Ten problems related to hydraulic power assist steering system have been reported for the 1996 Chrysler Town & Country. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
I was stopping at a red light when I heard a loud thunk from the right front of the car. I thought perhaps I had run over a rock ro piece of metal in the street that bounced up and into the wheel well. When the light changed I proceeded for several blocks and then attempted a right turn, only to find that I could not get the car steered into my lane as the power steering had disappeared, unbeknownst to me. Fortunately there was no car waiting at the stop sign on the street onto which I was attempting to turn, or I would have run squarely into it. As it was the car overheated and completely expired while I was attempting to get it to a repair shop less than two miles away. This is not an unusual event for this model, as reported by the dealer and also according to consumer complaint databases. The problem was a broken serpentine belt and pretensioner. I feel that this is a safety threat, since one can abruptly lose control of the car when that belt breaks. Please look into it. Thank you.
As I was about to turn a corner I heard a snapping noise and I was unable to turn. The steering wheel felt like it had locked. The car was towed to the dealership. The tensioneer, drive belt and power steering pulley had all come apart. I looked at the parts and saw a sheared bolt about 5/16" in the assembly. Should the whole system be dependent on such a small bolt? is a cars steering supposed to fail at 74156 miles? it was a very frightening experience. I think the steering should be somehow mechanically assisted so that when it fails it should be easier to steer the car to a safe place out of traffic.
5 times in last 2 days, the power assist has shut down while I was making a turn. There is a technical service bulletin (19-01-97) relating to this issue. As this causes you to loose control of automobile, this is very dangerous not to mention terrifying.
When driving at a low speed power steering locks up, feels like power steering fluid is low. Dealer contacted, and cannot duplicate the problem. Problem still exists.
When it rains the power steering goes. The vehicle is at dealer for repair.
Experiencing problem with vehicle losing power steering whenever it goes through a water puddle. Vehicle been in / out of dealer shop, and various parts have been replaced, but problem still occurring.
Steering completely locks up, low speeds in a turn. . . Lost use of breaks at same time.
When driving through a puddle of water, the vehicle loses steering power. Consumer states the power steering returns in several seconds causing oversteering out of turns.
When hitting a puddle of water, the power steering fails.
Power steering malfunctions. When driving through a small puddle or about four minutes of rain at a slow speed, the vehicle loses all power steering control. Dealer contacted and cannot duplicate the problem.