general problems of the 2012 Chrysler Town & Country - part 1

Has had some issues trying to turn on after sitting over night. It will just kill the battery but it just started to die while driving and the entire system shuts off. All the lights, the steering wheel locks up and gas goes out. All you can do is brake and hope that you can stop in a good spot before it dies fully. This has happened a few times with my kids in the car and now I just don’t dare to drive. The tipm needs to be recalled.

My car would randomly shut down while I am driving leaving me with no power steering. I took it to my mechanic who discovered it was a faulty ignition switch module and recommended I take it to a dealership. If I touch the key fob on my car or hit a bump while it is running, the car will shut down. No power steering. There are multiple recalls for faulty ignition switch modules but not on my particular vehicle (recall l25 is one of many I have discovered). I have been carefully driving the vehicle because I don't have $1500 to repair. Dealership will fix it at my expense because there is no recall on my particular vehicle.

The contact owns a 2012 Chrysler town and country. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked unattended, he detected smoke from the vehicle, which caught fire in the rear electrical compartment. The fire department extinguished the fire. There were no reported injuries, air bag deployment or police report filed. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified about the failure. The approximate failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.

My van has 57382 miles and is wheelchair accessible, we only use it for store or doctor appt. It has been shutting off / stalling while driving. It spits & sputters then boom stalls it takes 4 or 5 time to restart but does restart for now. Does not do it every time but when it does we are on highway usually when coming to stop or slowing down to turn which has become a safety issue for all. Had it to garage multiple times, garage can't seem to find problem, no check engine light comes on no code are thrown just stops / stalls. Last incident occurred 6-6-23 but has been ongoing for months and getting worse.

The vehicle totally turns off while driving. The steering locks and brakes don't work. It has something to do with the key or ignition. It's not an engine stall. It's loss of everything as if the key was turned off. This is very dangerous.

Vehicle cuts off while driving but does not set a code. Been in three different Chrysler dealers but has not cut off with a tech at either dealership and has not set a code. Vehicle was just driven on a 3700 mile trip and did not cut off but this morning it cut off twice in our driveway. . This has been happening off and on for over one year. We have spent a ton of money looking for answers. Seems to cut off while slowing down around 30-35 miles per hour. . Extremely dangerous. Chrysler opened a star case but no answer has come forward. So very dangerous.

Vehicle sometimes simply cuts off while driving. Vehicle has not set a code. . Vehicle has been in four different Chrysler dealerships but they can not get the cutting off problem to accrue. This is extremely dangerous. Past records of the repair orders have been loss but the vehicle is in the shop today for this problem and the tech can not get the car to cut off.

The vehicle has shut down several times while driving or comi g to a stop. There is enough fuel in the tank and once the vehicle is put in park it starts right up like nothing happened. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic shop and looked at and was told there was nothing wrong with the vehicle that everything came out fine and looked fine . Has shut down several more times since that. One of the incidents happened when coming to a stop and other ES while driving. Luckily there was no vehicles behind or in front of me.

The driver-side rear sliding door lock actuator has failed to operate any longer and because of this part failure, the driver-side sliding door will not unlock or open. The safety of my family is being put at risk because should we be in an accident on the passenger side of the car, for example and "t-bone" or a roll-over that does not allow us to use the passenger side doors, everyone in the back (we have a 7-person family, 5 children in the back) will not be able to exit the minivan without climbing over the driver seat or climbing over the rear seat. And assuming the accident is severe enough to not allow us to exit on the passenger side of the car, I believe it is also safe to assume that injuries will have occurred and the children and/or adults will be unable to climb over or around seats and could be at great risk of injury trying to get out of the car by themselves or by emergency support since no access will be available for them to get safety support boards into the car or for them to get into the car and to the children safely. This problem has been confirmed by a local body shop since the door will not open or close they had to completely remove the door to get into the panel to inspect. I have not had the vehicle inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representative but it has been inspected by my mechanic and auto body shop. There were no warning lamps or messages warning of this problem or part breakage. It was a situation where we left the house and used both sliding doors and while we were out, the driver side sliding door stopped working. This appears to be a very common problem with Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/ram products and has been going on for years. There are numerous videos on youtube showing people talking about this problem and recalls have been issued for other model vehicles and need to be put in place for my vehicle as well.

Vehicle shuts off with no warning. Doors have opened on their own. Just got out of shop as could not start the vehicle or lock the doors. This has been a dangerous experience. There was a recall for this wireless ignition node module on 2008-2010. I believe this recall should be extended to the 2012 also.

Vehicle was failing to start. It would crank, but not start. Or sometimes would start and die immediately. We took it to a repair shop and said needed to go to the dealership to diagnose. Towed it to the dealership and after several days was told we needed a new tipm which would be $1500. Instead we ordered the tipm and put it in ourselves (very easy and much cheaper) but it did not resolve the problem. It is doing the same thing, and now I have paid the dealership $160 for a diagnosis and $650 for a part that I cannot return.

When we are driving on streets, the power shuts off. I can barely pull over since the power steering shuts off. There is no lights or anything. Car must be shut off and turned back on to fix the problem. I have 2 children under 2 and I am so worried about getting rear ended. Luckily it's never happened on a highway. The dealership basically said it's not their problem. Mechanics cant figure out why it shuts off . It only happened once when we bought it in the fall. Now that its warm it happens a lot.

The vehicle continually fails to start when key fob is inserted in ignition and turned. It also often fails to allow us to turn the vehicle off or remove the key. This happens year round and at various locations. We have young children and have been stranded in locations, unable to start our vehicle due to this. The vehicle is stationary when this occurs, and it typically occurs more frequently after being used. For example, I will drive to the store and when I come back out, my vehicle will be able to start.

The van is cutting off while going down the road, we have detected that it is possibly the key fab. I can play with the fab and it does kill the engine. I understand this has been a problem with other chry. , products, and could be the same problem.

Traveling on the highway at approximately 55mph the van shuts down. No power whatsoever. This has happened to us 3 times while traveling this speed on a busy road. I travel with two handicapped sons in wheelchairs and this has been a very scary experience all 3 times. Nobody can tell us what is wrong and they don't even know where to begin to look. Now my boys are confined at home without a vehicle for me to drive them.

When the vehicle is under 30 to 25 degrees outside the van will not start. I just changed the battery & I tried to start it and the van will not start and it's saying that it's 21� on the car dashboard.

Door caught fire while driving, smoke everywhere, smoke coming from under hood.

I have a 2012 Chrysler Town & Country. Its started intermittently not shifting out of park. I can shut it off and turn it back on then it will work. Sometimes I have to restart it a few times before it will work. This happens whether it is initially parked and not running, our if its already running and I put it into park and try to put it back into drive (such as putting in park to wait on a train).

I was driving on the freeway with 2 small kids in the car and a semi right behind me when my van completely shut off nothing was working. After what seemed like an eternity all the power was restored and I was able to drive to off ramp and stop. There was no warning and no lights showing a problem. Van is currently inthe shop diagnostic test showed no error code. Me and my kids could have been killed along with others as I had no control. Currently awaiting reports from mechanics.

I have been having years of problems with this vehicle. Shortly after purching it in 2015, the climate control unit started (and continues) to turn on randomly whenever it wants to, the a/c stopped working completely, and the blind spot sensors are on 100% of the time. More recently, the vehicle kept having to get jump started every morning for about 2 weeks until finally it wouldn't turn over at all. I have replaced the battery 3 times, the alternator twice (the first time after the vehicle stalling out on a major highway a long way from home), the fuel pump was just replaced, and then I find out from the garage that changed the fuel pump that the tipm needs to be replaced. I am now currently waiting for a new tipm from the dealership. I have been without a vehicle for 3 weeks now as this part is on back order. This vehicle has cost me thousands of dollars in the short time I have owned it and has been very unreliable for me and my family, including 3 children.

The blind sport radar, mopar part # 56038942aa, unit has a design flaw. The unit housing is not properly sealed to withstand moisture and the elements. Moisture gets inside the unit, shorting the electronics and rendering it useless. I had the units (there are 2) replaced at 30,000 miles and now at 70,000 miles they have shorted again with the same problem. . The cost of replacing these units is $881. 39 per unit! it is probably about 30% of the van's value at this point. This unit works as a back up sensor and blind spot detector. They are a wonderful safety feature to have on the vehicle, but I balk at the replacement price. Searching the internet, there have been many reported problems with this unit and I believe a recall should be initiated. When the unit shorts, an error message appears stating that the blind spot warning system is not available and the blind spot warning lights in the mirrors remain on at all times. This happens when I am driving.

Driver door caught fire after recalled window switch while driving. Luckily, a friend behind me had a fire extinguisher so the fire was contained to the driver door.

My blind spot sensors were malfunctioning. I brought them to a dealer that said that it is a very common issue because of a design flaw that causes water to get into the sensor housing. I just got home and removed both sensors and both are corroded from water damage that clearly entered at the seams of the housing. This is so bad that they are split open because the corrosion and there was evidence of shorting wires and melting plastic in the area where the sensors are housed in the rear bumpers. This issue was present in both sensors and after some online searches it appears that thousands of other drivers of this make/model are experiencing the same issue. Because the blind spot warning system is a safety feature I believe this should be a recalled item. If these parts are not recalled someone's failed blind spot detection sensors are going to cause an accident leading to serious injury or death (if they haven't already. ) I have contacted Chrysler about this issue and they were not willing to investigate or send a replacement part that would be sealed to prevent water damage.

The blind spot detection system stopped working. The cause is a defective sensor that shorts out due to water infiltration.

The blind spot detection system started to come on and off randomly. The system pinging/beep when nothing is near and won't work when vehicle is in the blind spot.

The automatic liftgate opened normally and moments later fell suddenly as the operator was placing items in the vehicle. The liftgate struck the operator on the head causing injury not requiring treatment. The liftgate was closed and latch engaged before the vehicle was in motion. Without warning the liftgate motor engaged while the vehicle was driving at a high rate of speed and the operator suffered property loss. The operator pulled off the highway and attempted to secure the liftgate but was unable to get the latch to engage. The operator continued to destination cautious with the liftgate opened. Once the vehicle was stopped, the operator was able to close the liftgate and engage the latch. The liftgate was secure when the operator proceeded to enter the building. Some time later, the operator was notified by a CO-worker that the vehicle liftgate was opened. The recently replaced struts are not supporting the liftgate and it falls suddenly on the operator. The liftgate od also engaging without operator initiating the action, even with the vehicle in motion.

Our Town & Country turns off while driving. Soon after it has been turned on. It has happened at low speeds and while at a stop. Once it shuts off, it won't restart until sitting for several hours. Both our local car mechanic and the Chrysler dealership have inspected the car and can't find anything wrong. No error codes show up. Thankfully it has only happened while I've been in relatively safe situations, like parking lots or backing out of my garage. But the safety concerns are huge, if this happens in an intersection or highway. There was a formal investigation done in 2014 with regards to the timp, of which the town and country was ultimately not included. Attched are repair invoices from both our mechanic and from the Chrysler dealership.

Blind spot detectors fail. On line reports show many complaints on this safety issue. It is a very valuable accident avoidance option.

Vehicle goes totally dead while driving. Engine dies and all electrical systems fail. Speeds do not matter. Intermittent problem. Diagnostic test revealed nothing. Suspect egr valve problem as issue after reviews of similar problems discussed on forums on-line.

On our 2012 town and country , we had replaced tipm on 2/18. After replacement , vehicle would still turn off in mid-drive , not turn on at all nor turnover many times . I believe it's a huge safety issue to not have any codes show up, the dealer after replacing tipm ( parts and labor $1400), they can't find issue which causes a large safety concern as my girlfriend and children are left to drive a vehicle that can intermittently turn off mid drive . It seems manufacturers know of this problem but no recalls have been issued nor a fix .

The vehicle, from the time I bought it, has stalled while driving it for no reason. It has 68k miles on it and it's happened 7 times. The dealership can not duplicate this problem but at this point, it's very unsafe. The last time it occurred I was getting into the left lane to make a left on a very busy road and the car just stopped. No power steering, nothing. Stalled. Imagine I was in the middle of this road with no steering and no gas? extremely unsafe. This car is a lemon. Dodge needs to take this car off the road. A family is going to be killed in it. So unsafe!!!! each time it's happened I've been so lucky to be on a side road or slowing down to stop or turn. Thank god iv not been on the expressway while it happened.

2012 town and country van, message center displayed to service blind spot system. System beeps and lights stay lit on mirrors. Went to dealer and was scanned to find out the per the tech, "module/sensor is bad near the bumper. It was priced out at 1195. 00 for just the part. I really need this system to work as there are blind spost and no way can I afford these parts. This is a 2012 and there are 47,932 miles on it. Is there any way I can get some assistance repairing/replacing these parts so it will work. Doing some research I see there have been several problems of this nature involving Chryslers. This message is displayed all the time the vehicle is in motionthank you. Lawrence bennion.

The power lift gate was open and collapse on to my wife head , and will not stay up and will not latch either to close the door the car was parked and my wife was loading grocery in the trunk and it gave out hit her in the head as she was loading!!.

The vehicle I have shuts down while I am driving. The Chrysler dealership has tried to fix the problem but has not been able to fix it. 1. The following actions were performed by the mechanic software update engine control unit on 26 January 2017 but this did not fix it the problem and kept shutting while driving. 66. 60 euros. 2. Mechanic test drove vehicle and since the problem did not occur asked us to bring the vehicle back in a week. Problem not fix. 3. On 16 March 2017 the vehicle was taken back to Chrysler dealership. Read error memory, error code; kw-NW sensor faulty. Fuses, connectors, control unit verified evap system checks wiring verified vtt test performed. Crankshaft sensor, camshaft sensor, sealant suction bridge thickening, motors oi 5w 30 replaced. This did not fix the problem. 305,23 euros spent. 4. Spark plugs replaced on 7 April 2017 but this did not fix the problem. 192,74 euros spent. Then I left my vehicle for 11 days in the Chrysler dealership from 18 April to 28 April. Engine pressure check camshafts and crankshaft sensor and reprogrammed vehicle. Also, they told me that they took apart the evc and welded a cable. 85 euros spent. The following day the car shut off while driving again. I had asked the dealership what I needed to do if the vehicle shut off again. They told me to sell the car or junk it. I asked how I can sell a defective vehicle that's 5 years old? they told me to contact Chrysler customer care. I am awaiting answer from Chrysler customer care. Reference number 35128943. I have almost had accidents because of this and inform Chrysler this. Should I be seeking legal action against Chrysler? should Chrysler buy my vehicle back? what are my options? I am currently living in germany but purchase the vehicle in the USA.

The blind spot system warning light remains on and constantly dings. This is a safety issue because the vehicle has poor visibility and this system is necessary to help prevent accidents. The constant dinging is a distraction to the driver. Many other owners have complained of this problem and the dealer admitted that they see other vehicles with the problem. This type of vehicle is often driven by moms with children. Not being able to determine if there is another vehicle in the driver's blind spot may cause serious accidents. The dealer reported that both the module and connector have failed due to corrosion. The repair bill was reported as $1638. 00. This problem is widespread. When contacting Chrysler customer service, was told that the warranty had expired and that they repair would not be covered under any other customer loyalty plan. I requested that the representative review my complaint with the supervisor or manager and she refused to take my problem further up in the organization. She told me I should have purchased the extended warranty. Electrical parts should be designed so that they are not affected by corrosion. Chrysler should be required to fix the problem and ensure that the design is changed to prevent corrosion in the future. Headlamps, for example, are subjected to weather and moisture and are designed to operate for the life of the vehicle. This system should have had the same design requirements to guard against the affects of corrosion. Chrysler should stand behind their designs and make the necessary design changes and not expect their customers to foot a $1600. 00 repair bill.