Brake Disc Caliper problems of the 2008 Chrysler Town & Country - part 1

Just replaced my battery from aaa and was told everything else is good just my battery is completely drained and this morning I could not start my car at all then later it started but I got stuck at work now and it wont start at all not even a jump will help. Also while driving it goes crazy from time to time and the speedometer shoots up soo high that I get scared and have to hold on tight to the steering wheel. My ac works when it wants too and in Jan I was told my van's back calipers are shot. I was driving for a year with no back calipers meanwhile the front one got stuck and turned bright red and I had to get that one replaced last year. Its just one problem after another. I feel like im constantly replacing something.

Tl the contact owns a 2008 Chrysler town and country. The contact heard an abnormal rattling noise when decelerating the vehicle. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the brake calipers seized. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and referred the contact to NHTSA. The failure mileage was 90,000.

Vehicle sporadically shut off while driving with no warning causing it to loose braking and steering. . . Gotta be very fast to get it restarted. . . Done had a lot of near misses. . . . Vehicle can sit over night and loose all power and want start or may drive it some miles shut it off and it want start. . . Done bought new battery but think my battery was ok they just wanted the sell because it's doing basically the same thing. . . It start with a one minute or less boost. . . I have to check it with my auto start to see if I am going anywhere or to use my wife car. . . At times I get a grinding sound from front breaks. . I check the pads and they ok grinding come and goes. . . Rear disc brakes wears unevenly dealer hush hush. . . No recall defective calipers. . . Told me it's over now you gotta pay to have it fix now . . . Map lights come on with a disturbing noise fault showing passenger door agar but it closed tight. . . Eventually it stops. . . L love my van if engineers could fix some of the problems because it's dangerous and expensive up against what next problems and ill feel guilty selling it to someone and something happens to them. . . It's at the point where I am really afraid to drive it with it shutting off with no controls braking nor steering(help) but I still love my van. . . Can y'all please fix it. . .

My brakes seem to last from 20,000 to 30,000 miles. Replacement pads are under a one year warranty and those are free when they need replaced. However, after some research, it is the caliper design that is causing this issue. Guide rods need to be constantly greased to avoid sticking. I have seen the brakes smoking a bit a few times and rims feel really hot to the touch due to brakes dragging. Caliper upgrade to the hd 2 piston design seems to fix the issue in newer models. Tired of putting on brakes once a year and this also causes poor gas mileage. Van has 127,000 miles on it currently.

In one month our brakes have locked up on us while driving. This past time, a "flash flame" sparked, went out immediately but still smoked. Had both of my kids in car seats at the time. Towed to Chrysler dealership and they "couldn't figure out the problem" so wanted us to pay $4,000 just to replace the entire brake system instead of taking their time to pin point what the problem could be. It was in the shop for 16 days and only 1 of those 16 days was it looked at. Then the gentlemen kept pushing blame on another company, etc. Then when we picked the van up, the engine light was on along with the steering wheel winding. Never has the engine light come on until it was in their hands. They are also stating that there was never a "flame", I had my family and a stranger help me at the scene and there was soot along with the brake line having some kind of damage from being melted. They are not helping us at all! this is a very dangerous matter!! we have read several forums with other people have this same issue and the rotors, brake pads, calipers continuously prematurely having to be replaced. I even emailed Chrysler the links.

Brakes have been a problem sense purchased new. They sometimes get hot enough to catch fire. We took the car to the dealer and we were told this normal. The service manager said it was the way it was being driven. After several attempts to get the dealership to replace the brakes we took the car to independent shop. The pads,rotors,calipers and brake lines were replaced with after market parts. These also got hot caught fire. We then took the car to a different Chrysler dealership and was told we should have used oem parts. We then had this dealership replace the aftermarket parts with oem parts. The brakes again continued to run hot. 3,000 miles later the steering wheel began to vibrate and smoke came into the vehicle. During the 99,000 miles we have used this minivan the brakes always ran hot and have caught fire three times. Looking on the internet I see thousands have similar problems. The average brake life on this van is about 20,000 miles. Our previous Dodge van ran 120,000 miles before any brake work. The Chrysler minivan has a problem with hydraulic pressure not being completely released when the breaks are released. This creates excessive overheating and sometimes fire.

A accident has not been caused as of yet. We had the back bakes completely overhauled last year becuase they were ceased causing loss of presure in the bake system. Brakes had to be pumped before you could come to a complete stop. Caliper, pads, rotors and brake adapter were all replace. We picked up the van 10/1/14 after having this done. Here it is 9/15 and the back calipers have already ceased, causing the rotors to warp again. The whole system will have to be replaced again. This is obviously caused by a design flaw in the braking system!.

Took vehicle in to my shop to service rear brakes, they were grinding. I expected to have to replace pads and rotors. We hadn't done it in the 40k miles we've owned it and didn't have it's service history prior to that. The mechanic found the rear brakes had been frozen closed for "a long time. " due to this, he said temps had gotten so hot back there that the brake hoses were extremely warped and the brake fluid had turned to sludge. I had to replace the hoses, calipers, pads, and rotors and flush the brake system fluid. I'm worried had this continued we would have been in a situation where we couldn't stop or we could have had a fire.

Heard loud howling noise right rear, psi up to 39, wheel overheated. Went to dealer, right rear brake caliper seized. I was told had to replace both left and right sides?!! cost me $742. 90.

The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler town and country. The contact stated that the vehicle emitted a strong burning rubber odor while at a local mechanic for a routine oil change. The mechanic inspected vehicle and located the failure at the front calipers, which were stuck to the rotors. The calipers, rotors and the brake shoe were replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 70,000.

Bought this car from car max 4 months ago and 4 weeks ago had the front pads, rotors, and calipers replaced. The car was shaking violently when breaking. As it turned out, the inner right front brake pad warped due to excessive heat. It warped in its slot in the caliper. . . Bending backward toward the caliper piston. After it cooled it was not applying force evenly to the rotor and that is what caused the shaking. Ok so I have it all replaced and runs ok except for on several occasions when exiting the vehicle we noticed what I would call excessive heat by the tires. Today my wife drives home from work and a few errands and upon exiting the vehicle she notices flames coming from the left front tire area. I douse them with a hose and then do a google search to see if other 2008 Chrysler town and country owners have had any problems like this. I am blown away by the inordinate large number of complaints being filed regularly since 2008. Almost all of them are complaining about the braking system on this vehicle. It is undersized for the size and weight of this vehicle. Many owners had to replace everything I had too and some several times a year. Chrysler seems unwilling to do anything and this is serious my whole house could have burned down.

The egr valve has failed resulting in the check engine light coming on. Now the right rear brake caliper has seized causing the brakes to smoke.

The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler Town & Country. The contact was driving 45 mph when burning fumes were emitted into the vehicle. The contact stated that after inspecting the vehicle it appeared that the burning smell was coming from the wheels. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the rear driver side caliper froze and burned the brakes and rotors. As a result, the brakes, rotors and calipers needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 30,274.

Right rear caliper haning up. Needed rear calipers, pads,and rotors . Front wheel brakes ok.

The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler town and country. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, a loud screeching noise emitted from the rear driver's side wheel with an extremely strong burning odor. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who informed the contact that the caliper was defective. The vehicle was repaired. The failure recurred two years later and the caliper slide was again cleaned by the dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 16,000.

I bought this vehicle new in February 2009. At 30k miles the front brakes were squealing and my husband replaced them. The brakes should not have worn out this soon. The inner pad on the right front brake was worn to the metal, ruining the rotor. The outer pad on the front right showed on a 30% wear. Thinking that the caliper was defective,we took it to the dealer. The dealer found nothing wrong with the caliper, so they said. At 48k miles, the back brakes were scrubbing. . . Again, this should not happen at this low mileage. We own 3 other Chrysler vehicles that have over 200k miles each and the back brakes have never been replaced nor given any trouble. Because the back brakes on the 2008 van were scrubbing so badly, my husband preceded to replace them. What he found was an utter disaster. Poor engineering in parking brake design would not allow release of the right parking brake. The inner pad(again on the right side) was completely worn into the rotor. The parking brake does not release when used, therefore the inner brake pad continues to ride on the rotor until it is worn out. Therefore, I cannot use the parking brake anymore. We spoke with several mechanics, even at the Chrysler dealership, and was informed by all of them that the brake system used on these vans was the same used previously on Honda, Toyota, Ford, and general motors. All of these auto makers dropped this brake design because it was so poorly designed. Chrysler needs to recall these vans and replace the whole braking system!.

Recurring failure of brake calipers in left rear wheel of 2008 Chrysler Town & Country van. There were two failures in 38000 miles within three years.

I took the vehicle to dealership service department on June 16th to diagnose a "howling" noise, which began a few months before as an occasional noise, and was now occurring almost continuously. I said I thought it was coming from the rear brakes. The noise occurred while driving, not while braking. They found nothing wrong with the brakes, and said the noise was due to the wear on the tires. I did not have the tires replaced at the time, and continued to drive it with the noise. During the next few months, I occasionally noticed a burning smell. Also getting very poor mpg; 14. 3. I applied and released the emergency brakes while parked, and the noise stopped for a few days. The noise eventually became less frequent, and was almost completely gone, when the brake indicator light came on. Took it back to the dealer service shop on sept 19, 2010. This time, they found that the rear brakes pads were completely worn out; the brakes were â¼ inch worn into the metal. The front brakes also needed to be replaced, and were covered by the extended warranty (less $100 deductible). I filed a complaint with Chrysler, and was told they would reimburse cost of replacing back brakes & rotors this time. The dealer did not replace calipers, only "clean/lube caliper slides & apply brake quiet". Dealer insists that the calipers were not stuck or causing problems -said if they get stuck, they stay stuck. My brother and I each bought new vehicles in Jan 2008; he got a 2008 Dodge grand caravan ,and I got a 2008 Town & Country. He was having the exact same problems. He took his back brakes apart to diagnose the problem. He found the calipers were a new design; the pistons "screw" in & out, rather than the usual clamp & release, or pinch design. The pistons were sometimes not releasing, which caused the brakes to be applied even while the vehicle was being driven for long periods on highway, which caused the noise & bad gas mileage. Chrysler needs to recall/replace caliper design.

I own a 2008 Town & Country minivan. Had received a notice that the front brakes may need to be replaced. I took my car into the dealership and they stated that not only were the front brakes pads & calipers were bad but the rear brake pads & calipers were bad as well and had to be replaced as a cost of over $300. For major safety parts as brakes and failing in less than 2 years is very bad workmanship and Chrysler should reimburse for the rear brakes as well. The brakes are a continuing bad safety part for Chrysler.

At 22,998 I had to replace the front brakes because they were metal to metal. Rear brake calipers were rusted shut and weren't working either. Had new pads and rotors replaced front and back. Since having them replaced (2000 miles ago) the new front brakes are warped!.

2008 Chrysler Town & Country. . . 5 recalls. . . Brakes brakes brakes. . . I have had the brakes replaced 4 times now with 96,000 miles on it. Also the rear driver side caliper froze up and I had to replace the pads,rotor,caliper @ a cost of 250. 00. The noise from the front hubs drove me crazy!! paid 550. 00 to fix them and got bad parts off the shelf. . Then I got a notice in the mail 3 months after I fixed them about bad bearings in the front and that I can be refunded the money spent to fix them. Now im trying to fill out the paper work need for the refund. .

Incident #1: rear wheel noisy, sounded like a bad wheel bearing on the passenger side. Took it to a Chrysler 5 star dealer, they said the brake was stuck, needed 2 new rear calipers, pads, rotors, $750. Van had about 30k miles. Incident #2: rear wheel noisy, sounded like a bad wheel bearing. Checked the brakes myself, drivers side brake is stuck. Rotor is worn down, pads worn down to nothing. Fitted new pads, rotors. Van had about 50k miles. Incident #3: rear wheel noisy, sounded like a bad wheel bearing. Drivers side rear brake stuck on, wheel was nuclear hot. Probably needs new pads and rotors again! van has about 70k miles. The dealer stiffed me for expensive new calipers that weren't necessary. This is a pad/frame design problem. The pads stick in the frame and don't retract from the rotor. This is a common problem, although of course the dealer will deny it and upsell you new calipers. New vans have redesigned brakes. This van needs expensive new rear brakes every 20-30k miles due to a dangerous design error. The rear brakes can quickly wear out or get stuck on.

2008 town and country van. Rear brakes pads and rotors replaced at 12,000 miles. Left rear caliper froze shortly after, smoking and very hot. Fire hazard. Front brake pads replaced at 14,000 miles. Brakes have major issues, undersized for this vehicle? reports online indicate they need replacing as soon as every 10,000 miles. No longer think that my wife was the problem. Can someone force Chrysler into recalling this vehicle and replacing with larger braking system? must an entire family with kids perish? now wheel bearings are noisy - many online reports - related to brakes?.

2008 town and country van. Rear brakes pads and rotors replaced at 12,000 miles. Left rear caliper froze shortly after, smoking and very hot. Fire hazard. Front brake pads replaced at 14,000 miles. Brakes have major issues, undersized for this vehicle? reports online indicate they need replacing as soon as every 10,000 miles. No longer think that my wife was the problem. Can someone force Chrysler into recalling this vehicle and replacing with larger braking system? must an entire family with kids perish? now wheel bearings are noisy - many online reports - related to brakes?.

I have a Chrysler town and country 2008 minivan. I have had brake and rotor problems beginning after one year. I had front brakes pads replaced and rotors resurfaced at 11,300 miles. I did not trust Chrysler to do it. At 20,740 miles, I had to do replace front brakes and rotors again. At 22,000 miles, the car shook like a carnival ride when I applied brakes. Rear rotors were warped and they were replaced along with the caliper slides. On the rear right, the slide pin bolt was damaged. Within four months, at 24,700 miles, the rear brakes were replaced again. At 24,947, the ac hose was ruptured. Five weeks later, at 26, 869 miles, I had all brakes and rotors replaced again. This time we put in ceramic brake pads and better quality rotors. The service man notified me that the front brake rotor was very overheated with blue scorch marks. He said a possible fire could have happened due to brake caliper or collapsed brake hose issue. We hate this van. It is two years old and has cost us a fortune. Chrysler should reimburse us for all the brakes and rotors.

I have a 2008 Chrysler Town & Country that has severe brake problems. I was told the front brakes are covered under the warranty and there is a known issue with them. ( I was sent a letter concerning this by Chrysler) the same described problem occurred with the rear brakes. The calipers froze, warping the rotors and braking the pads. I was told by Chrysler that the calipers would be covered because of being defective but the damaged caused by this condition would not be covered. The vehicle only has 19,000 miles on it.

Problem 1 - the van vibrates violently when braking downhill. Changing brake pads, rotors and calipers does not repair the problem. Problem 2 - during warm weather (80 degrees and above) the wipers run continually, the powered drivers seat goes back and forth, the gauges do not work, all of the warning lights come on, the headlights come on, the stereo/nav will not work, the a/c quits cooling but the fan continues to blow, the power window will not work and the lift gate will not open.

While driving 2008 town&country on expressway experienced vibration from rear wheel and began to smell something burning. At this time I immediately slowed the vehicle and took first available exit. Checked rear tires, both ok,smelled strong burning odor coming from rear driver wheel. Rim was extremely hot, could see smoke coming from rotor & brake caliper area. Brake caliper seemed to be stuck. Had happened on previous instance approx 2months before. On previous instance dealer cleaned brake said could not find anything. This instance dealer claimed corrosion between stainless steel clips and brake pad material caused brakes to seize. I personally asked dealer to inspect parts. Stainless clips were shiny no sign of corrosion between dis-similar metals as dealer stated. Dealer stated they have witness this happening very often and admitted component design as defective, however stated Chrysler corporate offices advise not to cover under warranty as defect. Dealership replaced brake pads, but I am sure this did not fix the root cause of the issue as there were no signs of corrosion as dealer stated which would cause sticking. Also had front brakes wear out at 14k miles with rotors completely worn as well. Dealer also admitted defective but stated not covered under warranty. I am mostly concerned with the seizing of the re brake as I feel I have now 2 times been given band-aid solutions by 2 different dealerships and true root cause not established. I am concern for the safety and welfare of my family and other with regards to the seizing brake incidents and feel that expressway speeds with such an event loss of control is possible which could result in a crash. Also I have concern that this event could have potential to cause a fire as I have witnessed a burning smell and seen smoke in the area when the event had occurred. I would appreciate if this matter could be properly investigated as Chrysler is not giving it the proper attention it deserves.

1. Took my 2008 Chrysler Town & Country in to service squeaky brakes. The mechanic showed me that the pads were between 95 and 100% gone. The rotors were grooved beyond repair. He said they were having a lot of trouble with t&c's having faulty calipers, which in turn caused the brakes to wear out prematurely. 2. Mechanic's write-up said "verified customer complaint and found the rear brake calipers to be seized and not working properly. Replaced calipers and everything is ok. " the warranty only covers the calipers. My van has 30,000 miles when this came to our attention, and the brakes are worn well beyond a safe amount. The mechanic has seen multiple identical problems. 3. Calipers were replaced under warranty, new rotors and pads installed at a cost to the owner of $500.

The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler town and country. While driving approximately 45 mph, the brakes began to sequel abnormally. The noise would cease once the brakes were depressed. In addition, there was a burning odor coming from the vehicle. The failure continued to recur intermittently. The dealer discovered that the rear brake pads and rotors were destroyed and would need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired by an independent mechanic. Approximately 4 months later, the failure recurred. On one occasion, the contact noticed smoke coming from the rear passenger tire. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where she was informed that there was a failure within the calipers. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 32,000 and the current mileage was 37,000.

Consumer states that the rear brakes became hot, made a noise, and gave off a burning smell. The dealer found the pads binding in the caliper bracket and the calipers had seized. .

2008 Chrysler t&c brake issues: I had the brakes replaced at 23,000 miles and now at 30,000 the brakes are squeaking again. I was told by the dealer that it is normal wear and tear. My other vehicle has 130,000 mile and the brakes have only been replaced once. I have read many complaints about this and I am nervous to have my family drive in the vehicle. I have read about the calipers locking up as well, this could cause a very dangerous situation on the highway as well as defeat the abs feature. This needs to be investigated by NHTSA if Chrysler is failing to recognize and correct the issue.

The contact owns a 2008 Chrysler Town & Country. The contact stated that in February 2010, the rear brakes on the vehicle locked while driving approximately 25 mph. The dealer replaced the calipers and the brakes functioned normally until they failed again at 4,000 miles. The contact also stated that the front brakes on the vehicle were defective. The rotors were also warped and worn. The dealer advised him that there was a $100 deductible in order to have the vehicle repaired. The vehicle was not repaired when the complaint was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 13,000. The current mileage was approximately 18,000.

2008 t&c touring with 16,000 miles on it. Front brakes shot due to caliper failure. Dealer fixed under warranty. Dealer replaced calipers, rotors, pads and any other damaged component. Noticed a noise from back brakes a week later. Took back to dealer and they turned the back rotors. Hope they last more than 16,000 miles this time.

My 2008 town and country had to replace brake pads and rotors due to heavy noise and wear out at 12,750 miles. My mechanic suggested the caliper is defective and it causes the problem. But the dealer won't agree. So they replaced just the pads and rotor. Now at 28,000 miles, that is another 15000 miles, the same problem arises. The rotors and pads are fully gone and it has a huge noise when braking with no brake in effect.