Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan 2005+

307web · May 2005

Does Mopar or any aftermarket vendor make a divider net for Chrysler vans that will prevent loose objects from flying forward to the front seats and dogs from climbing forward out of the rear area?

Actually, what I am talking about is more substantial than a net. The ones I've seen in European wagons (Mercedes, Volvo etc.) look more like a fence that stands vertically behind the seats.

marine2 · May 2005

Auburn Hills, Mich., Jun 07, 2004 -Due to the popularity of Chrysler Group's 2005 Chrysler and Dodge Minivans with the Stow 'n Go TM seating and storage system, the company today announced plans to invest $113 million at its St. Louis (Missouri) South Assembly Plant to accommodate increased Stow 'n Go production. The investment will be put towards the tooling, facility and process changes needed to add flexibility, enabling the plant to build short-wheelbase, long-wheelbase and Stow 'n Go minivans on the same production line. Previously, Chrysler Group only manufactured Chrysler and Dodge minivans with Stow 'n Go at its Windsor (Ontario) Assembly Plant.

tamu2002 · May 2005

Man, what a journey it has been! My wife and I went back and forth between the Quest and the DGC SXT. This evening we finally made the committment and bought a base S model Quest for $650 under invoice (yes, you read right). After the 2K rebate, the price was $21751, and we paid a hair below $24K out of the door. The van has standard side curtain airbags, traction control, 4 wheel disk ABS, power passenger side door, power liftgate, parking sonar assist, power rear flip out window, and of course the small stuff like floor mats, splash guards, microfilter, cargo cover and cargo organizer.

It came down to the price. To get all those things in an SXT, we would've paid about $23K, 1K more than the Nissan. We tried real hard in the beginning to get the DGC, but sort of gave up on it once we realized it wasn't gonna happen for $22K. The feature we miss the most in the Caravan is the 3rd row plit seating. We love the 2nd row stow-n-go as well, but the Quest's 2nd row almost folds flat although without the two storage wells. On the other hand, we love the Quest's vast head and leg room, big and comfy seats, and its modern querky looks inside and out

We also considered the base model Quest which doesn't have the power door and hatch and rear sonar but is $15K cheaper. Finally we decided it'd be worth paying the extra for the added convenience. BTW, the Dodge salesperson was very nice to work with. Happy motoring everybody :shades:

marine2 · May 2005

I think you also made a good buy. I think you'll be glad you spent a few thousand more for those extras. After the good looks of the van wears off, you'd really wish you had stuff like power doors, hatch and etc. Especially for the little woman. You got them without having to give up an arm and a leg to get them.

fish8 · May 2005

Congrats on your new van. As long as you and your family are happy that is all that really matters!!! Good luck!!

tamu2002 · May 2005

Thanks fish! I very much appreciated your pricing information on the Caravan. Too bad we didn't get the SXT, oh well maybe next time

bdc2020 · June 2005

Please, can someone tell me when one of the DOMESTIC lines (GM, FORD, Chrysler) will finally offfer 2nd row roll down windows like the Mazda, Toyota and now Honda ???

Does anyone know of 2006 changes?

marine2 · June 2005

They might, but they are a waste. Honda would have been smarter making their rear, wing windows open and motorized like Chrysler did. You can't really drive with those second row windows open without getting a helicopter wind effect on the inside of the van. With the rear wing windows open, you allow a/c, heat and even outside air brought in through the air vents, to circulate all through your van much better than if they were closed. I keep mine open almost constantly.

1997montez34 · June 2005

When we were shopping for a minivan it was a major issue that I noticed with the Odyssey. The '99-'04 Odyssey has these. The rear vent windows are incredibly useful for "clearing the air" inside the cabin. I couldn't believe Honda deleted this item.

Roll down 2nd row windows are a great selling point, but I have to say I've never missed them on my DGC. I would definitely miss my power rear vent windows. That said, I am almost positve the '07 DCX vans will have roll-down 2nd row windows. I just hope they keep the power vents as well.

bdc2020 · June 2005

I hope u are right. We are giving the domestics one more year to add them, and then if not, going foreign. they work great, and the toyota and mazda have the rear quarter openings in addition to the 2nd row as well. Especially for people who get car sick riding the back, the 2nd row roll down can't be beat. They are obviously wanted as manufacturers are adding them and not deleting them.

mrblonde49 · June 2005

I personally never saw the value since we have our 2 little kids riding in the middle seats all the time. maybe when they get a lot bigger we'd use them

badgerfan · June 2005

Some people may think roll down second row windows are important, but if I had to choose, fold down into the floor second row seats are much more important!

Seriously, we almost never use any of our opening windows, front or rear. Too much outside noise and wind blowing in.

Occasionally we use the rear wing windows but that is about it. AC in the summer, heat in the winter, and vent in between as needed.

marine2 · June 2005

If someone gets sick in my van, I'm pulling off the road and letting them upchuck outside. Can you imagine trying to upchuck out the window in a moving van? Hope no one else is the back seats. Not to mention the side of the van.

You can't open them when on the highway or when doing any speed at all in the city because of wind. I don't see much use for them at all except slow city driving or using them in a drive in restaurant

But if you would buy foreign just because they have a roll down side window, go buy it. There are more things I can use or want besides that. Stow-n-go I can use and no one else has that.

hansienna · June 2005

WHEN will the 2006 models appear? Some DC dealers are now selling more USED 2005 GC than new. They are abused rental and fleet vehicles that do not have the 7 year 70,000 Powertrain Warranty and none of them have Stow 'N Go seating. Just your very basic, stripper model. :sick:

masterpaul1 · June 2005

If Daimlerchrysler puts roll down second row windows on their next redesign, the power doors will be effected big time. Right now, Daimlerchrysler minivans are the only one's with the power door motor right inside the door. That's why they are so easy to operate manually during the open/close phase with out fighting against the motor. If the power door motor stops working, you can easily use the doors manually as if they had no power to begin with little to no resistance from the power motor. I know for a fact that there is little to no resistance in opening/closing between the power and non power sliding door, since we have one of each on our van. (They are both easy to open and close). Also, with roll down second row windows, this will make the doors heavier with all the stuff inside the door to make the windows work. With roll down second row windows, they might have to place them in the body of the van. :shades:

ottsm · June 2005

As others of stated, I'm not sure how important it is to have rear windows going down anymore. I do like the sun shades for the rear windows that Honda has. Before I purchased my T&C I test drove the Honda, I might have purchased it if it would have been cheaper then the T&C, I liked the interior but the quality of the car is suspect. I didn't try the rear windows, does anyone know if they go down the entire way like the old cars use to? I though they prevented this from happening for safety reasons back in the 80's? 99% of the time my windows are up and the AC is on, the other 1% is when I first get in the car and it's hot, then I use the sun roof & rear vents to get the hot air out or when I go to the bank or a toll road and have to put down the drivers window. I don't think I've even tried the passenger side window yet. If you go to the Honda forum you will probably see complaints about the lack of rear vents. It's one of the reasons other then price that pointed me in the direction of the T&C. I think if Chrysler would add a 2nd glove box, sun shades, 8th seat & conversation mirror they would be better off then adding the rear roll down windows.

ottsm · June 2005

I took my 2005 T&C limited on a 6 hour trip from WV to Ohio, about 340 miles one way not including the city driving we did when we got there. I got 25 MPG according to the trip computer. Thats going about 67 MPH. I also tested it the old way, at the pump. Of course that included the entire trip both highway & city, so it was about 23 MPG. City traffic varies for me. I live 3 miles from work, I'm only getting 16.8 MPG under these conditions. When I go to town and the city driving we did on the trip it's more like the stated 18 MPG.

marine2 · June 2005

Have you ridden in the Honda with someone, with second row, roll down windows on the highway? The wind vibration coming into the van, not to mention the noise, would be uncomfortable as heck. If fresh air is what is needed, all most van owners has to do is turn on the fan and open the rear wing windows. There is a good air flow all through the van without the wind, noise or vibration that comes from rolling down the window. Also rolling down the window, puts much of the wind on the person sitting next to you and not on yourself. They get to eat most of the dirt and bugs that fly in with the air.

dennisctc · June 2005

:P Mine came with sunroof too....nice spring day with rear wings vents and sunroof popped up are great

hansienna · June 2005

Fresh air? In many metropolitan areas there is no such thing as fresh air with all the car, truck, bus, etc. fumes.
Dramamine has been the suggested item for a person to take to avoid motion sickness. Have Doctors been wrong all these years?

dennisctc · June 2005

Hey, compared to the 60s, 70s, and even early 1900s.....our cities' air have never been cleaner!!! Just check the number of smog alerts in LA recently verses 30 years ago. I'm some cases, the air coming out of exhaust is cleaner than air going in!

marine2 · June 2005

How many times have you seen a minivan driving around with their rear windows open? I have yet to see it. Ony at school, setting, waiting to pick up kids.

dennisctc · June 2005

I purchased the table/storage bin for my SXT van. After one camping trip, using it to hold my coleman stove, it's beginning to sag!!! My stove is not one of those huge ones...just a 2 burner with a small propane canister.

marine2 · June 2005

Don't know anything about them except for the picture I saw of it. But if it's sagging, I'd sure as heck take it back.

crabland · June 2005

Been shopping for the Caravan and can't decide if I need to pay more for leather seats for durability. I like the look of the fabric seats but am worried about how they will wear. Specifically, the stretchy fabric on the back and bottom of the seats worries me. Have any owners had issues with the fabric wearing or wrinkling or seams shifting? Are these seats new for 2005?

Thanks.

dennisctc · June 2005

The only thing you need to worry about is wear. Wrinkling or Seams shifting can't happen with DCX's seat. It's hard to explain but the seats are molded for shape, and that mat'l is bonded to the foam mat'l, therefore no shifting or wrinkles possible. This design has been around since 1996 design (the manufacturing process).

badgerfan · June 2005

I second dennisctc remarks. For what it is worth our 1996 Caravan with fabric seats (slightly upper level SE Sport model with four captains chairs and bench in third row), even the drivers seat still looks good at 82K miles, including a lot of short hops with driver getting in and out fairly often. Just an almost unnoticeable amount of wear on the fabric. It is holding up very well. I cannot tell you if the seating material itself is better or worse on the 2005's but the molded to the foam fabric design is doing very well. I would rather have fabric than leather as it is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

csam · June 2005

We have a 2005 T&C with 8k miles, which we bought 31-Dec. My wife drives it and loves it. Around 4k miles she started noticing a vibration when she used the brakes. It got progressively worse so we took it in. The dealer said that the rotors had warped, there was a recall notice that was about to go out, and replaced the rotors (work order didn't list replacing the pads). We're now at 8k miles and we're back at the dealer for the same issue. They're replacing the rotors and pads today. The service manager has told my wife that it is her driving, and that this would be the last time they replaced the rotors. We live in a hilly area, but it takes 10min max to get off the hill into the flat area where she does most of her driving.
1) Ive searched and I cant find a recall notice for brakes. Has anyone else experienced this issue?
2) Whats the escalation process? Ive never had a problem like this. I like the van, but Im not going to risk wife and kids nor replace brakes every 4k miles.

As for my wifes driving, I dont see that as the issue. Tire wear is normal and she put 135k on a 98 Ford Explorer without issue. My 03 Dakota has not had an issue, nor a need for brake servicing and it has 24k miles. 89 ranger lasted 180k. So its not the road conditions.

Any help or insight would be appreciated.

shipo · June 2005

There are three other things that routinely cause "Warped Rotors" (although that is something of a misnomer):

1) When tires are rotated, technicians are typically in habit of using an impact wrench to remove and replace the lug nuts (or bolts depending on the car). The problem here is that pneumatic impact wrenches are at best imprecise, and have been known to apply torque well in excess of 200 lb-ft while spec is more like 85-90. That extra torque is a very common cause of a truly warped rotor.

2) Improper pad "bedding" process. Brake pads need to be properly broken in or "bedded" to the rotor before they will operate at peak efficiency. Said bedding process entails gradually transferring certain pad deposits from the pad itself to the surface of the rotor, and is usually achieved by a series of medium speed and medium intensity "slows" (ie. without stopping), intermixed with at least thirty seconds of driving to allow the rotors to cool. If done improperly, part of the surface of the rotor will have more stopping power than other parts, and can be felt in the brake pedal as a mild pulsing sensation.

3) If item number 2 is left too long without being corrected then your rotors can develop a "Hot Spot" or "Hard Spot" (depending upon the vernacular of where you live), which is basically the retempering of a portion of the rotor. When this happens (and it can happen as the result of quite a few other reasons as well), a portion of the rotor has a different level of hardness when compared to the rest of the rotor, and can be felt in the brake pedal (and usually the seat of the pants as well) as a strong pulsing sensation.

I have seen a few other scenarios that can cause your pulsing problems, although never on DC Minivans (at least not yet). The most common (short of worn out brake components) is where the caliper is for some reason not perfectly square with the rotor. That can cause the top of one pad to wear first while the bottom of its opposing pad will wear first. As a result of this situation, the rotor becomes heated very unevenly and can be damaged as a result, once again, manifesting itself as a pulsing sensation in the brake pedal.

Were I in your shoes, I'd buy new pads and rotors from a reputable parts supplier (I use NAPA), and perform a complete brake job myself (and buy a torque wrench if you don't already have one and properly torque the lug nuts). Assuming that this option is not in the cards for you, I would first have a look at who rotates your tires. Did they use a torque wrench or an impact wrench? If the tires weren't rotated (or otherwise removed and replaced) before the first "Warped Rotor" event, then I'd think about having your pads checked for squareness (top to bottom). If they are not square, then they've been forced to wear unevenly by a possibly bent or otherwise flawed caliper or caliper mount.

I hope some of this is helpful. Keep us posted.

Best Regards,
Shipo

csam · June 2005

Thanks Shipo,

Your feedback is very helpful. With regards to:
1) Tire rotation  Hasnt occurred yet, but good input.
2) Bedding process - How many miles does this take to occur, 300 or so? Since we travel down a hill would you suggest using the transmission during this period to help offload brake use?

Ill ask the service folks whether they saw an issue with squareness. I infer from your response that the pads would show this.

Going forward, I dont feel that root cause has been identified and that is what Im looking for Chrysler to commit to. I could do the work, but Im in the warranty period so for me it is a matter of principle. Ill have to look back through my warranty to see how long Im covered.

I doubt that they did this, but what effect would replacing the rotors but not the pads have (since it wasnt specified by the dealer in the first work order)?

Thanks again for your help.

shipo · June 2005

Hmmm, okay, a little more information to work with.

The bedding process usually takes a couple of hundred miles to be sure, however, when using used pads (ie. the friction surface isnt perfectly flat and smooth) with new rotors (ie. nearly perfect and flat face), you should figure a little longer. Having said that, two years ago when we ordered our 2003 GC ES, the plan was to trade in our 1998. When the new van came in we did in fact provisionally trade in the 1998 (I say provisionally because wed lost our title during a move from another state and so we technically still owned the 1998), however two days later we decided that since my mother-in-law was arriving a month or so later, and going to be staying for a couple of months, having a third car around would be quite handy.

I went back to the dealership and found that while they hadnt found a buyer for it yet, they had done a little work on it before putting it on their used car lot. They did agree to allow me to essentially buy it from them for the amount of the credit theyd given us on the 2003 plus whatever work theyd performed on it. It turned out that they had touched up the paint in a couple of spots (no surprise for a van with 70,000 NYC Metro Area miles), and for some odd reason, they decided to change the front rotors. I have yet to figure that one out because I had just done a full front brake job on it six months (and maybe 15,000 miles) prior, and had mounted brand new rotors in the process. When I questioned why I was being asked to pay for a partial brake job when the existing brakes were only six months old, they were unable to answer and in the end, removed that from our bill. Go figure. Anyway, shortly after getting the 1998 back, I noticed a slight pulsation in the brake pedal, and attempted to re-bed the pads to the rotors a couple of times. No joy. As of a couple of months ago the pulsation had gotten so bad that I was quite sure that the rotors were by then basically junk, forcing me to do yet another brake job on it, needless to say with new pads and rotors yet again. Two years? That's not too bad. Well, it is when you consider that the 1998 is our third car and has less than 10,000 miles of driving under its belt since we got it back.

I told you all of that as a way of suggesting that replacing the rotors may not be enough to eradicate the problem. Said another way, Im not at all convinced that your two apparent rotor failures were caused by the same thing. So, what is the root cause? I dont actually know, however, my bet is that if you get the rotors AND pads replaced, and if you are then able to properly bed them in, you should probably be able to get a more normal thirty to forty-five thousand out of them.

Best Regards,
Shipo

97xpresso · June 2005

I hate to side with the dealer on this, but I'm willing to bet your wife is hard on the brakes. It took me a long time to get used to driving my 2001 Caravan without excessive brake usage. I'm sure you have noticed, that when you take your foot off the gas, the van does not slow down at all, unless going up hill. Going downhill, the van will run away from you. That being said, brakes are cheaper than a transmission repair. I will down-shift to prevent the vehicle from going too fast, but i will NEVER downshift to slow down the vehicle. There is big difference between the two. My ex would either have her foot on the gas or on the brake, she could not grasp the concept of not having to have your foot on either, while maintaining following distance or anticipating red lights in the distance.

marine2 · June 2005

Not sure why rotors would go out in such a short time, especially when your other vehicle didn't, going down the same hill. But the dealer should have replaced both pads and rotors at the same time. By not doing so, you had perfect rotors and pads that had to be off because of having warped rotors the first time. I am surprised you didn't feel it right from the start.

I think I would also ask the dealer if he said there was going to be a recall on those rotors, was he putting the same kind on there that they are recalling. So far, your's is the only one I have heard having brake problems. I would think if they were thinking of recalling the van for that problem, we would be getting all kinds of complaints on them, but we're not. At least not that I have read about.

chuckg · June 2005

csam- This link will describe the procedure for bedding your brakes:

http://www.zeckhausen.com/bedding_in_brakes.htm

fish8 · June 2005

Anyone purchase touchup paint for their van. We have a '05 T&C and this weekend when we opened the rear door it hit the garage door metal handle and it cause two 1/4 inch (maybe smaller) scrapes above the Chrysler emblem. Almost down to the metal. I have a dealer near my office that I will run to during lunch. I think this will help the eppearance. This sickens me to see these 2 blemishes on a bran new van. Oh well, it was going to happen eventually......anyone know the cost?

tomtomtom · June 2005

Don't feel too bad. It happened to me the second day I got my new van in 2001.

dennisctc · June 2005

Well, it's only a vehicle, and even just driving it on the road causes constant nicks etc..

What Ts me off..... Few weeks ago I was in Olive Garden parking lot. Some women in a Taurus pulls up next to me, SLAMS open her door into my car. It was as if she kicked her door open. I was sitting in my car at the time!!!!!! I rolled down the window and gave her a few choice words. Luckily, It was my company Taurus, which is the biggest POC car I've ever had - bar none!!!!

marine2 · June 2005

I always try and park where I can protect one side of my van. Either at the end of the row, next to a handycap space, or next to one of those curbs. I try and stay away from parking next to people that are close to the dividing line or have only two doors, as the doors are longer and open out farther.

I also try and keep away from semi, cement, or stone carrying trucks, as they can kick stones from their load or tires, on to my van.

fish8 · June 2005

I picked up some touch-up paint and it turned out pretty good. It's not perfect, but you have to really look to find the hidden scrapes. The TU Paint was only a little over $ 5. Not too bad compared to my fathers TU Paint for his Lexus......$20.00. Yikes.... :surprise:

lostwrench · June 2005

I was sitting in my car in a mall parking lot and a woman parked on the side of me and then opened her car door and banged it into mine. Oh great. Then the large woman, still attempting to exit her car, bangs her car door into mine again. I rolled down the window and yelled, "watch it, lady" and she replied, "Oh, shut up buddy, my car is newer than yours".

fish8 · June 2005

I would of lost it. Can't believe how rude some people are. :confuse:

dennisctc · June 2005

I would have opened my car door and done the exact same thing to her!!!

whelmar · June 2005

OK, bought the above vehicle 5 days ago for my mrs. She absolutely loves the van. At any rate, two days ago, my wife pulls into the drive way she turns off the vehicle and hears a grinding noise coming from the passenger side of the engine and lots of white 'smoke' billowed out, and smells something burning. She turns off the A/C and the radio, the grinding stops, as does the smoke. Apparently in these new cars when you turn off the car the radio stays on for about 30 seconds and so does the fan for the air conditioner (I think). I haven't had the car long enough to know for sure. Any way, She tried to recreate the problem, starts the car, turns on the a/c, get the grind, gets smoke, the burning smell, immediately turns off the car and call me at work. She is unable to recreate the problem again. The a/c now only blows warm air. I took the car to the dealer and had them look at it. They are unable to find anything wrong except that the refrigerant is low. They add refrigerant, test for leaks, call me and tell me the a/c blows cold air. I'm a little dumbfounded as to what caused the grind because the dealer couldn't find anything wrong. I do know however that with the van programmed with factory defaults, when shutting off the car, removing the key, keeping the doors shut, the radio will stay on for a delayed time. Is the car fan supposed to run for the same delay? My wife says it did prior to the 'melt down', which the dealer confirmed with her, but now denies. Which is it? The car is under warranty, so I may take it to another dealer to look at it. What to do?

marine2 · June 2005

Looks like we keep getting first time posters on the problems with the 2005's.

Anyway, yes, the radio will continue to play for 30 sec. after the ignition is shut off. If the door remains closed. Once you open the door, the radio will shut off. The A/C will stop as soon as you turn off the ignition. The fan should not run. If the dealer doesn't know, I'd take it to another one.

masterpaul1 · June 2005

Our 2001 DGC EX has the same time delay as your 2005 DGC SXT. My suggestion is to get a second opinion from another dealer. Now, I'm not sure if because your Mrs. turned the engine off first before turning off all other accessories caused the problem, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did. As far as them checking for leaks, I was told that they put some kinda dye in the system and use special glasses to see leaks. What kind of test did they do to check for leaks? Also, suggest to your Mrs. that it's a good idea to turn everything off before turning off the engine. My Wife leaves accessories on too, which I have asked her to turn off before turning off the engine.

dennisctc · June 2005

Can't help but be suspicious here!!!!!

The A/C fan should stop, on some cars the radiator fan continues to run if the engine is really hot, to help cool it down faster....maybe this is what you're hearing???

marine2 · June 2005

Can't help but be suspicious here!!!!!

Know what you mean.

hdg · June 2005

1. We're looking into a DGC SXT in Linen Gold and we're undecided between cloth versus leather. We have an 04 DGC with grey cloth and we like it but we're springing for a more loaded GC and wondered about the leather quality, confort and how well it holds up. Any thoughts? Is it cheap, vinyl feeling or hard and uncomfortable to sit on? We have a seven month old if that helps any. We're keeping the 04 GC and trading in an 04 Civic to get the 05 GC SXT.

2. The dealership has one SXT in Linen Gold doesn't have the power liftgate. Can this be added at the dealership?

TIA!

Claires · June 2005

Welcome to the Forums, Whelmar!

You might also want to post your question in the Climate Control Problems: All Cars discussion.

whelmar · June 2005

Thanks. They put some die in the system. They didn't find anything. I, like you, think you should turn everything off before you shut off the car. Been married for twenty years as of the 22nd, and I can't get her to change.

We are watching the van closely. I find the whole thing bizarre. I think that I will take it to another dealer for a once over. I don't even mind paying for an hour of labor to really have a good mechanic go over it, knowing if they find anything, it's under warranty. Thanks for the info on the fan...

Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan 2005+

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