. Right at 170,k our pinion bearing is bad. I believe they same parts were used and Dodge refuses to work with me. Thankfully it has not broke yet but the truck is needing to be in the shop.

Tl-the contact owns a 2008 Chrysler aspin. The contact stated that the -vehicle's transmission some how shifted into 4 wheel drive and locked up. This caused the front wheels to lock up and not move. The contact was able to guide the vehicle to the side of the road . The contact smelled burning rubber right before the incident. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who said that the four wheel drive was malfunctioning. The mechanic initially fixed the issue by shifting the transmission back from four wheel drive to the normal gears. The issue recurred again with all four wheels locking up. The dealer and manufacturer had not been contacted yet. The failure mileage was 191,000. Tf.

While driving, the vehicle intermittently slipped into 4-wheel drive low. Vehicle immediately became hard to steer/move in this condition, dangerous to drive as the vehicle's handling could change at any moment. . . At any speed.

I began accelerating onto a ramp to enter onto a major highway and my Aspen completely loss all power suddenly. The engine just shut down including power all electronics. I had to let the car glide to the shoulder, put it in park and restart the car, which it stared as it always has. This has never happened before nor did it happen again. I had the car checked out and they couldn't find anything wrong. Being that this happened while entering a busy highway, a serious accident could have been caused.

First I must start out by saying this vehicle has been a nightmare since buying from a dealership who has refused to correct any of the problems in any fashion mainly because they're not a Chrysler dealership. The day after we bought the vehicle the vehicle stalled on us due to a dead battery. Not a big deal, but it was only the beginning to a wide range of problems. While taking the truck for a required state inspection, the truck somehow managed to roll forward from a parked position when reverse had been selected. It was parked on an incline no more than a 10 degree angle and ended up rolling/crashing into the curb. I immediately contacted the dealership to voice my concern/anger and they agreed to look into the problem but to no avail. Not long afterwards we had some heavy rain I believe the following week and we realized the roof was leaking along the passenger side pillar right into the vents. This I believed led to some electrical issues with the radio as my wife said if often "flickered" and "cut in and out". This was also brought to the dealerships attention and again nothing was done; however they did clean the drains which they said caused the leaking. I had also voiced my concerns to Chrysler and was basically told until they have enough documented issues, nothing can be done. Now, my wife and I hadn't filled this truck up to this point as yet, but the first time we did the gas overflowed and gushed out of the vehicle spilling everywhere. I initially thought the pump nozzle was faulty but after the second time at a different gas station I was convinced the problematic vehicle was to blame. . Read more...

The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler Aspen. While driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle stalled and the traction control warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the drive train needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 75,000.

The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler Aspen. Two years ago, an independent mechanic diagnosed that the pinion nut was loose and needed to be tightened. The vehicle was repaired. The vehicle was taken to another independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the differiental needed a pinion seal. The vehicle was repaired again, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 13v038000 (power train) as a possible solution, but the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 49,000.

The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler Aspen 4x4. The contact stated that when shifting from park into drive, the vehicle rapidly accelerated and crashed into the wall of the garage. The contact then shifted into reverse and the vehicle rapidly accelerated backward, crashing into the home a second time with one half of the vehicle penetrating the house. The vehicle struck a child and caused injuries to both of the child¿s legs. A police report was not filed. The contact was not injured. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the incident. The failure mileage was 72,000.