Engine Belts And Pulleys Problems of Plymouth Grand Voyager - part 2

I have problems with my wipers going on and right back off since the month I bought this vehicle in 2000 . I cant get it fixed because noone knows why it does it . Just this week I had my fan relay module replaced , only to learn my transmission is now not worknig it stops at 3rd gear only to drop to 1 gear . While trying to get that fixxed they told me my water pump is leaking (which is ok and expected of most vehicles , ) I have had to have my dash light computer reset because all my ac dfrost and wiper lights were blinking continuously. I dont know what to do this is only a 97 model and I havent even made my final payment but now I have all these expensive repairs. I have had I tick in my motor that rattles on acceleratin forever and change my oil every 3 to 4000 miles like I should . I also have the winning in the steering the thump every so often but cant tell where that is coming from not to mention my a/c compressor rattles. My belt on my tensioner pully flu aff about 6 months ago going down the road I had to put a new pukky plus both new belts on . And they squeek like crazy . I dont think these are normal problems can you help it is getting to costly >??????.

See all problems of the 1997 Plymouth Grand Voyager 🔎.

Transmission apparantly failing to shift, seems stuck in 2nd as vehicle has no horsepower and will not accelerate over about 25-30mph (can't tell speed), will not shift gears (reverse still works). At the same time the speedometer stopped working and check engine light came on. No other apparant side effects (I. E. A/c still works, belts intact, fuses ok). Occurred while operating with passengers (age 5 and 5-mos. Old) - why would Chrysler corp. Allow such an apparant safety hazard to exist? this vehicle has been well-maintained and has just over 40,000-miles - is this all Chrysler products are good for? recall?.

See all problems of the 1999 Plymouth Grand Voyager 🔎.

While driving the bolt that holds the serpentine belt tentioning pulley shears off causing it to spring into the engine compartment. This causes lack of power steering, increased pressure needed for braking. This part may break fuel lines brake lines or struts, it may also lead to motor damage. My mechanic said that the bolt shears off periodicly with no warning even though chyrsler company has no TSB for this part.

See all problems of the 2000 Plymouth Grand Voyager 🔎.

Owner drove over a puddle and the splash knocked the serpentine belt off of the pulleys. Power steering was lost, engine began to overheat, and the minivan needed to be towed to service station to have the serpentine belt replaced.

See all problems of the 1998 Plymouth Grand Voyager 🔎.

We purchased our Grand Voyager with about 14,000 miles on it. It now has about 67,000 miles on it and we have been through approximately 6 serpentine belts and 4 belt tensioners. We have been through 1 belt per year at least since we bought the vehicle. The dealership never acknowledged that there was a defect in the engine that kept causing the belt to become mis-aligned, start squeaking, and eventually rip apart. The problem is more severe in hot weather and we have about 5 months of 90 degree weather where we are. Our own mechanic has started shimming the belt tensioner, which seems to prolong belt replacement time but does not solve the problem. He believes the problem is that the hole that was drilled to install the tensioner and/or pulley is drilled at the wrong angle or not lined up correctly. Our only consolation is that the squeaking gives us warning about the state of the belt.

Serpentine belt slipped off while driving 10 mph on a wet road surface. This was the third time this problem occurred. Dealer was notified.

If the van goes through a puddle in the road air conditioner compressor belt slides off engine. When this occurs vfehicle loses power steering and stalls because the battery is drained.

The serpentine belt falls off and the vehicle must be towed. This is even after we paid to have a bracket installed & tensioner per TSB to prevent this from reoccurring. This is the second time the belt has fallen off. Chrysler should not provide a product in which the vehicle must be towed due to a design defect. Chrysler should not provide a service which would lead the consumer to believe that the design defect is remedied. ( is this not fraud?) also, this failure mode causes a situation in which the vehicle must be towed - how is this not a safety issue?.

While having our car serviced under clockspring recall, they found the serpintine belt tensioner frozen and water pump leaking coolant. The dealer gave us an estimate of $566 to replace the serpentine belt, tensioner, water pump, and coolant flush. The dealer told us the belt could fail at any moment.

The info I just provided was the most recent. I bought the van used with 22,000 miles and since then I have lost 6 serpentine belts and nobody will help me with the problem. I have spent over 1,000$ in the attempts to get the problem fixed and this last time I just did it myself is why the cost is so low. I have been told by two top mechanics in my area that the belt is not lined up right and there is no adjusting it. The problem is from the factory they tell me. Nobody will help me though because it is not a recall. Maybe this will help the next guy.

The brake system was defective, there were burn like smells, and noises, the clock spring was inoperative and caused other problems, and the squeaking serpentine belt had gone bad. Scc.

Consumer states that if driving in the rain and vehicle hits a water puddle, water splashes onto the serpentine belt and it comes off. As a result, vehicle loses power steering. Consumer very concerned that if turning and problem occurs driver will not be able to turn vehicle and possibly crash. Dlr also advised consumer that mfr is aware of problem. Nlm.

At 600 miles, instrument cluster failed, a/c not working, no reverse. Dealer replaced instrument cluster, could not duplicate the no reverse condition, and replaced the a/c fuse. At 6,363 miles, transmission slipping and scraping noise when turning left in reverse. Dealer could not duplicate. At 7,586 miles, no start condition on numerous occasions, after the dealer had the van for over a week, they finally duplicated the problem and and replaced the starter. At 36,141 miles the serpentine belt broke because of a defective tensioner pulley, dealer replaced the belt and tensioner, supposed goodwill, but we all know about the TSB, and all the other complaints. At 36,741 miles, leaking coolant, dealer replaced the rear head gasket, and did not even check the front head. (now who ever heard of replacing one head gasket on a v-6 motor, I guess Chrysler must think they are superior). At 53,000 complete engine failure, 2 hours away from home, and now waiting to see what the cause is. According to the service manager the motor is knocking and there is a lot of metal in the oil. And I forgot to mention that this vehicle has not even fulfilled the lease term. Nlm.

Two serpentine belts have broken within a month. Dealer notified. When the serpentine belt failed for the third time, the dealer replaced the entire tensioner assembly and no problem has occurred since then.

In September of 2000 we replaced the belt tensioner. The car had about 33000 miles on it. In January or so we had to replace a valve cover gasket because oil was leaking and we were losing oil. The van had 39000 miles on it. The manufacturer was contacted and would not accomodate us even though the dealership said there was only one cause of the problem at that milage - manufacturer's defect. Then we just foundout this week at 48000 miles that we need a valve and ring job because the car was burning oil. We had been burning oil since before the valve cover gasket. We've been told by the dealership (not the one we purchased the car from, which was a small independent company) and the manufacturer that the repair will not be covered because we didn't complain of burning oil before. (of course, the oil was being lost prior to the valve cover gasket problem but they said we weren't specific about burning oil. We had attributed the lost oil to the leak.

Serpentine belt tensioner bolt sheared off, resulting in loss of power steering/ engine cooling/ and alternator function. Very difficult to repair as to limited engine compartment clearance.

See all problems of the 1996 Plymouth Grand Voyager 🔎.

I was traveling at about 60 mph on interstate 85 north in atlanta, GA when I heard a loud bumping noise under the vehicle. I looked in the rear view miror and saw somthing rolling on the road. I lost power steering and the vehicle was very difficult to control. I managed to get to safe spot off the road and looking under the hood I discovered my water pump pulley was off and laying on the splash pan. The serpentine belt tensioner pulley had also fallen off and was what I had seen rolling in the road. I had the vehicle towed to a five star Chrysler dealership in stone mountain, GA where the maintenance supervisor said it just wore out and he had seen them fall off in less mileage than mine had. I complained that it was a manufactures defect and should not have just sudenly fallen off with no warning. I was left with no choice but to have it repaired. They charged me just under $400. 00 to replace the water pump and put a new tensioner pulley on it. Towing cost me $85. 00 and a rental vehicle $79. 00. The dealer maintenance supervisor even had the nerve to ask me if I wanted to get a 60000 mile check up while they were working on it. I told him no thanks the vehicle never made it to 60000 miles. I have not complained to Chrysler because I felt I would get the same cold treatment that I got from the dealership in stone mountain where I was stranded over 100 miles away from home. I once thought Chrysler made good quality vehicles but no more.

While pulling up to an intersection I heard a clunk under the van like I had something hit the undercarriage of the van. I went to turn and had no power steering. After pulling off the side of the road I found the serpentine belt hanging loose. I went to a service station and they found that the bolt securing the tensioner pulley had broken and the tensioner was gone. The dealership that we got the parts from told our mechanic that they have requests for two or three of the tensioners a week due to the same problem. It cost almost $400 to fix the problem.

Serpentine belt keeps falling off whenever vehicle goes through any water. When this happens there is no steering. Consumer feels this could easily cause an accident.

Serpentine belt broke, and without prior warning vehicle shut off. There were no lights or power . Vehicle had to be towed. Dealership was aware of problem.

The serpentine belt and tensioner failed while driving in the rain, the driver hit a puddle on the right side of the van and the belt popped off resulting in loss of power steering, the consumer believes the belt should have been replaced under warrenty and the consumer is requesting reimbursement for the repairs. Nlm.

Vehicle lost power & loud sounds started coming from under vehicle. The ding noise from inside kept ringing although vehcle was shut off. Battery had to be disconnected. Dealer said that they had to work on the serpentine belt before they could determine anything else was wrong. Bu tit had to be done at consumer's cost. Warranty didn't cover this component.

While stopped at stop sign, driver heard loud pop. Driver pulled forward but unable to steer vehicle. Bolt holding serpentine belt tensioner sheared off, dropping tensioner into engine compartment. Vehicle towed to service station for repair. Additional damage to flywheel discovered due to tensioner falling into moving engine parts. Noted this problem in other NHTSA complaint reports on web. Fortunately car was stopped at time of incident. Bolts should not shear like this.

While driving in a mall parking lot, made a turn and heard a loud bang. Steering wheel locked up. I managed to turn the wheel to avoid hitting a parked car and brought the van to a stock. Inspection found that the retaining bolt holding the belt tensioner pulley had snapped off causing the serpentine belt to come off and resulting in power steering failure. Inspection of the failed bolt by aircraft mechanics revealed that the bolt may have had as many as 5 internal stress cracks. Contacted Chrysler who took care of the repair,immediately. Repairs were made at the dealers the same day. Damaged parts were taken to the dealer service department. I was surprised to find out that this retaining bolt is not rated for high stress. If the breakage had happened at high speed it could have caused a serious accident. Suggest that these bolts be inspected and replaced at around 30,000 miles. Or replaced with a rated bolt. Locked up. Managed to turn the wheel and bring the van to a stop. Found that the bolt that retains the idler pulley and tensioner had snapped off, causing the serpantine belt to come off, resulting in power steering failure. Examination of the snapped bolt by aircraft mechanics indicated 5 possible stress cra.

This is the second time this has happened. The first time was 2 months after purchase. An exceptional amount of rain had fallen and many roads had standing water on them. While negotiating one spot (approx. 6-12 in) all power steering ability was lost. Assuming the belt was wet continued to drive until warning light and signal showed overheating. Discovered that serpentine belt had fallen off. Dealer replaced and informed that incident had been reported to Plymouth. Today same problem. Attempting to negotiate several instances of water, less than 25mph and suddenyl, no power steering. Personally reported to Plymouth and was informed that they had not heard any instances of this failure. Questioned dealer and was informed that they had seen it happen several times. Initial problem: tension pully has no edge to hold belt on if water gets between pulley and belt. Pulley is also smooth which causes belt to slip. Result: loss of power steering, loss of charging to battery, loss of power to drive headlights/wipers/air conditioning. Dangerous result: loss of control/visibility. Solution(?): replace smooth pulley with one that has edges and put grooves of some sort on the pulley to allow water to be sheeted off if it comes between the pulley and the belt.

While pulling into a shoppiing center sepentine belt tensioner that bolts into the engine broke and fell off. Van was towed to dealership and corrected at owner's expense. Please provide any further details.

The bolt holding the idler pulley broke rendering the cooling system, power steering, etc. Useless. Luckily, the vheicle was operating at low speed, and my wife was able to handle the vehicle. This has happened twice, and the van has only 35000 miles!.

I have two pages of detailed accounts of my serptine belt being shredded and breaking and tensioners going bad on my 96 Plymouth Grand Voyager. Please email or call me and I will be more than happy to provide you a mailed or faxed copy of all accounts, receipts, and details of my numerous visits to local and Plymouth garages trying to fix these problems. I have owned the van for only 9 months but have already spent 2,000 dollars in repairs, towing expenses and parts. Please provide any help possible in this matter. Thank you.

The original serpentine belt shredded at 18,000 miles on 1/1/1999. The replacement serpentine belt shredded 6,000 miles later on 11/23/1999. The tensioner and belt were replaced and the belt shredded again 12,000 miles later on 4/14/2001.

The self tensioner failed to work properly. Had taken to dealer & informed that the surpentine belt came off the pulley. The engine motor system stopped working.

Chrsler dealer refuses to provide copy of service bulliten no. 070299, NHTSA item sb606159 concerning serpentine belt slipping off tensioner idler pulley.

While driving in rainy conditions the serpentine belt came off, disabling the power system, which may cause an accident. Happened 4 times. . Dealer cannot determine problem. Please provide further information.

Vehicle lost all power when the serpentine belt sheared off completely. Vehicle started to smoke in addition, water pump leaking . Power steering pump pulley cracked.

Serpentine belt and tensioner failed several times resulting in steering lock up.

Serpentine belt failed due to incorrct pulley design, causing equipment shutdown, including water pump/alternator/power steering, etc.