38 problems related to steering rack and pinion have been reported for the 2005 Chrysler Town & Country. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Took town&country for oil change. While tech doing safety check, recommended 2 two tires. While on the lift he noticed that the rack and pinion was leaking possibly at the seals. Recommended replacing rack and pinion at a cost of over $700. This seems to be an ongoing issue with this model and 2005/2006 years. There is a lot of posted documentation on the web to investigate further.
This problem has happened multiple times of the prior 2-3 years. We bought the van used and the problem has happened multiple times since purchased. In the rain or when there is standing water on the road, the power steering will fail. This usually happens at lower speeds, and often while lowing down or turning. The power steering will stop temporarily and you lose all control of the vehicle. This has happened to my wife twice while she was turning in traffic. The power steering will start working again usually in less than a minute. It is very dangerous, as you have no control. It only happens when there is standing water in the road during or just after moderate to heavy rain. There have been multiple reports of this problem on the Chrysler forums. We took our van to a mechanic and they replaced the rack and pinion, but the problem has persisted. I have read o n the Chrysler forum where others have replaced the power steering pump, pulleys, belts, etc. And still have the same problem.
Was told I need to replace the rack and pinion steering on my vehicle. Less than a year ago I had the pump for this replaced.
Van was making horrible noise when turning. Took vehicle to the mechanic. Had to replace rack and pinion. Had power steering pump replaced also. This van has been nothing but a money pit. I see many others with this complaint. I also filed a complaint a while back having major electrical issues. I see the rack and pinion is a major issue also. It was very expensive to fix as well as my electrical problems. Recall on anything????.
My 69 year old mother's 2005 town and country has been whining for over a year. Twice she took it to the dealer in raleigh where she bought it. They said they couldn't reproduce the whine. Last week, she was in a town an hour away and had to pull over and have it towed. Mechanic replaced power steering pump, but it didn't correct the problem. He says entier rack and pinion system needs replacing. Her van has 52k miles.
I own a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country which ive put about 30,000 miles on give or take. Recently over the past year ive experienced issues with the power steering. My belt broke when arriving at an airport parking lot, stranding my vehicle with my father in law. Since then ive experienced issues with it, noises, slippage when it gets water from puddles on it, etc. Ive looked online for help and find many similar issues with the belt slippage, as well as problems with defective power steering pumps, rack & pinion, etc for this vehicle. Chrysler does not have a recall on it nor sees it as a problem, disregarding the many people who have and complain of this issue. This is a highly dangerous issue as when the power steering goes out of your vehicle you cannot turn!! had this ever happened to me, with my children in the car driving down the road I am sure this would have resulted in injury to us or innocent bystanders. This needs to be looked at and addressed. I have been told that if it is my pump im looking at a cost of over $700, if it is my rack and pinion over $1400, the belt replacement cost me $200. And according to others, even when its fixed they still have problems! I now avoid driving in the rain for fear I will lose control without steering, which is hard as our car is the only one in our household and I commute my husband to and from work, as well as my daughter to and from school, all the while with a 4yr old in the back seat.
Power steering whine. . . Turned into needing the rack and pinion system replaced. Now hear that this is a rampant problem. This should be recalled.
Every time van is running low whine emits from under the hood, when turning steering jerks and sound under hood gets much louder. Power steering, rack and pinion need to be replaced.
Upon hearing a noise while driving, I checked under the car and noticed a lubrication seal was no longer performing its function. My local mechanic inspected the control arm and related ball joints and informed me the control system was good at this time, but the steering rack was leaking and would require replacement soon. Since I only had about 64,000 miles on my 2005 Town & Country, I was surprised especially since I had not had this type of failure in the 40 plus years of car ownership, exceeding 100,000 miles on each car. Rich in Chrysler customer assistance informed me the Town & Country does not have an historical problem with the power steering rack & pinion; thus a recall to fix the problem is not necessary. All that is required to show the stance Chrysler is taking is false is a simple internet search and a search on the NHTSA website. There are numerous complaints regarding this very serious problem. Chrysler should have recalled all Town & Countrys for the problems with the power steering. They should not be waiting for the Toyota rug under the accelerator issues.
Like thousands of other owners of a 2005 town and country van, the rack and pinion steering and the power steering failed at 34,000 miles. This cost $1450 to repair. Most fail around 30,000 to 40,000 miles according to what I have read here. The car got so you could hardly steer it. I am sure this has caused many people to wreck, but I was able to get it to a repair shop before I wrecked. This is a scandalous, sometimes fatal defect that has been reported thousands of times, but no recall has been issued. The problem was so prevalent that replacement parts were on back order for months, but rebuilt parts are readily available now since so many thousands have been replaced. As far as I can determine, the newer models also have this defect.
Rack and pinion causing severe intermittent shudder and loss of power assist when turning at low speeds.
Purchased a used 2005 t&c van from a local dealership. Took it to the local Chrysler dealer to have oil & lube service. Mentioned that my brakes were a little squeaky, please check them. The vehicle has 41,600 miles and I am the second owner. Was informed by the dealership that my rack and pinion was leaking and causing the noise and needed to be replaced. . . . To the tune of $800 plus tax. I have been researching this since I got home and have seen there are many, many complaints exactly the same. This is so obviously a defect that even a child could see it. Too many vehicles with the same complaint. Chrysler needs to replace these units under warranty.
Many repairs have had to be made on our 2005 t & c Chrysler, but today we got the news that our rack and pinion need to be replaced at a cost of over 1,000 dollars. When I inquired if this is a common problem I was told no not really. I turned to the internet only to see multiple owners complaining of this very situation. Rack and pinion should not go at 40,000 miles the vehicles need to be recalled.
Noise in front end of 2005 Chrysler t&c. Told to replace rack and pinion. 73,000 miles.
Failing steering on 2005 Chrysler Town & Country ltd. New rack and pinion, power steering pump, reservoir all need replacement.
Vehicle steering rack and pinion bad. I bought this vehicle new/used. The first time I drove it home it started to "whine" when braking and turning the wheel. The steering gets very hard at times, also now makes "popping" noises and feels like the wheels are coming off. My mechanic said has a bad rack and pinion. There are numerous amounts of claims on this vehicle for the very same problem, but still no recall. I feel for my safety and I can't afford to have this repaired. Chrysler still hasn't issued a recall for this matter. My mechanic said it is definitely a safety issue. . Read more...
We use our 2005 Chrysler Town & Country for 2. 5 years. We purchased the van used with roughly 25000 miles on it in July of 2006. We now have 77000 miles on it and now the front end makes a clanking noise while going over bumps and the is a whining grinding like sound underneath the hood close to the dash. It is worse with cold weather and when the stirring wheel is turned completely in either direction. I did an internet search and found a blog forum at townhall-talk. Com. Everyone one on this particular blog had t&c vans and had the same problem I have experienced and dealers have said the rack and pinion needing replacement for roughly$850. 00 plus. I have not had the problem assessed (will be today). Our warranty is expired and now we are having problems. Sounds typical right? if Chrysler t&c vans all seemed to have the same problem with the stirring system. I read about many different dealer saying that they replace many of those racks and the parts are on back order. If the parts are on back order that should be a sign that there is an issue across the board and there should be a recall. In these trying economic times people don't have money to spend on crappy made parts and Chrysler cant afford anymore negative publicity either. Something needs to be done!.
2005 Chrysler Town & Country purchased new. Grinding sound from the front end starting at 17,000 miles. Numerous parts replaced under warranty. Steering rack leaking/failing with only 56,000 miles. Local dealership denies any knowledge of steering rack and pinion problems. Steering problems are potentially very dangerous. I feel that there should be a recall on this vehicle.
My vehicle began making a slight whirring or grinding noise in June 2008. I noticed that it felt like the car was pulling to one side and it seemed difficult to steer. I took it into the dealership thinking it might have something to do with just having our tires balanced. They said the rack and pinion steering needed to be replaced. At that time we had about 40,000 miles on the car, and feel that is way too early for such a replacement. This 2005 Chrysler town and country has had nothing but problems! (right sliding door, seat belt, gas gauge, air bag sensor, electrical problems. ).
I purchased a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country touring edition brand new in July of 2005. During December of 2007, I noticed a slight hum under the hood during startup. This sound eventually kept getting louder and lasting longer. This sound is more drastic during turning of the steering wheel. I had the vehicle inspected by a Chrysler dealership service center. They said it was due to a leak in the rack of the rack and pinion system. They said that the whole rack and pinion assembly needs to be replaced ($800+). They also said that is the system fails further, it could result in loss of steering (during driving!). I have seen a lot of complaints for the same exact issue. My vehicle has 37,000 miles on it (warranty expired at 36,000). This is definitively a recall issue. Steering systems should not need replacement in less than 3 years and 37,000 miles.
Steering rack and pinion system failed. Began leak ng profusely. Chrysler would not offer assistance as problem was out of warranty. Second failure - unit had between replaced under warranty on 30 Mar 06.
I started to hear a low roar (not unlike turning the starter while the car is running) coming out of the right front of the van, usually upon starting, usually intermittent, but sometimes briefly while driving or turning, and sometimes when starting the van, the noise would continue until the engine was shut off. Took it to the mechanic who diagnosed it as a rack and pinion failure, with fluid leaking out, which he says they would not usually see in this "young" a vehicle. Mileage = 53,000. He wanted me to call the dealer to see if they knew about the problem, or if the repair would be covered. The dealer claimed to have no knowledge of this issue at all. I have researched and now see that this has been a recurring problem for this van, and Chrysler should own up to it and repair. This van is not even four years old, has not been in any accident or driven abusively, and this kind of a failure must indicate a defect in design or materials. I am now looking at a very expensive repair bill.
Grinding/whining sound from the front end. Steering rack is failing with only 22k on the vehicle but 4 months out of warranty.
The 2005 Chrysler Town & Country made a whirring noise at start up and lasted for several minutes until the vehicle warmed up. Asked dealer service rep to check out the noise. I was told there was a steering fluid leak in the rack component of the rack (steering component) and it needed to be replaced at about $800. Service rep stated that it was a common problem but there was no recall on the part. Service rep said that if it was not fixed it could result in a steering failure and needed to be replaced. I authorized the dealer to complete the work. This has been a one owner vehicle with regular service and only about 70,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2005 Chrysler town and country. The contact had her vehicle inspected. All the fuel levels were checked and she was informed that there was a leak in the rack and pinion steering system. The dealer stated that the parts were on a national back order. The contact assumed that because the parts were in such high demand, many other vehicles must have experienced the same failure. Chrysler stated that nothing could be done and referred her to NHTSA. The current mileage was 43,283 and failure mileage was 43,001. Updated 05/05/08.
My 2005 Town & Country had been making a whining noise for last month. The noise will increase as the accelerator was pushed,but noise disappeared after the car had been driven for 5 - 10 minutes. Mechanic found that the power steering fluid was really low, filling the fluid to the correct level fixed the noise problem. Upon inspection, it was found that the rack has a leak. It seems like this is a common occurrence in these vans, I believe this should be investigated and possibly a recall should be done as this is an expensive repair.
I have a Chrysler Town & Country van 2005. I heard a sound when driving the car. I took it to the mechanics and I was told that the rack & pinion needed to be replace. $550 dollars. After doing some research on line noticed thousands of complaints about the same. Please help!! the rack & pinion is broken and needs replacement. $550 dollars.
I bought a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country with 48,000 miles on June 29,2007. In January 2008 while driving my van I had a loud squeal coming from the steering,upon checking I found that I was losing power steering fluid, I set an appointment up with the dealership to have the problem checked. On 01/29/2008 I was told by the dealership that the rack and pinion was leaking. The dealership also told me that there was alot of problems with the rack and pinion in my year van, and that there is a 6 month back order on the rack and pinion, the new ones have been redesigned to stop the problem. I contacted Chrysler about this they would only state that it was my problem, and they would not discuss anything but my vehicle,or about the back order of the rack and pinion. I also contacted other dealerships asking about this problem, they stated there is a back order on the rack and pinion, and they have had several problems with the rack and pinion in the 2005 town and country's.
I have a 2005 Chrysler town county lx. I have been having this problem since I got the car as always there is nothing wrong they say, but had to replace rack and pinion and now I am back to the same thing again I feel that this is a problem with all 2005 town county from what I have heard. I have gone through three front end alignments a set of tires and I get the same old story blah blah, something needs to be done please help all of us on this issue.
Rack & pinion on 2005 Chrysler Town & Country. A noise when turning steering. Was told by dealer it was a problem with the 2005 vans and was not being covered. Was told it would be around $750. 00 plus tax to fix. If there are this many problems with the vans, Chrysler should fix them as a recall. Was told by another mechanic to put an additive in the power steering and it has slowed down the loss of power steering fluid but keep wondering how safe I am driving it on the highway at high speeds.
Power steering noise found to be leaking/fault steering rack. Upon inquire to dealer for repair/replacement found that 13,000 were on back order!!! many similar problems found posted. Some individuals have had multiple replacements. Chrysler should recall due to negligence, danger to human life and the sheer volume of defects.
The contact owns a 2005 Chrysler town and country. When the vehicle was driven approximately five times, the contact noticed that the steering wheel became difficult to steer and began making loud, squeaking noises. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and they discovered that the rack and pinion was failing and needed to be replaced. The current mileage was 67,000 and failure mileage was 50,000. Updated 02/15/08.
- the contact owns a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country. The vehicle started making a grinding and clicking noise when turning at 40 mph. The contact could smell the engine running hot. The vehicle was diagnosed as needing a new power steering rack. The dealer paid for the part. However ,the contact had to pay for labor charges. The failure mileage was 38,723. The contact has the repair invoice. The current mileage was 39,330.
Steering made a clunking noise and pulled to the right. Had vehicle checked three times while under warranty and was told the alignment was the issue. Aligned and tires balanced each time, but problem continued. Took car in with a copy of the NHTSA bulletin and they replaced rack & pinion at my cost. Vehicle steering is now tight and pulling to right is gone. I don't feel I should have had to pay for this repair.
Rack & pinion defective in 2005 Chrysler Town & Country. System is on back order for 2-3 weeks and dealership (eastside Chrysler & Jeep) have informed that this car is safe to drive and I will only completely destroy the system, which is "being replaced anyway".